Unschooling NYC

Another short entry today, but just wanted to say that I’ve had the best birthday, courtesy of my sweet children who decided the thing they would give me is… a day to myself!   So while they spent the day with friends, I got to do all the things I like – writing, hanging out at Starbucks, even talking with some German with tourists who were sitting next to me and who in two days did more sightseeing than I think I did in two years!

So this post is just to say thank you to my lovely children and my … Read more

I’m taking the night before my birthday (which is tomorrow) off to watch “The Voice” and do some knitting and reading, and probably watch an episode of “White Collar” later on Amazon video on Demand.

So instead, for your viewing pleasure, here are two photos of Ben that I took on Monday afternoon.  He and I went to the amusement park that they set up each summer in Wollman Rink in Central Park.  Turns out that Monday is a great day to go!  At least until school lets out.  There were no crowds and no lines at any of the … Read more

Everyone I know who is my age, give or take 15-20 years, went to school.  Most of the people I know went to their local public school, as I did.   90% of them went to college, and a few have advanced degrees.    As such, we are all programmed to think in terms of school.   We all have ‘school brain’.   School brain is pervasive and affects many parts of life, not just classes and curriculum.     This is why the choice to life learn is often difficult for the parents, because it means going against everything we have been programmed to think … Read more

When we were in England last Fall, I picked up the book School Daze: Searching for a decent state education by Andrew Penman.   Penman, a respected investigative journalist for The Daily Mirror (or so his bio states) writes about his own struggle to find a decent state (we would say ‘public’) school for his two children.   The book covers roughly 7 months and is written as a journal.    It details the problem in England’s school system today, which boils down to the fact that the best public schools are the faith schools, which require their students and the parents of … Read more

In his book The Underground History of American Education, and again in  Weapons of Mass Instruction,   author, homeschooling advocate and former NYC Teacher of the Year John Taylor Gatto says that one of the main reasons that our public education system will not change, no matter how much money or ‘reform’ we throw at it, is that it has become an enormous jobs project.   To change it, even a little, would mean putting  a lot of people out of work.   And that, in our current economy, ain’t gonna happen, my friends.

In last month’s Atlantic Monthly Magazine, former … Read more

At about 6pm yesterday I thought “Wow, my stomach doesn’t feel great” but chalked it up to the overwhelming scent of a citrus cleaner being used in my kitchen.   Wrong.   At 6:15 I raced to the bathroom and spent a lovely 3+ hours sitting on the floor in front of the toilet, emptying the contents of my stomach and then some.  (Aren’t you glad I’m sharing?)    When I was finally able to stand, I made it to the bedroom and lay on the bed on my stomach, which was still sending shooting pains around and threatening to misbehave.    Then came … Read more

I have to start this post by saying that I know some great nannies.   Actually, I know two great nannies, both of whom used to work for families in our building.    One is Irish, the oldest of 10 kids;  she would sometimes sit for us on weekends, and I would walk in to the apartment after an evening out with Joshua and think, “Did someone clean this place while we were gone?”    She was amazing, and very, very responsible.    The other is from the islands – maybe Jamaica? – and although I did not have as much contact with her, … Read more

Actually, it should be obvious why it doesn’t work.   I don’t really have to explain it, do I?    What I will point out is how many schooled children, despite what the school might say, are being taught exactly that method of learning.

Here are some examples:   Maya’s art teacher also teaches after school classes.   She told me once how much she enjoys the homeschoolers, because they are always ready to leap into a new technique and are not afraid of making mistakes.    She told me that the students most afraid of trying something new are the private school kids, followed … Read more

Recently someone asked me how I can possibly write almost every day on the same topic.    The question hadn’t occurred to me before, because with the exception of a handful of days where what I wanted to write about would’ve gotten me in trouble, I never have a problem finding a topic related to our experiences as life learners.

To be honest, this blog began as a writing exercise;  could I discipline myself enough to write something every day?   Procrastination is the art and bane of many writers – they have a lot to say but just can’t make themselves … Read more

Tonight is the Tony Awards – the Oscars for the Broadway set – and this year, for reasons having to do with Cirque du Soleil, the awards ceremony is being held right in our neighborhood at the Beacon Theater.    Usually the awards are held at Radio City Music Hall.   The difference in the two venues is about 22 blocks and 3000 seats.    The Beacon seats just under 3000 (but it feels even smaller) and Radio City seats a whopping 6000 or so, and has a cavernous feel to it.

It was fascinating to go out with the kids and watch … Read more