Unschooling

Unschooling is an educational method that allows the student to pursue his own interests in education. Controversial in many circles, this child led method of education can be very effective. The term is attributed to John Holt, an educator and author who coined the phrase in the mid 1970s.

From the moment they are born, children are constantly learning. Without formal education, a child learns how to walk and how to talk, how to interact with others and how to feed himself. Yet, when he turns five, many parents suddenly feel the need to send the child to school in order to receive a formal education. Children who were once interested in the world around them often learn that school is boring and learning is tedious.

When a family chooses to unschool they make a commitment to allow the child to continue to learn in his own way, at his own rate. Rather than an adult choosing certain curriculum, the child is exposed to a variety of learning experiences. In this way he can pursue his own interests and is largely responsible for his own education. In this relaxed atmosphere the parent facilitates learning rather than controlling it. When the student indicates an interest in learning to read, for example, the parent will get the materials and help the child learn this skill.

Another aspect of this method is the belief that life and learning are interwoven and can’t be separated. Whether your child is a six year old building a wall with Lego blocks or a sixteen year old designing a website, he is learning and using valuable skills. Children learn the skills that they need through household responsibilities, play, and social interaction.

While it is easy to understand how a child could learn history or language skills without a formal curriculum, parents often lose confidence when it comes to mathematics. How in the world will their child be able to ever get a job unless he memorizes those math facts and, later, algebraic equations?

Many people learned to hate math in school because of those very things. Yet, math is something that all people use every day. When math is used in the context of life skills it is understood and retained.

Some ways that people use math daily are:

• Cooking-measuring and fractions
• Quilting or sewing-measuring, algebra, geometry
• Telling time
• Making change
• Playing games

One of the benefits of homeschooling is that you will be interacting with your child moment to moment. You will listen as they chat with you about the book they are reading or how they used blocks to recreate a fourteenth century cathedral. You can assess what they are learning and what they know on a daily basis.

A teacher in a conventional classroom does not have this luxury. She must keep track of a number of students who are all on different learning levels. She must use tests to ascertain whether the students are retaining information or not.

Like any other philosophy or method of homeschooling, unschooling is legal in every state in the United States. Some states have more difficult requirements than others, however, so it is important to check the laws and requirements of your state.

If you are new to unschooling, then it is a good idea to do some research to find out how other unschoolers are meeting these requirements. It may be as simple as the term you use to describe an activity that makes the difference. Analyze what your child might be learning during various times of day and log it accordingly.

People who do not unschool and are not familiar with it often imagine children running wild while the parent watches soap operas and eats chocolate, or chats on the phone. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Keep in mind that conventional education may give the appearance of creating discipline but outward appearance can be misleading. If children do not learn self discipline then merely following rules will not result in a disciplined life. Handing in beautifully written history homework on time at age eight does not mean that those same history facts will be remembered at age nine. It does not mean that the child will grow into an adult who can successfully complete a task without supervision. These things cannot be taught but must be learned.

Self discipline is learned by modeling the example set by the parent. It is learned by having to accept the consequences of poor choices. Children who are in control of their own education learn that they are also responsible for their own education.

Unschoolers often find that they are the black sheep of the homeschool movement as well as society in general. Some of the criticisms are:

• Children are not mature enough to know what they will need in life.
• There may be gaps in the education.
• What about socialization?
• Children are not exposed to a variety of cultures and worldviews.
• Children will play video games all day if left to themselves.
• Children will not be able to take direction from others.
• Children will not have proper respect for authority.

By and large these criticisms are unfounded. Children who are unschooled have as many opportunities to learn and practice these skills as any other child.

• Unschooling
• Family Unschoolers Network
• Radical Unschool
• Delight Driven Learning
• Christian Unschooling Blog
• Christian Unschooling

The relaxed nature of unschooling allows parents the chance to build strong relationships with their children. The parents often share an interesting book that they are reading, take children to art galleries and museums, and work side by side with them. From changing the oil in the car to baking a cake, learning becomes a way of life.

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