Homeschooling and out of schooling

There are several fascinating and successful ways to teach children. They all have something special to offer. We recommend using a combination. In this article we will talk about one known as “Deschooling”.

Deschooling is based on the knowledge that all people, including children, have a natural desire to learn. Watch the toddler as he focuses on learning to walk or talk. Normally nobody forces it. It’s like breathing. Wanting to learn is part of who we are, unless you’ve been crushed at some point in life.

OKAY! One might ask: so why am I forced to push my child to read? The unschooled would respond: “because you are not unschooling.” This method tells us to pay attention to the child’s natural rhythms. Just as we know when we are hungry, the child knows when and what he is hungry to learn. Use that natural tendency and you will become a facilitator instead of a teacher using many different things to spark the child’s inner enthusiasm. Some examples will help to clarify.

example one

Koty had learned all of his phonic sounds and could read all of his first reading books. He also enjoyed mouthing long words like “premium” as he and his mother traveled around town playing a word game. But he had no desire to pick up a book and read it. He preferred, instead, that his mother read to him as he had done since he was little. Mom was getting a little worried because other kids her age could read better than Koty. But she had read the book “Better Late Than Early” (a book about retarded academic studies) by Raymond and Dorothy Moore and, as a result, she decided to patiently continue reading to him.

As time passed, he began to question his decision. One day, Koty again asked him to read a book to him. He was fascinated by the image on the cover and wanted to know what was inside. “Sorry, Koty,” she replied, “I just don’t have time right now.” Koty, eager to know what was inside this interesting book, started reading it by himself. He left it until he was done. Mom even allowed him to read late in bed to fuel his enthusiasm.

What a miracle! Just as the Moores had indicated, Koty’s enthusiasm was on fire. From that day on he became an avid reader and advanced several grades in a short time… surpassing his classmates.

example two

I know a teacher who moved into a wilderness area. Due to his location, it became necessary to homeschool his large family. Until the children were seven years old, she used the “Formal Method” to teach them the basics (Note: most out of school will tell you that it is not necessary because one can drop out of school from day one) . After that, everything became deschooling.

The family needed a home, so he took them to the library where they began to do some research. They helped design the family home, drew up the plans, and built it from scratch. In the process, they expanded their ability to read, do geometry, draw, make artwork, measure, and many other lessons. But they (and Koty) were thinking of achieving a goal rather than just learning for learning’s sake (the unschooled would add: unless that’s in the child’s interest).

It is interesting to note that all of his children received scholarships to Yale University. She did something right.

example three

Mom is cooking and asks her son, who is eager to help, to cut the apple. She asks him to cut it in half and then quarters again. She even asks her little one to measure out half a cup of milk. That’s right, the child is learning and you have become a facilitator.

In unschooling, learning is driven by the individual’s natural learning instinct, curiosity, need to feel competent and complete, and even their need to have fun! As a parent, he may have used this method from time to time without even realizing that he was out of school. Awareness is what will help you expand your ability to nurture your little one’s natural desire to learn and retain them for life. Have fun being a facilitator.

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