Unschooling

Wow, it has been a long time. There are many reasons for my blog absence, and perhaps I will go into them in a later post. For now though, I want to write a few things about homeschooling. They are, of course, merely my own thoughts and experiences. I don't presume to say this applies to anyone other than our own family.

As I've probably mentioned, I homeschool our three boys- now aged 8, 6 and 4. I do not believe in doing "school at home"- if I wanted to impose timed classes and pre-written curricula on my children, I would seek a good school for their education. It would certainly be easier on me. Instead, our learning is very fluid, completely integrated into our daily life. We do not have separate time for "school", or even designated "school days". I do not have an external curriculum for my children to follow. I do not write lesson plans, administer pop quizzes, or assign projects. Instead, I actively seek to create an environment for my children that is varied, interesting and enriching, full of exciting and challenging experiences. I listen to them, and I seek to answer their questions as accurately and completely as I can, at the level (or just slightly above) they can understand.

I often ask questions and introduce ideas or experiences that might spark curiosity or further questioning from my children, but I do not force them to memorize facts in order that they may spit them out accurately later. If, after answering a question, the child is still interested in a topic, I will continue the conversation and often seek media to help me illustrate and expand on the topic. I have been pleased with the information that they retain, but the real payoff is in making connections between ideas and developing a less quantifiable, but more fundamental understanding of how the world works.

My approach is based on the ideas and theories of the educational researcher John Holt, who wrote extensively about education from the 60s until his death in 1985. He is considered by many to be the founder of the "Unschooling" movement- a term he coined to describe learning that did not take place in a school or a school-like environment. (As I recall, despite the fact that he came up with the term he said he felt it was rather inadequate, as it is based on what the method is NOT instead of describing what the method IS. He said it was the best he could come up with in one word. But don't quote me on that. I don't feel like hunting up his exact words right now.)

Unschooling, while still a young and controversial movement, has continued to grow since John Holt first introduced the idea. It is a difficult movement to pin down, since it is still defined more by what it does not practice, than by what it does. This is because the unschooling approach is extremely individualized, responding to the interests and needs of individual children and families, rather than imposing a standardized external model. It's hard to define something that looks different for every practitioner. In addition, unschooling is, in practice, often nearly inseparable from parenting methods, making it that much more difficult to study the effects of the practice without being influenced by the widely varying personalities and familial experiences of the unschoolers themselves. Are positive or negative results of unschooling due to the philosophy and educational practice, or are they moreso the result of parental practices? Is it even possible to separate the two? I don't have the answers to these questions. My concern is, "Is it right for my children?" I think, at least in the realm of "education", that it is.

I am often questioned, sometimes vehemently, about the advisability of using such an untested and controversial model for educating our children. "How can that possibly work?" "Kids don't know what they should learn!" "How will unschooled kids ever adapt to the real world?" "They will have huge gaps in their education." "They will grow up and feel that you failed them." "They will not be equipped to compete in a changing and extremely competitive, cutthroat world." "Show me evidence that this method works." "You aren't challenging them enough." "I need proof that they are learning." And so on, and so forth.

I have been tasked with finding evidence that Unschooling "works". That Unschooled kids can grow up to be successful, productive adults. That they can adapt to a world which seeks to impose external requirements and frameworks, requires one to be on time, and often requires one to work hard at something one does not like, in order to reach a goal. That Unschooling will not leave kids struggling to compete in a world that does not cater to their individual interests. Unfortunately, there has been little (if any) standardized research done on Unschooling and its results. I am continuing to seek and read what information I can find, and I am compiling a list of links relevant to this research. If you have any ideas or suggestions, I welcome the help. :)

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PS- I should note, that I am not strictly an Unschooler in my actual homeschool practice. I do require my children to complete some "educational" tasks, even at their sometimes objections. The older they are, the more likely I am to impose some "forced" "learning" activities. My 8 yr old is in second grade this year (his birthday is in October), so I require him to complete some coursework in an online curriculum called "Time 4 Learning". My 6 yr old is in first grade, and I "force" him to sit down with me and work on reading from time to time. I question them occasionally on topics (such as money value, geography, or subtraction for instance) to see for myself how easily and completely they seem to remember and understand those things. I also administered the standardized CAT test at the beginning of this school year, which is not very "Unschool" of me. ;) I plan to administer a standardized test yearly, to help me keep track of "expected" learning and to help reassure my relevant detractors.

Do public school students have a "right" to express themselves through dress?

I came across a news story a few days ago, about a high schooler here in GA that has run into trouble for the way he dresses. Apparently Jonathan Escobar, a 16 yr old student transferring from a Florida school, prefers to wear wigs and women’s clothing. This has caused a bit of an uproar in his public high school, and the school officials have told him to dress more normally or stop coming to school.

Escobar objects, stating that how he chooses to dress is simply a part of who he is, and that the school’s ultimatum is discriminatory. The school points out that it is clearly stated in the school handbook that students should “refrain from any mode of dress which proves to contribute to any disruption of school functions”, and Escobar’s manner of dressing has definitely proven distracting to the other students. (Apparently it caused a fight between other students in the short 3 days that Escobar attended classes.)

I am a little divided on this issue. When I first heard about it, I was fully in support of Jonathan Escobar. It takes guts to be that different in High School, especially when you are new and don’t know many people. Whatever Escobar’s reasons for his choices, I think it’s a positive thing to introduce more diversity to the High School setting, and to shake up the social status quo a little bit. Though many disagree with me, I think more awareness and social acceptance of gender issues is in general a very good thing. So when I heard about this story, I was ashamed of the school officials and wanted to learn more about the situation.

It didn’t take long for me to change my thinking in this particular case. While I still support Escobar’s choice of style if that’s what he prefers, I’m not so sure he has a right to dress that way at school. The school officials are correct: the rules very clearly state that any clothing “which proves to contribute to any disruption of school functions” is off-limits, and no matter what the mode of dress may be, if it’s disruptive it has to go. No doubt this school, like every public school I know of, has a dress code that restricts students from wearing clothes that are overly revealing, that have profane images or slogans, or (in many schools) are deemed to be typical of gang activity. Sometimes there is a judgment call to be made, but all students must adhere to these rules, no matter their color, size, gender or sexual orientation. Why, in this case, should Escobar be any different?

I’d say, if Jonathan Escobar wants to continue wearing “skinny jeans and “flats”, that should be just fine. Once the news hubbub dies down it shouldn’t be too distracting to the other students. Probably he can even get away with dramatic makeup, within reason. However, I think the school is completely correct to enforce the dress code, which probably means he has to ditch the wigs and hats. This is school, after all- not a local teen hangout where kids are really free to express themselves through clothing choices. The school’s handling of the matter lacks finesse and sensitivity (they told him to dress “more manly”), but in essence I think they’re on the winning side here. If Escobar wants to express his “Art” through how he dresses, that’s fine anywhere else- but at school, he is a student like any other, and must obey the rules just like the rest of them.

Am I clueless here? After all, what if a muslim student wished to go to school in a full burka, and it caused disruption? (Is that even remotely analogous?) Check out the article to read more on the story, and tell me what you think.

P.S.- I like how casually the school told Escobar that he should homeschool. It might be a bit insensitive, but I think it’s fairly indicative of how widely accepted homeschooling has become in Georgia. Besides, they might be right: an assertive, freethinking alternative individual might indeed be better served by directing their own education rather than trying to squeeze into the public school mold. But that’s just my own bias coming out. ;-)

http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/cobb-teen-told-he-156500.html