Wikipedia

Unschooling

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Definition

Unschooling (also sometimes referred to as "natural learning", "child-led learning", "discovery learning", "autodidactic learning", or "child-directed learning") is a form of education in which the student has control over his or her own education. The student chooses how, when, why, and what he or she learns. Parents who unschool their children act as "facilitators" and provide a wide range of resources.

The term unschooling was coined by John Holt. An author of 10 books on education, John Holt founded the unschooling magazine Growing Without Schooling.

Philosophy

A common belief underlying the reasoning of "unschoolers" is that curiosity is innate and that children want to learn what is necessary to become an adult. Some argue that institutionalizing a child in what they consider a factory model public school, or any form of compulsory schooling, is an inefficient use of a child's time because it requires every child to learn particular subject matter in a particular manner and at a particular time regardless of their present needs, interests, knowledge, or goals. Proponents claim that individualized, child-led learning is more efficient and respectful of a child's time, takes advantage of a child's interests, and allows learning and deeper exploration of subjects than what is possible in formalized education. The subject matter is less important than the fact that the child is learning 'how' to learn. This ability to learn on one's own makes it more likely that later, when the child is an adult, he or she can return to any subject that he or she feels wasn't sufficiently covered, or learn a completely new subject.

Some people unschool for social as well as educational reasons. They think that the age segregated and tightly controlled environment of schools creates an unhealthy social environment. They feel that their children benefit from coming in contact with people of a variety of ages in a variety of contexts. Unschooled children are often reported to be more mature than their schooled peers, and some people believe this is a result of the diversity of the people they encounter.

Unschoolers can get into most universities (even Ivy League schools). Some universities consider unschoolers to be an asset because they tend to love learning, be self-motivated, and know what they want to get out of their college experience.

Criticism

Some common arguments against unschooling are:

  • There will be gaps in a child's education unless an educational professional controls the material s/he covers.
  • Most children are not motivated to learn anything, and will spend all of their time in un-educational endeavors if not coerced into doing otherwise.
  • Most children lack the foresight to learn the things they will need to know in their adult lives.
  • Children have a vastly greater capacity for learning new things, so it is the responsibility of adults to ensure that they learn a number of essential things (what these things are varies from critic to critic), as it will be much more difficult to learn those things when one is an adult.
  • It will be difficult for an unschooled child to get into college or get a job.
  • It is more difficult for children who are not in school to make friends than it is for their schooled peers.

Other Forms of Alternative Education

Other forms of alternative education also place a great deal of importance on student control of learning. This includes free schools, like the Sudbury Valley School, and 'open learning' virtual universities, such as Bastiat Free University. Unschooling differs from these approaches in that unschoolers do not believe that an institution is necessary to facilitate learning. Many believe that 'educational' institutions, as a kind of total institution, actually limit learning by removing people from the larger world, where they believe the most valuable learning occurs.

Prominent unschooling advocates

See also

References

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