Editing Unschooling (section)

==Methods and philosophy==
{{How-to|section|date=January 2025}}
===Natural learning===
[[File:A day at the beach.jpg|thumb|upright|Unschooling may emphasize free, undirected [[play (activity)|play]] as a major component of children's education.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rolstad |first1=Kelly |last2=Kesson |first2=Kathleen |date=2013 |title=Unschooling, Then and Now |url=http://jual.nipissingu.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2014/06/v72142.pdf |journal=Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning |volume=7 |issue=14 |page=33 |access-date=16 February 2015}}</ref>]]
Unschooling is based on the belief that learning is a natural and ongoing process, <ref>{{Cite web |last=Ingram |first=Tyshia |date=2020-07-17 |title=The case for unschooling |url=https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/7/17/21328316/covid-19-coronavirus-unschooling-homeschooling |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722103238/https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/7/17/21328316/covid-19-coronavirus-unschooling-homeschooling |archive-date=2023-07-22 |access-date=2020-07-18 |website=www.vox.com |language=en}}</ref> and that curiosity is an intrinsic part of human development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=I Live Therefore I Learn: Living an Unschooling Life – The Natural Child Project |url=https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/guest/pam_sorooshian.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403225522/https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/guest/pam_sorooshian.html |archive-date=2023-04-03 |access-date=2020-07-13 |website=www.naturalchild.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Butch |first=Taylor |date=2016-07-08 |title=As the World Unfolds: A Secret Look Inside Alternative Learning |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-butch/as-the-world-unfolds-a-se_b_10870580.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826111220/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-butch/as-the-world-unfolds-a-se_b_10870580.html |archive-date=2016-08-26 |access-date=2018-12-02 |website=Huffington Post |language=en-US}}</ref> Proponents argue that children have an inherent desire to learn, and that traditional educational systems, with their standardized curricula and structured schedules, may not always align with individual needs, interests, or abilities. Critics of conventional schooling suggest that a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach can limit children's potential by requiring them to engage with specific subject matter in a uniform way, without considering their personal pace, prior knowledge, or future goals. However, this perspective is debated, and many believe that structured education can provide valuable support for diverse learning styles and needs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wexler |first=Natalie |title='Unschooling' Isn't The Answer To Education Woes—It's The Problem |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2020/05/25/unschooling-isnt-the-answer-to-education-woes-its-the-problem/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

==== Create an environment ====
Create an environment that nurtures growth by treating the home like a garden—one that you water and care for, rather than focusing on direct instruction. Simple actions, like placing a pile of paper with a cup of colored markers in the center of the table, bringing a piano into the home, or filling the space with books, are easy ways to cultivate this atmosphere.

===Learning styles===
[[Psychologists]] have documented many differences between children in the way they learn.<ref name="vosniadou-2001">{{Cite web |last=Vosniadou |first=S. |year=2001 |title=How Children Learn? |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001254/125456e.pdf |website=The International Academy of Education}}</ref> [[Standardized test]]ing, which is required in traditional American schooling (a study conducted by the Council of Great City Schools has shown that students in U.S public schools will take, on average, 112 standardized tests throughout their school careers <ref>{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Rhema |title=New study says U.S. students take more than 100 tests a year with questionable outcome |url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2015/10/26/new-study-says-us-students-take-more-100-tests-year-questionable-outcome/15685558007/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=The Florida Times-Union |language=en-US}}</ref>), is widely regarded as a poor gauge of intelligence. Its formulaic and rigid way of questioning does not allow for any creative thought or new ways of thinking.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-05-22 |title=What's Wrong With Standardized Tests? (Updated October 2023) - Fairtest |url=https://fairtest.org/facts-whatwron-htm/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=fairtest.org |language=en-US}}</ref> Unschoolers assert that unschooling is better equipped to adapt to such differences in thought processes, measuring intelligence through observation, rather than testing.<ref name="Evaluation">{{Cite web |last=Hunt |first=Jan |title=Evaluation |url=http://www.naturalchild.org/jan_hunt/evaluation.html |access-date=6 January 2013 |publisher=Natural Child}}</ref>

People vary in their [[learning styles]], that is, how they prefer to acquire new information. However, research in 2008 found "virtually no evidence" that learning styles increased learning or improved performance, as opposed to being a matter of preference.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pashler |first1=H. |last2=McDaniel |first2=M. |last3=Rohrer |first3=D. |last4=Bjork |first4=R. |year=2009 |title=Learning styles: Concepts and evidence |journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=105–119 |doi=10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x |pmid=26162104 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Students have different learning needs, but in a traditional school setting, teachers seldom customize their evaluation method for an individual student. While teaching methods often vary between teachers, and any teacher may use multiple methods, this is sometimes haphazard and not always individualized.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learning through home education |url=http://parentconcept.com/learning-through-home-education |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609235601/https://parentconcept.com/learning-through-home-education |archive-date=2023-06-09 |access-date=2011-02-20}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2023}}

