Unschooling School

The more articles I read about the future of schools, the more it seems to me that what everyone thinks would be good for children is what unschoolers are already doing and in fact have been doing for several decades.

Most recently an article in the Guardian asked questions about what the classroom for the 21st century might look like and where are the best places for learning? We’re told that children learn everywhere. For unschoolers, this is a given. Our children don’t associate learning with a particular place. In fact, I’d go so far as to say our children don’t really think about the fact that they are learning at all.

Secondly, children learn better when they are given the opportunity to experience different environments and experiences. While our family doesn’t have a structured week, the one thing we are always doing is getting out and about. Home schooling as a name couldn’t really be further from the truth. Most days we are anywhere but home.

In developing learning spaces the research suggests that schools need to listen to learners more when decisions are being made about where learning happens best. Our children have the freedom to choose where they learn. At the table, on the floor, a sofa, their bed, the garden, the park, the library, a museum, the list is endless.

Children in school learn better when activities are combined. For example, introducing science into an apparently not science related school trip. For unschoolers this process is natural. Subjects aren’t divided up and taught separately. Science is part of pretty much everything and always contextual.

Teachers want more opportunities to take risks and to look at different ways of exploring the curriculum. Without teachers, unschooled children can take all the risks they want. There’s no inspectors, no fear of failure and most importantly no curriculum.

Finally, intergenerational and peer-led learning is something which is seen to have huge benefits to learning but not yet incorporated into schools. For unschoolers this too is a natural part of their experience. Our children are never in a group made up solely of other children their own age. Time spent with other parents, grandparents, cousins and friends of all ages, in our case from newborn to teens, is something they take for granted.

So it would seem that schools could learn a lot from unschoolers. And maybe not just schools, maybe learning in a wider context could benefit from the experiences of unschooling families. Where are the best places for learning? Everywhere of course.

Originally published at learningoutsiders.tumblr.com.