Is Unschooling right for you?

Unschooling is not for everyone, although I believe that anyone can unschool. We must deschool ourselves, free up our thoughts, let go of all of the ingrained nonsense, and get out of mainstream thinking. You have to be willing to give up all of those schooly ideas...the scopes, the tests, the "this child should know _____at this age", the grading, the ranking, the forced schoolwork at the table.

Research, read about natural learning and not forced schooling, ask questions, find others who are living it. Give yourself time to properly detox from the system. While you are doing this don't impose it on your kids. Let them learn in the way God designed them. Keep your hang ups to yourself.

The basic philosophy is that people (children) are born with an innate desire to learn. Learning is as natural as breathing. Forced, bribed, coerced, compulsary schooling strips that desire away piece by piece. Then learning becomes a chore. It happens by being told what to do and what to think and how to do it. The real chore to be abhorred is schooling, not learning, because school has nothing to do with real, true, natural, life long learning.

While it is possible to unschool academically, I think you are missing the whole big picture. Many people out there unschool but control everything else in their child's life. I believe that electronics and tv and sleep and eating and helping around the house are all part of living together as a family. We are all individuals that contribute to the family dynamics.

I believe that to fully unschool with all the benefits, we parent differently. How can you say that your child will read when he is ready but that they don't know when they are tired? How can you make up arbitrary rules for all to blindly follow?

Many people are hung up on video games but there is a lot to be learned by playing games. I have never limited use. I will tell you that our systems go weeks at a time without being turned on. They know it's there and that they can play whenever they want.

If you aren't willing to truly examine all of those beliefs and practices that you upheld for so long and truly make a paradigm shift, then no...unschooling isn't for you.

It is a wonderful lifestyle to live and learn and observe and be and
do and create and laugh and love without the confines of school or a
closed mind.

Free your mind-UN SCHOOL!