The Pear Tree

It was back to school week last week in our district and, at the ripe age of four, my son is starting pre-school.

Or, rather, he’s not starting pre-school.

He’s starting pre-unschool.

Sorry, have I lost you already?

You see, I’m making a rather daring move and dabbling with unschooling this year. Have you heard of it? It’s a rather unconventional method of learning that was developed in the 1970s by an educator named John Holt.

Not to be confused with homeschooling, unschooling does not come with a curriculum. It does not involve textbooks or designated class time or memorization or grades. So you see why it’s unconventional? Did I mention it’s also controversial?

But it’s also gaining a pretty credible following, these days. Doctors and professors and a wide range of other professionals are trying it, apparently, unschooling their kids all the way through elementary, middle and high school, and claiming success.

Now, before you get the wrong idea, I should stress that unschooling is not about just not bothering to educate your kids. It’s not leaving them alone in front of the television or Xbox, or letting them fend for themselves.

Unschooling is big on learning, but the difference is that it’s child-driven learning. That means that, instead of being told what to learn, and sometimes absorbing it but often ignoring it or forgetting about it by next week, students are given the freedom to explore what they’re interested in, and let their curiosity lead them. It’s learning through life experience.

This idea simultaneously enthrals and terrifies me. After all, this is a person’s life you’re playing with.

The big attraction, for me, is the theory that when kids are allowed to accumulate information in a hands-on way, in a style that suits them, they’ll learn faster and better. And without even realizing it, they’ll learn how to learn.

Supposedly, the critical thinking and problem solving skills of unschooled kids are more highly developed than in classroom learners, and their natural curiosity and love of learning is much stronger. This, the experts say, has something to do with taking learning out of the confines of four walls and turning the whole world into a giant classroom.

Some of the things on our agenda for this coming school year include museum, library and art gallery trips, visits to heritage sites, walks in the woods, and maybe a tour of a working farm.
There will also be required tree climbing, cooking with mom in the kitchen, sorting laundry, making beds, visiting retirement homes and maybe, if we can swing it, some volunteer work. With any luck, I will be learning a thing or two right along with my son (and his sister, age two, who will be learning by default).

I’m pretty sure that we won’t be unschooling for the long term. While I am intrigued by the idea, the fear of ruining my kids’ lives is just too strong and I cling to the safety of at least some conventional learning. But the pre-school and toddler ages seem like the optimum time to learn like this, and I hope that if we start now the effects will continue on when we begin a more standardized education by kindergarten or, at the latest, Grade 1.

The way today’s job market is trending, our kids will need to be self-motivators, who will take the initiative to pad their curriculum vitas with continuously upgraded skills and the ability to adapt to a variety of work places or working styles.

I hope I can instil in my children, while they’re still young, a desire to learn and improve themselves throughout the course of their lives – not just to make them awesome job candidates, but to get them on the road to a rich and fascinating life.

After all, shouldn’t that be our ultimate motivation for learning?

Anyone interested in learning more about unschooling should check out John Holt’s several volumes of work.
Or, just “Google” the word for a raft of information, support groups and pros and cons.

- Words by Lori-Anne Poirier

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