We are a volunteer group of parents and educators working with families, students, and the public education system to put the needs of kids first.
No matter how your family is doing education during COVID - at home, virtually, or in the school building itself – it’s time to get creative. Things are strange, and many of the everyday aspects of life before COVID are just not available. So let's face that fact. Let's avoid the temptation to try to make kids do 'school as usual' in this COVID moment, when the world is anything but usual. Instead, let’s use this as an opportunity to create 'schooling' that works for kids.
So how do we start? We can start by making school less like, well, school.
So how do we start? We can start by making school less like, well, school.
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There is huge value in public education as a key component to a well functioning society, but much of the belief system used to create school practices and standards have been shown to be incorrect. Since school became mandatory, modern science has given us new insight into how the brain works and how learning happens. These insights tell us learning is what children are innately designed to do and that they they will do it joyfully through play and following their natural curiosity. We know, for example, that forcing kids to learn something when they are not ready or not interested is counterproductive; coercive teaching environments and external evaluation can kill the joy of learning. And, just as with adults, consent and choice are central to young peoples' desire to learn.
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let's help kids enjoy:
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COVID gives us an opportunity to put our educational focus where it should be:
Unschooling School is a resource centre and support group for parents, students, and educators, providing the tools and encouragement they need to concentrate on these four principals. By working together now, we can also ensure that these areas remain the priority, in all forms of school, even when we transition to post-COVID life.
- Prioritizing wellness and healthy relationships
- Nurturing the inherent love of learning
- Encouraging students to be responsible for their education
- Using the tools already in place at schools in new and creative ways
Unschooling School is a resource centre and support group for parents, students, and educators, providing the tools and encouragement they need to concentrate on these four principals. By working together now, we can also ensure that these areas remain the priority, in all forms of school, even when we transition to post-COVID life.
pandemic schooling support
In all likelihood COVID has you more involved in your child’s schooling than ever before. This has many families feeling frustrated and confused. But in fact, being more involved in your child's schooling could turn out to be a really good thing! The following sections have been put together to give you the information you need to feel confident about how to best support your child, and help you to realize that you have more power and more options than you might think.
Click on your schooling type for information and ideas.
Click on your schooling type for information and ideas.
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Honouring Children's Rights
Here is a video presentation and Q&A from the Child Friendly Communities Conference Video recordings from the rest of the conference will be posted in our Resources section shortly.
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Let's meet on Zoom!
Let's talk about about learning during COVID and let's share ideas to make 'schooling' better! Next Noon Zoom noon (EST)Jan 19th What if... we let go of grading for the rest of the school year? Meet the UnschoolingSchool Team Tuesday at noon (EST): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88543239258 |
COVID, an opportunity for unschooling school
4.5 min video
4.5 min video
The goal of Unschooling School is to bring people together; people who understand that some of the structures and assumptions of the current education system are not necessarily nurturing every child. No matter what situation they are in, every child has the right to choose an educational format that works for them and to have a choice about what and how they learn.
Tools and resources
For Parents
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For Students
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For Allies
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For Educators
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