adamiamelia

my babies

Monday, April 4, 2011

Unschooling - a brainstorm

After I wrote this I realise my thoughts have formed a sort of long novel here. Please bear with me as I brainstorm this idea. And join my process if you wish.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about Unschooling. Unschooling is similar to homeschooling, but it is different in the sense that the children are given the freedom to lead their own learning and education. There are no set schedules, exams and testing, curriculum, or set subjects to be studied. The role of the parent is merely one of a facilitator, to make the resources available to them and to answer questions. When I first heard of this, it seemed too far fetched to me. What about University? What if the child doesn't know what he needs to learn? Is it just about having fun and nothing else? How does it work with multiple children - how does the parent cope with teaching their own children (I question this with homeschooling too), how is the support for unschooling in Malaysia?. I had too many unanswered questions and put off the idea for a while. Lately I came across this website, and after spending time reading about it...I am starting to question my whole belief system in regards to child education.

Unschooling is based on the concept of TRUST in our children. Trust that they want to learn, trust that they know what they need to learn, and trust that they know the best way to learn. We love and trust our children, but why is this concept feels so alien? It is so ingrained in our bones that if children are left to their own devices, they will naturally NOT want to learn anything. If nobody told them to when and what they must learn, they won't. And we prove this point by looking at other school children, or at our own experiences as school children - at weekends or whenever children had free time, all they want to do is sleep or rest or laze around and play. Perhaps the very fact that we have been forced to learn what other people think we must learn is what hinders our learning in the first place. Perhaps we were so tired from learning 'hard' things we don't really see the use for, that caused us to feel like relaxing and rewinding whenever we get the chance. Think about this carefully and observe our own little children, the ones who hasn't been to school yet. Are they lazy? Do they learn nothing at all if we didn't try to teach them something? The answer is quite the opposite. Little children has the passion for learning with more force that we adults can keep up with. Let's look at Adam, for example. We are pretty easy-going about Adam's 'education'. I have never told him to learn the alphabet, or numbers in either a gentle or firm way. I haven't suggested that he memorise the alphabet song and I have long since given up on flash cards, even, because he showed no interest in it. But I love reading for myself and we do have plenty of books around the house, most of which are about things that he likes - animals, trains, other vehicles, dinosaurs, maps. And we only ever read these books when he asked to be read to. Now despite (or probably because of) this relaxed attitude, our nightly story time is one of his favourite time of the day. We let him choose his books and he would try and choose as many books as possible. A while back he has taught himself how to use the computer so that he can play games on the Cbeebies website. and from there, he has taught himself Phonics because he wanted to play the Alphablocks game. I myself only have the vaguest idea how phonics work. But i sat by his side when he asked me to, to help him win the Alphablocks game. Before I know it, there was another game on Ipad that he wanted to play, and while watching him play that game (another phonics game) I realised that he already know most of the sounds of every letter! Mia is already able to pronounce some of the phonics sounds just by listening to Adam. Honestly, their ability and passion for learning goes beyond our wildest estimation. Now, does this apply to older children? As they get older will they have the same hunger for learning to be able to learn what they need to learn? Perhaps, if they are given the freedom to learn whatever catch their interest (instead of learning what other people deemed necessary), they will have a lifelong interest in learning.

Now I thought deeply about how this apply to myself and my husband as the 'product' of schooling. We spent many many years at school and university, but how much of that 'education' did we retain? I was a straight A student, a first class student and yet....can I pass any of the tests I took if I take it now? More importantly, are we using the subjects we learnt at school in our real daily lives, or in our jobs even? We always say ' Our degree certificate is merely our ticket for a job'. What is implied is that we hardly even use what we learnt and took exams for, even if we work in the specific area that we studied for. Now for me, I have had a job as a Chemical Engineer and now I am a housewife. I am not using any chemical engineering at all in my life. And yet I have taught myself many things that had nothing to do with what others have told me to learn. I learnt sewing, knitting and parenting with a passion and joy that I have not known any other time in my life. I seek these knowledge myself and I found them infinitely rewarding. My husband is the same with photography and football. We never had any classes in these subjects and don't even think of them as subjects. We just want to learn them! Now, think of all those years we spent in school - imagine if instead of wasting our time learning what other people think we needed to learn, we use that time learning whatever we wanted to learn? We could've been whatever we wanted to be! Now I am thinking of how amazing it would be if my own children had that opportunity and the time, to be what ever they wanted to be.

