{"id":73,"date":"2009-11-05T09:59:17","date_gmt":"2009-11-05T15:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unschoolingblog.com\/?p=73"},"modified":"2009-11-04T00:05:47","modified_gmt":"2009-11-04T06:05:47","slug":"grassroots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.unschoolingblog.com\/?p=73","title":{"rendered":"Grassroots"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, I was thinking about the tough position teachers are in (as I wrote about yesterday<\/a>), and I wanted to offer some ideas for solutions.<\/p>\n

First, though, I need to speak to my fellow unschoolers. We all believe in the process of unschooling and therefore have taken steps to ensure that our children receive its benefits. These steps necessarily include pulling our kids out of school. They also include creating a tight-knit unschooling community within the homeschooling community, culminating in conferences, blogs, Tweeting, traveling, etc. In a very profound way, we have to separate ourselves from the greater culture in order to give our kids what we believe is the best form of education.<\/p>\n

However, in doing that, we extract ourselves from making any kind of difference in the school system. We have said, and rightly so, \u201cI want my kid to have the best education possible, and therefore I will not be involved with institutionalized schooling.\u201d And now, our way of thinking cannot easily be found within that system. I know that I, as a former educator, have little or no interest in going back to teaching in the traditional sense. And so, who is saying what we are saying WITHIN the schools? To my knowledge, only a very few, but outspoken, people. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The only way that kids in the greater society will experience the benefits of the unschooling philosophy, is if we inject it back into the schools. And the people who need to be thinking about this is teachers. I believe that moving the school system at large toward a freer, more child-centered format will only happen from the ground up. In fact, I can tell you that no matter what educational policies are passed and no matter how many standardized tests are issued, the actual substance of what happens in the classroom is entirely determined by the teacher.\u00a0 I often threw the curriculum out of the window in order to follow my students\u2019 interest (even if, at times, that meant playing a card game). It\u2019s the teachers who determine the policy, not the other way around.<\/p>\n

And so, let\u2019s begin this process. Let\u2019s start to infiltrate the minds of the teachers. Hey, if we get administrators and curriculum writers on board too, that\u2019s great. But, it starts with the teachers. The first thing is to have educational philosophy discussions with teachers you know. This can be scary, but don\u2019t be confrontational. Just start talking about motivating kids. After you\u2019ve had a conversation or two, maybe send them an article about unschooling. \u00a0Let the discussions continue and once you feel like they are starting to see your point of view, begin talking about the actual steps they can take in their classrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The point is, we cannot sit back and be idle about the system. If we are, and it keeps going the way it\u2019s going, we may soon see homeschooling become illegal in the US and Canada, as it is in some of the more socialist countries. We have to speak up for kids\u2019 rights now before that idea becomes completely derisory in our society.<\/p>\n