What Is Unschooling? Homeschooling 101

What is unschooling? Parents homeschool their children in many different ways, and unschooling is one approach to homeschooling.

This article explains the different types of unschooling so that you can determine if this approach appeals to you. Additionally, if you want to learn more about unschooling, you’ll discover information and resources to help you get started.

• A video about unschooling.
• Unschooling books and resources.
• A podcast episode about unschooling.

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What Is Unschooling?

To begin with, unschooling is a style or type of homeschooling. In fact, there are different types of unschooling, including unschoolers and radical unschoolers.

Regardless of whether you identify as a radical unschooler or unschooler, here are some of the similarities between the two types of unschooling.

• Use more of a child-led learning approach.
• Don’t rely on a curriculum, but if their children want to use a curriculum, that’s fine.
• Parents don’t use a traditional approach or try to emulate the public education system in their homes.

As an unschooling parent, you’ll approach your child’s education with a very different mindset than those involved with the traditional public school system. In fact, unschooling parents believe that education is about learning rather than mirroring the public education – or schooling – system.

Watch This Video About Unschooling

Different Types of Unschooling: Radical Unschoolers vs Unschoolers

While the differences between unschooling types are an ongoing conversation amongst homeschoolers, these are the fundamental differences.

1. Radical Unschoolers: Radical unschooling parents don’t separate academics and education from the rest of life. They allow their children to learn, play, and live naturally. Radical unschoolers trust that their children will learn what they need to learn as needed. Some radical unschooling parents also trust their kids to listen to their bodies. For example, children eat, sleep, and interact as they please. Ultimately, parents act as a resource and guide, but the child has free will about what they want to focus on, learn, and do.
2. Unschoolers: While unschooling parents mostly believe in allowing children to follow their own interests to learn what is needed for life, these parents may discreetly guide their children’s education. There may be more guidance in ‘suggesting’ games, field trips, books, and other educational activities. Families who identify as unschoolers generally require that their children follow “normal” sleep schedules, eat with the family, and join family activities.

In addition to field trips, an unschooling parent might use strewing techniques. Parents might leave educational books, games, and worksheets lying about when strewing. Essentially, the parent hopes the child will take an interest in some of the items.

While all unschoolers use a child-led approach, radical unschoolers use this approach more heavily than unschoolers. Ultimately, radical unschoolers added the word “radical” to unschooling to say, “We’re really unschoolers!”

What Unschooling Doesn’t Mean

Let’s talk about what the word unschooling doesn’t mean. While each parent might have a different unschooling philosophy, most unschooling parents would agree on the following. Unschooling doesn’t mean that you:

• Ignore your child’s need for education.
• Neglect your child.

Unschoolers Might Say…

• “Who else is unschooling their children?”
• “Are there any other radical unschoolers in this group?”

Unschooling Parents Understand the Following…

• Children are natural learners. They will learn many different things by following their own interests at their own pace.
• Traditional schooling may limit a child’s curiosity. Schooling may also limit a child’s ability to follow their passions and eagerness to learn.
• Children can learn in a variety of environments and ways. Education doesn’t need to happen in a specific place or in a certain way.
• Learning goes beyond traditional school subjects. Education doesn’t begin and end with what your local school district has deemed important.
• Field trips and experiential activities are often crucial to peaking a child’s interest in other areas. True learning is built on experiences and curiosity.
• Education and learning are important. However, life is not about schooling.

While many parents understand these concepts, unschooling parents have the fortitude to break away from the traditional school mindset and allow their children to learn in more natural ways.

Video: Unschooling Explained by an Unschooler

Alternative Ideas to Textbook Learning & Education

• Play Games
• Go to the library
• Children’s museums
• Regular museums
• Recreation centers
• Homeschool groups
• Youth programs
• Church activities
• Watching documentaries
• YouTube
• Playgroups
• Nature centers
• Local classes
• Online classes
• Learning with family and friends
• Field Trips
• Traveling
• Hobbies
• Child-led projects

Characteristics of Unschooling Families: Learning in a Natural Way

• Using curricula is optional. Traditional textbooks are a resource available for learning, but they aren’t viewed as the primary way that a child should learn.
• Unschooled kids are often involved in a project or have an innately educational interest.
• The child is leading their education with parental support.