Am I qualified to educate my own children? Perhaps the question should be, who is more qualified than I am to teach my own children? It is not the fault of the school, or the teachers, really. How can a teacher, with a classfull of 30 students, possibly be able to cater to the very individual interests of her 30 students? The best she can do is teach the subject matter that is handed to her, to the best of her ability. But for an unschooling parent, she does not have 30 students, only her own few children, whom she know by heart their interests and personalities.

My biggest concern was University. My husband share this concern too. I read and read and then it came to me. Yes, there are ways for unschooled children to enter University if they wanted to. They can take entrance exams and there are ways to prepare them for it. But the whole idea is that - IF THEY WANT TO. They don't HAVE to enter University. Too radical? Yes, it seemed like that to me to at first. We are the product of years of schooling. The Path has been laid out to us and we believe and follow it - Do well in school to get to University, do well in Uni and get a good job. But now, I am starting to rethink this whole idea. Does it matter if we become engineers, or doctors, or scientists? What if a child wanted to be a farmer? Not because his father was a farmer, but because he finds it so fascinating? An unschooled child could've explored this idea early on in life, and possibly become a successful farmer before he even becomes an adult. I have friends who studied engineering and other 'serious' subjects but ended being successful farmers, business women, photographers, famous crafters. They did this admirably by leaving behind their years of study and pursuing their dreams. Now imagine if the same people had not wasted their lives learning things that they never use but instead pursue their dreams from early childhood?

Now these are just my thoughts right now. As you can see this is mainly a rojak of my questions and opinions about unschooling. I do not know whether I will eventually choose unschooling for my children or not. But it is very thought provoking way of life. So radical that I wonder if executing it would harder than trying to convince others around us that it would be the right decision for our children all their lives. How is the unschooling community in Malaysia? Do you have any thoughts on this? Please, let me know.

27 comments:

Mamasofea said...

Salam aida..

I have been your silent reader for quite some time.. This entry is made tepat pada masa i'm reading Einstein Never Used Flashcards which emphasis on the power of play.. Would like to suggest that book to you should you want to explore this unschooling thing further..

Anonymous said...

Hi Aida, interesting thoughts.. I just learnt that in Malaysia, parents could be jailed for homeschooling their children. When it comes to homeschooling, i don't trust myself to be able to monitor and make sure my kids are at a good education levels for their age. Despite we are doing something else right now, we have a safety net. I just don't think we should take away the safety net from them.

Anonymous said...

~
hmm..quite a thought provoking issue to be discussed at length, coz everyone will have their own reason.. but if u ask me, to begin with; if it's permitted by law, i don't even want to immunize my future children (another provoking issue), but then, when you're surrounded by law and living in the community, you need to have a strong will power to do the opposite. and somehow we rather chose what majority has decided for us to do.. just like how we are succumb to the the rat race today.. (except you, you are our inspiration! our domestic goddess!)
i truly agree about university part, esp. what if they really want to be farmer? how many parents will agree to that, especially these days, aight?
But then again, if you have all resources & support to do so, i would say why not? Do what you think is right for your kids. And if you failed, who cares? Just rise back and start a new one. It's okay to 'agree to disagree' with the majority. To tolerate one idea, doesn't mean we accept the idea, right?
I am supporting you, that's for sure.
Don't you agree, this kind of thought could only arise when you are on frugal living (and by frugal, i don't mean poor), because you start appreciate every little things in your life.
I would definitely jump onto the bandwagon when i have my own kids soon; hopefully by the time my kids grow up, this idea is not so alien to our community. Fingers crossed xx
~

Mommy Lyna said...

