let's trust human biology
There is plenty of evidence that the current system is not working for, and possibly harming, many children. The simplest reason is that the original purpose of the system was to over-rule children’s natural instinct—the instinct to learn though play and curiosity. Formal education was specifically designed to squelch curiosity, eliminate play and punish willfulness by rewarding conformity and insisting that students sit down, shut up, and do what they are told. Though these are by no means the goals of the current system it is the structure upon which it is built. Instead of changing the structure of the system, we have continued to build on top of it, ignoring the fact that the foundation is rotten.
The changes we have seen over the last 50-60 years have been superficial. Age segregation, prescribed curriculum, external assessment, carrot and stick motivation, non-democratic decision making and adult designed, led, and enforced instruction are all firmly in place in modern schools. Adding flowers and beads doesn’t change the system. True change can only come by going with nature, not against it. We go with nature when we trust that children are biologically designed to educate themselves and when we understand that our role is to support them by providing the conditions under which these natural gifts can flourish.
The changes we have seen over the last 50-60 years have been superficial. Age segregation, prescribed curriculum, external assessment, carrot and stick motivation, non-democratic decision making and adult designed, led, and enforced instruction are all firmly in place in modern schools. Adding flowers and beads doesn’t change the system. True change can only come by going with nature, not against it. We go with nature when we trust that children are biologically designed to educate themselves and when we understand that our role is to support them by providing the conditions under which these natural gifts can flourish.
What conditions do children need to flourish and self-direct their education?
- Unlimited time to play with the tools of the culture—books, technology, resources, equipment.
- Unrestricted opportunity to socialize across a broad spectrum of ages, interests, groups, and abilities.
- Plenty of time outside playing and exploring nature.
- Generous loving support from a variety of adults and access to instruction when they ask for it.
- Authentic participation in decision making.
Interestingly, most of these conditions exist, or could exist, in our schools. To properly utilize them we simply need to adjust how the resources are made available to kids, which must be done at their request, and not forced down their throat. And that is what Unschooling School is about; insisting that the resources of our schools be used in the service of children.
"Patrick Farenga, the publisher of John Holt’s works defines unschooling as “allowing your children as much freedom to explore the world around them in their own ways as you can comfortably bear.” The words "comfortably bear" are vital because they emphasized the importance of the parent-child relationship. If you give your kid more freedom than you can comfortably bear then at some point you're likely to freak out, clamp down, and undo much of the progress you've made together."
-Blake Boles, Why are you still sending your kids to school?
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"You just have to trust. You have to look into yourself and your own life as an adult and realize how you yourself learn things now and what motivates you. Then look at your kids and realize that not only do they have ten times more energy than you, they’re also a sponge which is soaking up information in a much more aggressive way than you will at this point in your adult life. Everyone knows you can sit a twelve-year-old down at a computer and they’ll show you how to use it two weeks later. Kids pick up stuff fast because they are interested in everything. I feel that if I can trust a twelve-year-old to learn how to use a computer in two weeks, I can probably trust them to portion their time in such a way that they get what they need out of life. It’s going to be what that particular person needs at that moment.”
-The View from the Inside - Michael Greenburg
