Schooling or Unschooling? That is the Question

When I first started homeschooling in 1994, I was exposed to many approaches to this daunting task. Just to name a few, there were groups that promoted Classical, Montessori, Unschooling, Unit Study, and Eclectic educational methods. As a new mom, I wanted to know which model would give my son the best start in life. Without the convenience of the internet, I hunted down every book I could find on the subject and spoke with as many home instructors as possible.

Every approach was touted as the “superior” method, and my inexperience left me confused and seemingly ill-equipped to get to the bottom of the truth. Or was there an absolute truth?

One such school of thought was the idea of “unschooling”. This is a free-flowing student-directed education. As with any philosophy, this can be taken to various degrees. The mentality sounds something like this: allow your child to be who they are, without boundaries or limitations. Let them follow their passions, and don’t get in their way.

One book I read went so far as to say, “Allow them to keep their rooms however they want, because this, in essence, is ‘freedom of expression’”. Early on, I bought the bait to some degree. The concept sounded appealing in many ways, and certainly seemed easier. Allowing my child to go with the flow would afford me the same luxury. And, I sincerely wanted him to discover his passions- what God designed him to be.

While there is definitely some truth to this “unschooling” mentality, when taken to an extreme or fully embraced as a philosophy, I have come to believe that is detrimental for the child in the long run. After all, a child is quite passionate about candy, for example, and if left to himself, we all know what the result would be.

What I now realize is that this approach is humanistic at its core. If a child is made to feel that the world revolves around him, is this truly preparing him for the real world? Will his co-workers, employer and future spouse view him as the center of the universe? Will he learn valuable life skills that will not only equip him for the work force, but for his personal life?

Do I believe that a child should be afforded the opportunity to explore his passions? Absolutely! But should he also be held to a high standard, and taught the difficult lessons of self-control, discipline and delayed gratification? In a loving environment, should he be encouraged to face his weaknesses head-on and to tackle the hard things? I say an emphatic, “Yes”.

In the next blog post, I would like to elaborate on my experiences with the unschooling perspective as compared to what I found to bring great success. I learned many lessons the hard way. It’s my hope that what I share on this blog will give you hope and encouragement and help you to avoid the same pitfalls.

Keep smiling….every day is a new adventure and it’s worth the effort!