Unschooling: Homeschooling without the school
Among the ever expanding lexicon of alternative education is the trend toward unschooling.
Unschooling might best be defined as homeschooling without the school. It eschews standardization of education in favor of customization. Unschoolers don’t turn their kitchen tables into de facto classrooms, piled high with math textbooks, reading lists and maps of Asia.
Among the unschooling rules in Clark Aldrich's new book: Outdoors beats indoors. (AJC file)
Instead, unschoolers let their children take the lead, allowing them to decide whether they want to study algebra or Civil War history. The children determine whether they prefer to spend a day or a month playing chess or building a catapult.
Unschoolers shun tests, homework and work sheets, believing that a day spent skipping rocks and running barefoot in a meadow yields more science exploration than growing a plant on a windowsill.
Often described as “natural learning” or “independent learning,” unschooling and its belief in following children’s passions have something to teach traditional schools, says Clark Aldrich, author of “Unschooling Rules: 55 Ways to Unlearn What We Know about Schools and Rediscover Education.”
An e-learning guru and co-founder of SimuLearn, Aldrich believes that rather than raising their eyebrows at home schoolers and unschoolers, conventional classrooms ought to be borrowing from them.
In a telephone interview, Aldrich concedes that many parents have neither the will nor the ability to unschool, which requires an adult at home. (Aldrich prefers parents as the primary teachers, saying, “Parents care more about their children than some institution.”)
But Aldrich says unschooling offers a blueprint for meaningful and relevant education, helping children learn to be — who they are and who they want to be — and learn to do, developing skills through practice and passion.
At conventional schools children learn neither to be nor to do. Instead, schools focus almost entirely on learning to know, cramming kids full of facts that most of them will be able summon on their smart phones in seconds.
Nothing of value can be measured by multiple choice tests, says Aldrich. “They emphasize the memorization of massive amounts of facts that neurologically have a half-life of about 12 hours,” he says.
Students ought to be judged not by transcripts, but by portfolios that reveal their capabilities and their accomplishments over time.
After three decades of education reforms in this country, Aldrich says, “The argument can be made that we have made schools worse and we have to start over.
“The notion of parents dropping off their kids at school, organizing the kids into large groups, having those large groups sitting in classrooms being lectured to and taking tests to reach these weird standards set by a third party has no standing in real life,” he says.
“If traditional schools are the thesis and unschooling and home schooling are the antithesis, perhaps we can reach more synthesis,” he says. “For me, the question is how do we create as much diversity as we can in education because the more diversity, the healthier the eco system.
“Most new ideas die in the traditional school structure,” says Aldrich. “Our schools are monopolies. When you have monopolies of ideas, the problems you start seeing are standardization, rising costs and lack of creativity.
“If home schoolers and unschoolers can be incubators for new ideas, we may be able to introduce some of these new ideas back into traditional schools,” he says.
His 55 unschooling rules offer points of unanimity — “Animals are better than books about animals,” and “Have a well stocked library.”
But there are other more contentious rules, such as “Teaching is leadership. Most teaching is bad leadership,” and “Homework helps school systems, not students.”
“We have built a reward structure to praise those students who can sit in classrooms better than anyone else,” he says. “We let them run our planet.”
Schools are teaching too many children too many things that don’t excite them and have no relevance to what they need or love, including accelerated math, says Aldrich.
While he understands the need for more science and math talent, Aldrich says we are going about it in a hamfisted way.
“We need 5 percent of our citizens to be really good at this,” he says. “What is our solution? Let’s have every single kid spend a lot more time learning stuff they will never use to find the 5 percent who are exceptionally good at it.”
In one passage bound to cheer math-weary high school students, he writes, “For most students, calculus should be covered in history classes, if at all. It is a towering invention in the same vein as the potter’s wheel or the loom.”
As someone who traffics in new media, gaming and e-learning, Aldrich says traditional math curriculums overemphasize long division, calculus and geometry, while slighting discrete math, logic and programming —the skills that are more applicable now.
Aldrich understands that few may be ready to heed his call to dismantle the “education industrial complex.”
