Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Unschooling: What Does it Look Like?

Another example of unschooling success.

The reason I believe that unschooling can be so successful for high-ability kids is because I see it every day. We have an unschooling group of kids here who meet up twice a week to "play" together. Some are highly creative, some are highly mathematical. Majority of them have never been in school. They range in age from 3 up to 12.

I think the thing that attracts me the most to the concept is this: If you have a child who is a budding author. WHY should they learn calculus and trig? Daily maths as they will need it will be learnt through what they do. And if you have a child who is heavily passionate about science, how much knowledge do they need on the parts of speech? Sure I am over simplifying here, but you get the point.

Gifted kids fill gaps FAST - we all know this. We have all seen that when our kids are intrinsically motivated - self invested in something they learn it accurately and lightning fast. This methodology works to that ability. So when they see their own gap, they will want to and they do then fill it - whatever it takes!

Unschooling allows kids to truly be anything they dream of. Not what society or their parents see as what they should do. They can be exposed to so much more, understand how they would affect the world, society at large and they can fill their own dreams without anything stopping them.

If my child is absorbed in reading, I don't want to stop them right then to come do maths. Their head will be back in that book for the entire "lesson" - so I'm wasting my time, his time, and both our energy for something that will most likely need to be repeated at some stage again.

But if I leave him to finish his book, he will come searching maths and then will immerse fully into that.

Like HK said - headstrong can (And do) refuse point blank to do anything. You gotta be sneaky like a ninja, it needs to be THEIR choice so they immerse fully.

This means parents must be inventive, totally focused on how to ensure their kids learn those things that need to be imparted. It's not for the lazy parents I assure you. It takes a lot more dedication from me than after-schooling and homeschooling ever did.

And I see it working. Aiden is happier, much more willing to immerse into things. And because I am not afraid to let him jump around as he will, he eagerly fills any gaps that come up. I am humbled by his focus and commitment to getting to where he wants to go. He has already chosen formalised school leaving through the Cambridge route. Chances are good he will do this around age 12/13. he will be able to skip most of the spiraled course work and exams because he will be quite used to starting with the bigger picture and filling gaps as he needs to.

Nathan is only 5 but with his abilities we know that this is how he will best be served. No other educational institution in the country will even consider allowing a 5 year old to work at a 3rd - 4th grade level, and it's harder and harder to find appropriate reading material. So he gets to "play" with what interests him. One could argue that since he technically is still too young for school this is fine for now - I can only see this expanding as he gets older.

Other terms for unschooling are democratic schooling, child-led learning, free learning.

It can really look like anything - the core idea is that nothing is forced upon one person by another. That there is autonomy in directing your own life. And that kids who get to practice this will be adept at is by the time they are ready to make their way in the world. So if you child chooses to attend grade 8 for example, they are unschooling. If your child asks for a specific maths curriculum, they are still unschooling. If they need time to dream under the tree and that time extends to 4 days - it's okay too because you know they WILL eventually move on when that need is filled.

For me, the hardest part was stopping myself from being in the traditionally educated mindset of drills, skills and grade levels. It was much harder for ME to trust my children's curiosity than it was for them to trust themselves.