Unschooling - Do you think it can work?

[abacucat]

Unschooling is the idea that children naturally want to learn and that what children need is the opportunity to pursue their interests.

I think unschooling can work, it has an appeal to me, but I imagine that it working effectively would mean the parent is doing an awful lot of work behind the scene to create learning opportunities.

We thought seriously about home education, and although we didn't go for it in the end, we use some of the ideas behind it during the time we're at home with the dc.

OP you realise that this idea of kids socialising with kids the exact age as them is a very new thing right? Until schools became a thing kids socialised with kids of all ages. It's a much much healthier way for children too socialise. Not only that but being stuck in the same space as the same 30 other kids day in and day out is not socialising. Especially not once bullying starts.

Yes it can and does work. I think people need to take a step back and actually think about the benefits rather than follow the news like sheep.

Course it cant work, eventually your kid has to function in the big bad world!

We live abroad and currently home-educate. If I let my oldest just follow her interests she would know lots about insects and very little maths and English. I make her do maths and English (and she often enjoys it) and she learns lots about insects anyway. I’m fairly skeptics about unschooling and believe you need to follow an educational plan if some sort, but then I am a trained teacher.

*skeptical

Course it cant work, eventually your kid has to function in the big bad world

My kid went to a prep school with 120 pupils from 2 to 11. Was it helping her function in the “big bad world”? No. Was it the absolute best education for HER needs? Absolutely.

Un-schooling/Home-schooling and all variations thereof are exactly the same. The education that suits an individual child.

Kids are not shut up in institutions - they are schools, not prisons! Schools are generally structured to provide all these learning opportunities and in primary at least, there is a lot of cross curricular topic work.

Personally I think it is beneficial to make children study subjects they might not naturally be drawn to. Interests change snd develop over time.
Learning to read and learning the times tables might not be fun but try going through life unable to do either. And actually, it doesn't harm kids to be a little bit bored sometimes - when they grow up they will have to cope with the reality that not all careers are constantly enjoyable and that adult life often involves repetition and boredom.

My wife has some friends in the US who were unschooled. It certainly worked for them, they have degrees now.

So helpful of you to define 'institution', for those of us who are unclear
It was the 'shut up in' part of your sentence that I took issue with. It makes school sound like prison. Most schools are doing a good job of providing opportunities and encouragement for children to develop their interests.

I think my imagination can stretch to understanding that different ways of educating can be beneficial for some children. I have no issue with HE, if it's done well. However, unschooling is something else - there are very few people who could carry this out properly and I believe it is important for children to be directed in learning about things they might not initially choose, but will come to appreciate the value of, later on.

I do agree with you that there should be some flexibility for parents - the fining situation has become ridiculous in some schools. I don't think it's too restrictive to expect parents to broadly adhere to set times/days, as the school has the job of delivering education to more than one family and ability to do so depends upon the class all being at roughly the same stage at the same time.
It does limit a family's ability to live entirely as they please (wrt holidays etc), but since state school is not compulsory, I guess the parents have agreed to the structure by making the choice to send dc to school.