Aida i think you better rope up with parents who practice the same thing - unschooling; even other ways of homeschooling pun.

bila ramai2 you'll feel it's not that hard to do/begin, even end pun. before you begin, get in touch with other unschoolers, rasanya overseas ramai, Malaysian I found a Chinese unschooler family tp dah tak igt which one, nanti kalo jumpa i let u know (i believe ada ramai lg).

actually dah ramai Malaysian yg practise homeschool :)

Hada Masayu said...

Emm..wow aida, a long brainstorming session...i totally agree with some thought u'hv written here...kadang2 kita xguna pun knowledge yg kita dapat time blaja / kat U waktu kita kerja..i found many, who successful dalam area2 yg bukan academic area yg dia dah blaja dulu..tp aida the willpower is behind the succesful story, di mana ada kemahuan, di mana ada usaha, di mana ada kesungguhan, di situlah ada kejayaan..untuk dapat kesungguhan tulah aida aku berpendapat sangat dipengaruhi oleh our past lifetime, our past education that we involved in...as for me i think all being taught to me in school / uni leads me to many positive ways and let my empty mind to be opened.

Mrs Honeybee said...

Salam,

I just happened upon your beautiful blog. How wonderful to see someone practicing natural parenting, simple living, and crafts too!

I also have misgivings concerning our local schooling system.

I am quite open to the idea of unschooling. But my son is not yet 4 so he still has a few years ahead of him before school becomes mandatory. Much research is still needed. For now let his childhood be as idylic as possible. Let him have his childhood.

Like ‘Me’ from above, I believe education for children under the age of 7 should be play-based rather than academics-based.

There is no evidence to suggest that early intellectual exposure produces good learners in the long haul. In fact studies done actually reveals the opposite. Unfortunately Malaysian parents are under pressure to produce child geniuses.

Well I’ve always wanted to connect with other homeschoolers /unschoolers. I would love to hear more of this topic.

So happy to have met you!

Love, Asma

hikmah said...

subhanallah! aida, this is a really interesting subject to share.

me n hubby selalu borak pasal kehidupan kita ni seolah2 ada satu pattern@rules, which nak tak nak u gotta follow these set of rules. eg: 11 years in school, 4 years undergrad, get good job etc. everybody seems to live in the same set of directions. and we conclude that's the main reason unemployment rate goes higher each year, cos seems like evrybody strive for engineer, lawyer, doctor etc that makes petani/peladang/nelayan looks less appealing. and too bad, some of them got good job, but they're not even good at it! e.g i've seen doctors who just love the white coats and the stethoscopes rather than being warmth and attentive to patients. they lack the X factor, and seriously, the X factor doesnt come with a degree! versatility tu xde dalam diri, sbb the main reason u do the job is to get paid with good $$$$! not bcos u're sooooo into it.

and when u mentioned farming, subhanallah aida! that's so true! kita hidup ni mcm on the grid (pattern@rules), as long as u stay on the grid, u'll be safe! sgt bullshit theory itu. fact is that grid stole ur freedom! u depends on the grid, in fact u lose self-sustaining!

2nd law of thermodynamics (aku x abis blaja, but i just love this theory), ultimately evrything will fall apart and disintegrate over time. at 1 point of time, bila kita semua terlalu depends on the grid, depends on the technology, when robots take over human capacity, we are left with nothing.

sebelum ni kalau lapar kita pegi drive thru mcD, kita order bigMac, that's finished product. 1 hari nanti food will be scarce, sbb dah x ramai jadi farmers cos we all goes for materials. satu hari nanti kita akan terkedu and thought "alamak, mcmana nak buat bigMac, nak kena bela lembu, nak kena tanam sayur...how?". maybe anak cucu kita nanti xkenal lembu pon, tau2 lembu dah jadi daging burger. self-sustaining kita zero. semua benda nak beli, sedangkan kita bole buat sendiri. u've started it aida! u make clothes! satu hari nanti even money pon dah tak laku, at that time we are left with ourselves, tulang 4 kerat ni yang akan decide how to live, not the machines.

