I am actually a huge proponent of "unschooling." Have you heard of it? If not, check out my video:
What is Unschooling?
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I am actually a huge proponent of "unschooling." Have you heard of it? If not, check out my video:
What is Unschooling?
Sudbury Valley School sounds like Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Jokes aside. Unschooling is genuinely intriguing. I don't discount the merits or that it works. I am a little skeptical though. Things I like about unschooling
Public schooling unfortunately will never be able to address each individual children. It has to look at all children as a body. Rather than each individual. That can and will never change. The current education system was developed out of a necessity to breed an educated workforce. Since labor has changed over time, education has not which has led to problems. Demand for labor has decreased while demand for education has increased.
Unschooling is a good answer to that. For children that slip through the cracks or cannot adhere to regular educational standards, this is the answer. Really, it is also the answer for all children.
Where my skepticism comes in is reconciling my current understanding of creative learning. The bedrock principal for creativity for me is, "Constraints breed creativity." Unschooling sounds like education with few constraints. Learning subjects that are difficult or uncomfortable is a way to grow in the subjects and creativity. This sounds like a learning environment where a child follows what feels comfortable for them.
Next, I think that there are some fundamental subjects that a child should learn. We usually do not teach foreign language until after a child loses the aptitude to learn a new language. k-6 is the best time to be learning another language. Letting a child choose/discover this may take too long.
Finally, children are fickle. It's hard to choose a path when you have no idea if it's the right one. Nonetheless, one has to be chosen. At 2 years old, my daughter seemed to have an aptitude for soccer. We nurtured that interest. At 4 years old, she decided to learn the game. We put her on a team. Since then, it has been ups and downs to grow in the sport. Along the way, she has taken interests in piano, science, chemistry, and medicine. Things change. Soccer now causes much grief for her and I feel like she may have regretted our decision to nurture that early on. It has been up and down because several times along the way she said she wanted to quit only to take it back again. Children are fickle. It's difficult to let them choose when they themselves are not sure. Guiding them can sometimes be considered making choices for them which we don't want. At some point a choice has to be made. At some point regrets are going to be had. My point is I don't think a child choosing a direction for learning is not always going to have the best outcome. This is why some subjects exist for children to grow into and learn who they are before making those decisions.
Unschooling sounds good, but I still like homeschooling because parents are intimate with children and should stay intimate involving their education. It should be something they do together. I also like vocational schooling. I think school should be specific to your vocation. After or even during the homeschooling journey, people should be able to choose a vocation and learn through specific classes for those. They should not be forced to learn things that are not useful to their vocation. Again, not all people learn the same, but I make an exception for vocational schooling because this comes at a point where we have to be capable of adapting. In certain vocations tools, workflows, etc... are commonplace. We have to be able to adapt to those and part of that is what school will help with. Afterall, the point of education is to prepare. Vocational schools prepare for a future working in a specific field. I find that to be reasonable.
I appreciate the thoughtful response. The concerns you may have with unschooling do not seem to materialize with adults acting as supportive facilitators. Children learn to read, write, and do arithmetic as it applies in their lives with adults helping as needed. Reading Kerry's book will help you see how, and so will watching this short documentary: