One creative way to go sledding on a school day

From the Humor Archive

A son sent along this link, with the note:"talks about unschooling further down."  (He wasn’t unschooled in anything but science. Unschooled as I understand the ~ definition anyway.)
Peter Gray’s thoughts in his Freedom to Learn blog [The roles of play and curiosity as foundations for learning] are intriguing. Here’s what he’s doing:  

Peter Gray is a research professor of psychology at Boston College. He has conducted and published research in comparative, evolutionary, developmental, and educational psychology; published articles on innovative teaching methods and alternative approaches to education; and is author of Psychology (Worth Publishers), an introductory college textbook now in its 5th edition. He did his undergraduate study at Columbia University and earned a Ph.D. in biological sciences at Rockefeller University. He is currently working on a book about the lifelong nature and functions of human play, tentatively titled Born to Play. His own play includes not only his research and writing, but also long distance bicycling, kayaking, and back-woods skiing.

Mr. Gray’s studies remind me of another educator’s thoughts a few decades ago.  John Holt was mentioned in Gray’s blog comments over a year ago, and he seemed to relish those ideas that many homeschoolers have brought into fruition for their children. Homeschoolers have discovered the glorious freedoms to live and learn.  Being schooled throughout my childhood gave me immense appreciation of what my children have.  They have a natural expectation of that freedom that I didn’t have. From Freedom to Learn:

Children Educate Themselves II: We All Know That’s True for Little Kids

Have you ever stopped to think about how much children learn in their first few years of life, before they start school, before anyone tries in any systematic way to teach them anything? Next time you are in viewing range of a child under the age of about five years old, sit back and watch for awhile. You’re in for a treat.

Maybe some parents don’t stop to think on this.  Or those young and curious minds drive some parents crazy with the steady pitter patter of :  "What that?".  The term Terrible Twos has disturbed me some when I hear it.  Two year olds are incredibly mobile- over, under and on top of every immobile and fixed object in your house.  They love to talk, even if interpretations can be sketchy.  They need to cuddle, and sometimes it might be right after they discover a terrifying sight such as a swimming pool and the silly notion that people are in it. They are exhausting.  They are exhilarating.

Universal preschool proponents are aware that children learn from the get-go.  They constantly point out that fact for those critical early years:

Invest in early childhood education:
The Obama-Biden comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. And they will help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.

After "decades of research", a few edu-wonks with a Vision for Universal Preschool break it down into "systems":

  In the critical early years, there are four major social systems that affect the child’s development and eventual school readiness. The first and most important is the child’s family. (Parents are indeed the child’s first teachers.) The others are the health care system, the education system, and the child care system (a caregiving environment the majority of our children experience before entering school). While our plan for universal preschool is based in the education system, it extends beyond the school building to touch the other systems that influence child development.

How did the previous generations ever get by without these extensions beyond the school building?  All this touching of other systems beyond the school building while promoting universal preschool is a bit disturbing.
Unfortunately, their emphasis isn’t on free learning at home.  Rather, they want to "promote the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5."  I’d pointed out Arne Duncan’s agenda in my Open Education - It’s the Learning that Counts post:

…. federal Dept of Education head, Arne Duncan, stipulates that for little ones entering schools; "socialization skills" ("school readiness", as in lining up and such) are equal in importance to  "literacy skills".

Here’s Peter Gray’s succinct thoughts on cognitive?!  professor, Daniel Willingham’s book: Why Don’t Students Like School?:

“Why Don’t Students Like School?” Well, Duhhhh

Talk about avoiding the elephant in the room!

Ask any schoolchild why they don’t like school and they’ll tell you. "School is prison." They may not use those words, because they’re too polite, or maybe they’ve already been brainwashed to believe that school is for their own good and therefore it can’t be prison. But decipher their words and the translation generally is, "School is prison."

Let me say that a few more times: School is prison. School is prison. School is prison. School is prison. School is prison.

Peter Gray makes perfect sense.  I’ve found a new blog to follow.  I’ll enjoy his observations.  As for the rest of those educated people, where are those critical thinking skills? 

Check out Diane Flynn Keith’ invite to authors Renee and Mike Mosiman [The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child’s Intellectual Potential] to be guest bloggers on the UP blog.  Check it out.

Do Kids Need to Go To Preschool?

But as parents, our instinctive response was that preschool was not necessary for everyone. Other moms were surprised to learn we were not planning to send our son. We heard concerns such as “He won’t be socialized,” “He won’t go to college,” “What about learning computers?” and “How will he handle kindergarten?”  Many parents simply raised their eyebrows in quiet disapproval.

We have since discovered that many parents send their kids to preschool simply because “everyone else’s” kid is going—even if their children have the opportunity to stay home until they are of school age. Since it can be difficult for many people to go against the group consensus—if not impossible for some—we want to help you to resist social pressure.