Child Psychology Book Lady

In ‘Unschooled’, Kerry McDonald advocates for a paradigm shift in how we approach education and learning. She argues against traditional schooling, instead promoting a style of home education that is child-led and emphasises curiosity, autonomy and real-world experiences.

Short take: This book introduces us to “unschooling”, a form of education where children are given the freedom to choose when, where and what they learn. The book dispels the misconception that home-schooled kids spend all their time at home with their parents, and shows that children don’t need to be forced or coerced to learn and thrive.

Education and Parenting Approach:

• ‘Unschooled’ advocates for a child-centred, self-directed approach to education that prioritises curiosity, autonomy, and free choice. It discourages the use of a set curriculum, instead trusting that children will learn everything they need to know at their own speed and pace.
• The parenting approach described is closest to a laissez-faire, permissive or free-range style, in that minimal boundaries are placed around children’s choices, activities and interests. Instead, supportive environments are set up to allow children to thrive.

Key Themes:

• Self-Directed Learning: McDonald describes an educational approach where children are in charge of their own learning, choosing what, when, and how they learn. Parents must trust their children’s instincts and interests, providing resources and opportunities rather than direct instruction.
• Natural Literacy and Numeracy: The book dedicates a chapter to discussing how children will acquire literacy and numeracy without any formal instruction, and that parents must have patience and faith in this process in order for it to work.
• Real World Experiences: The approach emphasises practical, hands-on learning through play and self-directed interests. McDonald says that children learn best through activities that are meaningful to them.
• Flexibility and Freedom: Unlike more traditional homeschooling, unschooling has a flexible structure, lacking a fixed curriculum and allowing learning to emerge naturally through the child’s daily activities.
• Specific Benefits for Teens. The book discusses how unschooling may offer a remedy for the dreaded and tumultuous teen years, which are viewed as an inevitable part of adolescence in the West, yet are not the norm in many other cultures. The author states that these angsty years, stereotypically characterised by difficult parent-child dynamics, school refusal and emotional turmoil, result largely from a poor fit between teens and their environment.
• Unschooling Hubs and Schools. McDonald gives numerous examples of unschooling hubs, in which children are given the autonomy and choice to pursue interests with the support of peers and mentors.

Overall Impression

• ‘Unschooled’ provides a strong argument for a child-led, self-directed approach to education and learning, which differs dramatically from the traditional schooling model. The approach calls us to do away with standardised tests, set curricula, and formal instruction, instead trusting children’s innate instincts and ability to learn and grow outside of a conventional classroom setting.
• A core tenant of McDonald’s thesis is that we have come to confuse learning with formal education, thus failing to recognise that real world experiences offer ample and sufficient opportunities for children to learn. The unschooling philosophy says that children will acquire all necessary skills and knowledge that they will need in their lives, if provided with a supportive and rich environment.
• The author discusses the different ways that unschooling can be approached, speaking of world schooling, unschooling hubs and schools, apprenticeships, and family-led instruction.
• The book does an excellent job at dispelling the misconception that home education involves children spending all their time at home with their parents. For instance, many children who are unschooled attend learning hubs or schools on a part time or full time basis. These are democratic, free learning environments for children aged 4 years and older. For younger children, engagement is mostly in the form of free play, while older children and teens are given support and materials to pursue projects of their choosing (eg. Wood-work rooms, computers for coding, a library, reading and writing materials). Classes and courses are also offered, but children are not forced to attend anything.
• The book explores valuable themes such as autonomy, real-world learning, child-directed interests, and facilitation and support over didactic teaching. It places the responsibility of a child’s learning within the family, rather than allocating it to an external body (eg. A school). This may be one reason that children educated in this way tend to fare better overall in their emotional, social and even academic/occupational outcomes compared to children in mainstream education or alternate schools (eg. Steiner, Montessori).
• There were a few elements of McDonald’s thesis that I found too extreme, however, I think these may reflect her personal approach rather than the unschooling movement more broadly. McDonald seems to be against providing even basic learning support in early literacy and numeracy, such as using phoneme awareness activities, suggesting that such exercises could even be harmful. I myself do not see the harm of offering early learning support, provided that it is pitched at a child’s developmental level and educational readiness, and follows the child’s lead. Additionally, I think that a completely hands-off approach to literacy and numeracy could result in poor outcomes for some children.
• Overall, this book offers an insightful and accessible introduction to unschooling as a method of home education. It radically challenges mainstream beliefs about education, and may be best suited to readers who are already engaged in non-mainstreaming schooling literature and philosophy.