sblm ni aku buat part time, buat hantaran kawen, the effort of making xtra money, when all of sudden aku realize i'm making money out of kesempitan org lain, sdgkn hiasan hantaran kawen bole buat sendiri kot! that's when we (me n hubby) started discuss self-sustaining, that way we'll live helping each other, no more rat-race! pointless pursuit!

alhamdulillah skrg aku dah start menjahit, and do some gardening. hubby alhamdulillah, he's handyman around the house, kereta pon repair sendiri, we're trying our best to not be so dependent. i believe it doesnt have to be big, the important thing is the first step. kena start buat, then u'll realize u can do it! tipu semua kalau org kata "xleh tanam, tgn aku panas, pokok mati punya", no such thing, semua excuse tu kita yg create sendiri.

adakah aku merepek, cos i'm so not good in writing. and i believe 'unschooling' will definitely makes it way, aida, insyaAllah!

Fizah said...

Well said. Aida, apa kata ko start writing your first novel? I am very keen to read one ever since we're at school. I can volunteer be your publisher & marketeer. - Tiba2 aku masuk topic ni. Hehe

Ernie Khairina said...

salam aida,
interesting topic.

I still believe in formal education, there will be no farmer invention machinery/technology without knowledge that gain from..an institution =)

now let's look from historical perspective. during colonization, schools were found only in chinese majority area (And now that obvious why chinese is conquering industries) Only after 20-30 years schools made for malays (cth; MCKK) Without this formal education, made the malays 'ketinggalan'. --> applied to the Gutenberg case juga.

Sebenarnya, sekolah ni not only the subjects yang penting. But, the most important they learn about communication, society, resposibility, team work, sharing..

I hv a cousin who never school. So I can call this as a REAL CASE STUDY and the outcome isn't as what we expected.

And I think children, when they go to school they are more likely to see and vision what they like most and what they want to pursuit in their lives.

mamalisa said...

Salam Aida,

First time I masuk blog u and really hook into it sampai duk baca entry yg dulu2 and your kids are so adorable :) terus berangan nak stay kat UK jugak boleh?

As for unschooling,I dont think I am the right person to comment on its as I am busy working mum..but try my best to teach/monitor my kids at home in future insyaAllah. but then I think in Malaysia there are quite many of parents did homeschool. Nanti I jumpa blog tu I will share with u, Mami Fiza homeschool practitioner.

Cora said...

Wow! This post has been the most fascinating, and as you said - "thought provoking" thing I've read in a long time! Sorry, I'm not from Malaysia; I'm from North Carolina/USA, but I do homeschool my two daughters. I have read about unschooling before, but never anything that described it as well as you have. I'm really going to have to think about everything you said, and seriously consider the possibilty of implementing some form of unschooling with my girls. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this idea. You really did put it into perspective for me.

nadia yaya said...

salam sis...
after all it is about more or less to homeschooling isnt it?
so I have one blog from a home-schooler parent in Malaysia which I guess it can help you alot..this is her link http://coachsha.wordpress.com/
btw sis...I also have the same thought to homeschooling my future kids..insyallah..:)
I dont feel so confident to send my kids to schools due to an exam-oriented of Malaysia education system. and I believe kids should be autonomous towards their learning..:)
and in Malaysia, the homeschooling is legal as long as your kids are using a system which is being used by our education system...:)
alhamdulillah it is not a big matter for me as I already had the right system to support my future home-schoolers' kid soon..:)

aidafiqs adamia said...

me,
thank you for the suggestion! the material i am reading up on unschooling quoted Einstein constantly. I'll look it up. Thanks!

