Christian unschooling?
Can you live in a Christian home and 'unschool'? Interesting that this is a point of controversy in some Christian circles. I think there is a great deal of misunderstanding about what unschooling actually is (and of course it is different in every family.) John Holt used unschooling just to mean homeschooling--schooling outside of the traditional classroom. The word has morphed quite a bit over the years--it now tends to mean schooling at home without a set curriculum, following the interests and talents of the children instead. To some it means never using a textbook or curriculum material, to others it recognizing the gifts and talents in their children and allowing the learning to be directed by that. And unschooling is not a description of a parenting style, permissive or otherwise--it is a learning style.
One scripture that speaks to me is Deut. 6:6-7 "And these words... you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."
To me that sounds like schooling all the time and learning at every opportunity--that is like unschooling. I also think of the way Jesus taught---he didn't sit the disciples down with the Pentateuch and the Torah and begin teaching them formal lessons. He told them stories and parables and taught the people as he walked among them using examples from nature and from their lives. If I told you I taught my kids following Jesus model with stories and examples from their lives and from nature, I don't think you would have a problem with that. For me that is what unschooling is all about.
Morethanfine..right?
Barb
posted by Barb @ 3:15 PM
2 Comments:
The disciples themselves were men who were unschooled (as in not formally educated), I think I saw this on the home page of the Christian Unschooling yahoo group.
I'm with you, I find unschooling to be far more Christian in principle than using a packaged curriculum. I see unschooling as cultivating the uniqueness of the child, honoring that they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps 139:14).
I think some arguments against unschooling are that its an inversion of God-given authority to have the child lead. I don't think authority is about forcing a parent's will on the child and then demanding that the child be obedient. That view seems fundamentally un-Christian to me.
Yes, but on a sliding scale. The younger they are, the more our authority must contain a large measure of control---if only for their own safety. As they mature, the control lessens and the opportunities for them to exercise authority over their own lives (and whether they choose to submit to the Lord) grows exponentially. At 13, my oldest son is choosing to live under the authority of his father and myself, but each passing day, his personal autonomy and the opportunity to take the risk and responsibility for his own choices is expanding.
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