What Is Unschooling and Is It a Good Idea for Your Homeschool Children?

Many kids struggle with the rigidness of the traditional school system. The schedules, the rules, and the strict teaching concepts just aren’t enjoyable for them — this reflects in their grades (and, often, in their behavior, too).

These are all perfectly valid reasons to switch your child to homeschool.

But there’s a different approach getting a lot of air time at the moment. It’s one that’s been discussed more frequently as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic — where parents have suddenly had to switch to a slightly more free-form schooling structure.

This alternative is known as unschool, and we’re going to look at the ins and outs to see if it is a good idea for your own homeschooled children.

What is unschooling? (And how is it different from “normal” homeschool?)

Fundamentally, unschooling is child-led learning. Instead of following a curriculum — or any guided learning at all — the focus is on your children deciding what they want to learn, when, and how.

And, in truth, this is hardly a radical new concept.

Even though ‘unschooling’ may be a new phrase for many, it’s actually been around for over 50 years! It first appeared in the 1970s when it was advocated by John Holt, an American educator, author, and pioneer of the youth rights theory, which seeks to grant youth the right to make decisions on their own.

The main difference between homeschooling and unschooling is that the decision-maker is not the parent, rather the child is. This creates a few key differences in the day-to-day:

Parental responsibilities

In homeschooling families, most parents still teach children according to national and state standards — even if the flow is different, the content is still pretty much there. But in unschooling, the student decides what they want to do and whether they want to do it. The parent’s responsibility? To provide an environment that will foster their child’s natural curiosity to learn.

How learning works

Unschooling is all about unstructured learning, led by a child following their key interests and fascinations. Which, when you think about it, is exactly how children first learn to learn as infants and toddlers. When your little one was still crawling on the floor, putting things in their mouth, you were there to watch and intervene when needed, right?

Unschooling means parents react the same way, by pointing their children in the general direction to find their answers on their own — but only when the child demands or requires it.

What are the benefits of unschooling? Does it work?

On the face of it, unschooling might sound just too loose to work. With no real goals or objectives, and definitely no official curriculum plans… how do unschooled children progress?

Well, the benefits of unschool might just surprise you…

Increased focus and emphasis on critical thinking

With unstructured learning, children can ask questions and feed their curiosity. Asking questions is one of the best ways to develop critical thinking, but this is often overlooked in more traditional classroom settings. While traditional teachers may humor a couple of questions from each student, the unschooling process relies on a student’s line of inquiry.

With unschooling, children can go for a deep dive, and understand the subjects much better, see different angles, approaches, and theories. And when the topics they choose are perfectly aligned to their interests, the learning is so much more fun!

Problem solving and initiative

Children are quick to ask for help in a school or structured environment, which in many cases stops them from trying to solve problems by themselves. Normally, issues are handled by adults, teachers, and even older children.

And while this isn’t a bad thing, per se, it can create over-reliance on other people.

But unschooling challenges students to rely on themselves — to take initiative, and try to solve a problem without asking for help. Even when asking for help, they are encouraged to pitch in with suggestions and feedback. In your classroom, you would have been scolded for talking back to the teacher, right? But in unschool, a little debate is welcome — and helps kids develop team-working skills.

Unschooled kids can still go to college

It’s all well and good unschooling your student as a child and young teen, but what happens if they want to go to college? Surely they won’t have the right qualifications to get in?

Think again!

Most assume that unschooling is only viable for early years, and that once it’s time for higher education, unschoolers would be at a significant disadvantage. But initial statistics seem to disprove this: a survey conducted by Gina Riley and Peter Gray found that of over 200 families who used unschooling, 83% of the children were enrolled in higher education.

But, as with anything else, there are also disadvantages to this unschooling approach…

The disadvantages of unschooling

A much narrower education

It’s not uncommon for unschooled kids to have a narrower baseline education. They might miss out on crucial information simply because they didn’t show interest in core subjects like math, science and English.

One on hand, unschool can produce kids who are experts on certain topics. On the other hand, an education that’s too focused can cause issues later in life.

Kids naturally want to avoid their knowledge gaps

As humans, we’re all naturally inclined to place extra energy into our strengths and sidestep our weaknesses. If you’ve ever wanted to give up on a new sport or hobby because you “weren’t good enough”, then you’ll know this feeling all too well.

In unschool, kids who struggle with handwriting may avoid tasks that require pen and paper; arty kids will want to spend time drawing, and not learning algebra; and so on.

Unschool might not be legal where you live

Homeschooling laws vary state by state. In some locations, parents are free to do almost as they wish. In others, parents need to provide lesson plans, test scores, and other evidence to justify their approach. In these latter states, unschooling may not even be a legal option — so please check with your local authorities before you begin.

Lastly, if you’re going to give unschooling a try, why not sign up to KidsKonnect? Our library spans over 2,300 topics and growing. With a membership, you have unlimited access to all our worksheets for the duration of your subscription. You can download and customize worksheets that are on topic with your child’s interest, and you have the flexibility and freedom to change topics as quickly as your child does! Check out our subscription offerings.