Homeschooling is a Piece of Cake IV

Unschooling

The Unschooling philosophy is defined by John Holt, a 20th century American educator. He concluded that children have an innate desire to learn and a curiosity that drives them to learn what they need to know when they need to know it. Holt believed that both the desire and curiosity are destroyed by the usual methods of teaching. In his book Teach Your Own, Holt wrote “What children need is not a new better curricula but access to more and more of the real world; plenty of time and space to think over their experiences, and to use fantasy and play to make meaning out of them; and advice, road maps, guidebooks, to make it easier for then to get where they want to go (not where we think they ought to go), and find out what they want to find out.”

Unschooling has come to mean a less structured learning approach that allows children to pursue their interest with parental support and guidance, and lets children learn by being included in the life of adults. The child is surrounded by a rich environment of books, learning resources and adults who model a lifestyle of learning and are willing to interact with him. Formal academics, IF pursued at all, are pursued when the need arises. In this approach, children are apprenticed or “discipled” by adults who include him in what they are doing. In the process, the child learns everything the adult knows. And possibly a great deal more. Christians who favor less structured schooling, but with definite goals, prefer to be called “relaxed home educators”

One of my favorite stories that demonstrates Unschooling was told to me by my mentor Mrs. W. When Mrs W.'s daughter E .W. was about twelve years old she heard that the Lady Washington was going to be in the Seattle area. Since she loved tall ships (the name of ships with the tall mast and sails) her family decided to make a field trip of it. They were given the opportunity to go on board. E .W. asked a lot of questions and really impressed the crew with her knowledge and interest in tall ships. At the end of their time together the crew told the family that they would be in the Westport, WA area and invited them to see the ship again.

The family made the trip to Westport and once again had the opportunity to see the Lady Washington. This time she got to spend the weekend on the ship . After this trip Mrs. W. got a phone call. It was the crew of the Lady Washington. They wanted E .W. to take the two-week training to be a crew member of the Ship. The cost was around $250.00. Mrs. W. thanked them for the opportunity and talked with E.W. about it. Mrs. W. was concerned that her daughter was still too young and thought taking the time to earn the money to pay for the training would be a good plan. The crew called back again. They liked E.W. so much that they were going to waive the fee for her to take the training . So E.W. got the training to be a crew member aboard the Lady Washington. Then some time later the family got another phone call. E.W. was given the opportunity to help them to sail the Lady Washington to St. Vincent in the Caribbean. This would involve sailing from Washington state, through the Panama Canal, and across the Caribbean Sea. The Lady Washington was going to be used in the making of the movie The Pirates of the Caribbean:Curse of the Black Pearl. At the start of the voyage, E.W. was fifteen years old. After thinking and a lot of prayer, Mr. and Mrs. W. decided to let her go. E.W. was gone for ten months. E.W. not only helped to sail the ship but she was also an extra in the movie. Today E.W. has achieved the rank of Captain, but still prefers the job of Bosun, which is taking care of all the wooden parts and lines of a tall ship. You never know what road will open up when you let your children follow their dreams.

Thank you so much Mrs. W and E.W. for letting me share your story! Best wishes as you follow the road less traveled!

Do you have a great unschooling story? Post it here!




Natural Child.Org

Unschooling.com

unschooling.org

If you have made it this far down the post I have a question for you. Did you try all of the Lady Washington Links? They all go to a different site!