Unschooling

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Unschooling is an informal learning method that prioritizes learner-chosen activities as a primary means for learning. Unschoolers learn through their natural life experiences including play, household responsibilities, personal interests and curiosity, internships and work experience, travel, books, elective classes, family, mentors, and social interaction. Often considered a lesson- and curriculum-free implementation of homeschooling, unschooling encourages exploration of activities initiated by the children themselves, under the belief that the more personal learning is, the more meaningful, well-understood, and therefore useful it is to the child. While unschooled students may occasionally take courses, unschooling questions the usefulness of standard curricula, fixed times at which learning should take place, conventional grading methods and standardized tests, forced contact with children in their own age group, the compulsion to do homework regardless of whether it helps the learner in their individual situation, the effectiveness of listening to and obeying the orders of one authority figure for several hours each day, and other features of traditional schooling.

The term unschooling was coined in the 1970s and used by educator John Holt, who is widely regarded as the father of unschooling. Unschooling is often seen as a subset of homeschooling, but while homeschooling has been the subject of broad public debate, unschooling received relatively little media attention and has only become popular in recent years.^[when?]

Critics of unschooling see it as extreme, and express concerns that unschooled children will be neglected; miss many things that are important for their future; lack the social skills, structure, discipline, and motivation of their schooled peers; and not be able to cope with uncomfortable situations. Proponents of unschooling disagree, asserting that self-directed education in a non-academic, often natural and diversified environment is a far more efficient, sustainable, and child-friendly form of education than traditional schooling, as it preserves innate curiosity, pleasure, and willingness to discover and learn new things; invites children to be part of society; shows children how to deal with their surroundings and own existence in a self-determined and responsible manner; makes children understand why certain properties, skills, abilities, values and norms are important rather than just telling them to obtain and adhere to them; rewards and supports creativity, individuality, and innovation; teaches how to acquire new things^{[example needed]} and find one's way in unfamiliar situations quickly; and better equips a child to handle the "real world" outside of school.^[1]