|
Unschooling or Homeschooling?
by
Billy Greer
What is the difference
between unschooling and homeschooling?
At one time they were just two terms for the same thing, so the question
was like asking what the difference is between a car and an automobile. Today,
homeschooling has remained a generic term while unschooling has come to refer to a specific type of homeschooling. So now the question is like asking what
the difference is between a Ferrari and a car. Just what is it about unschooling that differentiates it from other types of homeschooling enough to warrant its own term?
Before we look at that
question, let's look at a history of the words. At one time, there was no
special term for people who took their children out of the public school
system to teach them at home. If you look at references to education before
there even was a public school system, you will see phrases such as
"tutored at home," "self-taught," or "no formal
education" to refer to people we might now call homeschooled.
Even after the modern homeschooling movement got started, there wasn't a
standard term for what these parents were doing. People simply referred to
teaching their children at home, or not sending them to school. In issue
#108 of Growing Without Schooling, Susannah Sheffer
tells us that the first issue of GWS (published in 1977), did not even make
use of the term homeschooling. In issue #2, John
Holt used the term unschooling, but it was used
as a general term for what we now call homeschooling.
In issue #118 of GWS, Aaron Falbel tells us that
Holt wrote in issue #2 of GWS (Nov. 1977) that they [GWS] would use unschooling "when we mean taking kids out of
school." Falbel goes on to say that it
wasn't until the early 1980's that the term homeschooling
became more popular.
I don't know when it
happened or who first used the phrase, but it is pretty easy to see that if
most kids went to public school, then people might say kids who were taught
at home went to "home school." As the term has become more an
accepted part of our vocabulary, it has moved from the novelty phrase
"home schooling" (in quotes) to home schooling (no quotes), to
home-schooling (hyphenated), and now homeschooling
(one word).
John Holt is considered
the father of unschooling and the person who
coined the term. In Holt's early writings, he seemed to hold out hope that
the school system could be fixed, but he later became more convinced that
parents were better off taking their kids out of schools. I imagine that it
then seemed natural to him to refer to the process of not sending your kids
to school as unschooling, as in not schooling.
While the terms may
have been interchangeable originally, that is no longer the case today. Unschooling has become associated with the particular
style of homeschooling in which no set curriculum
is used. Where the split originated is hard to say, but part of the reason
for the division is probably because of the words themselves. Homeschooling carries an implication of
schooling-at-home, while unschooling connotes
that what you are doing is the opposite of school. People who accepted the
teaching techniques of school but wanted more control over the subject
matter, socialization, or morals that their children were exposed to might
readily accept the term homeschooling. People who
disliked the teaching techniques and environment of school might be more
inclined to use the term unschooling.
Currently, homeschooling is considered to span a spectrum from
those who school-at-home to those who unschool.
The school-at home designation is self-explanatory. This group revels in
all the trappings of school! They may have the same desks used in the
public schools, some of the same text books, and they may even start each
day by ringing a bell and saying the pledge of allegiance. The parent
assumes the role of teacher, preparing lesson plans, assigning homework or
tests, and grading papers. Their "holy grail" is the search for
the perfect curriculum, the one that will cover everything their children
need to learn.
What is it that unschoolers do? Where do you find a curriculum package
that will help you to be an unschooler? The
reason that unschooling is hard to explain and
hard for some people to understand, is that it is not a technique that can
be broken down to a step by step process. Rather, unschooling
is an attitude, a way of life. Where most homeschooling
puts the emphasis on what needs to be learned, unschooling
puts the emphasis on who is doing the learning. This makes it a very
personalized experience and one that does not lend itself well to the one
size-fits-all approach of a commercial curriculum package.
What are some of the
unintended lessons of a "school" approach to learning? First of
all, the student is taught that learning is something that takes place in a
certain location at certain times. From 8 to 3 you do lessons at your desk.
Learning is also unpleasant and often boring, so it is usually a relief
when "school" is finally out. Students become used to the idea
that learning requires a teacher - someone more knowledgeable than them.
This follows the old model of learning in which students are empty cups
waiting to be filled and the teacher is the pitcher full of knowledge that
will fill them. This also emphasizes the idea that students must be taught
- in other words, what happens to you (learning) is the result of what
someone else does to you (teaching). School also reinforces the idea that
learning is a linear process. You work and add knowledge incrementally over
time in a steady process. To get from point A to point C, you must first
pass point B.
In unschooling,
learning can happen anywhere and at anytime. It is an ongoing, natural
process - part of the journey we call life. It is not unpleasant or boring
anymore than breathing, eating or sleeping are. There is no sense of relief
that school is out because learning is always happening. Students also know
that they are responsible for their learning. They do not need an
"expert" to teach them. If they have an interest, they can go out
and pursue the knowledge they need. This is another fundamental difference
between a schoolish approach and an unschooling model. School is a case of knowledge (that
someone else has determined to be important) in pursuit of the student,
while unschooling puts the student in pursuit of
the knowledge (which they have decided is important). In this role, parents
are not teachers who always know more than their children,
they are often fellow learners making the journey along with their
children. (See the side bar for more comments about the non-linear learning
of unschooling.)
It is unfortunate that
the older term "unschooled" often means uneducated. As unschooling gains acceptance and its effectiveness is
recognized, the dictionaries will have to be corrected to reflect the
positive aspects of someone who has been educated by unschooling.
|
School is a case
of knowledge (that someone else has determined to be important) chasing
after the student, while unschooling puts the
student chasing after the knowledge (that they have decided is important)
Have you noticed that unschooling doesn't result in a steady increase in
learning? You'll have periods where it seems like nothing is happening. You
may find yourself wondering if your kids are learning anything or if they
ever will. Suddenly, something will click and your kids immerse themselves
in a subject. You can barely drag them away from what they are doing or
keep up with the questions they have.
In pursuing this new
interest with them, you will discover they know about many things that they
seem to have just absorbed out of the air they breathe.
In retrospect, those
periods where nothing seemed to be happening were probably laying the foundation
for that sudden "knowledge spurt." There are similarities with
physical growth that suggest this is a natural pattern. Studies have shown
that infants do not grow steadily. They may stay exactly the same size for
weeks, then suddenly grow as much as an inch in
only a few days. This is very different from the steady, gradual pattern
that growth charts might lead you to expect.
Where most homeschooling puts the emphasis on what needs to be
learned, unschooling puts the emphasis on who is
doing the learning.
|