But he says, change is urgently needed. “If we spend more time on one standardized curriculum and trying to force everyone down that one path — which fits for some but not for most — we will have this problem of kids constantly checking out.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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151 comments Add your comment
Arch Dawg
April 22nd, 2011
3:43 pm
Bring back tracting and neighborhood schools. Teaching to the lowest common denominator means that only the slimmest margin on the learning bell curve will be taught at the right pace. For the vast majority the material is either way too complicated or way too simple.
Most parents exacerbate the problems created by the one size fits all approach.
Jessica
April 22nd, 2011
3:54 pm
I am homeschooling my two children, but I’m a little skeptical about ‘unschooling’ as a path to success. It might work for a few families with VERY intelligent, VERY motivated children, but I think most kids (including my own) need more structure than unschooling provides. Learning can be fun, but it sometimes requires practice, discipline and effort.
To the commenters who are criticizing homeschool families in general, I would like to point out that homeschool students generally outperform public school students on standardized tests. This holds true for minority and low-income homeschoolers, as well as those taught by parents who only have a high school education. If you’re skeptical of this, take a few minutes to research the statistics online. You’ll be surprised to find that the one weird, ignorant homeschooler you met ten years ago is not representative of homeschoolers in general.
Lt Dan
April 22nd, 2011
4:09 pm
The “unschooling” concept should be designed around the student pilot training scenario that, prior to the first solo, the student must first master the fundamentals of controled flight under the guidance of an instructor. This is when the real learning takes place. This is when the aspiring aviator has assimilated the skills…and just as important, the operational discipline…to get the most out of training. ANYTHING ELSE IS COMPLETELY FOOLISH, CAN HAVE THE COMPLETELY OPPOSITE EFFECT OF TRAINING INTENT…AND IS DANGEROUS.
For these very reasons, the “unschooling” process should take place only after the student has demonstrated mastery in basic skills, and a firm hold on discipline. Any thing else only sets up yet another generation of psuedo educational skills where supposedly B students must take remedials in college. The only difference: When student pilots attempt maneuvers for which they are unprepared, the probability is quite high that they will die quickly. Applied to kids who are not yet ready to capture the best that “unschooling” may (or may not) offer, they will slowly die through a lifetime of stupidity and ignorance which all started with that psuedo-learning through “unschooling”.
When in hell are we going to realize that NOTHING, but NOTHING will ever beat the tried and proven old fashioned/traditional methods of educating kids…we’ve already screwed up enough lives through incessant grade inflation, extremely low expectations, and absolutely no enforcement of the least requirements which tend to build fires of expected achievement under kids’ sixes.
FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD…STOP FOOLING YOURSELVES WITH NONESENSE!
Ann
April 22nd, 2011
4:22 pm
@Lt Dan – You make some good points. When unschooling is the method used, the kids who benefit the most will be those who have a love for learning and who have a self-directed desire to continue learning throughout their childhood and beyond. If public schools could figure out how to maintain the love of learning with more kids throughout the school years, we would minimize a lot of problems. Regarding your comment about the old fashioned/traditional methods, schools are a fairly modern tradition. Homeschooling and unschooling existed long before schools.
Philosopher
April 22nd, 2011
4:55 pm
I hope that the teachers we hire have more credentials than just to have “done well in public school”. I hope that they graduated from college having learned the myriad skills necessary to impart education to our kids-even basic things like child development, teaching techniques for different age groups and different learning styles…skills MOST parents do not have. Having had three go through school, I know too well what it is to have a teacher brilliant in his or her subject but completely inept at teaching it. Thank God it’s been rare and we can help our child through it. Certainly, we parents can help our kids with many subjects and we can impart knowledge from our areas of expertise, but we cannot be the end-all for education, we cannot be on top of all that is changing in all subjects. Our knowledge and experience provide a narrow and limited viewpoint on any given subject. If nothing else, two to six teachers a day for 12 years open a much wider window on the world and great dinner time discussions.
Ad Nausem
April 22nd, 2011
5:09 pm
These parents need to keep their brats out of the stores. I am sick to death of their “life experiences” in Publix, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Marshall’s, TJMaxx, Sports Authority, Whole Foods, Macy’s, etc,etc,etc,etc,etc.etc,etc.
