Unschooling or free schooling children has been an increasingly popular approach to education adopted by parents/caregivers who want their youngsters to be unencumbered by the constraints of 4 walls and a rigid set of ‘one size fits all’ drilled learning. In the formative years of my own education, I’d have been a perfect free schooling student.
I hold the view that traditional, sit down and sit still education of children is effectively ruining them, squashing their creativity and setting the stage of a host of often lifetime problems. Yes, problems. Children are being stifled from experiencing the world on their own terms and at their own pace.
With regard to free schooling, my niece, whose young son lives with autism, had this to say — “one big issue with that is that parents of special needs kids are already exhausted from the care their kids require and their resources are spent. Not to say that it [free schooling]isn’t often/most times the superior option but that there is little support available.”
That needs to change if children who learn differently, are differently able and just don’t seem to fit are to thrive in any sort of formal setting. Fully appreciating the learning styles of the 'differently able' is critical if they are to succeed in any aspect of life. Many children with deficiencies to mobility as well as to intellect would be far better served learning 'life skills' from the get-go, with the requisite traditional lessons interwoven. Making learning practical and fun also reduces teacher stress.
I find the term learning disability is used inappropriately, as some children by virtue of an inability to discern social cues and learn and know how to behave in social situations are not at all learning disabled. Think about it.
Children who don't fit the 'standard' learning model may be ideal candidates for being free schooled or unschooled; tear down those walls and allow them to flourish out in the world, up to their elbows in dirt, pulling fresh veggies out of the ground, examining trees and bark and leaves, oh my! There’s a reading lesson lurking in that garden. Do you see it? A math lesson. Think! A salad to be made. Another math lesson.
Reading and writing and arithmetic can be learned in any number of ways that don't involve sitting with 25-30 other children in a closed space with an adult talk, talk, talking! It's time to get serious about thinking outside the box.
Unschooling/free schooling rages against traditional thinking on what kids with learning disabilities, and particularly autism, need in order to learn. I say, rage away.
Even in mistakes, there is learning. We all make mistakes; that’s part of the human condition. Must the mistakes of adults continue to be obstacles to a child’s learning. If one approach is not working, try another. Don’t punish them with negative reporting because they ‘don’t get it’.
The medically fragile child also benefits from the unschooling/free schooling model because they aren’t stressed by an environment that compromises their physical and emotional health. A child who is relaxed in the spaces in which learning takes place will learn and will, with the passsage of time, be able to generalize knowledge. A huge plus, particularly for children with autism who are often thought to be totally lost to and in the world. We need to see what they see.
Free schooling or unschooling allows for the child to catch up on aspects of development that may have eluded him. Trying to push grade specific academic requirements at him because he’s of a certain age is stifling as well as punitive. Focusing on nurturing development on a day to day basis rather than an endless parade of meetings with teachers and others about how they can best meet his needs is time lost. Practical tools of daily living should be the major part of the ‘teaching plan’.
Children who are differently able, who also learn differently can become lifelong learns if the element of enjoyment, of joy, is woven into each day’s adventure. Pace is everything. Rushing children through the curriculum to meet the teacher’s plan is not effective and it never will be effective. Time to park that bus.
Our lives are in constant flux and on a daily basis, we’re all learning how to cope and deal with change. Isn’t that what life and learning is all about?
Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her aging Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca
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