anon,
It didn't even occur to me that you could be jailed for homeschooling. It appeared to me that there is an increasing number of homeschoolers in Msia actually. MamaFiza, for example, has been homeschooling her kids openly and was interviewed on national TV. how did these people escape the law then?can any homeschooling mom enlighten us please?

aina,
if it wasn't for the situation i am in now, i would probably still be in the rat race too.

along,
yes, the support system is important. please tell me if you find that msian unschooler ok..

hada,
yes our past help shape us to become who we are. but kesungguhan as you said, does not come from schooling. it comes from within.

asma,
i am very concern about our school system. i have heard horror stories about kindergarden kids having to have tuition to sit for their exams. utterly ridiculous. it is the reason i'm looking into other options. btw, do you have a blog?i have a feeling we can connect.

hikmah,
i love that you and husband are already taking steps toward self sustaining.

fizah,
mentang2la aku tulis entry panjang suro tulis novel pulak ye..hehe..but seriously, it was my dream as a child to be a writer. you can publish?

ernie,
obviously there are a lot of things to consider, still. but if you want to look at history, try looking at ancient civilisations.were there any forced schooling?and yet some of the world's most amazing miracles were achieved within these civilisation. unschooling isn't about ignorance or negligence. maybe your cousin didn't receive the support she needed.

mamalisa,
yes i've heard of mamafiza,though i think she's homeschooling rather than unschooling. do you know any unschooler? thank you!

cora,
congratulation for homeschooling your kids! a lot of homeschoolers eventually practise some form of unschooling too..goodluck!

nadia,
can you share what system you were talking about?thanks!

Anonymous said...

Homeschool for Malays is just a recipe for disaster Aida. Malays are historically lazy, and maybe they have improved a bit with time, but to leave them to learn by themselves, well they'll be a great dreamer alright! Wanna marry a rich man, wanna have maid at home, wanna become ladies who lunch etc etc, for the men, wanna make a million by 30 regardless of the way they get it.
There's a true malay hero out there, Tan Sri Arshad Ayub, the first director of ITM. He made all the malay students finish their diplomas, despite their silly behaviours that could actually get them dropped out. If Malays could be left to their own devices, this old man wouldn't have wasted his time for them.

Malay through and through

nadia yaya said...

the system refers to what had been used in normal school particularly the subjects...assessment must also been used by home-schoolers..and plus you must provide a formal letter to the M'sia education ministry to tell that we didnt send our kids to school either government or international and also what kind of support that we have to make sure that our kids aren't left behind..:)

Ernie Khairina said...

aida,

there was examination even from the ancient time (refer china and egypt).


A lot of things to consider. not only the process of homeschooling,but the most important must be how the children will survive after us.

After us aida, kita bukan selalu ada untuk mereka..someday (only God knows) kita akan pergi juga.

You might want to consider again once you return to malaysia.
it always difficult when we againts system.

Too bad, banyaknya benda terlepas bila kita out of school system. The classes, the teachers, club, society, responsibilities (of all yg ko boleh bayangkan) Hidup ni luas, tak rugi pun kalau kita experience and explore all those. I think ni yang hada maksudkan previously.

aidafiqs adamia said...

nadia,
thank you for sharing!

ernie,
you are so right about a lot of things. about how will they survive after us.that we are not always going to be there. that i must consider our return to malaysia and going against the system.also about hidup ini luas, and we must explore all possibilities. I am no expert at unschooling. i am just discovering it myself. but a lot of it makes sense to me.

surviving - unschooled children know how to find ways to learn what they need to learn. they are never told they are stupid, or not good enough to pass exams. their self worths are intact. it is the basic principle of survival.

hidup luas - are they exposed to the real world in school? quite the opposite. children are grouped into other kids their own age and separated further based on how well they do in exams. for unschooled children, they can have the option of mixing with people of all ages. for example; say a child is interested in business, the mother might introduce him to you, or our friend fizah. or to me, if they wanted to learn knitting. they don't have the obstacle of limited time to explore whatever it is that they want to know.

indeed it is an issue not to be taken lightly. afterall as mothers we only want the best for our children. and there is no one right way. what works for you, may not work for me. or there may be a common ground where we can practise both.