While a parent provides general direction, unschooled children follow a natural learning path. They are frequently allowed to make their own choices and learn in their own way.

Article: The Foundations of Unschooling

The Foundations of Unschooling is an article written by Pat Farenga. Patrick Farenga published the magazine Growing Without Schooling, which John Holt founded. In the article, Patrick Farenga says, “Unschooling is a term first coined by John Holt to mean learning and teaching that does not resemble school learning and teaching.”

Quotes by Pat Farenga

“I broadly define unschooling as allowing your children as much freedom to explore the world around them in their own ways as you can comfortably bear: I see unschooling in the light of partnership, not in the light of the dominance of a child’s wishes over a parents or vice versa.”

 “…unschooling is the freedom for anyone, young or old, to choose why, what, when, how, and from whom to learn things is a key element in John Holt’s work. In short, if you don’t have the freedom to choose what to think about then you are in mental slavery; of course, we can choose to subordinate ourselves to a teacher (the master-pupil relationship)in order to accomplish or learn something, but that relationship only works well if the student wants to learn that subject or work with that teacher.” 

Patrick Farenga. “The Foundations of Unschooling.” John Holt GWS (Growing Without Schooling)

Podcast Episode: Unschooling Unboxed

The Early Years: Before Going to School

The unschooling approach is very simple with young children in the early years.

Why?

Because they haven’t been involved in formal education yet.

Learning is still fun and enjoyable to a child who hasn’t attended school. On the other hand, older children or high school-aged teenagers who have been in school or have strictly followed a traditional style of homeschooling might have developed a disdain for education and learning.

Article: Unschooling or Homeschooling by Billy Greer

Unschooling or Homeschooling by Billy Greer is an interesting article that dives into the history of unschooling. Here’s one quote for thought.

“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.)”

We also like this quote from Unschooling or Homeschooling by Billy Greer.

“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.”

Billy Greer. Unschooling or Homeschooling. Family Unschoolers Network (F.U.N.) We discovered this article in the Way Back Internet Archive.

Have Your Kids Been in School?

School might be enjoyable if your child’s natural abilities align with what is expected of students in the public education system. On the other hand, if your child’s natural skills aren’t in alignment with your state’s requirements for education, then your child may struggle in the traditional public education system.

For many children, their abilities and skills are not rewarded in our cookie cutter school system. The result may be a disdain not only for school but for education and learning. To help young people rediscover a love for learning, deschooling may be a good idea.

Given time and encouragement, children can begin the natural process of learning on their own again.

Books About Unschooling

• Free to Learn by Peter Gray: This book explains the history of education, how it impacts us today, and the science behind how kids learn.
• Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto: The late Mr. Gatto shares many lessons that have been taught in schools across America. While these lessons are not evident, they go much deeper than your average math lesson. Dumbing Us Down gets to the core of how well the public education system has indoctrinated our society.
• The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith helps you envision the unschooling lifestyle and how it could look or your family. This is a relaxing read that has the power to influence how you approach homeschooling for years to come.
• How Children Learn and How Children Fail by John Holt are classics among the homeschooling crowd. As a homeschooling parent, you will want to familiarize yourself with How Children Learn. John Holt is widely considered to be the Father of Unschooling. John Holt also founded the magazine Growing Without Schooling. While this magazine is no longer in publication, it was popular amongst homeschooling parents in its day.
• Unschooled by Kerry McDonald is an outstanding book with numerous stories and resources about unschooling. We highly recommend this book to anyone interested in unschooling.

Articles, Videos, & Podcast Episodes for You

• Benefits of Homeschooling
• How Homeschoolers Make Friends
• Homeschooling Styles & Terminology
• Free Course: Homeschool with Confidence
• THRIVE: Group Coaching for Homeschool Parents

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