I encountered a post on Facebook recently that pushed a lot of buttons. It was posted by a social worker (yes my profession also) in response to a share from unschoolers collective. Parenting style seems to affect the choice between and homeschooling and unschooling.
The chart shows us the difference between the two terms. It also suggests that we need to shift from fitting in to belonging. Further, the underlying assumption is that we have to find a way to be comfortable in a community somewhere, somehow. It is a good place to start as we look at the difference between unschooling and homeschooling as the key to our life decisions is our life experiences.
Unschooling-what is it
What I find interesting is the term unschooling. It seems to be trying to break down the idea of formal education. It seems to be zeroing in on the negatives of the traditional school system and personal negative experiences. There are pros and cons so I won’t get into that . But let me share just one thought. our language as parents influences the view of life that our children might internalize.
Unschooling is different from homeschooling. Both of these talk about learning to live acceptably in society. I prefer the concept of homeschooling simply because it expands on the possibility of diverse forms of education. There are many. Travel with or without family, living your life spontaneously are all forms of homeschooling . They have been shown to lead to being able to accept others as they are . Living the way you find yourself in. It means that this practice of homeschooling takes us out of the classroom into the society, the world.
Homeschooling-the positives
There are many positives. Having traveled quite a bit, I have noticed that it is possible to go through a period of assimilation (fitting in), where such words as accepted, different, trends, do not become negative words or negative characteristics in our lives. Why not start by being positive and emphasizing that which we know we have.
Conscious parenting for the culture is a positive outpouring of acceptance of self and others. Why?
Because we already belong. We are not trying to belong to something else out there.
Immigrants do this. People of different ethnicities , cultures, languages experience a period of transition. Moving from the known and familiar. To what is unknown. This transition is therefore a period for both parents and children and as a consequence school often becomes an important part of the process. The reality is the child has to live in 2 cultures at the same time. It’s not simple and really revolves around how much the parent is able to see what is happening.
All I can say is we live in a difficult world right now. Belonging must begin in our own immediate surrounding. This builds the capacity to see without envy, see without idle talk and judgement, see with self -acceptance.
Stay Safe.