UNSCHOOLING

Unschooling is the idea that kids don't have to be schooled to learn and thrive. It's often considered a form of homeschooling, but differs from most in that kids rarely study formal academics. Usually, they learn everything they need to know from life experience, reading, conversation, and so on, as they pursue their own interests. Parents help to support this process by providing materials and experiences that relate to the kids' passions, and sometimes strewing the environment with new and interesting things to encounter.

Radical Unschooling is a philosophy that extends this approach to all areas of life. Starting from the unschooling idea that all of life is educational and that education should be child-led, it rejects the common assumption that most of children's lives should be managed by their parents. The practical side of this mostly comes down to:

1) a non-punitive approach to discipline, similar to that described in the book Unconditional Parenting, which uses discussion, positive example, playfulness and consideration of the child's perspective and needs (rather than punishment) to help create harmony within (and outside of) the family.

2) children make their own choices about sleep, food, and other activities (TV often comes up as an example) - although parents do have a role in preparing a supportive environment and helping children to understand the consequences of their choices for themselves and others.


We are basically a radical unschooling family, although I prefer the term "whole life unchooling," because radical suggests an inclination to be as extreme as possible, and that gets complicated. There are a lot of continuums and grey areas. Once you've encountered unschooling, it tends to be a "know it when you see it" type of thing, and also an evolving and changing thing.

Unschooling and Young Children

 To some people, the strangest thing about all of this is that our children are under five, i.e. not yet school age. What's up with the unschooliness? Again, basically two things:

1) whole life unschooling principles already apply. Our kids seem to do a fine job of choosing their own activities, even at the ages of 4 and 2.

2) I find the unschooling perspective very helpful in being with my kids. I see them learning every day, and I love the idea that this is a completely natural process that starts at birth and should continue seamlessly, with no artificial transition at age five (or age eighteen, for that matter).

Also, of course, River has reached an age at which most American kids are in preschool. It's awesome to see him doing many of the things a schooled four-year-old would do (play with friends, count, learn letters, listen to books, help others, draw recognizable pictures, etc.) without feeling like he needs to be formally taught these things. I'm always curious where his interests will take us next!