Hey all. I wrote awhile back about an unschooling meetup.com group I started for families here in Niigata.
We since have two members who have joined up, one of which is a teacher at the free school just down the street! Kick ass!
My Z-bee when he was just a tiny dude. This is what the unschooling group is all about. Kids of all ages having fun at the beach, at the park, having a picnic, etc, while the parents hangout and enjoy each other's company as well.
Unschooling and homeschooling are still relatively unknown concepts in Japan.
The owner of the free school I have been volunteering at, and which my son will hopefully be attending from next year, discovered the philosophies, principles, and ideas behind unschooling completely independently. Just through reading books and thinking deeply about how children learn and grow, and what they need to be happy and free. Through her experience with her own child she realized that learning is a deeply individual process. She was blown away when we came in and talked of unschooling as if it were actually "a respected thing." It's sort of taboo here, so I imagine it was a surprise when an American college educated, licensed teacher walked in and agreed that the whole traditional system is pretty much bullocks.
She's a well-read, quiet woman passionate about connecting with kids, and the kids at the school are intelligent, wonderful, and amazing as well. So pumped they joined the meetup group.
The other member is a local woman with two small children looking to get together for some play outings.
For me, this is just the beginning, and where the rubber meets the road in our unschooling journey, as far as parting ways with the "traditional path" goes.
If you enjoy my "Unschooling Blog" series here on Steemit, and/or wish to support us in organizing our meetups for this new group. Please consider upvoting and resteeming this post! Thank you!
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(Thanks for stopping by! If you missed the last installment of the Unschooling Blog, Vol. 46: "Hiking and Learning About Fossil Fuels/Oil in Niitsu [VIDEO AND PHOTO POST!]" you can find that HERE.)
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as DLive and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)