I belong to a group on Facebook called I homeschool and I teach the science of evolution.
The group was previously called “I homeschool and I believe in evolution,” but there was dissent amongst members and potential members over the word “believe.” Evolution isn’t something that someone needs to believe in. There’s no element of faith involved. Evolution is an evidence-based scientific theory. Saying you believe in evolution is like saying you believe in gravity, relativity, or germs. A few possible name options were bandied about, but “I homeschool and I teach the science of evolution” was the overall favorite and most of the members seemed quite happy with it.
Then, of course, enter that handful of we’re-never-happy-unless-it’s-100%-our-way unschoolers (you know…those unschoolers. Not the “we’re following our child’s natural pattern of learning” unschoolers, or the “I let me child direct the course of his education” unschoolers, but the “I’d rather be illiterate than have had my parents teach me to read” Doddist unschoolers) with their panties in a twist over the use of the word “teach.”
Yes, “teach.”
“Teach,” you see, is a big, bad word among a particular subset of unschoolers. These unschoolers do not “teach.” Never, ever, ever. They lead such enriched and depth-filled lives that their children all learn exactly what they need to learn through their vibrant social lives or it wasn’t important enough to learn to begin with. The use of the word “teach” in the group name was apparently offensive enough that several unschoolers (probably the ones my friend Heather calls the “radical XTREME unschoolers”) left the group.
Complaints about the new name included:
“I don’t teach anything, I support my children as they explore their passions and interests.”
“We don’t *teach* our kids[...]We fill their lives with rich experiences, and they reach their own conclusions.”
“I’m uncertain if we ‘teach’ any of the subjects. We facilitate.”
Really? Really? You know what that sounds like? A group of people finding the most circumlocutious way possible to say they teach without ever actually using the word “teach.” And what exactly is so wrong with “teach,” anyway? Let’s take a look at the dictionary entry for the little word:
1. To impart knowledge or skill to: teaches children.
Hmm…imparting knowledge to your child. Sounds dangerously similar to telling your child how to think. Yes, I can see why that might be threatening to the [radical XTREME] unschooler.
2. To provide knowledge of; instruct in: teaches French.
Well, “providing” knowledge doesn’t sound as bad as “imparting,” but you’re still thrusting all that knowledge upon your children when they might not want it.
3. To condition to a certain action or frame of mind: teaching youngsters to be self-reliant.
Aha! We have stumbled upon it. Conditioning your child? Conditioning is what Pavlov did with dogs, and your child isn’t a dog, right? Teaching is practically like making your child drool at the dinging of a bell. Horrifying!
4. To cause to learn by example or experience: an accident that taught me a valuable lesson.
But…but…wait a minute! I thought [radical XTREME] unschoolers wanted their children to learn by example or experience. Isn’t that what unschooling is supposed to be about? I thought it was about natural learning, modeling, learning contextually, learning through life experience and all that jazz. If “teach” can mean “cause to learn by example,” why would unschooler have a problem with that word? Now I’m really confused. It must be a product of my public school education’s failure to “teach” me how to understand crazy people on the internet.
Not all (or even most) unschoolers are coocoo for Cocoa Puffs on Facebook, of course. Most of the unschooling members of the group were very supportive of the name change. One unschooler even pointed out that, “Someone better go tell Holt (from my understanding, the person who coined the term ‘unschooling’) to change the name of his book, “Teach Your Own” since the word “teach” is bothering so many unschoolers here.” Virtual fist-bump, sensible unschooler.
I’d like to say something to those unschooloonies who gasp and clutch their pearls over the use of the word “teach.” You may hate the word, but you’ve inadvertently taught me something very valuable today: You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time, because some of the people are just plain ridiculous.
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[...] I’ve covered a few controversial topics that generated some great discussion (seriously, who know that libraries were such a source of passionate debate?). I’ve written a lot more humdrum posts that generated one or two half-hearted “sounds like a great day” comments. I’ve made one post that resulted in a flood of spam from angry WAHMs who could benefit from a copyeditor (though, who couldn’t?) and some Xanax. I’ve discovered that some homeschoolers feel very strongly about their commas, their choice of dictionaries, and the word “teach”. [...]
Interesting! There are so many different views amongst us homeschoolers. Whether it be the importance of religious or secular materials, to teach or to lead and so on and I think we should just all agree to disagree on things *grin*. It did make me think of one thing that I would nearly fight to the death on though about our homeschool journey
I have one of my 3 children enrolled in a distance program through a private school and we have a supervisor that checks in on us 3 times and ‘they’ refer to him as our teacher. I would rather drop dead than call him my teacher because he’s not teaching me or my children and for some reason that just makes me see red! LOL.
I don’t know that I can just “agree to disagree.” I’m more of the “agree to roll my eyes and maybe point and laugh” set.
I think you’re teaching, the #4 kind, me every time I read your blog because there is always at least one word I have to google. Today’s word – circumlocutious. Now I just need to find somewhere that I can use it now that I learned it!
Also, bonus points for unschooloonies.
I’ve found it’s a good word to use with husbands who beat around the bush. “Honey, please stop being so circumlocutious!”
