Ways Homeschooling Is Not Unschooling

When does homeschooling integrate ideas of unschooling? You probably heard of the term unschooling recently in the education arena.

Often, both terms seem interchangeable, but they are not. Homeschooling is an option for many parents for their children to learn in an environment that promotes individual learning regardless of curriculum or structured setting.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

On the other hand, unschooling incorporates student-directed approaches to learning with limited parental input. While unschooling predicts an excellent choice for children, this new learning method sets forth an unpredictable way of learning. 

The Basic Foundation of Homeschooling

Many states across the United States support homeschooling. Especially when students need extra academic support because of health issues, homeschooling is one of the best options.

If you have children with learning disabilities, you know homeschooling is perhaps a choice that allows your children to learn in safe environments.

• More importantly, many families chose to homeschool to be more involved in children’s education.
• Perhaps, you want to teach your children history or biology with a specific approach of thinking.
• Since many students suffer detrimental anguish because of bullying, harassment, or emotional stress, families prefer homeschooling.
• These reasons maybe a few, and your family has a particular idea to homeschool.
• Whether you follow a prescribed curriculum or not, you have the flexibility to adjust learning according to the needs of your child.

In each subject, you know what your children will learn and how they will learn the topic. In reality, the learning adds together to a parent-child approach. However, the regular classroom lacks this type of plan.

Unschooling Principle Based on Student Initiative

While homeschooling is a partnership between parent and children, unschooling is student-directed. Students are in charge of what they learn and how they learn topics, with very little assistance from their parents.

Unschooling allows students to explore the world without curriculum or structure. Parents act as facilitators to children’s education.

Other schools of thoughts refer to unschooling as natural learning, experience-based learning, or independent learning; unschooling suggests individual learning. Students with the motivation to learn new topics encourage themselves to further their knowledge.

While unschooling promotes a need to have more students direct their education, many educators are asking whether parents know how to guide students. For educators, learning occurs in a process.

Unschooling follows no process. Students generate ideas and concepts based on what they believe they need to learn. However, I experienced how students respond to different types of learning.

In my inclusion classrooms, I employed diverse methods of teaching. From using digital portfolios and innovative online learning platforms, students accessed learning the material from a personal device or computer.

Imagine the possibilities in a homeschool setting. Parents derive different approaches to all types of topics using digital media to enhance children’s depth of knowledge.