Ernie Khairina said...

ok aida, thanks for explaining us. (aku asik terpikir je benda ni tau) and i think i should reveal you what happenedto my cousin.

he was at the age of 4 yrs old when my aunt decided to homeschool him, my aunt is a teacher. at the earlier stage thing went well, but not until he was age 10 when he started asking why dia takda sekolah, probably because he watched from TV (and even more la kot sebab sekarang dah ada internet)

at the age of 15-18 my aunt faced a crucial part when my cousin dah start memberontak dan a bit compare himself with other people. Tambahan pula the peers yang tak dapat terima my cousin tak sekolah (but yes homeschool, for your info my aunt did everything BEST for him, you seriusly tak percaya if aku bgtau kat sini)

and now, he's 22yrs old, trying to survive life. there was time he wanted to start a business but no modal/resources. tak boleh buat loan bank. And sometimes cari job but no cert. takda kayu pengukur nak tentukan kemahiran/pengetahuan. and now nak masuk instituition/uni but takde scholar yang nak taja.

a real life case. maybe u should make a reseach from the kids' psychological development pula. good luck aida!

p/s omg aida, i think this area made a brilliant idea for my phd proposal.

SMM said...

salam ziarah,

bloghopping dari blog mysuperkids.

here's a blog of a Malaysian family who's practising unschooling in USA.

http://nadiaschooldays.wordpress.com

look like they're doing well. but i'll be honest and admit that i don't have the guts (!) to choose this option ;p

helyn@kla said...

Hi sis,
I’m your silent reader. I just love your idea of unschooling..and I think that is the reason why universities in malaysia try to implement lifelong learning in education and try to evaluate students generic skills instead of evaluating their academic ability alone. But unfortunately this new system of evaluation doesn't meet the objective since generic skills such as leadership, communication skill etc can’t be evaluated right? These are the skills that we learn ourself without being taught formally.

I do believe that the passions to learn without being force to do so are far more meaningful. My parents never force me to study (perhaps) and they never ask about my grade. They believe that grade doesn’t represent anything, what is important is my successful in life.

And now I'm an academician who’s looking for these 'X' factor in students. The ability to learn by themself..Im also a schooling product and the fact is, i'll be back to school..hehe..

Still thinking of the best 'method' for my baby. Just love this entry. Thank you :)

~helyna~

Unknown said...

Hi Aida,

Wow..an informative entry and comments! I've heard of homeschooling but this is the first time i heard "unschooling". Like the idea of not forcing our kids to study.. But i 'll be honest to u that i don't trust myself to be able to choose and implement this kind of method.

Why?
Because i think to be able to do so u must first be a stay-at-home-mom (yg ni pun dah fail), and 2nd u must be able to give your full attention to your kids eventhough you have 3-4 kids/baby at the same time and a lot of chores to do at home, because you are their no.1 sources for education!

So, my suggestion to you is you can try implementing this idea to adam for the first 6 years of his life, and see how it goes..because you know la kids mcm2 perangai..ada yg naturally genius and rajin and perasaan curious yg tinggi, and some just need extra works and extra attention and extra everything. So, just give it a try then because now it's too early to tell. Maybe ko je suke this kind of method but adam eagerly wants to be at school with his friends. We never know! And the best thing is, if anything goes wrong u can always take a turn and get him to school/homeschool when he's 7. No big deal right?

Yes, i admit that this kind of education is kind of alien to me as i'm a school product. But to me school/college/uni not only gave you academic lesson, but also communication, social, responsibility, teamwork and meaningful experiences that help us a lot in facing adulthood in the real world.