I can tell you these retailers are tired of them too. These are the most unruly, rude, stuck up, etc,etc,etc,etc,etc sets of kids and parents!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tiptster
April 22nd, 2011
5:15 pm
Well, if unschooling and home schooling are so much better than public education, then why not unschool and home school for college as well. In fact, why not have future doctors and lawyers unschool and home school. I’m sure the parents can teach them much better than any professors at college or law/medical schools. I personally would just love to walk into my doc’s office and see his medical degree from M&DHU (Mom & Dad’s Homeschool University)!
Lt Dan
April 22nd, 2011
5:26 pm
Thanks for your comments, Ann. Yes, home/unschooling has its roots in the days of the agrarian lifestyle. Attendance at the local community school came only after the completion of chores relative to the home, the crops, and, in general, helping mom and pop with the daily business of existance. There were no/very minimal distractions from which to divert kids’ attentions from the business at hand. The very development of “modern” education has its origins in the departure from this lifestyle. Up to this point, kids were taught pretty much as an adult might be taught…there were no childrens’books per se…academic skills in math and science had direct applications in the farm, and in the evolving “industries” of gun smithing, “retailing”, as it were, in the buying/selling of farm implements, and the sundry consumer items of the day, etc.
The scenario, today, is (quite obviously) far different. There are many many distractions which we see every time we flip on the TV, spool up the computer…even venture beyond the front door. As (presumably) responsible/disciplined adults, we are able to “tune out” these distractions while we pursue the fields of learning. No doubt, there are those kids who…for reasons explained only in the “nature v nurture” debate…can derive full benefit from the “unschooling” process. By the very same token, there are some student pilots who are deemed safe to solo following a very few hours of dual instruction. This is not necessarily because they are smarter than their contemporaries, or will, ultimately become better at the craft of aviating. On average, the aspiring aviator, with no flying background, will require X number of hours of dual instruction prior to first solo. The key word is AVERAGE. The average kid, in my humble estimation, does not possess the basic skills/discipline required in order to maximize the benefit of unschooling. Can the kid learn from this experience? Of course! However, let’s not loose sight of the fact that time waits for no one. The formal educational time line is both short and furious. IF the kid has developed that level of skills and strengths which allow for max learning, fine. But who’s going to make that determination? Are you, or any parent sober enough to really care, willing to offer up the kids’ early life for what is essentially an experiment in educational psychology, a wandering about in the uncharted seas of chance in an unproven methodology of education?
I can easily see the benefit of, say, a field trip following a period of academic preparation. The academic portion of the learning process would simply become a steping stone into the applications portion of the entire learning process. The entire basis for learning, however, rests on those “old fashioned/traditional” components. NOTHING ELSE WILL DO. To believe otherwise is foolish.
Ann
April 22nd, 2011
5:45 pm
@tiptster – I’m not sure your point. Homeschoolers and unschoolers focus generally on K-12 education. We are talking about the basic foundational skills for education. Just because you need a college degree to become a doctor doesn’t make homeschooling K-12 an invalid learning route to get there. It has already been proven that homeschoolers do well on standardized tests and they are sought out by colleges and universities. Just because homeschooling is best for your child does not mean that you would homeschool at the college level. Homeschooling, though, does allow for the flexibility for kids to be exposed to and apprentice with experts in various trades and professions. Homeschooling is best for some kids, while others may do better in a formal school environment. Innovation in medicine and other professions is often due to having a broad range of people that didn’t go through the same exact schooling or channel to get there. This encourages thinking out of the box, new discoveries and problem solving.
Most home school families that I know, including myself, do not limit their child’s learning/teaching to just the parents. They hook up with a variety of people in the community with immense knowledge in various subjects and they often take individual classes in advanced subjects at the high school level. It is a huge misperception to assume that most home schoolers are exposed only to the parent’s knowledge.
catlady
April 22nd, 2011
5:57 pm
Those of you who homeschool: Please realize that when you talk about your experience of homeschooling, that is just what you are talking about. You might even know some other homeschoolers who do it in ways like you do. You seem to be dedicated, hardworking teachers of your children. You represent a subset of homeschoolers.
