Dh and I disagree about unschooling

[ekblad9]

Hi there. I am the mother of four children. My oldest is 10 and the only one old enough to be "officially" schooled. Anyway, I believe in unschooling, mostly. I do have my son do math nearly every day. Then we touch on this and that but nothing very structured. My dh wants to make him do book reports, papers, etc. I don't believe in that stuff anyway. I think it takes the fun out of learning and I don't see the point of it. Dh says the kids will never get through college without this knowledge. I say they will learn what they need to know when they need to know it. Since all college teachers expect/want different things why try to guess now what will happen in 10 years?

I don't know what I'm asking for here. Support, advice, experiences. Maybe I just needed to vent.

Thanks!

Amy

[khrisday]

Hi Amy, maybe you could keep a notebook of what you spend your days on to help dh understand more of what ds is learning. Just a thought,

[Kylix]

I also believe that book reports and papers suck the fun right out of learning...especially at your ds' age. I agree with khrisday..keep a log of the things your son does daily. Also round up anything written he has done and keep that too. After a bit show it to your dh and he'll see that your son is getting everything he needs in bits and pieces. Some people have just been so schooled that they don't understand how anyone can learn well without it. It may just take a while for your husband to come around.
Kylix

[ekblad9]

Thanks! That's a great idea! I will keep a log. I'm so unstructured that I don't even do that but I know I should!

[anythingelse]

Let your ds keep the log if he is at all interested. That way your dh can see his writing and work. Maybe he would like a nice sketchbook to draw, and write lists of things he wants to read, or do, places he may want to adventure off to, photos that are of cool things he has made, cartoons he cuts out of the paper and his renditions of funny moments during the day. It is a nice thing for a boy to have, since in our society 'girls' keep a diary and boys seem to get to miss out on that fun and release of emotion.
Mary

[erika]

here's an idea if you want to meet dh halfway - what if you were to put together a newspaper with your son? it could be a summary of the year's studies or something you do just in a week or whatever. you and ds could decide together what to include (interviews with neighbors, mail deliverer, weather report, whatever) - and perhaps a book review column would be a fun thing to suggest. it might also be fun to do it 'secretly' - so it will be a surprise for dh - maybe even send it out to relatives.

just a thought, here. i'm remembering how much i enjoyed doing my own newspaper (in school) when i was about 10.

[ekblad9]

The newspaper is such a cute idea. I'll run that by my son. I think he would really be into that and maybe it would make dh feel more secure too! Thanks to everyone for the great advice!

Amy

[anythingelse]

That would be a really nice father's day gift, what a great idea!!