Another One Bites the Dust

So, I've been trying to do a "lessons learned" theme at least twice a week so I can attempt to find the links between unschooling and the corporate world. I've found it beneficial and therapeutic, so I'm glad I started. And now since I've got that down, I'm going to start another mini-theme: I'd like to try my response to some common questions that we encounter from newcomers to unschooling. DISCLAIMER: I do tend to lean toward the sarcastic . . . sometimes:-)

THE QUESTION
"But aren't you afraid that they won't develop social skills?"


WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN BUT DON'T CHOOSE TO SAY (the sarcastic part)
Parents have full control over the social habits of their children. Clearly, unschooling is a subversive attempt to ensure our children remain hermits forever so they may be at our beck and call. Because as every parent knows, the only ways for a child to properly develop social skills are by forcing them into social situations whether or not they want to be; making sure every second of their day is scheduled and planned; allowing them to only associate with people their own age; making them say "please" and "thank you" all the time; and generally forcing them to socialize on schedules that are convenient for the parent with people the parents choose.

TODAY'S ANSWER
Uh, yeah, sure, my kids don't have social skills. Today, we went to a summer kick-off cookout at my boss's house. There were a bunch of kids there ranging from 3 to 14. Kai is 9, and Kade is 6. I saw plenty of evidence that we are clearly impeding the social skills of them both by unschooling:

1.) Kade spent most of his time upstairs talking to the older girls (11, 12 and 14); when he came downstairs, he played soccer with a 45 y/o man he had never met before, and told jokes to the hostess.

2.) Kai met a new friend who was into Pokemon; they talked about Pokemon, played ball, and wrestled together. He also decided to put on his vaudeville hat and tell jokes ("What's the difference between chopped beef and pea soup? Anyone can chop beef, but no one can pee soup!")

3.) We went to the grocery store when we left the party, and they each rode in the cart and waved at EVERY PERSON in the grocery store; they didn't miss even one.

Poor fellows; obviously destined to be hermits due to my meddling in their social development. My bad. :-)

3 comments:

  1. Ohhhh I'm very excited to find your blog and have forwarded the info to my Dave! How wonderful to have a RU Dad's perspective out in the universe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just a quick shout-out from one unschooling dad to another - WOOT!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thats all fine and dandy but what about us poor homeschooling dads who have no sense of humor and don`t get sarcasm.Do you have a manual we can use so we can respond snidely when someone discovers that Daddy wears a "recipe dress" when he is cooking meals for the family? I know its a jungle out there but what do you do when you can`t see the forest for the trees?Heck, I`m not even sure Dick Cheney and Karl Rove are two different people. Or if they are even human.

    ReplyDelete