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Unschooling
- Rejection
Or Revolution?
Part
3: Unschooling - A Philosophy For Change
A great
philosophy is not one that passes final judgments and establishes ultimate
truth. It is one that causes uneasiness and starts commotion.
Charles
Peguy
Unschooling
- Deeper Than Rejection?
If homeschooling
can be viewed as an alternative to the state system
does unschooling represent a complete rejection?
My
understanding is that it goes even deeper than rejection.
Unschooling represents an alternative child-centered
philosophy where the child is the focus not an externally
imposed curricula. In this context the natural curiosity
of the child and his particular interests become
the driving force for learning. Processes are more important
than content and, secure within this environment,
the child reveals his true nature as a born scientist
where there exist no such things as first truths,
but only the glorious adventure of exploration
and discovery. 'Curiosity
in children is but an appetite for knowledge',
declared John Locke. Most 'unschooling parents', I suspect,
would
agree.
Unschooling
- The Precious Grain Of Sand
Unease already
exists within the education system worldwide. For unschooling
parents the truth is out there somewhere - they
are not alone. Tragically the voices of many teachers
who share the philosophy of child-centred or self-directed
learning are, like the good seed, stifled by the
tares of government legislation, large class sizes,
and increasing workloads. They have little time to stand
and stare let alone raise a voice in protest. But unease
is growing apace and unschooling parents could find
themselves unwittingly become the irritant grain of
sand that by its very presence stimulates the birth
of something very precious. A fundamental transformation
in our attitude to the education of our children would
indeed be a pearl of great price.
Unschooling
- A Voice In The Wilderness?
Prophetic voices
are found in unlikely places but the truth they speak
is undeniable and draws other to them. Einstein's mother
never asked, 'What
did you learn today?', only, 'What
questions did you ask?'
It is this spirit of inquiry, this quest for understanding,
springing from some deep wellspring of our being that
appears to be central to the unschooling philosophy.
Madame Curie touched upon this quality when she declared,
'A scientist
in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also
a child placed before natural phenomena which impress
him like a fairy tale.'
Unschooling
families may feel like theirs is a voice in the wilderness
but there are many ready to listen to their message
if they have the courage or inclination to share
it.
A
Little Child Will Lead Them
Standing on the outside,
my impression of unschooling is of an attempt to
free the child to be what essentially he is: 'Children
are born true scientists. They spontaneously experiment
and experience and re-experience again. They select,
combine, and test, seeking to find order in their experiences
- "which is the mostest? which is the leastest?
They smell, taste, bite, and touch-test for hardness,
softness, springness, roughness, smoothness, coldness,
warmness: they heft, shake, punch, squeeze, push, crush,
rub, and try to pull things apart."
(R. Buckminster Fuller). It takes courage to stand back
and let children take the initiative. Not many
have the courage to let a little child lead them. Is
this the essential difference between homeschooling
and unschooling: - homeschooling families more or less
replicate the school experience in the home; unschooling
families provide an altogether different experience for
their children?
(I would be interested in your comments.
You can email me here,
or leave a message on our message board).
Courage
is contagious and often the first seeds of its growth
are questions we hear from the heart.
Next:
Questions From the Heart
Just
like Apple HelpYourChildSucceed.c m is
a small company driven by a mission to provide
you with innovative
and self-directed learning material that reflects the way your child learns
best.
We
are confident that, just as Apple forced IBM to
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being pioneered by small companies like ourselves and
embraced by parents involved in homeschooling.
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