Teen’s View Of Unschooling

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At the beginning of this school year, I asked each of my children to write a paper stating what unschooling has meant to them. I was very interested in seeing my teen’s view of unschooling.

Here is what my just turned 18 yr old wrote:

Homeschooling my whole life has given me the unique advantage of studying and learning the subjects that I wanted and needed. Instead of learning a preset subject and having a certain timeframe to understand it, I was able to dive deep into every subject and take my time in really understanding and soaking in what I was trying to learn.

Unschooling has allowed me to develop my own way of learning. For example, I was taught many different formulas on how to solve for different mathematical equations and was allowed to choose the style that came easiest to me.

Instead of forcing one way of learning, I received an education tailored just for me.

I learned my public speaking skills from outside resources such as 4H and a public speaking class I chose to take.

I was taught, not just in a schoolroom, but in my day to day life. I learned spanish from my dad, just by listening to him and his family and friends speak. I learned math from my mom. Science and history online, through books and field trips, and filled in the gaps by researching online and browsing textbooks. I had the choice to learn and study what I wanted too. I taught myself sign language and cursive because I thought they were important. I have been interested in martial arts and have been able to spend a lot of time at the different studios and researching and learning and practicing as much as I could. I never had the pressure or atmosphere of a public school and I believe that is a blessing and I am so thankful for it.

I have been able to learn all of my essential and necessary skills in a safe and fun environment and have enjoyed every minute of it. I’m thankful that my parents made the educational choices for me that they did, and that they taught me that learning is a way of life.

When I read what he had wrote, it was a validation for me. My teen’s view of unschooling warmed my heart. I’ll admit that there were numerous times throughout the years that I questioned our choice. There were times I doubted myself and worried that I had messed up their lives by choosing this route for our family. However, reflecting on everything that we’ve done, I realize that these were the right choices for my children and my family as a whole.

I’m not saying that unschooling is the right choice for every family. I just hope to encourage you to follow whatever learning path you feel led to follow, without worrying about what anyone else thinks. Don’t let others pressure you into feeling inadequate or make you feel like you are doing your children a disservice. Each family is unique and each learning adventure is also. Education doesn’t have a specific formula that works for each child or family, but rather, is a way of life.

My other teen’s view of unschooling can be found in this blog post:

https://learningisawayoflife.com/those-weird-unsocialized-homeschoolers/