I had heard about there being a problem but I didn’t really understand why. I like the new group name, and I have no problem with it.
Yea – this is what my husband and I learned in marital counseling – that everyone is extremely individualistic, and much of it is based on childhood wounding. We’re supposed to treat each other with such care ( velvet gloves), especially around these wounds, individually tailoring our approach so that the other person feels so well cared for that they start to melt some of their rigidities – which, after all, is usually the result of un-healed hard feelings from childhood wounding. It can be sooooooo frustrating to make room for these extra and sometimes seemingly unnecessary/irrational needs. These people who react to the word, “teach” possibly had very poor school/teacher-student experiences that they would prefer to side-step for their own child’s/children’s life experience. “Teach” is a strong word association for them.
I think that there might also be a strong need to empower their children. One of the biggies that most children feel, at least to some degree, is powerlessness – I mean they are small and don’t have all the information! These feelings of powerlessness can turn into recordings, to a degree. Many adults still have these recordings of powerlessness. Me – for example – sometimes. These parents are possibly fiercely advocating their children to have a recording of, “I am powerful in the world!” “Teaching” to many implies a power differential, especially in the dark ages of education which are still going on even today!!!
I am wondering if these people teach their children not to run into the street, or touch the stove burner, or what have you, or whether they let them learn those sorts of (painful/dangerous) lessons “naturally” as well.
Well, the radical XTREME unschoolers probably believe in natural consequences and let their kids touch the burner, anyway.
ROFLOL.
You are going to have to start picking on another home school group before the unschoolers get a complex.
This has to tie into evolution some how, if only for laughs. How about those species who pass on (TEACH) education are more likely to have children who mate and pass down their genetic code? So really this whole FB group was an experiment in the survival of the fittest. LOL.
I think you’re onto something, Daisy!
The more education a woman has, the more likely she is to have a smaller family (with much lower infant mortality), though, so the stupid shall still inherit the earth. I’ve seen Idiocracy. I know what happens!
I feel I alternate pretty well between the ultrafundies and the unschooloonies. My Tuesday post was about the Pearls and the crazy so-called Christians who follow them, so it was the unschoolers’ turn. Next up, Libertarians and people who don’t trim their long hair until it gets all split and stringy at the bottom, and then call it “fairy tail ends” like it’s somehow adorable.
I can call my hair “fairy tale ends”, and not just “I’m too lazy to get a hair cut”?
That’s awesome!
My mother was a champion obedience dog trainer when I was young (the dogs were champions, not my mom). When I had my eldest child, she sent me a book called “Don’t Shoot The Dog” by Karen Pryor, with a note taped to it that read “failure to understand the concept doesn’t mean you’re NOT using it”.
Even if I didn’t understand how gravity works, I wouldn’t just float into space – any more than believing that I’m not “behavior conditioning” my child will prevent me from doing so! Teaching IS happening, even in unschoolers’ homes, but they may not be teaching what they think they are…
Exactly. That’s why scientific theories don’t require belief. NOT believing in a scientific theory is a matter of faith, because you have to be able to explain away the evidence or just ignore it entirely, but there’s not really any faith involved in, say, gravity.
Ooh, that’s such a great book! Okay, just had to throw that in there.
The arguments against using the word “teach” remind me of a discussion a few years ago on Mothering.com entitled something like “Crunchier Than Thou”. Was anyone here around for that? It was a riot — people spent days coming up with absurd claims to being the crunchiest person in the group — things along the lines of only wearing clothing if they had handspun/woven/sewn it themselves from fibers given willingly by the local rabbit and goat population while the spinner sang to the animals to allay their fears.
References to unschooling also showed up, and, ahem, sounded somewhat like what you’ve listed here.
I think it’s because the craziest people tend to also be the loudest people, so the whackadoodle unschooloonies end up giving unschooling a bad name.
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Hehehehehe love it.
Great post!!! The great thing about all unnecessary drama, of course, is that it at least brings attention. And secular homeschoolers have gotten a LOT of attention this past week thanks to a certain AP news story and this new Facebook group. I say huzzah to all of it!!!
Talk good about me, talk bad about me, just TALK about me, right?
I’m stoked about the attention we secular homeschoolers are getting. I want to change the belief that homeschooling always = fundamentalist Christian.
Oy. Maybe they should look up the meaning of “picky” or “holier than thou”. Good grief.
Really, if they’re upset over “teach,” why aren’t they upset about “homeschool?” How about they start their own group and call it “My Unschooled Children Form Their Own Opinions About Evolution” or something?
I guess what it comes down to, is that
“I support my children as they explore their passions and interests, fill their lives with rich experiences, and facilitate the reaching said children’s own conclusions, which may or may not include evolutionary theory, although possibly I may gently strew in that direction in a totally non-pedagogical way”
just doesn’t sound so snappy.
I’ve just discovered your blog and love it! I’m so enjoying your forthright posts and humorous examination of the stereotypes in homeschooling. Homeschooling as a general concept is something I’m very interesting in learning more about (I have fond memories of being dragged out of bed kicking and screaming in my own formal schooling experience) and you add such a wonderfully refreshing view on it. Looking forward to following your blog!
Thank you!