Originally published at Child of the Nature Isle
I’ve written lots of articles throughout my blogging ‘career’ about unschooling, but I’ve never tackled the basic questions, like “What is Unschooling” or “Why Unschool”, or “How Do You Do It?”. I probably hinted at these topics, but I’ve never sat down to write an introductory article about unschooling, for people who are infamiliar with the topic. Basically, because I’ve always assumed that the readers of my blog are familiar with the topis.
What is Unschooling?
|Unschool yourself, orion pozo|
Interest led, lifelong, self driven learning.
The term itself indicates that unschooling takes a stance against schooling as the formal, institutionalized system we know. Generally, unschoolers belief that children can acquire all the knowledge they need at home (in the large sense of the word, because unschoolers are far from being hermits), with the guidance of their parents or other people close to home.
There are lots of reasons why unschooling opposes schooling, but they are too diverse and elaborate to get into for the sake of an introductory article.
Unschooling is known under lots of other terms too, like life learning, interest based learning or holistic learning, only to name a few.
Unschooling is not just about learning, it’s a way of life. This holistic take on life and parenting is often called radical unschooling, and includes all interaction and action of the household.
The answer to why one should unschool could fill a book in itself, but for the sake of this article I will try to keep it short. Unschooling allows the child to develop his or her passions, without crushing his/her thirst for knowledge. It does not strive to conform or break children by imposing arbitrary rules and factory like patterns. There are no boundaries or requirements and there is no judgement. Children are incited to be themselves and develop their interests. It is by far the superior learning system for personal development.
How Do You Do It
Even though it may seem chaotic and undisciplined when you first hear about this manner of learning, there are some requirements for unschooling to ‘work’ or even be possible at all.
Unschooling requires at least one involved parent or guardian to guide and stimulate the child.
- The physical and mental safety of the child should be ensured.
- The basic needs (food, clothes, shelter) of the child should be fulfilled.
- The child should frequent stimulating and rich environments
- The parent’s job in unschooling is to be present, follow their interests and help them seek the information they require. The creation of a rich and stimulating learning environment is also something a parent should ensure, especially as long as they are underage.
Unschooling is not a hands-off method of learning for the parent or caregiver, he is to be there to answer questions, get the right material and even anticipate educational needs.
Where do you go from here?
If this unschooling gig has caught your interest and you want to find out more, there are lots of ways to get informed.
You click the unschooling tag to read lots of articles
Another great source of information is The Natural Child Project
Sandra Dod’s site is often quoted as a great ressource
You could join one of the unschooling groups on Yahoo!, like Always Unschooled
Facebook has lots of unschooling pages, “Unschooling” is just one of them
Join the Radical Unschooling Network to connect and learn about unschooling