Tea at Trianon: Unschooling

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Unschooling

I love it. It is the most counter-revolutionary movement imaginable. Share

5 comments:

Emily said...: I admire the principles of the unschooling movement. I think it sounds really neat, and I would have loved to learn that way. High school was sort of unschool-ish for me. However, I've seen a lot of things in unschooling families which I do not like. I've seen fourteen year olds who cannot read and sixteen year olds who need to use a pencil and paper when making change for small amounts of money, under $10. Then I've seen people who graduated cum laude from college and are highly successful adults. I think that if you have a child who is very curious and motivated to learn, unschooling works very well, but with some children, it cannot be relied on, because the child simply does not have any desire to learn.; September 2, 2009 at 10:24:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I've seen all kinds of things, too, Emily. Thanks for offering your balanced assessment. It's not for every family or every child. And circumstances can change and adjustments have to be made~what works at certain times may not work at other times....; September 2, 2009 at 11:09:00 AM EDT
Alexandra said...: I agree. Unschooling is not for every child, and would not work at all for my two children. It's been years, but some of the message boards for radical homeschoolers can be a bit rough, lots of bullying for their way of thought. It's been my experience that there is a religious fervor for this homeschooling approach among some.

The point of homeschooling is to customize your approach to the child, and to your family values. I researched and dabbled with many different approaches until I hit on one that worked for us. I steer clear of anyone proposes there is only one way to school. God made us with differing gifts and abilities. Some of us thrive with more structure and tradition.; September 2, 2009 at 12:26:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: "The point of homeschooling is to customize your approach to the child, and to your family values. I researched and dabbled with many different approaches until I hit on one that worked for us. I steer clear of anyone proposes there is only one way to school. God made us with differing gifts and abilities. Some of us thrive with more structure and tradition."

You are so right, Alexandra. And I could write a book about odd experiences with overzealous homeschoolers. I actually stay clear of the local Catholic homeschool group just as I would stay clear of the plague. The gossip and intimidation that I experienced is as bad as anything anyone would experience in a badly run brick-and-mortar school.; September 2, 2009 at 1:07:00 PM EDT
Julygirl said...: A superior teacher in a contemporary school setting will use many of these techniques when she/he is trying to convey information to the child. It is just part of good teaching, but is sadly lacking in the average classroom.; September 3, 2009 at 9:02:00 AM EDT