I’ve recently read a couple of articles. One by a woman named
Laurie A. Couture and another by her son
Brycen R. R. Couture. (I wonder if he’s for real or just a Tolkien fan?). Here’s another one from
Good Morning America. All of the articles are about “unschooling”. No, not homeschooling,
unschooling. Why is there a red squiggly line under the word unschooling every time I type it? It’s totally a word.
The basic premise of unschooling is this: no assignments, homework or otherwise, no grades, no desks, no schedule, no routines, no rules, no chores. The students (is it still okay to call them that?) learn whatever they want, whenever they feel like it based on their interests and passions. I wish unschooling had been around when I was a kid, it would have been awesome.
If you read the articles (and I hope you do, don’t just take my word for it) you’ll find that Miz Couture hates everything about public education, especially the teachers. And for good reason. I have to agree with her, standardized tests aren’t helping anyone, desks are confining, and grades are a pain. Her basic reasons for revolting against the system are sound.
I think that unschooling is a great idea. I think life in America would be better for everyone if parents took their kids out of school and unschooled them at home. I’m just not sure how a single mother working two jobs is going to manage to find the time. I’m not sure that the children of parents who like to parent with television and video games would fare as well as the kids of parents who like to read and do crafts. I’m not sure household’s that require two incomes would be able to manage life on just a single income so that one parent, probably mom, can stay home with the little ones.
