Having looked into radical unschooling the following seems fairly typical:
Parents allow their kids to do whatever they want, and they believe their children's natural curiosity will lead them to seek knowledge. Believers in unschooling argue that kids should be allowed to set their own educational pace, and pursue expertise on topics they find interesting and necessary.
Good Morning America recently covered a story on the Biegler family. Christine Yablonski and Phil Biegler of Westford, Mass., describe themselves as "radical unschoolers" who allow their teen daughter and son to essentially do whatever they want.
They do not go to school, and hardly open a text book. Their son has no interest in sports, mostly because he was never exposed to them.
So what do their kids do with all their free time? Does their natural curiosity motivate them to seek any type of knowledge at all?
"They might watch television," Yablonski said. "They might play games on the computers."
Her husband interjected and said they might read.
Yablonski isn't worried that her teen daughter knows nothing about algebra, or the fact that she stays up all night because "she's getting everything done that she wants to get done."
She continues to argue that if her daughter needed algebra, she would find the information herself. In other words, her daughter does not need any instruction. Yablonski also isn't concerned that her kids have no interest in attending college in the future
I have looked at the children of Sandra Dodd and they seem immensely privileged with the parents happy to treat them as irresponsible children for years.
Her husband was the same For years now he has been an engineer, respected by colleagues, and secure in his career. They don't care that it took him twelve years to finish college I can't afford to keep my children in college that long!
Of her eldest son:
So back to this never-schooled seventeen year old at our house.
Will he go to college? Maybe.
In September this year? No.
Are we worried? No.
Maybe we're surprised not to be worried.
Maybe he wants to be a programmer, or a lawyer, he has said. He's not in a hurry. He might like to take some classes in the winter, at TVI (a technical school near our house that offers basic classes transferable to the university in town).
The calm surrounding all this surprises me, but it shouldn't. We weren't too worried when he read "late" (meaning later than we thought he might; he was nearly nine). We didn't withhold our regard as he made various choices in his life, and he has impressed us and others many times with his competence and demeanor. Adults trust him. Kids like him. Not all people his age have even that, but Kirby also has a job he has had for four years. That's longer than some adults have held a job. He works at a gaming shop, and so he is surrounded by bright, interested and interesting people. He is active at the karate dojo he attends. He teaches a beginning class once a week. Some his age will take karate for the first time in college, if their parents let them study anything so frivolous.
I would rather Kirby never go to college than to go without a reason to go. I would rather he continue to learn from experiences around him, from reading, the internet, friends, movies and direct observation than to borrow a bunch of money (or spend ours) to attend college just because his grandparents or uncles or my neighbors might be impressed. If he did that, I would start to wonder if maybe he wasn't as bright as we liked to think.
But if and when he has a desire or need to go, we will support him fully. If he enrolls, it will be because he has a reason to go, and has made a free choice. Those factors will create an entirely different experience from some of those around him who were pressured to go and are now angry with their parents and the world. And he doesn't have the motivation to get as far from home as he can. He likes home.
She appears to want to have them dependent for years! How can that be good for them?
They appear to pay for the daughter to go travelling extensively.
I gave mine roots and gave them wings. Even if I could afford it I would be horrified if the wings were so clipped that they didn't bother, see any need to be an adult.
I agree with the parenting expert who says :
This to me is putting way too much power in the hands of kids, something that we know kids can often find anxiety-producing, and it's also sending a message that they're the center of the universe, which I do not think is healthy for children."
Unschooled teens, like the Bieglers, usually don't know the difference between right and wrong since they do not face any consequences for their actions. For instance, the Biegler family doesn't believe in disciplining their teens.
Children who are unschooled will also have major issues with adulthood. What happens when they're on their own? Will they find work if they want to? It's fair to argue that the real world does not work that way. Chances are, they won't even be able to land a job without a minimal high school diploma.
Unschooling equates to irresponsible parenting. Those who are educated have a tremendous advantage, especially in times of economic disasters. The job market is extremely competitive, so why not encourage children to pursue knowledge instead of allowing them to stay up all night and play video games all day? Children are not mature enough to make their own decisions, and need direction from adults
While I am quite happy with home schooling, and possibly unschooling, I think that radical unschooling is irresponsible, lazy parenting.