Essay The Unschooling Movement

There is no basis in the belief that children are “naturally curious” and that given a freedom-based education they will be productive (Koonce, 2015,

Unschooling is different from traditional grade-level structural education in every aspect of its design, rather than placing a child in a classroom of four walls and teaching what the government has constructed it allows the child to determine their syllabus. The controversy about unschooling is the freedom that the students receive. The teachers sole purpose is to provide an environment to nurture the students interest, in the students own way while providing what’s needed to follow those interest (Morrison, 2016). This system of homeschooling allows an extraordinary amount of play for students under the philosophy that through play will arouse learning within the student and most importantly the student will entertain learning while progressing on their own terms. The end goal that parents seek is to embrace and nurture their child’s desire to become life-long learners that seek

Public schooling establishes a diverse atmosphere and stimulation for students to succeed. Student’s need more stimulation than any one parent can provide for their child. “Home schooling does not encourage and facilitate children to make peer relationships. In both public and private schools, children have the benefit of being grouped together in classes and activities, and in turn, they have an opportunity to get to know one another. Home school lacks this type of environment and can retard a child’s social growth” (Home Schooling – The Benefits of Learning at

Imagine what it would be like to not get to have your first day of school as a child. For a child that is home schooled, they never get to walk through the doors on their first day with a new backpack, new school supplies, and new clothes. As little as this issue may seem, is it important for people to understand the effects that homeschooling can have on the cognitive development of elementary age children because by not being exposed to the resources and relationships children can get out of public school, they lack the benefits that come along with the system. Children cannot develop their emotions and problem solving skills, which could result in them being less successful in the future. The next generation is meaningful to society because they are the ones that will help American progress, so people need to ensure that they are getting the best education for their children. Although many parents believe homeschooling can be beneficial to their children because of the convenience and closeness to home, thoroughly examining the negative effects it has including a lack in the cognitive development, limited exposure to problems associated with the public as well as not having the benefits of a relationship with teachers and other students can prove that homeschooling are harmful to the cognitive development of elementary aged children.

Kozlowska explains that the concept of unschooling is a natural way of learning that all children experience before they start traditional school. She uses logos in the following quote: “‘...There is no reason to believe that this ability to make mental connections, to ask questions, would disappear by the age of 5 and 6.’” to try to convince the audience that unschooling better prepares children for the real world. Kozlowska gives an example of a family that was able to successfully utilize the method of unschooling to allow their two children to learn at their own pace and explore their own interests instead of being forced to learn about topics they believe will never be present in their adult

Not long ago, my parents received an endless amount of criticism, similar to the Walls’ family, for their decision to homeschool my siblings and me. Many “feared” for us, because according to them, there was no way we were going to learn effectively at home, what we could in a formal school. My mom tells me stories of how people she’d known expressed genuine concern over the idea of educating children in a different way than what is deemed “normal.” I do not blame these people for their concern, as they were raised in a society that emphasizes a single approach to learning. Although there were definitely times growing up when I wished to attend a brick and mortar school like “normal” people, after a certain age I genuinely appreciated my parent’s decision. Being home-schooled has taught me so much more than just the basic principles of education. I grew up being highly self-reliant due to my online school requiring students to be almost entirely responsible for keeping up with their work. Similar to college, I had a syllabus provided to me, and had no one other than myself to make sure I was on top of everything. This helped me to become a responsible and well-organized individual. I also gained a quality education, despite all of the fear and concern of those around me. I still have to answer the questions, “Why were you homeschooled?” and, “Didn’t you want to go to regular school?” more

Schooling has always been of great importance to our society. Most parents, want their children to have a proper education. They believe in the importance of a good education and doing what is the utmost for their child. Unschooling is a method of where there is not teacher teaching the student. Each student has to be able to learn on their own without the help of others. Yes, they can have help, but it is a personal motivation for them to strive for excellence by themselves. Unschooling has dated back centuries ago when Thomas Jefferson was still alive. Unschooling is a new trending topic that results in many benefits and pitfalls.

