Covering 'English' in a Natural Learning Way During the 'High School' Years

by Beverley Paine

A friend recently expressed worry that her unschooling teenage son wasn't doing enough reading or writing to satisfy the educational authorities.

For parents considering home educating teenagers I recommend reading Grace Llewellyn's The Teenage Liberation Handbook as a starting point. It is hard to get hold of, but you might find a copy in the library through interlibrary loan. I love the way it expands the concept of education.

From a learning naturally point of view, for a teen I would start focusing on adult related language tasks. As adults we need to navigate our way through lots of paperwork. Get him involved in that side of family life. I knew a mum whose nine year old filled out the tax form. Anything is possible! Our son managed our phone and internet connections/bills in his late teens. Give your son responsible task and help him learn how to manage and do them.

Current affairs - listening, viewing and reading - offer great scope for fantastic conversations that often cover many topics across the curriculum. We purchased a weekly science magazine while our children were in their teens. The kids remembered and understood way more than we did from their occasional dipping into this magazine. Newspapers (if you can tolerate them) are also great. I remember spending Saturday afternoon as a teenager reading the paper from front to back. Only did it for a few months but I learned a lot about journalism and world politics!

Writing - the internet seems to be the place young people write and communicate.
Perhaps a blog about his projects? Thomas started taking photographs of the different stages of his projects. His aim was to write 'tutorials' that would show others how he did them. This could be the foundation to a later career as a writer of 'how to' books - the most enduring of publications. He began his own forum - www.offroadingsubarus.com - which he continues to manage and to which he regularly adds articles, photos and videos (another way of recording and communicating).

If you've used and are a fan of living books (and who wouldn't be?!) continue with that tradition. Share great books with your children. I read Lord of the Rings to Roger and Thomas when they were teenagers - people of any age enjoy storytelling, it is in our DNA.

In fact, share what you read with your son - read the paper or the magazine article aloud. Talk about what you hear on the radio. Debate and discuss topics.

Writing, reading, listening and speaking are simply aspects of communicating. Children and teens love to communicate what they think and are doing and have done to us - if only we'd stop to listen and pay attention! We can show them different ways of communicating. For example, we spent four days at the Adelaide Arts Festival and Fringe wandering around installations and exhibits, talking about what the artists intended to communicate via their work. My children didn't turn into artists but they certainly appreciate the art and craft of
others and can relate to the works in a personal way.

Be a hands on parent and stay interested and involved in your son's projects. I became a racing car enthusiast for half a dozen years to help me understand more about motor mechanics and vehicles. I followed racing car driver careers because I'm interested in people, not cars. My interest was real and my children appreciated that.

In short, don't worry too much about 'covering the curriculum' the way schools would - live a busy productive life and keep talking and sharing and communicating the way normal people - adults - do. The teenage years are a wonderful transition from happy-go-lucky childhood to responsible citizen - there are plenty of things our children need to learn in order to be able to take care of themselves responsibly. Just focus on those!