What is Unschooling?

"Unschooling, a by-product of the widespread homeschooling movement, it is a unique approach to education--one that uses children's natural curiosity to propel them into a world of learning. "

First of all, what you must understand is that no two unschooling families are the same. 

What is unschooling?

When you have an interest, you learn about it. Again, naturally this occurs. What are you currently most informed about? What kind of information could you talk about for days? Most likely something you enjoy.. something you are interested in. Personally, I am interested in natural living and alternative medicine. I could write a book on the amount of information stored away in my mind about this. No one assigned this to me, I never wrote an essay on it, no one questions me about it, and I have never taken a quiz on it. Yet I retain every ounce of information regarding it. This is simply because I care. I have a desire to learn about it.

Children are naturally curious about the world around them. They play and explore and in doing so they learn. Not just small children, but older children as well. To unschoolers, learning is not the ultimate objective, but a by-product. For example, no one learns to ride a bike just so they can brag about it.. They want to enjoy riding the bike.  

I am not my children's teacher, I am their facilitator. I show my children how to think, however I do not show them what to think. Ultimate learning is inside the child, not the adult. Learning does not come from teaching. Memorization may come from teaching but learning must be done on your own. Life lessons.. why do they stick with us? That's right, because we learned them by ourselves. My goal as their Mother, is to connect with my children, note their interests, and provide opportunities for them to pursue that interest. (However brief or long-lasting the interest may stick around) 

 Although the thought of unschooling is scary to some it has proven successful for thousands of families around the world. The term "Unschooling" was coined by John Holt in the 1970's. John Holt was an Educator and Author. John was the first person who voiced concerns for publicly schooled children, noticing the difference between bold, adventurous, creative toddlers and timid, evasive publicly schooled children. During his time as an Educator, John conducted experiments to see how students would act and react in certain settings and with certain (or less) instruction. He soon became the very face of school reform.

 "... the human animal is a learning animal; we like to learn; we are good at it; we don't need to be shown how or made to do it. What kills the processes are the people interfering with it or trying to regulate it or control it."  - John Holt