In our discussion during Podcast #10 about education, I remarked that I don’t remember much, if anything, that I “learned” in school. As a matter of fact, most of what I know and use now, besides the basics, I learned after I graduated. It’s not because I was a bad student. I actually graduated with honors. It’s because, for the most part, I wasn’t learning, I was memorizing. If I learned anything, it was how to pass a test!
During the podcast, I brought up “unschooling,” which is a non-traditional philosophy of education. It’s also an easy idea to make fun of because the idea of not attending school regularly is ridiculous, right? That idea is mostly for religious zealots and militia members, right? Sometimes our conditioning gets the better of us and what is “normal” rarely gets questioned, and for the last couple hundred years, traditional schools have been what’s normal. Step outside and question why we do what we do and whether or not it is working.
Here is the definition of unschooling according to Wikipedia: “Unschooling is an educational method and philosophy that rejects compulsory school as a primary means for learning. Unschoolers learn through their natural life experiences including play, household responsibilities, personal interests and curiosity, internships and work experience, travel, books, elective classes, family, mentors, and social interaction. Unschooling encourages exploration of activities initiated by the children themselves, believing that the more personal learning is, the more meaningful, well-understood and therefore useful it is to the child. While courses may occasionally be taken, unschooling questions the usefulness of standard curricula, conventional grading methods, and other features of traditional schooling in maximizing the education of each unique child.”
Unschooling is not about foregoing education. It’s about recognizing that school and education are not necessarily one and the same. As a matter of fact, I would argue that traditional schooling methods (even homeschooling, which is frequently just traditional schooling done at home) often get in the way of a well-rounded education. Unschooling is not for everyone. However, the sooner it is looked at as a valid form of education, perhaps even a more effective form of education, the sooner people will begin to question how and why we school the way we do, and then perhaps change will come, because our school system needs it. Maybe we’ll stop raising so many mindless drones who memorize facts to get through the system, all the while learning very little and developing a disdain for “education” and losing the ability to learn.
Our discussion of this topic begins around the 39 minute mark…
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Interesting post (and yes, I will admit that I used to make fun of “unschooling” (but I think my exposure to it gave me pretty good warrant for the mockery). I definitely think that the traditional method is less about learning and more about memorization. My kids are classically educated, which is a whole ‘nother animal, but it seems to be working pretty well.
Used to? As in last week on the podcast? 🙂
I think unschooling is a great alternative to the present school curriculum!
Seems one would need the financial resources for that kind of school or the time to do it yourself.
That’s definitely one of the challenges. To do it right requires a fair amount of parental involvement and the luxury of not needing to use school as daycare while you’re at work. A luxury less and less people can afford.
I am making a comment to support your new page. I like the look of the older page much better. Honestly this one is kind of generic and boring. Need to spruce it up a little (like add those little avatar guys… so cute). There is a school in Orange County that teaches in an “un-schooling” way called Waldorf and it is pretty awesome except for the $1000-$1800 a month tuition fee.
Nevermind… went to the front page and I see the little guys 🙂
So now you like the site? 😉
Yeah, Waldorf schools are way cool! There’s a couple thousand of them world-wide, from what I understand. However, like you point out, they’re not cheap. I would have loved to have been able to send my kids to a Waldorf school though. There’s one near Seattle.
Oh and “Thank you for your support.” 🙂
Here’s an excellent article on unschooling: http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Unschooling-The-Case-for-Setting-Your-Kids-Into-the-Wild.html
While I agree with this in principle (and in my heart of hearts think that not everyone should go to college either), the truth is, in this day and age, the lifetime earning of someone who possesses even “just” an undergrad degree far outpaces that of a high school graduate. http://static.fusion.net/lifetime_earnings/analysisbyfelixsalmon.html
The thing is, Greg, I’m not sure that someone who is unschooled measures success in that way, or that those jobs that might reward degrees over, say, ingenuity and creativity are the jobs that the unschooled person would be going for, in general. Thanks for the article! Looking forward to reading it.
True. See, even though I’m not Christian I am still stuck in the puritanical mindset! Although maybe also influenced by my Eastern culture too. :X