What Is Unschooling?

"I am always willing to learn, however I do not always like to be taught."
-Winston Churchill

I want your thoughts; discuss this article on twitter using the hash tag: #helpinghomeschool

The reason we home school is because we believe that the public school system is broken. If the public school system worked, if it was a powerful solution to the problem of educating the next generation, we would use it, and have full faith in it's results.

But it isn't and we don't.

One thing I see a lot that troubles me is families that choose to homeschool, and then try to recreate the public school experience at home. Huh?

Might as well leave your kids in public school.

Unschooling is intrinsic learning. What does that mean?

It means that instead of memorizing a bunch of useless facts just so the student can regurgitate them onto a standarized test, and then immediately forget everything they learned so they can start the process all over again. Unschoolers teach kids useful skills and knowledge.

What Unschooling is NOT:
Unschooling does not mean that we let our kids run wild.

Unschooling does not mean no books, quite the contrary, instead of reading boring textbooks written by a committee, unschoolers seek out books authored directly by experts in their field.

Unschooling does not mean no math. Mathematical thinking is a useful skill, unschoolers have strong math skills but most importantly they know why they are learning mathematics.

What Unschooling IS:
Quality

Expectations

Feedback

Unschooling is intrinsic learning. Unschooling parents create the environment for intrinsic motivation and provide guidance and a sense of purpose for their kids, then get out of the way.

Unschooling is the removal of interruptions. This is very important and often overlooked. It is impossible to learn anything without an uninterrupted block of time for the student to become engaged in the lesson. Public school is just one big interruption.

Happy Homeschooling!
-Scott

Intelligence & Skills Are A Process, Not A "Thing"