Home schooling is not a new concept, but now a controversial twist has entered the scene: Child-led learning.
An article posted Sunday, November 26 by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and credited to the New York Times columnist Susan Saulny, educators are expressing concern over the trend for parents to “unschool” their children and led me to investigate this new trend that has educators worried.
A cited case of unschooling presented is the Walters family of Chicago. The Walters family includes: Hayden Billings, 4; a sister, Gaby, age 9, Sydney, 6 and the baby of the family, Dylan, all are home schooled by mother Julia Walter. In a snapshot of the unschooling scene at the Walter household, Hayden is busy putting a box over his head and marching into things, his older sis told stories about medieval warrior women and Syndney drank hot chocolate while playing with baby Dylan.
Walters believes this is the best type of home schooling for her children based on the premise that children will excel when left to their own devices to explore what interests them. Experts in education say this approach begs the question: What about subjects’ children aren’t particularly interested in, but need to know?
In Chicago and across the nation in the last decade, unschooling networks have sprung into being with a vengeance. The Chicago network has 100 families registered.
What exactly is unschooling? According to an unschooling site written by Amy Bell, there are many levels of unschooling including the radical approach the Walters’ family takes with little or no structure. Others allow children to learn what they wish, but provide strong organizational assistance to help the children reach their goals. Most try to squeeze learning out of everyday life.
In her own words, Bell states: “ The central philosophy is child-directed learning. Children determine what they learn, when they learn, how they learn, and why they learn. Grades, grade levels, semesters, testing and imposed lessons simply don’t enter into our experiences. We offer, we might even try to persuade, but we never force, threaten or set up reward systems for doing academic work. We read a lot play on the computer, visit the library, observe nature, and pursue whatever our current interests are. We believe that children have a natural love of learning. We believe that, given a rich environment and involved parents, children will exceed any expectations we might have had.”
Yet another proponent of child-led unschooling is freelance writer and mother Kandi Chong. In an article The Joy and Ease of Learning Through Child-led Unit Studies, Chong outlines what she has found to be the best approach to educating her daughter, a more organized approach to Walters, yet still child inspired.
The copyright of the article Homeschooling Trends in Early Childhood is owned by Connie Newbauer. Permission to republish Homeschooling Trends must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Dec 21, 2006 11:50 AM
Jan Zeiger
:
Yep, that's me!! :)
While we are not radical unschoolers, we're definitely an unschooling family. I believe whole-heartedly in child-led learning. And yes, I am a former public school teacher.
Here's an excerpt from an essay I've written about unschooling:
Babies learn to walk and talk without worksheets. How do they learn? Naturally! Sure, we help them along, but we don't take the skills out of context. They learn by *doing* it and by seeing others model the skill for them. Children can continue to learn this way even after they've learned to walk and talk. There is no magic switch at age three that suddenly makes workbooks a requirement. A child who is surrounded by great literature and read to by his parents will naturally develop a love for reading. A child who is exposed to the new ideas and experiences will be curious and will ask to learn more. Remember that "why" stage that children go through? That's one way they learn about the world around them. David asks me questions about the world everyday! He doesn't see learning as cumbersome or as a chore. He's not learning for a specified amount of time each day and not limited to a specific list of subjects. He's learning from the moment he wakes up until the moment he falls asleep at night.
Dec 21, 2006 5:35 PM
Connie Newbauer
:
I do think unschooling can work - but some environments do not teach. I loved it when we homeschooled and from what I can gather, we were doing a form of unschooling - although not in the strictest sense. I will always cherish that time with our children - as I'm sure all homeschooling parents do!
Dec 22, 2006 10:33 AM
Jan Zeiger
:
When you say that some "environments" don't teach, are you talking about homeschooling parents who don't have enough books in the house, who don't take their children to see local sites, etc?
Dec 22, 2006 3:16 PM
Connie Newbauer
:
Yes, but there is so much more than that - it is the difference between parents who neglect their children and their education under the guise of homeschooling or unschooling. -Parents who do not make an effort to talk to their children about life skills, read to them, take walks and talk about nature - in general, parents who do not nurture. For the most part, I found most homeschooling/unschooling parents are profoundly involved, informed and value the world around us and want to raise their children in a way that completely opens the world to them. I've also witnessed the "homeschooling" parent (and public school parent, also!) who lays in bed until noon while the children wander around the house with no purpose beyond the next cartoon video. These environments are not fertile ground for children - so it goes beyond trips to the museum, zoo or books in the home. As parents in general, there is so much we can do at home to create environments that teach naturally. As a matter of fact, I think we are all called to do so.
