Unschooling vs Homeschooling

Posted by Lisa Russell Sep 12, 2008

Sorry about the title, it sounds a bit like a debate, or maybe like I'm pitting one method against another. I'm really not, the title came from a lack of creativity. I just really wanted to write about a few of the different things I noticed at the Rethinking Education Conference that I haven't seen at a Homeschooling Convention.

1. At the unschooling conference, young adults and teens were welcome to attend the sessions that you'd think were intended for parents. The age guidelines for every session weren't crystal clear. Some families found it confusing, not sure whether or not their 15 yr old could, for example, participate with the teen sessions for 16 and up. The intention, was for people to folow their bliss and be guided by their interests. As a result, in a session designed for parents of teens, we got the perspective of a teenage girl, who came to the session possibly to give us the heads-up on the teenage mind, or maybe even to understand her parents better. I think the result was both.

2. At homeschooling conventions, I have noticed, an undercurrent of seeking outside validation in the conversations that says "Look how good my kid is doing academically." In comparison, the unschooling parents didn't seem to have an overall scale of pride, but focused more on the individual personalities of each child. As a parent, my desperate feeling of "What will I do with all these personalities" was transformed into a drop-jawed "I get to watch them develop first-hand" feeling of being extraordinarily lucky to get a front row seat.

3. At the unschooling convention kids ran wild and free. It was uncomfortable at first, I'm not used to children in a public place managing their own comings and goings. My children do it sometimes, but I often viewed it as a result of my failure to 'control" them. After this experience, however, I can focus on the fact that I do trust my 5 yr old to walk across the grocery store and get a box of wheat thins, instead of the fact that she ran off when I said "I forgot the wheat thins."

4. The seminars were focused more on a lifestyle, with topics being more like "ways and reasons to leave your kids alone about stuff" rather than "ways to trick your kids into liking ___" The focus, all-around was one of personal responsibility, from the parent's workshops to the young adults. Some of the kids workshops were taught by kids. Namely, there were classes on how to master certain video games, how to film stop-motion videos with legos, how to do the Thriller dance, and various arts and crafts classes.

5. Religion at the unschooling conference wasn't assumed, and instead of basing "good decisions" on the grounds of a specific religious text, "good decisions" were based upon what personally benefits everyone involved, and the planet.

Overall, the Unschooling conference was a very peaceful environment that left me feeling energized and full of awe regarding the natural process by which learning occurs. Conversely, I always tend to leave homeschooling conventions with a list of curriculum items I want to buy.