unschooling for social justice

Comment

Comment by Sara Schmidt on August 1, 2012 at 5:43pm

Here is an unschooling study being conducted by a friend; please feel free to contact her and take part! :)

This is from a friend in the alternative education field who is researching
unschooling. If you unschool and want to participate in her survey, please feel
free; she would really appreciate it! :)

Sara


From: Sandra B. Schneider, Ph.D and Kristan A. Morrison, Ph.D
Re: Qualitative research project

Hello parent(s)/guardian(s):

We are conducting a qualitative research project on unschooling
mothers/families.

The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences, perspectives and
day-to-day experiences of
progressive homeschooling (unschooling) mothers/families. The information we
gather for this project
will be used for various academic purposes, such as publications in books and
journals along with
professional presentations.

The information you share will be kept confidential.

You are receiving this note because you were identified as a potential
participant. Please note the
procedural requirements for participation in this research study:

1. Face-to-face interview of approximately 70 minute duration (possibly up to
two follow-up
interviews, but only if you are willing, of course). Phone interviews can be
done if geographical
distance is too much.
2. Honest, open reflection regarding your unschooling experiences and
perspectives.

The subject population for this study is unschooling families -
parent(s)/guardian(s) 18 years or older,
either biologically male or female, who self identify as progressive and engaged
in homeschooling (often
termed "unschooling").

The following definition of unschooling will be the criteria for participation:
Families which engage in homeschooling their children in such a way that allows
the student
some self-direction on what is studied, when, and how. Families that follow a
form of
homeschooling that is self-directed in nature and seeks to avoid reproducing the
learning
structures of school in the home.

If you are interested in participation in this study, please reply to the
researchers, Sandra Schneider at
sschneider@... or Kristan Morrison kmorrison12@... for further
information such
as interview scheduling or any additional information you may need to aid you in
making your decision.
Additionally, if you know of other parent(s)/guardian(s) who may be interested
please forward this
message to him or her.

We hope to hear from you soon!

If you would prefer, please call Sandra Schneider (540-831-5302) or Kristan
Morrison (540-831-7120)
regarding your participation.

Sincerely,

Sandra Schneider and Kristan Morrison

Comment by Sarah S. on October 11, 2011 at 10:25pm

The St. Louis one is pretty chill - I haven't gone but a couple good friends have. I wouldn't worry about being arrested, if you're just checking it out and not actually protesting. I think the only arrests were in the first day or two, and everyone got out the next morning except a guy with an outstanding warrant (and they only arrested like 10 people).

My daughter is at college in DC now, and she went to Occupy Wall Street  week or two ago (and was told by a police officer to leave, so she did), and I think she's been to the DC one. She tweets about it, anyway. We did some protesting when she was younger, against the Clinton-era welfare deforms and then later for peace in Iraq, and I think it was a good experience for both of us... even as a kid she understood that those things affected her life, and that it was her right to speak up.

Comment by Sally on October 11, 2011 at 12:07pm

See I am feeling the same way. I haven't been down there to see how it is, but I don't want Colin to be in the middle of anything bad. We don't have t.v so we haven't really seen the coverage. I rely on facebook and the black and blue radio for my protest news :)

 

Comment by Frank Maier on October 11, 2011 at 12:07pm

Sally, I participated in protest actions in the South for Civil Rights and against the VietNam war, so I'm a firm believer in the value of nonviolent protest. These days I'm too busy with my wife and kids to spend time in jail, so pragmatically I have not participated in the Occupy action here in Seattle; but I strongly support it.

Comment by Sara Schmidt on October 11, 2011 at 12:03pm

I would really like to go... But I do fear taking her at such a young age with all of the police intervention and arrests that have been happening. My mom took me to my first protest when I was 9, I think. I definitely plan on taking her to the March for Women's Lives in 2014; when I went in 2004 it was pretty organized and civil. While the OWS protests are incredibly important and long overdue, I fear taking her into that environment right now... though I do think it would be a very important and meaningful thing to be part of. If I wasn't a mom, I'd be there every day.

Comment by Sally on October 11, 2011 at 11:53am

What does everyone think about the Occupy Wall St. protests? I have talked to my son about the politics and the different problems the world faces. He is very aware of everything and was this morning recording his plans to change the world in a notebook. I am curious what involvement everyone has in these protests as well as your thoughts. I have been sharing things on facebook and try to make personal/family choices that are positive and good for the world, but feel like I want to be doing more. I guess I am curious if their are any unshcoolers at the protests. We have one here in st. louis i am feeling drawn to ck out. my son is of course totally down :).

Comment by Meredith on October 3, 2011 at 4:23pm

I'm terrible about starting discussions, so anyone who wants, feel free to get something going!

Comment by Meredith on March 31, 2011 at 2:18pm

Some of the adult resources at the Humane Education site looked good, but a lot of the kids stuff looked... educational. Not the sort of thing that would go over with Mo, for sure. Part of that is that the kids books are mainly fiction, though, and she's more the non-fiction type.

 

That other site has more non-fiction stuff...ooooh math games from around the world! That's a Mo book ;) Thanks.

Comment by Sara Schmidt on March 30, 2011 at 5:58am

Hi there, I'm new to the group. :) Nice to meet you!

I don't know if anyone has ever suggested it or not, but one of my new favorite resources is the Institute for Humane Education: http://humaneeducation.org/sections/view/books

 

I'm thinking about taking an online course or two from them this year. They have great book recommendations!  I also love the books that Global Village School suggests:

http://astore.amazon.com/globalvillage-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=1

Comment by Sarah S. on January 17, 2011 at 2:17pm

Frank, a Tunisian woman told me a year or so ago, "The law cannot change the hearts of the people." I thought of that when I read your piece (my daughter and I spent last summer there, and my research is based there). She was talking about the laws that had been passed that give Tunisian women equal rights and education and allowed them the right to divorce.

 

The problem with government-given rights is that they sometimes serve the needs of the government, not the governed. I think that in the long-term, government enforcement of rights can only work within a democracy, which gives people the right to speak out like Dr. King did.

 

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