Lessons from Unschooling Families: The Greens

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

16 Aug 2007 06:13 PM

If you haven't been following the series, I've written several articles on unschooling, our experiences with it and how it can work. But just like not all of the 2 million home schooling families in the United States have phenomenally educated children so do some unschoolers give unschooling a bad name.

You'll notice that the majority of my experiences with unschooling have been very positive but I have met one family in my years as a support group leader that I think might make anyone question the validity of an unschooling method.

They begin their day whenever they want. The children can sleep in as late as they want. (This isn't unusual to me, my children do the same.) Likewise, they are allowed to stay up as late as they want. . .even the babies. Consequently mom is always tired because she lacks sleep. . .even though her 'babies' are 4 and 5 years old. Breakfast is optional. The kids are allowed to eat whatever they want for breakfast. Unfortunately though, there isn't a choice of healthy foods but rather sugar coated cocoa puffs or sugar coated vanilla puffs.

The kids have no chores nor are they required to take responsibility for their things. So mom starts the day by making the kids' beds, doing their laundry and doing the household chores while the children are left to their own devices which hopefully include learning. In fact, this is one of the justifications that Mrs. Green uses for unschooling her children. She would never have time to do all the household chores AND actually teach lessons on top of that.

Unschooling Gone Wrong?

I would say not. I would say it is the parenting that has gone wrong in this scenario. The Green's children are horribly lazy and although they do learn some 'academia' on their own, their days are filled with television, video games, and lack of parental interaction. This type of environment is NOT ideal for children to learn in.

But children can easily have an education where child-led learning, good literature and trade books, field guides and self-guided investigations lead the way towards a confident and inquisitive self-learner. The 'tricks' seem to be high parental involvement, a rich learning environment, and lots of good literature.

Related Articles:

The Jones

Does Unschooling Really Work?

Some Unschooling Questions Answered

Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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Tristi Pinkston (10839) 16 Aug 2007 07:05 PM

This is going to seem like a quirky correlation, but when I blogged "Hooray for Diffendoofer Day" yesterday, what immediately came to my mind was unschooling. The teacher in this book spent her time teaching the children strange things like how to tell the difference between a miniature poodle and a marigold, but when time came for testing, it turns out that what she had really taught the children was to think for themselves, and they were able to sail through the test because even on the answers they didn't know, they were able to reason them out. I'd take a child who knows how to think any day over a child who has all the answers memorized.

Valorie Delp (49340) 17 Aug 2007 03:31 AM

I agree with you Tristi. Honestly, if the 'Greens' (I've changed their name ;-) set a few boundaries, life would be much happier for them. It is nearly impossible for that mom to keep house--because she does everything. Not my kids but if they spent some time promoting community a little--it would go a long way. I also can really, really not get into the idea that the child will turn off the television if he is so led. But that's anoter blog all together ;-)

Mary Ann Romans (26886) 17 Aug 2007 05:39 AM

Great article. This is what my preconceived idea of unschooling was in the beginning, based on what I heard. I'm not a homeschooler (I think I want to be someday), but my children all have chores once they hit two, and we do them together. It is a great opportunity to teach them as we share some time together (fractions, science and chemisty while cooking, physics while cleaning out the garage, etc.)

Valorie Delp (49340) 17 Aug 2007 05:44 AM

Thanks Mary Ann. Most unschoolers that I've met are not this way but rather have a few boundaries in place to ensure that things run smoothly.

Kevan Thoman (5) 20 Aug 2007 06:34 PM

Brilliant article. I think unschooling is a completely viable option so long as one or both parents have time and motivation to encourage and aid their children in following their interests as far as the child's attention span will allow. Where that is not the case, unschooling can quickly become "noschooling". I do not unschool my children simply because I don't feel I have the time to do it correctly.

Valorie Delp (49340) 20 Aug 2007 07:00 PM

Why thank you. I agree. I think Andrea once said the 'trick' to unschooling seems to be that parents who unschool tend to spend a lot of time thinking about how to provide enriching and great opportunities for their kids.