But this is just my 2 cents. Knowing u for so long Aida, i know u can do almost everything! ;)

kemaryahya said...

bulan 7 ni ko balik mesia kan? smpi sini nnti cube kaji dgn lebih mendalam if nak buat kat mesia ni.
sume ibu nak terbaik utk anaknye...

love najmi so much to infinity! ;D

aidafiqs adamia said...

ernie,
honestly i don't know in your cousin's specific case what has happened.i don't know what his interests are. if he wants to apply to uni, he can sit for entrance exams ( a lot of malaysian homeschoolers sit for gcse or sat) and the result of which he can use to apply for scholarship like the rest of us.In any case however, I wouldn't rule him out as a failure. After all, he's only 22 (and already seeking out to survive on his own, which is a plus). For most of us, at 22 we were still in college/university. I pray he will find his life's calling.

mynie,
i am already reading that blog. very good example. thank you! i go agree with you, it will take a lot of guts and commitment to do this!

helyn,
i love how this entry has made silent readers participate :) thank you! good point about how those skills (communication/leadership) are things we learnt ourselves, not taught formally. May i borrow it?

chun,
yes luckily my kids are still at the age where i have time to consider this thoroughly. it will take a lot of commitment and patience! as you said, as a stay at home mom i struggle just to find balance to finish chores and handle the two kids all at once. blom try homeschooling lagi!As for Uni, remember that many homeschoolers do go to college/university. universities are different from school in that it is specific for our area of choosing, not compulsory and not specific for any age.

kemar,
yes true. semua ibu nak terbaik utk anaknya...

Mrs Honeybee said...

Aida,

May I recommend you the book called ‘You Are Your Child’s First Teacher-What Parents Can Do With and For Their Children from Birth to Age Six’ by Rahima Dancy Baldwin. It is a book that addresses the child holistically; head, heart, and hands. I dare say this was book was the turning point in how I view early childhood education.

Islam teaches us that the first school for a child is in his mother’s lap and that parents should play with children for the first 7 years of their lives.

Play, live, and love your children...isn't that what you are doing now? ;)

I used to have a blog...but now too busy reading other people's blogs to ever have time to maintain my own. Ha ha...Let me gently nudge you to my go-to parenting blog http://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/01/13/waldorf-in-the-home-with-the-three-and-four-year-old/

Love,

Asma

helyn@kla said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

hmm... the idea of unschooling my children really is appealing, now that Kak Aida dah tulis ni.
Dan kebetulan, my husband baru je tanya couple of days ago whether I want to homeschool the girls tak nanti (since m gonna be SAHM sooon), which I pun tak pernah terfikir.

At the moment, I read whenever Maryam asked me to. And I read to both Maryam and Zahra. If Maryam doesnt feel like reading, I pun tak la paksa. Sebab bila dia nak membaca, kita suruh main pun dia taknak. Jadi kita ikut saja rentak dia.

And back to the unschooling idea, I think its good, provided the children should be monitored closely and guided when necessary. Yang penting nya, the basic Islamic education mesti instilled dari awal.

wallahu allam.

Anonymous said...

Salam Aida,
Recently I was googling on cloth pad and brings me to your blog, then I start read and read. It was interesting topic on unschooling, I read the comments too. A lot has been discussed, and at a point its not that I'm not disagreeing with the unschooling idea but I just came across a lot of question. And for me if in future, when I have kids, I still choose formal education as like Ernie. Even there are lacks here and there in formal school,but since I grew up in the formal education,having going to school, the most precious thing that I think can't get through the unschooling is friends and memories. I'm not saying unschooling will not provide memories, unschooling will have a lot memories between a mom and children..but the childhood memories of a child wouldn't be the same..having sports day in school,having friends at the same age, playing football at the field, learning about other people or anything. That just my thoughts.. I hope its ok with you. If you find out that the goverment school are not providing enough for your children,why don't you try the International school, I'm sure their curiculum and way of teaching are different. At least in school,they can build up their soft skills and confidence level and learn to socialize with people because kids these day are much more on the Internet, and at some point they did not socialize with people in real life. Anyway you are the mother of children and you know the best of them. And I am just no one that just gives an opinion. Wishing you all the best and you have such a great blog. ;)

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