What is unschooling?
Unschooling is a type of homeschooling that involves a student creating his or her own structure to suit educational needs, rather than imposing a structured curriculum on the student.
Unschooling is also known as unstructured homeschooling, or “life learning.”
“Generally, unschoolers are concerned with learning or becoming educated, not with 'doing school,’” according to www.unschooling.com.
“The focus is upon the choices made by each individual learner, and those choices can vary according to learning style and personality type.”
Unschoolers read, play, sing, dance, grow things and write, depending on their interests. They may build Lego villages to learn math and history, or they may learn geometry in quilt making.
Is this type of education legal?
Each state has its own specific guidelines, some stricter than others, but there are unschoolers in every state.
Personally, I homeschooled for years, and was never quite comfortable with the unschooling method. I wanted to be sure that my children could transition back into the schools if possible, and especially wanted to ensure that they could get into college.
However, a certain portion of my children’s education involved unschooling, and I found it highly effective.
Many people have been very successful at unschooling. In fact, a new book has just been published called “Life Learning: Lessons from the Educational Frontier,” edited by Wendy Priesnitz of Life Learning Magazine.
This book is “a passionate collection of essays from the leading edge of educational theory and practice. It demonstrates how families around the world are embracing the philosophy of unschooling,” according to Priesnitz.
“Non-compulsory, non-coercive, active, respectful, interest-led, family- and community-based learning from life is growing in popularity and will displace prescribed curriculum, standardized testing and the other regurgitation-based relics of our outmoded school system,” she said.
Topics of the book include learning to read and do math without being taught, the importance of unstructured play, learning when you’re ready, the problem with curriculum, trusting children to do their best naturally, a grandparent’s reaction to unstructured homeschooling, learning in the real world, parents as role models, self-reliance in life and learning, how unschooled kids are changing the world for the better, and much more.
Those who believe in this unschooling method are adamant that it is the only way to go.
"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education, says Anne Sullivan on unschooling.com. “They seem to me to be built upon the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think. Whereas, if the child is left to himself, he will think more and better, if less showily.
“Let him go and come freely, let him touch real things and combine his impressions for himself, instead of sitting indoors at a little round table, while a sweet-voiced teacher suggests that he build a stone wall with his wooden blocks, or make a rainbow out of strips of colored paper, or plant straw trees in bead flower-pots.
Such teaching fills the mind with artificial associations that must be got rid of, before the child can develop independent ideas out of actual experience."
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Thanks for the information about this.
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Overall this article is a very decent look at what unschooling is. However a couple comments made leave the impression that unschooling kids cannot go to school and be "on level" or that they can't go to college.
This couldn't be farther form the truth and actually highlights a parents fear rather than any actual fact. Every unschooler I've known to go to school was either on level or ahead of their peers. Those that were behind caught up in a matter of mere *weeks*. And college is a very viable and realistic goal for unschoolers with many colleges seeking out unschoolers for their passionate drive toward learning. Again every unschooler I know that has chosen college was accepted easily and even eagerly and had no problem with passing classes.
Unschooling works as long as the parents have created an atmosphere of trust and has provided a well-rounded variety of resources both in the home and in the community and has actively engaged themselves in their role as "Facilitator" rather than dictator.
Every child thrives in an playful and fun atmosphere of support, trust and love.
~Tara
I totally agree, Tara, the unschoolers that I have known are all successful in college and beyond. The comment that I made in the article had more to do with not trusting my own homeschooling abilities enough. Possibly I still have some brainwash from the system.
I would like to point out a few things myself. My daughter is one year away from her PhD and was unschooled her whole life. She had no curriculum at all and has kept an A average throughout college and grad school.
"Unschooling is a type of homeschooling that involves a student creating his or her own structure to suit educational needs..."
Often, there is no structure and no thought of educational needs. Unschoolers learn by living.
"They may build Lego villages to learn math and history, or they may learn geometry in quilt making."
While unschoolers may build Lego villages and make quilts, it is not to learn math or geometry. Math and geometry knowledge may be learned during the building, but it's not why the building takes place. It's all about the joy of building with Legos or the joy of quilting. If math is learned during play, then it's coincidental.
No offense meant to you, Donna. I was just hoping to clear up a few questionable statements.
No offense taken, Valerie. The quotes that you are referring to are from unschooling websites mentioned at the end of the article, and were written by other unschoolers. So I guess everyone has their own definition, which seems to be the beauty. You should be proud of your daughter and of your confidence in unschooling.
Donna,
Thank you for writing about this.
I admire parents who take such personal responsibility as to teach their own children.
I looked into it for one of my kids when our neighborhood school would not start him in kindergarten because he was born three weeks after the cut off. The fact that he was testing as a second grader in math didn't matter.
I think the reason I didn't homeschool is because I felt overwhelmed by the curricula choices and insecure.
I am glad this information is out there and growing support for our homeschooling families.
Hats off to you!
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