Please grant some credence to teachers whose experience of homeschooling tends to be more extensive, and with homeschooling that seems to be less than satisfactory (as the kids end up back in public school.)
Ann
April 22nd, 2011
6:03 pm
@catlady – I agree with what you say and I and others do respect your views and other teachers’ views, but please be aware that you are also seeing a subset – those families who failed at homeschooling, homeschooled temporarily, or stopped for various reasons. You are not seeing the ones who successfully homeschooled the entire K-12 school years. Also, teachers are likely comparing how those kids compare to the approved school curriculum, which may or may not be the best “education”.
Patricia - 34 year Veteran
April 22nd, 2011
6:05 pm
If I had been a parent I feel confident I would have homeschooled my children not with any particular discontent with the public school setting, but with the structured focus on grade by grade expectations. It has been my experience children learn at very different paces and should be given the opportunity to learn in that format. Even today I wish I could start my own school in the field in front of my house as every year I meet these children who simply are not successful in the structured grade level environment of our educational system which has become targeted towards high-stakes testing. We have these huge school systems shuttling millions of dollars around…needier communities competing with more affluent communities trying to use the one size fits all approach to learning and teaching. I can understand the frustrations of some parents.
Some of my most successful years as a teacher occurred when my classes were composed of groups of children across the grade levels. I taught several of these children for three years in this format. I was lucky enough to enjoy this experience at both the primary and middle school level. People I teach with today cannot even fathom having students at different grade levels in the same classroom. Of course now we test six year olds on a standardized test.
The students who have come into the public school setting from being homeschooled were often behind grade level and did have difficulties interacting with other students as well as the more structured environment. These students’ parents were not successful homeschoolers which is why they came back into the public setting. Many of the students were homeschooled specifically due to parents dislike of their children not being able to say the Lord’s Prayer each morning at the beginning of the day as I did as a child. Many were unhappy with the focus on social issues or the change in the history lessons which reflected a more diverse understanding of our country’s citizens.
I do not object to homeschooling as long as parents are educated themselves with a strong sense of expanding the knowledge and understanding of their children providing them with more opportunities to develop their interests as they learn. I agree with those who expressed concerns regarding developing math understandings. I do not think everyone needs to take calculus as an earlier poster indicated, but students do need to develop mathematical understandings.
catlady
April 22nd, 2011
6:06 pm
If all you see of a horse is the back end and droppings, it looks different from those who are riding in the saddle. (apologies for the comparison, but you see what I mean.)
catlady
April 22nd, 2011
6:08 pm
I think we are in agreement, Ann.
I live in a small community and know of no one who has homeschooled all the way through, so that colors my views as well.
East Cobb Parent
April 22nd, 2011
6:36 pm
@catlady, I know quite a few that home schooled until 9th grade and then moved to public or private school. I personally have not heard that any of the children experienced any issues with the transition. I know one mother’s son is currently at Walton and doing well. He is in various clubs, makes A’s, takes AP courses etc. I see your point and know families that tried home schooling for a year, were not structured enough, and returned to public.
As to those that refer to the home schooled kids as brats in the store, maybe those were public school students that were supposedly home sick. The brats I know of are in school most days so mom can play Alta.
Ann
April 22nd, 2011
7:10 pm
I go to a variety of grocery and other stores on a weekly basis and most young kids I see shopping are either sitting in a cart or pushing a kids cart. They are pretty much well behaved. And, the school aged kids are well behaved and walking along with the parents. Occasionally, you see a toddler having a meltdown when tired, but I just don’t see it very often in stores, and that has nothing to do with the type of schooling. About the only times I see some kids occasionally misbehaving in public is in restaurants, when the meal is done and their parents are lingering and chatting with friends, and the kids are getting restless and the parents have not taught them well how to behave in a restaurant. That I see once in awhile.
philosopher
April 22nd, 2011
7:51 pm
@Ann: my guess is from reading your entries that you live in a fairly affluent area and have plenty of resources for homeschooling. In this economy, this kind of educational nirvana is out tof the reach of the majority. Although I do not live in a poor area, I see many poorly schooled and poorly behaved children out and about at all times of day…and they are not toddlers. Many of homeschooled children I have experienced belong to religious zealots who do not want their children in school with blacks and “them Mexicans” but are clearly unfit to teach their children any subject, beginning with English….they practice a different form of “unschooling”. The remainder belong to well-off snobs who also do not want their children sullied by blacks or Mexicans, or anyone outside their economic tier, for that matter, and their kids are spoiled rotten snobs. As I said, I am sure many are schooled by folks like you, well-meaning, and quite capable, but…
justbrowsing
April 22nd, 2011
8:01 pm
In order to effectively homeschool- I would think that would require a great deal if students are to meet the standards, and maybe in even surpass standards. The problem is I would not know what to do with my kids when they entered grades which required more indepth knowledge. How would a homeschool parent be able to effectiely do this if they have never familiarized themselves with the full curriculum and all subjects of that curriculum. How do you teach only parts of the curriculum your kids like and not all that is required? Unschooling is a romanticized notion which can quickly get many parents on the bandwagon waaaaaaay over their heads.
Teacher on the edge
April 22nd, 2011
9:11 pm
Please tell Shanaynay and Shonesha to homeschool their children. Also, tell Ronesha and Bubbalesha to homeschool theirs. They deserve those little wonders of theirs. Would you please share this with all the inner city unemployed parents and welfare collectors. Unschooled, homeschooled, whatever; they deserve their offspring. Tell them to go pick some daisies, and look at snails and worms or urban ants and other fine items of nature…as long as they get them out of my classroom. Maybe they can figure out where weave and stick on nails come from.
Sounds utterly ascinine doesn’t it? Let these parents in your homeschool/unschool universe if you dare!
Unschooled
April 22nd, 2011
9:22 pm
The world is the greatest classroom to which any and all of us have access. The idea of quarantining children’s ‘education’ in artificial, and largely ineffective, learning laboratories, i.e. schools, is amongst the silliest I’ve come across. Schools don’t make people smart, intelligent, or qualified any more than jobs make people hardworking or productive. Learning, experience and training are far more important to future professional success, and today’s schools don’t seem too concerned with providing those things for children..
Rich
April 22nd, 2011
9:45 pm
What I find interesting about this topic is the narrow viewpoints on both sides of the issue. Public schools have been declining for years, not all. Every year we hear that we need more more to improve the schools or that we need to change the way we educated the kids. NCLB was a change and now we are changing that because many people feel it failed. I know that Ted Kennedy had good intentions with NCLB. Good attempt, but does not work well. Homeschooling is a good alternative for some. I know parent-child combonations that homeschooling would work and some the it will not work. Maybe the solution to our education system is for all to be a little more open minded.
Rich
April 22nd, 2011
9:49 pm
justbrowsing – I agree with the concept of homeschooler meeting standards. What about the public school students? We need serious standards and no child should graduate without being able to read well and do math, but it happens. Let’s fix the public schools and then worry about the few schooler who need help. If a parent keeps the kids at home and does not attempt to educate the kids, that is truancy not homeschooling.
Charlie
April 22nd, 2011
10:20 pm
I have been a public school teacher who for years have done units of study that were not in the curriculum. The kids and the administrators loved them. We all know what great education is like but it is very difficult with standarized test ruling over us. Get rid of the tests…..Georgia….. and let the teachers teach.
BlondeHoney
April 22nd, 2011
10:35 pm
Ok everyone, can’t we all just get along?
