Posted on: 06-26-2002 13:04
I asked Alex Davis some follow up questions. He's been nice enough to reply. Below are the questions, in bold, and his answers.
I'm sure at least some people will read [what you wrote] and wonder if your education has any structure at all. Can you wrap some context around this for us? Could you say something about how decisions get made? I'm looking for something concrete. What role, if any, do your folks play in shaping your education?
What I wrote does seem a little loosey goosey. Luckily my family and friends and this community is supportive of unschooling and so I have the support to follow my interests. For example, I had a passion for music when I was younger (I still do). Some friends who homeschooled were taking Irish dance classes. I decided to try the classes since my friends were taking them and eventually I followed the dancing to Irish fiddle. I had a teacher Tes Slominski and another teacher and her and some other friends founded the Blue Ridge Irish Music School (which you might have seen ads for in the paper.) Anyways, I sort of fell into the fiddle through following friends, that's how that decision got made. My folks help get me set up with the teachers I need to study the subject and the time and place and money if I need it (my Grandmother is very helpful with financial assistance as well) and then I learn with mentors etc. In this way my education is more of a dialogue, studying with other people rather than swallowing what the public school system decides. My folks and I have worked together in the past, but at this point I'm pushing for independence and studying what I want to learn on MY own time.
You list a very wide and impressive range of activities. Was the whole range drawn entirely from your interests or did your folks have any influence on what you did? Did any outside force shape decisions at all (I guess I mean the government)?
My folks but also friends etc. I took an Eastern Philosophy class at Piedmont last semester that has shaped my decision to further study Taoist beliefs. PVCC is the government i don't know if that's the answer you're looking for tho'..... Another example is that we decided to try out the American School curriculum instead of taking the placement test at the end of the year.
Also, are you under pressure to eventually conform to the SOLs? Does the state impose any limits at all on the freedom of your education?
I'm taking my GED this July and then I'm FREE for life. SOLs? They never bother us. There are some limits: we have to report to the school system at the end of the year with test results or a curriculum description so that they know that I learned something.
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