Unschooling - Right On or Radical?

A new homeschooling movement is spreading which many are calling "unschooling". To those already skeptical of homeschooling, this new way of schooling may seem even farther out there and damaging to our kids. Is it completely radical or is it right on?

The concept of unschooling is for the kids to pick their own interests and learn on their own for the most part. They learn in every day life tasks, and choose what they want to learn more about (for example - airplanes and how they work). The idea is for them to grow and learn from things we all do every day, as well as with things that spark their interest.

I do agree for information to be absorbed you need to actually like the subject being taught. However, not all kids are going to like things they NEED to know in life. Things like long division, spelling, etc. There's also things they don't even know they need yet, but will eventually at some point in time in their lives. There's got to be a time when you step in and say "look, you need to learn how to do this step by step".

Let me give you an example. The other day I was in the car with my son and we were getting gas. I have a habit of figuring up my gas mileage when I fill up my tank. This would be a perfect learning experience and example of using math in every day life (dividing the gallons of gas by the miles on your trip odometer). Although there's one problem here - my son is only 8 years old. He hasn't even begun multiplication, let alone division. In fact, he's only in first grade so hasn't even really learned how to add and subtract numbers larger than 2 digits. Trying to explain that much math to him while sitting at the gas station is going to be confusing and frustrating. He really needs to be taught the basics, step by step, before he can use math daily.

Personally math has always been one of my strong points. The more I think back to my days in public school, the more I remember how much we were drilled on basic math. It was a daily thing, and yes I do remember getting math as a whole one small piece at a time. First grade was addition and subtraction. Second grade was larger addition and subtraction. Third grade was multiplication and division. Forth grade was fractions, plus more multiplication and division. Fifth and six started dabbling in algebra and more complex math. I can still think back and remember each of those pieces because it's something they drilled us on just about every day.

I'm not saying homeschooling or unschooling is a bad thing. Not at all! But I do believe there needs to be a little bit of drilling on some subjects for it all to sink in. Math has always been one of my best skills simply because I was drilled on it so much and it comes up quite often in every day life (especially in business). Although without that drilling on math problems when I was young, there is no way I could crunch numbers as fast as I can today. I couldn't function very well in my day to day tasks if I couldn't estimate or do math in my head. A piece of paper or calculator isn't always handy!

Now at this point you may be saying "well if you are just going to give them worksheets and drill them, you might as well send them to public school". Not necessarily! Think about it this way - part of the reason many kids have such a problem with the school structure is they aren't learning things at their own pace. This isn't by fault of the teachers really, since they have to go at a pace so no one falls too far behind. Granted at some point tutors may be recommended, but for the most part a teacher needs to make sure everyone in the class understands the materials before moving on. A set amount of time is given for each "unit" for any given area of study. Days and weeks are outlined, and only so much time is allotted. What if your kid is super smart in one subject, but starts to fall behind in another? They are sitting idle while the teacher continues to drill the others on something your child really doesn't need to do anymore, yet is struggling in another area they really could use MORE time on. Public school doesn't allow kids to have flexible time for any given subject.

Now there is a time and place for unschooling. When a child knows the basics of fractions and measurements, practicing them by making quilts and sewing would be perfect "school work". Baking and cooking are also acceptable for "working". Getting outside or going to the park to learn about certain areas of science is great, but the grass isn't going to tell you why it's green. The animals aren't going to tell you what they prefer to eat (and you'd have to be pretty lucky to actually SEE them catching prey).

On the same turn, it's rare that a child will be really passionate about punctuation or proper grammar. It may not be something they do on a regular basis either, but if they grow up to have an office job they'll need to know these things. They may not use basic geometry in every day life (I know I don't), but what if they decide they want to be an architect? It's more than drawing and has a LOT to do with match, but most kids don't know that.

The goal with education is to lay the foundation for their future. Certain areas need to be taught as they are revisited in later years for various positions. People often say "I don't remember most of what I learned in school". Well of course not, because you don't use it in every day life. As a business owner I remember math the most because I use it every day. A scientist will remember most of what he learned in science class because it's what he does in every day life. A famous author may remember English classes the most, and so on. Did I want to be a business owner at age 10? Heck no! In fact, there was no such thing as "the Internet" when I was in elementary school. But what I learned laid the ground work for me to be whatever I wanted to be.

So in conclusion I think the basis for unschooling is great and works well with the traditional meaning of homeschooling. But I still think kids need a little structure and direction to become anything they want to be when they grow up.