One Family at a Time

There are more and more unschooling blogs out there. Maybe because there are more and more unschoolers. I don't know this for a fact - nobody keeps a log of the number of unschoolers - but it certainly seems that way to me. The e-lists are growing. The number of books on unschooling is increasing. More and more people seem to be coming into discussions with an already fairly clear idea of what unschooling entails. This is wonderful!

I remember that spark, that a-ha! moment, when I first read about unschooling. Kenzie was little - maybe 2.5 or 3. I had stumbled upon the phrase "attachment parenting" somewhere, and, after realizing that this was basically what I had been doing for the past few years, I began searching for AP sites on the Internet. It wasn't long before I came across the word "unschooling," which led me to a few articles written by John Holt. I remember thinking, "Duh," after reading only the most rudimentary definition (if it can be called that) of unschooling - that kids learn best when they are interested in learning, when they pursue learning on their own, in their own time. I knew this. Of course I knew this. I had seen it in my own life over and over. It made perfect sense. Within 10 seconds, I had made up my mind: Kenzie and I would be unschoolers. I searched the Internet for more information, joined a discussion list, bought a few books off eBay, and excitedly turned the possibilities over and over in my mind.

Several years later, it's not something I think about in such an excited way anymore. It's simply the way we live our lives. In the beginning, it was amazing to contemplate the idea that Kenzie wouldn't actually have to attend school. Now, I can't even imagine him in school. Heck, I can't quite remember how I got through school, myself. Unschooling is, for us, normal. It's schooling that's foreign. What would it be like to have to wake Kenzie up early so he could catch the bus? Or nag him about his homework? Or have parent-teacher meetings? Or contemplate Ritalin? Or worry about the TAKS test (mandated by NCLB)? What would it be like to live with a child who spent such a huge part of his life in a prison-like place where he wasn't allowed to speak or even go to the bathroom without first asking permission; where brand names were the end-all, be-all; where age segregation, socio-economic segregation, and even racial segregation were the order of the day; where cliques ruled; where people who hardly knew him tracked and graded him? What would my child be like? Who would he become? I can't imagine.... I don't want to imagine....

In any case, more people seem to be discovering unschooling. Thank goodness. Once the general public understands that homeschooling can be more than little desks and a big chalkboard in the dining room where Mom is the teacher and Dad is the principal (spelled P-A-L because the principal is your pal - nevermind that most principals are the ones doing the paddling) - once unschooling gains some well-deserved respect - then we will be a huge step closer to true educational choice. It's not a choice if you don't know about it. But, because unschooling is spreading into more and more communities, it's only a matter of time.