Thoughts on Unschooling and Schedules

Recently a friend of mine made a facebook post that linked to a chart comparing "unschooling" and "schooling". Some of the hallmarks of schooling, according to the chart, were curriculum, schedule, the instructor choosing what will be studied, and requiring the student to work on an assignment until it is completed. The chart also said that schooling involves building one's life around the school district schedule, and trusting others to nurture and develop one's child. I objected that just because I have an organized home school with curriculum and a schedule and assignments doesn't mean that I have become a slave to someone else's interests or failed to create a nurturing environment in my home. The friend replied that the chart was meant to contrast unschooling with state school or private schools.

I still feel it is disingenuous of the chart's creator to link curriculum, schedule and assignments with bad aspects of state schools, since the two can and often are separated by home-schooling families. However, it did get me thinking. I often concentrate on how my home school is different from state schools. But in this area it is quite similar. I wanted to make sure that I had a good reason for the structure of my children's education. I can't just do something in school that way because that is the way I was taught. I need a good reason. So, here are my reasons.

1. Making sure all necessary material is covered: My goal in educating my children is to glorify God by raising up servants for his Kingdom. In order for my children to be fully equipped servants there are certain things they need to learn. In my understanding, unschooling involves allowing the student to choose to study only what he is interested in, for as long or as short a time as he is interested in it. Now, I try to make my lessons interesting for my children, but even if they aren't interested, they still need to learn doctrine. They need to learn how to read, and how to write clearly. They need to learn basic math skills. They will need to learn how to budget a household. They may never be particularly interested in some of these things, but they and many others are necessary for them to learn and so they are necessary for me to teach.

2. Creating interest: Another problem with letting the child only study what he is interested in is that often we don't know what we are interested in until we try it. I used to think that I hated history. But, 4 years ago I started to study it, because I knew I was going to have to teach it. And, to my surprise and joy, I found that I really love it. I am sure we have all had a similar experience at some time. Sometimes we may have to make our children study something, but hopefully we will do so in a way that sparks their interest.

3. Instilling discipline: More than imparting information, I want education to develop in my children a Christian character. An important aspect of such a character is self-discipline. One reason I start school so early with my children is that I want them to practice sitting still, listening, and controlling a pencil. Having a goal (assignment) and working until that goal is accomplished is a skill that everyone needs to be successful and useful in life. Being able to work with a schedule is an advantage to almost everyone. Whether you are a homemaker, self-employed or an employee, one must be able to accomplish tasks on time. Having a curriculum and scheduled assignments gives the child plenty of practice in this life skill. Further, who gets to work only on things that are interesting to him. No one. We all must do some things that are interesting and others that are not. Uninteresting duties like housework and paperwork are part of life. Children need to learn early to do such work with a cheerful attitude if they are to have a Christ-like character. Again, I don't want my lessons to be dull, but if the child thinks a lesson is dull, completing it is still character-building, while allowing him to shirk it for something more fun would only develop a self-centered attitude in the child.

4. Accountability for me: I want to give all my children the best education I am capable of giving them. I want to give them all an equivalent education. Notice, I didn't say identical. They each have their own God-given talents, abilities and callings, so each will pursue a different course, especially as they get older. However, each must learn a core of essential material, and each should be given my best effort. Seeing how the quality of my housekeeping varies with pregnancy, health, outside circumstances, and my own sinful laziness, I know that I need a curriculum and a schedule. It would be so easy for me to slack in my teaching at certain times without a way to keep myself accountable. And since the results of teaching are less visible than the results of housekeeping, I might not even notice that I am short-changing my children if I didn't compare our progress with some concrete goals.

5. Reflection of the character of God: I have said over and over that the only way to really understand any subject is to study it from the perspective of the Bible. All truth is God's truth, and as such all truth reflects His character. God has created a beautifully ordered world. My favorite example of this is math. I love math. I especially love the underlying patterns that connect different aspects of math, how everything fits together so elegantly. To best understand math, one can't just nibble on pieces here and there at a whim. To really understand math one must build it up in ones mind, brick by brick, in an orderly fashion. This requires a well-thought-out curriculum. Similarly, history doesn't really make sense unless it is seen as His story. If a child is allowed to study WWII one month and Ancient Egypt the next, as his fancy takes him, it will be very difficult for him to see the hand of God's almighty Providence in the flow of history. And so, he wont have learned history, just a bunch of trivia. All subjects are this way.

6. Obedience to God's Method of Teaching: All truth is God's truth. We don't know or understand anything unless God reveals it to us. And how does God reveal himself to us? In a Book. Unschooling de-emphasizes facts (calling them trivia) and emphasizes experiences. Now, we all should want to experience God and His work in our lives. But these experiences are sweet extras, not the core of our Christian faith. Our senses are not infalliable. Our heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Our emotions are fickle and easily swayed. We may learn from our experiences, but the surest way to learn is by the preaching, reading and studying of the Scripture. When we learn the Scripture, we are better able to make sense of our experiences. In the same way, experience can be a good teacher, but it is a much better teacher when we have knowledge, gained through systematic study, to help us interpret our experience. The way we learn about God's Creation and Providence should be the same way we learn about God himself, by listening, reading, and systematic study.