Forcing Kids to Learn and to Eat, and Should We Test Them?
“What shall I speak about in this week’s podcast?” I ask my daughters.
“What are you thinking about at the moment?” asks Imogen.
“Next week’s homeschool registration visit. Perhaps I’ll start with that and see where it leads.”
And this is where it led…
What kind of records will I be presenting for next week’s homeschool registration visit?
I have to make a plan for the next period of registration. How can I do that when we are unschoolers who don’t work to a plan?
What do I think is wrong with testing?
Is it possible to make kids learn what they don’t want to know?
What if kids refuse to learn what they ‘have’ to learn?
Can we force children to eat?
Is it our duty to train kids to eat whatever food is given to them?
Do I have any fussy eaters?
And who does the cooking in our family?
“What shall I call my podcast?” I ask. “Do you think I could call it A Very Interesting Podcast?”
“Is it interesting?” Imogen asks.
“I have no idea. I suppose I’d better play safe and call it Forcing Kids to Learn and to Eat, and Should We Test Them?”
Does that sound interesting? I hope so!
Show Notes
Blog posts about kids and learning
How to Make Children Do Their School WorkWe can use our authority as parents to force our children to work. But is there a better way? A gentle way?
Making Children Learn What They Don’t Want to Know
“You can’t make me learn anything I don’t want to learn.” This reminds me very much of trying to make children eat. We can’t forcibly feed a child something they haven’t a desire for, however hard we try. In the same way, we can’t really stuff knowledge into a child’s head if she isn’t interested, though it might appear we can…
Igniting a Child’s Love of Learning
Have you ever noticed how a feeling of delight is contagious? When I am excited about the day and all we will learn, my children pick up on my mood.
How Children Learn According to Sophie
Sophie: If you want to learn something you have to be interested in it… like the elephants I was reading about today. That was really interesting and I remember so much.
Gemma-Rose isn’t a defiant child so when she said to me, “You can’t make me learn anything I don’t want to learn,” I stopped and listened.
Blogs post about testing
Giving My Unschoolers a Maths Test
Will I be giving the girls any more tests? I spent years trying to remember things just to pass tests… and then forgetting… I want something better for my children. No. I won’t be giving them any more tests.
An Unschooling Way of High School Science
When I finished my degree, I had years’ worth of books and papers to sort through. I took all my lecture and laboratory notes and threw them in the garbage bin. I’d memorised the notes long enough to pass the exams. I no longer saw a use for them.
Blog posts about unschooling records for homeschool registration
A Perfect Method for Keeping Unschooling Records
I mentioned this program in my last video. I said, “I think Evernote’s the perfect record keeping method for unschooling.” That’s a big claim, I know. You might already have a system you think is pretty good. But if you don’t, read on…
Unschooling, Strewing and Unplanning
Whenever we apply to reregister as homeschoolers, I have to provide the education authorities with a learning program for my children, that covers the school syllabus. So how do I provide such a plan when we don’t actually know what we’ll be doing from one week to another? That’s where Evernote comes in. I thought of a way I can use Evernote to write a plan (I could call it an unplan!) which can be used for registration purposes, as well as be useful for us.
There are more posts on my Homeschool Records and Registration page
Blog posts about food
In the Kitchen with a TV Chef Dad
Have you ever noticed how children want to do exactly what we’re doing? You don’t have to ask them if they’d like to learn. They just stand and watch and then say, “Can I help, Dad?” Before we knew it, we had a whole line of sous-chefs, all eager to join Andy every time he entered the kitchen.
But I wouldn’t give up. No, it was a real battle of the wills. Why wouldn’t they eat the food I‘d carefully prepared? Didn’t they know how much time I’d spent cooking it for them? It tasted good. I liked it. Why didn’t they?
Podcasts
Stuff You Missed in History Class Podcast: Australian History