Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Unschooling in Thailand, one father and one son

AN ALTERNATIVE FATHER
Wisit Wangwinyoo is a firm believer of home schooling

December 4, 2008 article by Supawadee Inthawong, about Wisit Wangwinyoo and his son Isara, who is 18. Isara grew up in Thailand but is studying piano in Russia.
"I believe humans have a great potential in learning, but the school system is destroying such potential. If we instead allow the children to grow naturally, they would not have any fear and will learn to be confident and respectful of themselves," said the home schooling author.


The article is inspiring and leans toward peace and understanding.

Wisit Wingwinyoo has blogs in Thai (and one in English about hosting and unschooling another teen, it seems). http://www.blogger.com/profile/17043239764091248572

Monday, December 15, 2008

catching up on childhood

"My mom didn't let (toy) guns in the house, and I didn't get TV till I
was 18," Modine said. "This is just me catching up."


This was posted on the AlwaysLearning list:

I saw this in our local paper and thought it was very interesting:

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/12_07-11/REG

It's an article about several college campuses where students are
forming large groups for playing a "Zombies vs. Humans" game, using
foam dart guns.

Most of the students are for the game and those who play feel part of
a team or family, of course. But as usual, there's also criticism from
those who deem it as dangerous or inappropriate. I thought this part
near the end was pretty telling:

"Ultimately, there's something poignant about Humans vs. Zombies. When
asked to explain the appeal of the game, players talk about the
friends they've made. The game bridges divides between men and women,
seniors and freshmen, computer scientists and poets.

And on a campus where students refer to each other as "kids," Humans
vs. Zombies is a chance to bring back a childhood that some never even
got to experience. Growing up with structured activities, safe
playgrounds and schools that ban dodgeball, they didn't get the primal
appeal of the chase out of their system.

"My mom didn't let (toy) guns in the house, and I didn't get TV till I
was 18," Modine said. "This is just me catching up."

Deb/prism7513