|
Homeschool Australia!
Teach your children at home!
|
Have a homeschooling question?
Join our free support group |
| Home educate the easy way... simplify and save time... |
|||||
| "Thank you... The information you supply is real and generous - fantastic reading. I am so inspired... Your honesty is rare. Most books do not really explain 'how' as well as you do." Tracy "I cannot seem to get enough of your writings on the whole home ed subject! You portray a lot of wisdom, knowledge and experience..." Marie "A fabulous source of information and inspiration. I am very pleased to have some of your titles on my bookshelf... providing me with wonderful, detailed information and resources." Faye |
"Every time I read your writing it feels like a pat on the shoulder, and that feels really good...Thanks!" Maaike
|
||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home | About | Magazine | Quick Guide | Articles Index | Blog | Bookstore | Site Map |State Info | Resources | Donate
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Book Review What is Unschooling? The Unschooling Unmanual , edited by Jan and Jason Hunt Comfortable - at long last - with the idea of homeschooling, the American media is now turning its attention to the concept of unschooling. Displaying the lack of research typical of talk shows, unschooling has recently been heralded by commentators as irresponsible, even labeled as 'unparenting'. This is despite the easily available volumes of information produced over three decades by veteran home educators and other prominent proponents of autonomous learning. The Unschooling Unmanual , edited by Jan Hunt of the Natural Child Project , is a relatively recent and much appreciated arrival on my bookshelf. This slim volume of easy to read essays is peppered with quotes by John Holt, the school reformer who, in the 1970s, turned his back on schools and coined the word 'unschooling'. Holt's early books How Children Learn and How Children Fail are still considered essential reading for undergraduate teachers and his later work helped to coalesce a handful of home educating families into an international homeschooling movement. Informed by Holt's insights into how children learn and his critique of why schools fail children, the authors within The Unschooling Unmanual bring to light the how and why of unschooling as well as offer explanations for why it works so well. The cornerstone of unschooling is undoubtedly 'trust'. The willingness to let go of the fear that not teaching children will damage their development, and to trust that that they are innately capable of learning, shines in each essay, as does a commitment to continually questioning what does and doesn't matter. Unschooling is learning 'on the job' in contexts that are relevant and meaningful to the learner. The authors see the parents' role as facilitating this process, rather than controlling or directing it. There is a sense of freedom and joy experienced by the authors as they observe their children as competent and autonomous learners; an unburdening of anxiety and expectations that don't really belong in a family and community centred lifestyle. Unschooling is 'a way of life' is a theme repeated throughout the book. Education isn't segmented into subjects. Children's appetite for learning ranges across many disciplines. It may look disorderly and chaotic, in much the same way as a jungle does, but everything is interconnected, with a deep structure that is hard to pin down but promotes amazing growth and development. The joy at experiencing this abundance comes through in many of the essays. It is obvious that the authors reflect long and hard at what is happening as their children learn without the need to be taught, perhaps driven by their need to understand and explain to others who ignorantly dismiss unschooling as 'unparenting'. The Unschooling Unmanual touches briefly but convincingly on the politics of school, familiar territory for readers of John Taylor Gatto or Wendy Preisnitz. Daniel Quinn proposes that far from failing, schooling achieves its goals, though these do not reflect the goals of parents who entrust the care and educational development of their children to the school system. Jan Hunt demonstrates why abandoning school methods of regulating a child's learning achieves the goals of parents and their children. The Unschooling Unmanual reveals what unschooling isn't: a recipe for educating a child. However the reader isn't left without a definition or a path to follow - the essays are very clear on what does work and why it works. At less than 100 pages, The Unschooling Unmanual is a quick, enjoyable and easy to digest read, a great introduction to a liberating, though often challenging, way of living and learning. Read another review of this book.
Was this article helpful? Was it worth $1.00 to you? |
SEARCH this site: Since 1989 Beverley Paine has
Be the first to find out about new Beverley's LATEST book
was LAUNCHED at the Unschooling Conference!
|
Spend a WEEK Consciously Parenting and Natural Learning Conference 
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
 |
Please join one of my Yahoo Groups
if you want to know more
about home education or have a question. |
|
education in Australia. State and Territory governments are responsible for regulating home education and have different requirements, however home educating families are able to develop curriculum and learning programs to suit the individual needs of their children.
Questions about homeschooling or wondering
what to teach?
See the Site Map for our
full list of articles.
Interested in homeschooling, but still not sure?
Read All You Need Is...'
Without revenue from Google Ads we
could not continue to provide over 700 pages of information to home educators.
Thank you for visiting!
Pioneering members of the home education movement in Australia, Beverley and Robin Paine are passionate advocates of true educational choice for families. They began homeschooling their children in 1986 and three years later started the South Australian Home Based Learners network.
Beverley wrote Getting Started with Homeschooling in 1995-97 and since then continues to write books and booklets on home education. She balances spending time helping home educators with working in her garden and renovating her home, as well as continuing to build her collection of writing on a variety of homeschooling subjects. Beverley maintains an extensive collection of websites as well as several Yahoo groups supporting families teaching their children at home.
In 2007 Beverley joined the HEA and was a committee member for three years during which time she edited and produced the HEA Newsletter, Stepping Stones for Home Educators magazine, annual Resource Directory and other HEA publications.
If you'd like to keep in touch with what Beverley is up to her in her life, sign up for the Homeschool Australia Newsletter or visit her Homeschool Australia Facebook page.nor do they endorse or recommend products (other than their own) listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements.