Whenever I tell people that we unschool, I get two kinds of reactions.
On one side there are people who believe that I must be lying when I say that we do not use text books and worksheets or do any formal learning. They believe kids cannot learn without formal instructions, period.
On the flip side there are people who believe that unschooling or lack of formal learning basically means that kids are just left on their own, short of being abundant. They envision a home where parents are enjoying themselves with friends or binge watching Netflix while the kids are busy watching cartoons 24/7. They think unschooling parents take this route as it’s less work.
Sorry to break it to you, but unschooling is actually a lot of work.
Unschooling means that we stay with our kids, in all of their endeavors. But which adventure to go on is decided by the kids themselves.
I like to think of learning as taking a ride in the car. In traditional learning, be it school or school at home, the steering wheel and gears are firmly in control of an adult. Adults tell the kids what to learn, how to learn and when to learn. We think it is safe to have an adult in control.
Unschooling is when you put the kids in the driving seat. You may feel very reluctant at first, especially if you yourself were always ridden around by an adult. You may resign yourself that there will be a huge crash but you are willing to pick up the pieces. But what happens next is kind of surprising. You find that there is no crash and the ride is actually a lot more interesting than when you were in control. Your kids decide what to learn, how to learn and more importantly, when to learn. And you realize to your amazement that your kid is actually completely capable of driving their own ride.
But the fact remains that you are in the car. Not as a driver, as a passenger. But you are there.
Unschooling doesn’t mean to step out of the learning journey. Rather, it’s the shift in roles.
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