Is "Unschooling" the New Homeschooling?

Homeschooling has been an attractive option—especially, perhaps to Christian parents—for more than a generation now. And, with California governor Gavin Newsom signing a new law intended to prevent school districts from requiring parent notification if a child seeks to change his or her “gender identification,” we may expect an increase in families looking for online homeschool programs and other educational alternatives.

One option that’s been getting an explosive amount of attention recently is “unschooling” or “freeschooling,” an approach that avoids any curriculum or structure, letting the students choose the topics or direction of their own learning process. The idea is that children naturally learn in areas they’re most curious about. As in many approaches to homeschooling, unschooling takes many forms. Some parents still provide some guidance or structure, while others insist that the lack of parental direction is the whole point; the child must be free to “self-direct” his or her own learning process.

Generally, it’s a good idea—whether in a school classroom or at home—to capitalize on a child’s curiosity and use it as fuel for the learning process. But to completely—or even largely—abandon structure and parental guidance strikes me as a mistake. Children thrive within structures created by loving parents. They tend to respond to encouragement from Mom and Dad. Such parental involvement can be a boon to a child’s development.

Long ago, God gave Israel the model for teaching children:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 NIV).

That divinely inspired passage provides a valuable model for teaching our children. It requires not only a constant process but honest, meaningful relationships as well. We teach when we sit, walk, lie down, and rise up—in every relational interaction with our children, even the most mundane (perhaps especially the most mundane).

The best education method also entails example. Whether you know it or not, you're being watched. And the things you model—by design or by accident—powerfully communicate your convictions and values and convey to them your knowledge and wisdom.

But—and here’s where I think “unschooling” fails—God also included instruction in the command He gave to His people. Self-directed learning can be a valuable tool, but it’s one of many; godly parents will also teach their children intentionally, consistently, repeatedly, at every opportunity, the truths and skills that will help them to grow into well-educated, fully functioning adults.