According to many supporters of non-traditional schooling methods, today’s current educational system is not only ineffective at enabling children to succeed in the learning process, it is actually preventing students from attaining their true scholastic capabilities. One example of such a non-traditional schooling method is the idea of unschooling, which, explained briefly, is the exact opposite of the traditional schooling method we are familiar with today. Proponents of the unschooling method frown upon regimented curriculums and stress-inducing examination systems. Rather, they propose that children learn best when they are left to their own devices to learn through natural life experiences (with the parent being involved in the creation of various learning scenarios). Unschoolers hold that such instruments of traditional schooling are not conducive to a student’s utmost learning, and that the removal of such educational features represents a method that allows each student to discover their desire to learn from within. The unschooling method effectively utilizes natural learning capabilities found in all children, allows a deeper and more substantial exploration into various subjects not found in traditional schooling, and inspires a true internal desire to learn. Overall, Unschooling is superior to traditional compulsory schooling because it initiates a more effective learning process by allowing children to be educated through natural life experiences. It has been universally held that children are natural learners. After all, this is a basic part of our genetic makeup. Long before any sort of schooling system was introduced into modern society, human beings (including children) were fully capable of learning on their own through natural processes, even if such learning is not always considered “academic.” For example, early humans learned very quickly not to put their hand in fire, or how to effectively track animal herds…a lesson many of them surely learned on their own without any sort of curriculum. Unschoolers hold that even more advanced forms of academic learning can take place through similar means of natural experiences, such as learning percentages and fractions when grouping together with friends to make a purchase, identifying with natural elements while spending time outside observing animals, or even learning historical facts through reading for the sole purpose of enjoyment. These natural processes of learning are an innate characteristic of human beings that have been around for eons. This presents a fundamental problem with today’s traditional schooling system. Rather than allow children to learn naturally by means of their own incentives, strict curriculums and examination procedures take the emphasis away from learning and inspiration, and place more importance on organization and achievement. The process becomes quite different when students are forced to learn through processes that stifle their creativity and love of learning by inducing unnecessary stress into the equation. Not so surprisingly, many unschooling parents have found that their children often excel in topics many traditional schooled children might struggle with, not necessarily because of their natural aptitude for the subject, but because of the natural manner in which the topic was presented to the child. Unschoolers are finding that when a child is allowed (and encouraged) to explore a topic when fueled by their own interest and incentives, the learning process occurs in a far more effective manner.
The unschooling method also allows a more in-depth exploration into various academic subjects, thus allowing students the opportunity to discover interests they might only skim over in a traditional school setting. In can be argued that many potential scientists have never been granted the opportunity to discover their love of science because they never had a chance to explore it thoroughly according to their own
