unschooling

[Unschooling ] simply takes being open to the lives our children wish to live, and learning to trust in and nurture the inner voice that each child is born with- Alison McKee

Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners- John Holt

A little while ago, when Zion was simply a thought in the Tencza consciousness, KJ and I went on a day trip to Copper Mountain. On our drive home, seemingly out of nowhere, KJ told me of how he had had thought of us homeschooling Zion-and he liked it. He told me of how exciting it would be to experience life with him, teach him through real-life experiences, and travel to different countries as part of his education (except at this point in time there was no name for Zion in our consciousness. We were talking about our child someday). I looked over at KJ cockeyed and wondered where this crazy idea had come from. It is not anything unusual for KJ to throw an idea at me from "nowhere." I smiled at the irony of it all; for years we have ridiculed homeschooling because of the very awkward product that it produces. But now, we actually had good models of homeschooled children. To us, a good homeschooled child seems like a schooled child. I know you know what I mean. It is the motivation that scares us. Parents who homeschool to "protect" their children from the bad world tend to produce the most troubled adults.

So, the thought was planted. Then we talked to a friend, Betony Coons, who said that she was unschooled . Betony is about as cool a cat as they come so we knew that her parents did something right. She told us how she was unschooled and how each of the kids in her family were free to pursue their own interests. By the time they were 18 they were secure in themselves and their abilities. Huh. I still didn't understand it, but I liked it.

Then we had a son. This son of ours seems to follow many of KJ's non-normal patterns of being and (maybe?) learning. Hmmm. KJ and I both love teaching and learning. It is who we are. At my work in the library I work to promote interactive forms of learning by combining literacy and fun. I am also a keen sociologist with tons of materials at my fingertips. I have begun to notice parents, daycares, and how they interact with those for whom they care. I have talked to my favorite parents and learned that, indeed, they do seem to follow certain premises and I have studied up on them (the disciplinary style of love and logic (Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical parenting from Birth to Five Years by Jim Faye) and unschooling.


Unschooling is child-directed learning that focuses on the joy and wonder of learning. It's core principle is that an individual will learn what she/he needs to know when it is time. Right, I thought. But could I really be that creative and would that work when Zion gets older and bored? Initially I thought that KJ would be amazing at this and I would just really have to work at it to be like him.

I have devoured accounts of unschoolers. I believe that schooling your child is an act of faith and trust. It allows for the special individual attention that in which a child can flourish. The more I have learn and read, the more convinced I am that this is the best thing for our family and that I can do this; even more, my heart longs for this. I suppose that this is the way schooling occurred long ago and produced the likes of Thomas Edison. I like to think of it as producing a Renaissance person. The world truly is our classroom.

After studying this I see that I am an unschooler and living with KJ has taught me how to use every resource I have to learn. This is how I live. Stay tuned: many adventures to come.