There are some that homeschools which work very well and others that it should not be allowed, period, by LAW. I, as a product of public schools along with my VERY well-educated children, do solemnly swear that there are homeschool children that do well, and hope that homeschool parents acknowledge the same in public school children; nay, that BOTH public AND homeschool children perform well under the right circumstances. The key, as others have pointed out, is parental involvement; parents who care involve themselves in their child’s education and make it their business to ensure their child’s success, even if they are economically unable to homeschool or private school. Although I consider myself well-educated, I could never provide the well rounded education my children deserved (great in language arts, history bad in math & science) but what I could do was partner with my children’s teachers to ensure they were successful…and they are. My son (public school educated, thank you) graduated from FSU with a degree in chemival engineering and is a nuclear engineer and officer in the USN. Put that in your homeshool pipe and smoke it 
(just kidding my homeschool friends)
Dr. John Trotter
April 22nd, 2011
10:36 pm
Well said, Charlie.
Charlie
April 22nd, 2011
10:40 pm
The picture of the boy fishing. This is what parents should do with their child after school instead of leaving them in daycare until 6:30 at night. Parents should expand their child’s interests.
Dr. John Trotter
April 22nd, 2011
10:58 pm
Not on the topic at hand…
I wish Dr. Sam King and Dr. Lillie Cox well. I trust that each will serve with integrity and will not allow their administrative subordinates undermine their superintendency by routinely violating the law, especially the Georgia Statute which governs grievances (O.C.G.A. 20-2-989.5 et seq.). This is usually my biggest beef with any superintendent — allowing (or encouraging) the administrative subordinates to routinely and flagrantly violate this law. Many, many problems can be resolved “at the lowest administrative level” (to quote the statute) by simply utilizing this process.
Congratulations to Dr. King and Dr. Cox. I wish both of you the best!
Dr. John Trotter
April 22nd, 2011
10:59 pm
Please forgive the typo…
BlondeHoney
April 22nd, 2011
11:02 pm
Amen, Charlie
justbrowsing
April 22nd, 2011
11:04 pm
@Rich- I am almost jaded, and @ Teacher on the Edge- I feel your pain: What I see though is more an issue of parents jumping into something because it sounds good, but may not necessarily be good for their children. I understand reasons for why people homeschool- it takes just one Master of Disaster to turn a classroom upside down. It is just that homeschooling encompasses so much more if it is going to actually get the job done (students who can read, do math, think critically etc.). Homeschooling does not seem to work on a large scale- but it is certainly a market that many are smart to tap into at the moment. We have to stop selling parents pie in the sky messages about homeschooling and other alternative options, however, as success in school still boils down to working the rules already on the books- and student sweat and elbow grease.
Atlantaphotog
April 22nd, 2011
11:19 pm
I have as of yet to meet ONE home-schooled child that was “normally adjusted” to day-to-day life. So far, every home-schooled child I have come across has issues with shyness or anxiety, impatience, awkward social skills, among others. The parents of course think their little darlings are “normal” – but once of age, why not interview the little darling’s coworkers and (ex) spouses before you conclude how normal they are? Unschooling can lead to nothing better. Sorry.
Ann
April 22nd, 2011
11:33 pm
@philosopher. Actually, I live in Roswell, in a very modest neighborhood filled with 40 year old ranch homes that are priced at the very low end of what you would find in this town. There are some affluent areas of Roswell, but not my neighborhood. Of course, when I go to stores around here, there is a mix of people representing the full gamut of socio-economic levels and people of varying races. As far as having resources for homeschooling, we have just made it a priority within our extremely tight budget, as it is right for our family. I drive a modest, 11 year old car, and we live pretty much paycheck to paycheck.
My choice to homeschool has nothing to do with religion or the types of people at the schools in our areas. It is because of the extreme emphasis on standardized testing and teaching to the test. If class sizes and schools were smaller, and if teachers had more creativity and flexibility within the curriculum and lessons, then I would consider public school. I am a product of public schools, and had some great teachers and some bad ones. I think teachers are too constricted by paperwork and restrictions in how they handle classroom issues. And, that the current environment does not encourage teachers to be creative and independent.
@charlie – I agree that parents should be teaching their kids fishing and that kids should not be in day care until 6:30. I think that more parents could fish after school if the schools did not assign hours of homework each day.
