I went to the LTTL Conference on Saturday as part of my ongoing mission to discover as much as I can on this thing called Autonomous Education. I found it quite inspiring. Here’s part 2 of my account of the day. Part 1 is here.
Italics are the points of the speaker (not verbatim), normal text is my thoughts.
The last speaker before lunch was David Waynforth, a lecturer and researcher in biology and nutrition at the University of East Anglia.
He spoke about children’s ability to make autonomous food choices. He started by talking about the sort of diet humans are evolved to eat, and how contrary to popular opinion we’ve actually adapted biologically to tolerate foods like gluten and dairy, even though they only came to be part of our diet relatively recently.
Humans cannot get physiologically addicted to food. So sugar/junk food addiction is a myth. In experiments, people have been shown to crave certain foods (for example, protein) when they were restricted, but this balances out after the body has received what it needs.
The biological evidence above suggests controlling food intake isn’t necessary. Kids can self regulate their food intake if food is not restricted.
Bingeing happens when food is restricted, but I get caught up in a vicious circle. I worry that my kids will eat too much of the wrong food, so I restrict their access. This means that when I let them have something they normally can’t, they want more and more. I’m not sure I have the confidence to allow them completely unrestricted access to the food cupboard, but I have a few ideas to ease me in, so to speak. Firstly, I’m going to buy less of the foods I don’t want them to eat. So I’ll control the type of food that comes into the house and allow the kids to make their choices from that. This is already starting to work well. Ava asked for a second breakfast, and I allowed it. At that point, Matthew and Frankie asked for another breakfast, so I put the cereal and milk on the table and let them help themselves. That day, we went through a whole box of cereal and an extra bottle of milk. But already they’ve slowed down on the cereal eating. I’ve also said yes any time they’ve asked for fruit, even just before dinner.
Dinner times can often be a problem here. Seemingly small appetites, huge appetites, not liking anything but plain pasta, I’m sure I’m not the only one! I have a desperate need to be a good mum, and food is really central to that. But David’s talk helped me realise I’m the one with the issues, not the children. They’re allowed to not to like things! But as I said before, I’m not currently able to relinquish all control (maybe that will come with time?). So my solutions for now are to serve food in bowls at the table and allow them to choose portion size and even leave the meat if they don’t want it. And we’ll see how it goes.
After lunch, Mike Fortune-Wood spoke about the politics of home education, how ‘children’s rights’ are being used as a tool for government to control families and outcomes. I don’t go in much for politics, but am aware that by home educating I’m swimming against the tide of mainstream thought. Hopefully I can help the children to think independently, and to make up their own mind about things rather than just blindly follow the herd.
Next up were the researchers Alan Thomas and Harriet Patterson, who spoke about how children can learn to read autonomously, without being actively taught.
Alan and Harriet have researched and written a book about home education: How Children Learn at Home. They found that most home educators gravitate over time to less formal learning, regardless how structured they started out.
Their latest project is research into learning to read autonomously. Up to now there has been virtually no research. Most research says you cannot learn to read unless taught, and most children learn reading by being taught. Many home educated children learn to read ‘late’ (that is, by school standards, when children need to read by 6 or 7 at the latest to be able to access the curriculum), but they are not behind their peer group once reading is established. As home educators, we a re in a unique position to be able to facilitate education without reading being a pre-requisite, and it is common for children to learn to read at the age of 8 or 9, sometimes even later, with no detrimental effects on their long term prospects.
Then followed a brainstorming session on how we can encourage reading without formal teaching (such as phonics):
Reading aloud is very important, having conversations. Responding to what the child asks for, rather than asking the child to perform. Pointing to words as you read them. Encourage curiosity about what words do. Self motivation. Needing a reason to read. Not restricting reading to books, words are everywhere. Parent not displaying anxiety over needing their child to read. Being social. Making storyboards and cartoons, even if parent is doing the writing as the child describes.
Theory:
Literacy and maths are learned through the world around us. We have an innate disposition to learn out culture, so that includes reading. Coversation is the most important. Play is vital, labels, imitation, observation, practise, but mostly that child makes the choices, reading material should not imposed as at school.
Treating reading as a whole rather than breaking it down to rules seems to be more effective. Literate people do not decode words, so why should the basics of reading be taught this way. Reading is about comprehension, not decoding words/letters.
Late readers in school fall behind, late readers at home soar ahead. Interference disturbs the natural learning rhythm.
This was the talk I was most interested in before the day started. I had already started teaching Frankie to read at her request, with a subscription to Reading Eggs and also following the Jolly Phonics scheme. I think I made it too formal for her though, restricting her access to some of the materials in an attempt to stick to the programme as written. This talk reaffirmed my faith in her ability to learn to read at her pace. She loves to read, to be read to, to ask about words on the screen, to ask about what words mean when we speak them. I have no doubt she’ll be very literate, as and when she’s ready. So I’m taking the books, cards and games down from the high shelf and letting her have free access to them. I’m sure she’ll be reading soon enough, probably just as I start to panic!!
Finally, Schuyler Waynforth spoke amusingly and lovingly about some of her experiences as a radical unschooler. These are the points that spoke to me the most.
The point of music is not the end…
Engagement, not guidance.
Your child is who they are, just as you are who you are. Be with them, not change them.
Be more attentive, for everything!
There was a Q & A session at the end, but I’m afraid I cannot remember much about it, as I was very nervous about my question, and didn’t take notes! But the whole day was recorded, and the audios should be up on the LTTL website soon (link at the top of the page). I hope this has given you a flavour of the day. I thoroughly enjoyed it, loved meeting like-minded people, and would go to a similar event in a heartbeat!