B. Preview – Traditional homeschooling can be problematic to a student’s life skills and overall development. The social learning aspect of school, which is lacking in homeschool, directly transfers into college and the workplace. Most teenagers and kids need to be supervised at every moment or else they will not do their work and, while at home, it is hard to find the motivation to do schoolwork.

The greatly discussed dilemma of having a child be taught in a public school setting versus a homeschool setting has been evaluated by parents since the idea was first introduced in the 1970’s. Public schooling had been the standard method of teaching since it is a requirement for states to provide public, free education for children in grades K-12. However, the backlash against the system began when two educational theorists and supporters of school reform, John Holt and Raymond Moore, started to question both the techniques and the products of public schools. Some parents went on to support the ideas of them and began to teach their children in the environment of their own homes for several different reasons. Some included moral or religious reasons, a desire for high educational achievement, dissatisfaction with public schools’ instructional program, or concerns about drugs and peer pressure in a public school environment. Child development specialists believe that homeschooled children are isolated from the outside world, therefore making them socially handicapped. If being exposed to this type of education on an elementary school level, the child can suffer from the lack of fundamental development of effective social skills needed for a lifetime ahead of them.

Public education in the United States is perhaps one of the most critical issues we face as a nation. Once pronouncing the United States as a “nation at risk”, the educational institution began to implement one reform strategy after another. In efforts to improve schooling for K-12 students, education reform has fiddled with class size, revised graduation requirements, and created standardized testing just to name a few. Unfortunately, traditional public schools are still failing to provide students with a quality education. This is disheartening as we learn that the United States lags behind in math and science compared to our international counterparts. It is safe to say that educational reform has spent billions of dollars over the

Most parents hear the word “home-school” and conjure up many assumptions that are either false or overlooked at. The technology provided, as well as the teaching quality spent on home-schooled children requires a lot of time and effort from the parents; it is an act of dedication and total commitment. According to the Robinson Curriculum, the parents have “little personal time or time alone. If care is not taken to set aside time for yourself, it is easy to never have time alone. They are basically with their [children] 24/7” (The Robinson Curriculum). There are many positives as well as the negatives outlooks pertaining to “sheltering” kids from attending private or public schools. Many adults are

Education is an essential part of life. It helps a child be able to reach their full potential, and allows them to broaden their horizon in ways that might not otherwise have been possible. Because of this many parents are determined to give their child the best education possible, so that they can have what they feel is the best chance for a life full of amazing possibilities. Often, parents turn to public or private schools to help them along this journey, feeling that these two paths are the only way for their children to achieve this. But, these two forms of schooling are not the only ones out there that are beneficial for parents to consider. Another important choice for parents is homeschooling. Homeschooling is the earliest form of education, being done throughout the ages. Before there were public and private schools, children being taught in the home was a completely normal occurrence. Today far fewer parents homeschool than in years past. While homeschooling provides both children and parents with many great benefits, for a child’s education, there are also a fair number of drawbacks to it as well. By understand what the benefits and drawbacks are of homeschooling it can help a parent fully decided if this educational option is right for them.

Homeschooling, not very well known, presents a new and affordable way to educate children. “Home school is a term used to refer to the education of children by their parents or guardians in a setting other than a public or private school” (Anderman & Anderman, p. 467). It has never been a new thing; it just has not been as popular as it used to be (Lines, p. 76). With this topic meaning so much to groups for and against the right for homeschooling and what should be legalized or not, the debate still rages on from local to even national government entities. Both sides of the argument have valid points, but ultimately it is the choice of the parents. There are many types of ways to educate children and that decision is difficult for both

Homeschooling is one pathway of education that effectively teachers each student based on their individual needs. At home there is one student, and one

In his article “We Don’t Need No Education,” Ben Hewitt writes that unschooling is a more suitable path for children as opposed to conventional schools. The author defines unschooling as “self-directed, adult-facilitated life learning in the context of their own unique interests.” To put to simple terms, someone who has power over what he/she wants to educate themselves in. Hewitt provides a variety of information that supports his statement such as personal experiences to statistics to valid sources.