Unschooling is the idea that kids don't have to be schooled to learn and thrive. It's often considered a form of homeschooling, but differs from most in that kids only study formal academics if they choose to do so. Otherwise, they learn everything they need to know from life experience, informal reading, conversation, and so on, as they pursue their interests. Parents help to support this process by providing materials and experiences that relate to the kids' passions, and sometimes strewing the environment with new things to encounter that may be of interest.
Radical Unschooling is a philosophy that extends this approach to all areas of life. Starting from the unschooling ideas that all of life is educational and that education should be child-led, it rejects the common assumption that much of children's lives should be decided by their parents. The practical side of this approach is basically two-fold:
1) a non-punitive approach to discipline, similar to that described in the book Unconditional Parenting, which uses discussion, positive example, and consideration of the child's perspective and needs (rather than punishment) to help shape behavior in harmony with the whole family's needs
2) children make their own choices about sleep, food, and other activities (TV often comes up as an example) - although parents do have a role in preparing a supportive environment and helping children to understand the consequences of their choices for themselves and others
We are basically a radical unschooling family, although I prefer the term "whole life unchooling" because radical suggests an inclination to be as extreme as possible, and we're certainly not that... For example, we make our children brush their teeth when we feel it's necessary, since we don't believe they are capable of understanding the potential consequences involved yet.
There are definitely continuums of interpretation, in both radical unschooling and the more limited "academic" form of unschooling. None of us are going to let our kids run into a busy street and learn naturally from that experience, but deciding exactly where and how to draw the lines is one of the interesting challenges of this style of parenting.
Unschooling and Young Children
To some people, the strangest thing about all of this is that our children are under five, i.e. not yet school age. What's up with the unschooliness? Again, basically two things:
1) whole life unschooling principles already apply. It's taken us some time to work out the best routines and tactics for our family, but our kids seem to do a fine job of choosing their own activities, even at the ages of 3 and 1.
2) I find the perspective on learning that unschooling provides very helpful in being with my kids. I see them learning every day, and I love the idea that this is a completely natural process that starts at birth and should continue seamlessly, with no artificial transition at age five (or age eighteen, for that matter).
Also, of course, River has reached an age at which most American kids are in preschool. It's awesome to see him doing the things a "normal" three-year-old would do (play with friends, count, learn letters, listen to books, help others, draw recognizable pictures, etc.) without feeling like he needs to be formally taught these things. I'm always curious where his interests will take us next!