Ann
April 23rd, 2011
12:14 am
Regarding the comment that homeschooling is out of reach of the majority in this economy, I do think that homeschooling is within economic reach of many families if they live “below” their means and purchase homes that are “less” than they can afford, and focus their spending on life’s necessities rather than wants. I would think that homeschooling would be quite difficult for single parents, though.
publiceducation
April 23rd, 2011
4:30 am
This is possibly the most ignorant article I’ve every read.
publiceducation
April 23rd, 2011
4:31 am
*ever haha
publiceducation
April 23rd, 2011
4:40 am
@Charlie. COULDN’T AGREE MORE! This “unschooling” should be done in the free time the kids have everyday AFTER “real” school instead of parents leaving them to television and video games. If he/she likes the “unschooling” then that will be something for them to look forward to and build off of after they are properly educated and can function in a normal society not some homeschooled environment where there are no real-world social influences on their education.
Here is interesting video on unschooling in the extreme | Get Schooled
April 23rd, 2011
10:06 am
[...] all the comments on unschooling from the interview I did with the author of new book on the movement, I decided to post this ABC “Good Morning America” clip on “radical” [...]
Amy
April 23rd, 2011
10:23 am
I got a kick out of the idea that “animals are better than books about animals”. I guess that means I can learn all about human physiology and medicine by looking at my own body. Sure, to a point. But in order to talk to other people about your ideas you have to learn the language of the field, which is found in the written word. That is the point of an education that goes beyond your own backyard — to learn what others have discovered before you; to understand the results of other people’s research, so that you can expand upon it rather than reinventing the wheel.
Bob Collier
April 23rd, 2011
7:41 pm
Interested to read this comment: “For the record, NOTHING in education is ever new. It’s the same tired old ideas being recycled every 30-40 years.”
The leading edge of education in 2011 is online and mobile. That’s new.
And all the signs I can see from where I’m standing suggest to me that, since a congregational, wait to be taught educational methodology such as schooling is incompatible with the new reality, it’s going to get its ass kicked by the Steve Jobs Empire sooner or later whatever anybody might wish for it.
Angela
April 23rd, 2011
9:21 pm
Give me a break public schoolers. Are you going to tell me all public schooled children go on to college? Are you going to tell me all public schooled children graduate literate? Do some research before you discuss a topic about which you know very little. Research college admissions and graduates and find out how many are home schooled or unschooled. Find out how many home schooled children are excelling in college. Find out how many college professors prefer home schooled students as they seem to be more eager to learn and value their time learning.
I do not understand people who are commenting on here about “the few” home schooled children they have met who are socially awkward or overly religious. Are you going to tell me there are NO socially awkward children in public school? Especially the special needs children or the ones who are bullied? Are you going to tell me there are no overly religious children/parents whose children attend public school? How can you take ones limited experience with home schooled children and make a blanket statement about ALL home schooled children? That’s a bit prejudice, don’t you think?
I know there are a lot of great teachers out there and I’ve seen examples of some great schools that go above and beyond the mundane institutionalization of our school system. But these examples seem to be few and far between. We pay teachers poorly, give them too many students and not enough resources to teach. Tell them they have to perform at a certain level on tests or they will lose funding etc. And then expect them to do their job well! The system is broken. As more and more parents choose home schooling and unschooling and as more people see the benefits it will keep growing.
And to the person who stated something about go ahead and unschool so my children have less competition applying for college… you better look again… I personally know several unschooled children who were chosen for college the past few years over traditionally taught children.
Bob Collier
April 23rd, 2011
10:19 pm
“Do some research before you discuss a topic about which you know very little.” I totally agree, Angela. I can’t believe some of the “anti-unschooling” comments I’ve read over the past few years from people who’ clearly have never given so much as a single thought to what it is they believe is so great about schools. In 2011, schools are the laggards of the education world and, from my point of view at least and whatever I think of “unschooling” personally, people who don’t realise that yet are simply in denial.
CACK
April 24th, 2011
9:10 am
Don’t shelter your children from discomfort. That is the biggest injusice I see with parents. Take your children to nice restaurants knowing that you may very well leave early, take them to art museums and galleries, libraries, sporting events, expose them to many denominations, expose them to poverty, illness, even death…then balance with life, joy, simplicity, quiet. Take them to work with you, talk about your good days and bad days, have them participate in decision making…let them cook dinner!
