The Road Less Traveled: Tribute to the Skeptics

Over the course of my unschooling life, I am often faced with skepticism about the quality of my education. There are tow main criticisms of unschooling: lack of resources and lack of interest. "Self-taught" is a difficult concept for many people to grasp because how can a person teach themselves ideas that they do not know? How can you teach yourself advanced algebra when you don't know advanced algebra? This is easily combated: how does a person learn anything? When they are motivated to learn the material, they find the resources to learn about that material. Unschooling predicts that a child that wants to learn about bugs will be motivated to find resources to learn about bugs. They may find formal learning tools in forms such as books, documentaries, zoo trips, and websites. And they may use informal learning tools (something as simple as catching bugs and examining them).
If a child is motivated to learn something, they will find a way. 
And with the help of their parents to find them resources (organizing trips to the museum, getting a library card, or simply taking them for a walk), there is never a shortage of resources available.

In public education you are given the reassurance that your child is being taught by a qualified professional who completely understands the material they are presenting to your child, but that your child may have any number of problems with the material and be taught in a way that may not work for them. With unschooling, the reassurance that you have is the steadfast belief that your child is curious: their natural inclination to learn and grow will foster their intellectual pursuits.
Which leads us to the second issue: lack of interest.
People in public education (though public education has many benefits) are given a disadvantage. They are not allowed to follow their interests beyond taking an elective (if their interest is even offered as an elective). You are told what to think, not how to think. Through a systematic set of barriers the child's natural inclination to learn, that natural curiosity, has been smothered. The flame of curiosity has burned out under the pressure of forced learning. If you are constantly forced to do something, it no longer becomes a pleasant experience, and you do not wish to do it in your spare time. If you are constantly being forced to eat, why would you snack in your spare time?
The end product that you have is this: a guaranteed well of knowledge that knows facts, but lacks passion and interest (the driving force of organic learning). This system, the road frequently traveled, inhibits children from retaining their ability to learn naturally. They lack the interest.
Unschoolers are allowed to learn whatever they want, in any manner that works the best for them. If you want to learn about Shakespeare, you are allowed to learn about Shakespeare, whenever you want, through whatever means you prefer. Therefore, you are getting the most personalized education that you can: your interests, your style, your way. All children have a natural curiosity, and if it is organically fostered it doesn't extinguish. The child keeps learning, and the curiosity never wanes.
An additional benefit is that through learning through life and informal learning tools, you never really stop learning if you are open to the idea. It's not just sitting down with a textbook for an hour, it's experiencing the real world in ways that allow your child to learn. The road less traveled is filled with adversity and skepticism, but can make all the difference.

Excuse the brevity. Thank you for reading! :)
For more info on how public education is often a disadvantage, here is a link to another post of mine:
http://thelifeofanunschooler.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-problems-of-public-school-from.html
For more information about how unschooling works: http://thelifeofanunschooler.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html
For more information on the natural desire of children to learn: http://thelifeofanunschooler.blogspot.com/2014/05/every-child-is-matilda-hidden-creative.html

The Magical Cardboard Box: Informal Learning Tools

• Education: noun, defined as "the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university" or "an enlightening experience".
• Learning: verb, defined as "the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught".

               People often assume that 'learning' and 'educating' are synonymous. While this linguistic inconsistency may work in PTA meetings and Congressional hearings to discuss funding, it simply doesn't transfer over to the real world. Many assume that learning only occurs in the following settings:

• with a teacher instructing a student in a school setting

• Refer to above.

        Despite the numerous problems with education systems, some learning may indeed occur. The student may, in fact, become enlightened. If their interests are sparked in (more often than not) a curiosity-stifling academic setting, then the hypothetical goal of education (actually learning) has been achieved. If a child is lucky enough to be able to be enlightened in a formal, structured education system, many often assume that learning ceases there. This, as many things with regards to structured education, also does not transfer over to the real world.  
       I'm not utilizing this post to discuss issues with public education systems, I have another blog post for that (linked below). The point of this post is to discuss why, if a child still retains their natural curiosity about the world, they never cease the act of learning. Everyday acts such as lifting a rock to examine the bugs underneath, making a cake, fixing the car, pumping up a bike tire, drawing a picture, giving the dog a bath, etc. are all learning activities. Instead of learning fractions from a textbook, a child learns about them from measuring flour for a cake. Formal learning tools (textbooks, teachers, classrooms, etc.) are not essential for the act of learning to occur. In fact, these formal learning tools stifle the individuality of the student. Informal learning tools are infinitely more flexible in their ability to adapt to the student. If you child learn visually, you can adjust how your child learns by using visual learning tools. In a public school setting, the student would be forced to conform to using the same formal learning tools as everyone else. 
Unschooling uses the entire world as a learning tool. It's led by the child's passions (what's under that rock? What kind of bug is that? What kind of plant is that? What kind of soil does it need to live in? What kind of rock is that? Bingo! Geology, botany, etc.) and allows the child to use whatever informal learning tools (or formal, if that's the child's cup of tea) in order to learn about the world. There is no issue of transferring "formal learning" to real world application because the child learned about it in the real world. Without the constant barrage of formal learning tools that are forced upon the child (article link below), the child is constantly learning throughout their lives. Never underestimate the magic of the cardboard box: who knows what lessons your child might learn from something that seems so simple (and, informal). 

The Problems With Public School From an Unschooled Perspective: http://thelifeofanunschooler.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-problems-of-public-school-from.html
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