A LARGE MEASURE OF CONTROL
The examples in this little primer on unschooling are rather commonplace except for the very first, which seems to me calculated to raise liberal ire:
For at least one day every fall, Teagan George’s classroom is in the woods or in a field. Her text is a deer, freshly shot by her father.
“She’s really interested in field dressing,” said John George, who stays at home with his 8-year-old daughter. “And for a little kid to be exposed to that, so she’s not afraid of what she sees when an animal is being cut open or butchered, is a great learning experience.”
I also find the reporter’s summary definition of unschooling somewhat lacking:
While homeschoolers choose to teach their children themselves, taking control of their education from the state and the public schools, unschoolers give control over education to their children. Without fixed schedules and curriculum, unschoolers let the kids learn what they want, when they want.
In another mood I would take apart the premise that the state has control of education in the first place, but what bugs me most now is that no one but the most “radical unschooler”/TCS type simply turns the kids loose in the manner implied by the second sentence — where’s the acknowledgment of the guiding hand? In our own house, there is constant discussion about finding new ways to expose the boys to the world’s wonders and constant follow-up on things that grab their interest. Undergirding those efforts is constant monitoring of (and if necessary gentle correction of) basics like language usage, practical mathematics, manners, and “life skills”.
We may be letting the kids drive the bus, but whatever rambling route they choose, they’re going to end up on the hilltop we envisioned years ago with no more than a traffic ticket or two along the way.
BONUS: Daryl seems to have so much fun, so here goes: Name the film from which the headline on this post comes and the character who utters the phrase.
EVENING HINT: It was a sled.
HINT #2: Black and white, pre-WWII. (OK, pre-American-entry-into-WWII.)
ANSWER: I apparently overgeeked on this one. The film is Citizen Kane, and the character is the banker Mr. Thatcher, who’s explaining to his former ward and now bankrupt client Charles Foster Kane (in one of the amazing deep-focus scenes) that though the bank is taking over Kane’s empire, he’ll maintain “a large measure of control” (quickly amended to just “measure of control”) over his scandal-sheet newspapers.
6 Responses to “A LARGE MEASURE OF CONTROL”
 Comment by Daryl Cobranchi January 24th, 2005 at 6:09 pm |
Hint? |
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Comment by Tim Haas January 24th, 2005 at 6:51 pm |
Ask and ye shall receive. |
 Comment by Heidi January 25th, 2005 at 12:33 am |
That’s not so much a hint as a “clue by four.” I’ll have to see that movie someday. |
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Comment by Daryl Cobranchi January 25th, 2005 at 2:26 am |
I’ve never seen it. On my list of things to do before I die. At the rate I’m checking them off I’ll live forever. |
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Comment by Tim Haas January 25th, 2005 at 7:28 am |
Chris is a movie geek, isn’t he? I’ll give him a shot at figuring out the character before revealing all. |
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Comment by Chris January 25th, 2005 at 8:19 am |
I’m stumped. |