====Developmental differences====
Developmental psychologists note that just as children reach growth milestones at different ages, children are also prepared to learn different things at different ages.<ref name="vosniadou-2001" /> Just as most children learn to walk during a normal range of eight to fifteen months, and begin to talk across an even larger range, unschoolers assert that they are also ready and able to read, for example, at different ages. Natural learning produces greater changes in behavior (e.g. changing job skills) than traditional learning methods, although not necessarily a change in the amount of information learned.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Armstrong |first=J. Scott |date=1980 |title=Teacher Vs. Learner Responsibility in Management Education |url=http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=647802 |journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |language=en |doi=10.2139/ssrn.647802 |s2cid=145788307 |issn=1556-5068}}</ref> [[Traditional education]] systems typically require all students to begin reading and learning mathematical concepts like multiplication at the same age. Unschooling proponents believe that this one-size-fits-all approach can cause some children to become disengaged if they have already mastered a topic, while others may struggle if they are not yet ready to learn it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holt |first=John C. |title=How Children Fail |publisher=Classics in Child Development |year=1982 |isbn=978-0201484021 |orig-year=1964}}</ref>

==== Music and Unschooling ====
While not necessarily an essential part of a formal education, most students in America take part in some form of music making. 97% of American public schools offer some form of music at the elementary level.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Highlights, Arts Education in Public Elementary Schools |url=https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/publications/95082/#:~:text=Music%20is%20offered%20in%2097,instructional%20programs%20(Figure%202). |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=nces.ed.gov |language=EN}}</ref> The traditional approach to teaching [[music theory]] involves learning how to read music and play it exactly as written. The unschooling approach follows the "Garage Band Theory," created by Duke Sharp. This method is a take on "playing songs by ear"- it draws on a person's natural ability to recognize music and pick up on the same sounds in different songs. Unschooling parents believe it is a more effective way to learn music compared to sight reading.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Concilio |first=Joan |date=2017-05-26 |title=Learning music theory the unschooling way |url=https://unschoolrules.com/music-theory/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Unschool RULES |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Essential body of knowledge===
Unschoolers sometimes state{{Who|date=November 2024}} that learning any specific subject is less important than learning ''how'' to learn. In the words of Holt:

<blockquote>Since we can't know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever must be learned.</blockquote>

Unschoolers suggest that this ability for children to learn on their own makes it more likely that later, when these children are adults, they can continue to learn in order to meet newly emerging needs, interests, and goals; and that they can return to any subject that they feel was not sufficiently covered or learn a completely new subject.

Many unschoolers disagree that there is a particular body of knowledge that everyone, regardless of the life they lead, needs to possess.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Noll |first=James Wm. |title=Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Educational Issues 15th ed. |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=2008 |isbn=978-0073515205 |pages=25–26}}</ref> In the words of John Holt, "If children are given access to enough of the world, they will see clearly enough what things are truly important to themselves and to others, and they will make for themselves a better path into that world than anyone else could make for them."<ref>{{Cite web |last=David Gurteen |title=On children and learning by John Holt |url=http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/X00046822/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513104947/http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/X00046822/ |archive-date=2013-05-13 |access-date=2014-01-16 |website=Gurteen Knowledge |publisher=Gurteen.com}}</ref>

===The role of parents===
Parents of unschoolers provide resources, support, guidance, information, and advice to facilitate experiences that aid their children in accessing, navigating, and making sense of the world.<ref name="Evaluation" /> Common parental activities include sharing interesting books, articles, and activities with their children, helping them find knowledgeable people to explore an interest with (for example physics professors or automotive mechanics), and helping them set goals and figure out what they need to do to meet their goals. Unschooling's interest-based nature does not mean that it is a "hands-off" approach to education; parents tend to be involved, especially with younger children (older children, unless new to unschooling, often need less help in finding resources and in making and carrying out plans).<ref name="Evaluation" />

=== Paradigm shift ===
Because unschooling contradicts assumptions of the [[dominant culture]], advocates suggest that a [[paradigm shift]] in regards to education and child rearing is required before engaging with unschooling. New unschoolers are advised that they should not expect to understand the unschooling philosophy at first,<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |title=Unschooling: An Introduction and Beginner's Guide |url=https://homeschoolbase.com/unschooling/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629024358/https://homeschoolbase.com/unschooling/ |archive-date=2023-06-29 |access-date=23 May 2017 |publisher=Homeschool Base}}</ref> as many commonplace assumptions about education are unspoken and unwritten. One step towards this paradigm shift is accepting that "what we do is nowhere near as important as why we do it."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koetsier |first=Cathy |title=Paradigm Shifts |url=http://www.christian-unschooling.com/paradigm-shifts.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627220327/http://www.christian-unschooling.com/paradigm-shifts.html |archive-date=2023-06-27 |access-date=23 May 2017}}</ref>