When my husband Jeff and I talked about moving out to the country and teaching our child about the ‘real world’, we really didn’t know what to call this form of education. The type of home schooling I’m familiar with aligns with the curriculum of the local school district, so I knew that wasn’t the best way to describe what we wanted to do.
We had visions of taking her out golfing and having her figure out distances to the hole using basic math skills, or taking her hiking and having her learn first-hand about ecosystems, or having her watch our dog or a cow give birth to their babies. My favorite dream is taking her backpacking through Italy to study the architecture, food, language, music and history.
I have realized that this form of education is what is being called "unschooling", also known as "natural learning", “deschooling”, "experienced-based learning", or "independent learning".
Both Jeff and I love facilitating adult experiential learning programs, meaning the participants run through simulations, scenarios, and activities that provide them with hands-on experiences. We feel that it is a more complete way to learn than just reading a textbook or completing some worksheets. By experiencing whatever it is you are trying to learn about, it becomes part of you, it seems to just get ‘in your bones’ and retrieving the information you learned is not a problem. Experiential learning has become such a big part of adult education, from outdoor adventure type programs teaching team building to computer-based simulations that mimic a real world experience such as running a store or a company. Children, teens and young adults could benefit from this approach also.
Instead, we as a society are forcing our children to sit still all day and listen to someone else talk about something that has no relevance or meaning to the child, and then they have to complete some report or write a test on material that still doesn’t mean much to them. No wonder children are bored and chose not to sit still in class, and that there are labels like ADHD, mind numbing agents like Ritalin, and drop out rates that are so high!
In researching more about unschooling, I was excited to learn that students are encouraged to find the learning path that works best for them. So, for example, if your child enjoys building model airplanes, you would incorporate activities around that passion to teach him/her about history of flight, engineering, math, physics, birds, etc. This way your child becomes empowered and can discover and then follow his/her respective intellectual destiny.
How do you help them discover their passions? Observe their interests – do they like watching fireflies at night or stare at the stars? Do they enjoy building forts or playing in the garden? Do they read books about knights and battles? Do they enjoy movies that feature dancing? These are the areas you would want to focus on and incorporate relevant lessons.
What if you feel that you are not overly creative? The good news is that often parents learn to free their ‘inner child’ as they start unschooling their own child/children. In a sense, parents find they, themselves become ‘unschooled’ too, and with that comes the freedom to be creative. In the meantime, the Internet has so many great resources and ideas. There are web sites specifically devoted to unschooling activities.
If you are thinking about unschooling your child, here are some things to consider:
• Transcripts: if your child decides to pursue a more traditional education at any point in time, you may need some form of a transcript. This is something you can create by keeping track of what your child is learning about. Keep a journal of his/her interests. Keep a portfolio of his/her work or have him/her do a scrapbook that can be used as a presentation package at a later time. This reveals more about someone than a typical college entrance essay!
• Standardized Testing:: many schools are moving away from standardized testing. Universities and colleges are also waiving the requirements for testing if a home schooled/unschooled student can provide a solid transcript and portfolio of his/her work. Chances are if your child picks a school that aligns with his/her goals for education and is excited about their course of study, the school will find a way to include him/her as a student.
• Support Materials:: Look for creative support materials – go to the library, used book stores, garage sales, and other places where you can find ‘second-hand’ or reusable supplies. Don’t forget to take your child/children with you and see what they are interested in.
• Support Network:: Form an online and local support network. There are so many parents out there doing this, or interested in trying it. You need the support and social as much as your children do. Plan educational outings to the zoo together or picnics on the beach. Share lessons using the strengths of each parent. You don’t have to go at this alone.
• Buy-In:: Talk to your children as this needs to be their choice, their passion, and you need their buy in and commitment. You then need to support them as they choose their learning path.
If you find your local community isn’t so supportive of unschooling, or if you want a little more structure before jumping right into unschooling, another option to look at is home schooling. There are some fantastic programs out there that holistic in design and model the principles of a Montessori or Waldorf Education.
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