Agree agree agree. My kid has been officially out of school for over 6 months now (and burnout before that), and I’ve been observing again and again that he goes deep on his interests and that swapping to other things is intolerable when he’s in the full flow of his hyperfocus . But this results in a far deeper understanding than would otherwise be possible. At 7.5, he’s totally in charge of what he uses to learn, and the vehicles to it (mostly Pokemon, of course), and his motivation and passion have exploded after school squished them (even though he only ever went for a maximum of 3 days a week over 2 years on and off). This is just much much better for his brain. He’ll be a specialist, not a generalist, which the school system wants to churn out.
"What if we trusted children to want to learn" YES!!!! I love that you ask this question and I celebrate you for trusting your son so well and modelling how things can be different and so much more supportive when we truly trust and listen to children. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Yes! Absolutely. I’m always thinking this about my daughter too. Her interests are often so far off a curriculum, like your child too. I love how he has applied his learnings into bigger subjects like the sciences. My daughter is learning to read and write by obsessing over Dogman…phonics isn’t an option for her brain. I’m sure all the research goes against that but autistic brains are just different.
Yes mine mostly learnt to read by asking me to spell things for him in minecraft and he would type it in. It's so interesting to see how kids learn isn't it?!
Yes, rethinking “education” and learning for monotropic minds takes a whole reframe. Nicely done.
As a parent of teens, I’d just gently suggest staying open to video games returning as a primary focus with a vengeance. ;) I think you are, but it’s still so hard to fully let go of what they “should” be learning and what is valuable. Especially as they get older and more worries about their adult life creep in.
Totally! I’m sold on the value of videos games ! Though it’s always good to be reminded. I wrote about how valuable video games have been here and I’m sure teenhood will bring all sorts of new wisdom! Thanks for the reminder 💚
So sad that your son had his numberblocks taken away from him when in school. This really highlights the lack of understanding of neurodiversity within the school system and how a one size doesn't fit all. Glad to hear he can now follow his interests.
It was bloody ridiculous given that they were trying to persuade him to go in cos of “poor attendance “‘and “school refusal” (note quotation marks!) given that the Numberblocks were the only reason he wanted to go in! First thing I did when we quit was buy him a box of them
Very relatable. My daughter's school also had no clue on what would help persuade her into school when she was also a "school refuser". Glad he got to enjoy his numberbĺocks.
Agree agree agree. My kid has been officially out of school for over 6 months now (and burnout before that), and I’ve been observing again and again that he goes deep on his interests and that swapping to other things is intolerable when he’s in the full flow of his hyperfocus . But this results in a far deeper understanding than would otherwise be possible. At 7.5, he’s totally in charge of what he uses to learn, and the vehicles to it (mostly Pokemon, of course), and his motivation and passion have exploded after school squished them (even though he only ever went for a maximum of 3 days a week over 2 years on and off). This is just much much better for his brain. He’ll be a specialist, not a generalist, which the school system wants to churn out.
Thankyou for sharing 🤎
"What if we trusted children to want to learn" YES!!!! I love that you ask this question and I celebrate you for trusting your son so well and modelling how things can be different and so much more supportive when we truly trust and listen to children. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Yes I think all children have intrinsic motivation until we school it out of them. Thanks for your comment and for reading :)
I totally agree ✨
Thank you for adding your voice andnfor doing what's best for your child 💗
This resonates true to my children's and my own learning experience.
I wish I’d not had to learn the hard way. At least I know now!
Yes! Absolutely. I’m always thinking this about my daughter too. Her interests are often so far off a curriculum, like your child too. I love how he has applied his learnings into bigger subjects like the sciences. My daughter is learning to read and write by obsessing over Dogman…phonics isn’t an option for her brain. I’m sure all the research goes against that but autistic brains are just different.
Dogman for the win!
Yes mine mostly learnt to read by asking me to spell things for him in minecraft and he would type it in. It's so interesting to see how kids learn isn't it?!
Yes, rethinking “education” and learning for monotropic minds takes a whole reframe. Nicely done.
As a parent of teens, I’d just gently suggest staying open to video games returning as a primary focus with a vengeance. ;) I think you are, but it’s still so hard to fully let go of what they “should” be learning and what is valuable. Especially as they get older and more worries about their adult life creep in.
I share this from personal experience of course!
Totally! I’m sold on the value of videos games ! Though it’s always good to be reminded. I wrote about how valuable video games have been here and I’m sure teenhood will bring all sorts of new wisdom! Thanks for the reminder 💚
https://open.substack.com/pub/claireivywaters/p/rewilding-education?r=5ecsrl&utm_medium=ios
So sad that your son had his numberblocks taken away from him when in school. This really highlights the lack of understanding of neurodiversity within the school system and how a one size doesn't fit all. Glad to hear he can now follow his interests.
It was bloody ridiculous given that they were trying to persuade him to go in cos of “poor attendance “‘and “school refusal” (note quotation marks!) given that the Numberblocks were the only reason he wanted to go in! First thing I did when we quit was buy him a box of them
Very relatable. My daughter's school also had no clue on what would help persuade her into school when she was also a "school refuser". Glad he got to enjoy his numberbĺocks.