We shelter our children because of our own discomforts. Teach them to cope early giving them tools to handle whatever issues may arise later in life.
They may thrive in any educational environment as long as you are a conscious parent really getting to know your child. Learning does not end when homework is done or the school day is over. Exposure is the best education yet!
Lynn
April 24th, 2011
11:38 am
I have a few questions about unschooling. If a child is unschooled for K-12, does he/she have to take the GED? What about college? Do unschooled kids go on to college? Does anyone have any stats on this?
observer
April 24th, 2011
11:38 am
Let’s build on some of these ideas…How about requiring home schooling for all 4th graders? Government could subsidize this year and parents could find out how their kids are really doing. Or, how about having parents sign “opt out” waviers for their kids on standardized tests? If the kids don’t take the test, the data is flawed and useless. That would change things fast enough. There must be some combination of ideas that would make some real positive changes. We just have to be willing to try some of them. If my children were still in school, I wouldn’t let them take any standardized tests until the PSAT. I would hope that my daily conversations with them would give me an idea about their reading and math abilities. Just a thought…
Paulo977
April 24th, 2011
12:15 pm
“An e-learning guru and co-founder of SimuLearn, Aldrich believes that rather than raising their eyebrows at home schoolers and unschoolers, conventional classrooms ought to be borrowing from them.” Second that!!!
Interesting Observation
April 24th, 2011
1:08 pm
Dr. No, You and so many too often confuse exposure or lack of with intellect or lack of.
Phil Osopher
April 24th, 2011
1:35 pm
These children will be completely unqualified for the type of higher education necessary for careers as doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers etc. Science & math and other pesky fact-driven fields still require a shared set of agreed-upon facts and formulas. These children “learn” none of that. Perhaps they can major in recess and gum-chewing — not that any reputable university would admit them anyway.
Ann
April 24th, 2011
10:53 pm
@ Phil Osopher – What you need to know to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer is, frankly, not learned in high school. You might be surprised to know that in one recent year, Stanford University admitted 27% of their homeschooled applicants, and approximately 13% of their regular applicant pool. Homeschoolers and unschoolers are doing quite well on SAT’s and other admission tests and are entering college as easily as school graduates. High school might provide some study skill habits, but many high school graduates hit college and have trouble adjusting to college life, get into trouble, and those skills fall by the wayside.
Jessica
April 25th, 2011
12:28 am
@Lynn, I had these same questions (and many more) when we began considering homeschooling for our kids.
Homeschoolers in Georgia are not required to take the GED. Some homeschool students are enrolled in programs that issue an accredited diploma (though I don’t think many unschoolers choose this route), while others keep a portfolio of their studies.
Most colleges, including top schools, now have admission policies for homeschoolers.
If you want academic statistics on homeschooling, check out the information provided by HSLDA at http://www.hslda.org/research/default.asp. I should mention that HSLDA is a homeschool advocacy organization, but I haven’t found any comparable statistics from groups that are neutral or unfavorable to homeschooling. It may be that only pro-homeschool groups are interested enough to study the topic in-depth.
I was unable to find academic statistics relating specifically to unschooling or any other methods of homeschooling — classical, distance learning, eclectic, etc.
Lt Dan
April 25th, 2011
9:47 am
Blondy, your son has, at his disposal, the best combination of learning tools. Grounded in a solid education, from a fine institution, and now in yet another fine organization, his “real education” is now limited only by his willingness to explore beyond his immediate horizons. As an Ensign, new to the “military way” of doing things, he will probably find himself squeezed by the demands of those officers over him and the NCOs and Sailors to whom he will be directly responsible. THIS will be his (if you will) “finest hour”. Though he may/may not realize it at the time, those early years, as a junior officer, will “make or break” his learning curve within the Navy, and, by deduction, his career. While he will have the command presence, of the senior officers over him, from which to learn, he must also allow himself to learn from his NCOs, the Chiefs and, in particular, the Master Chief within his command.
Be proud of your Son, Mom…his is the ideal platform from which to launch a rewarding career…excellent formal education; excellent opportunities!