The home education philosophy called unschooling was revealed in the landmark book, How Children Learn, written by John Holt, a former 5th grade math teacher in an elite private school, during the early 1960’s before the modern homeschooling movement gained momentum. Since then, it has been embraced by one segment of the home education community as the quintessential reference on unschooling.
Primarily a journal based on Holt’s observations of children from birth to around age 10, the book proposes that children are born with an innate ability and desire to learn about the world around them, and given the freedom to explore the things that interest them, children will develop thinking skills.
Contrary to establishment educators, Holt argues that the traditional school model forces children to “learn” which results in a changed personality. Persistent testing and compulsory learning (often of subjects of no interest to the child) creates mistrust, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Instead of developing a love of learning, the traditionally schooled child loses his natural curiosity.
Unlike other books on home education philosophies, How Children Learn does not outline detailed methods for a successful home education; rather, he asks the parent to thoughtfully observe and respect the child —trusting that real learning will occur over time if the child is given space and freedom to explore.
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If you are interested in a free online support network with daily discussion,
you might want to consider joining the following Yahoo Groups:
Always Learning (1578 members)
“Discussion for homeschooling fans of John Holt, whose books Learning All the Time, Never Too Late, and Teach your Own have made unschooling a sweet and viable option for thousands of families. This is a moderated group, with trapdoors for the uncooperative. (Not moderated in the advance-approval way, but in the be-nice-to-play way.) It’s an idea group and is intended to lean more toward pure unschooling than neutral, general homeschooling discussion.”
Unschooling Basics (1866 members)
“A list designed for those new to the philosophy of unschooling. Ask experienced unschoolers all those niggling questions, and find out how unschooling works in real families. If you’re familiar with John Holt’s work, but unsure of how to begin or what an unschooling day really looks like, this is a place for you to discuss,question, ponder and become deeply familiar with natural learning and how it affects our entire lives. From parenting issues to learning from the whole wide world and beyond, come explore the issues that unschooling families have dealt with in the past and how to get beyond “school-think” to a joyful unschooling lifestyle!”
Christ Centered Unschooling (338 members)
“CCU stands for Christ Centered Unschooling. Unschooling is a style of home schooling based on the ideals of natural learning. John Holt, who is credited with coining the term “unschooling” espoused the idea that children, like all people, are born with an innate desire to learn. Learning is unavoidable and if given the encouragement and environment in which to flourish will happen without coercion or structure. Rigid structure, forced learning and contrived curriculum can be destructive to the desire to learn. Unschooling, practiced for several decades and by many families, has resulted in confident, productive and independent thinking adults. This list was formed as a place for Christians who are either unschooling, attempting to implement more unschooling into their lives or just interested in learning more about the ideas.”
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Are you interested in learning about other home education philosophies? Charlotte Mason believed in living books. Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer systematize classical home education more like a public school model. Oliver van DeMille preaches the leadership home education model. One thing that they all have in common with John Holt and his home education philosophy called unschooling: love of learning is a priority even though their methods for getting to that point differ.
