Is Unschooling a First World privilege?

In an unschooling forum I frequent, someone asked whether unschooling was a privilege for the wealthy and those who live in 1st world countries. This was actually something I had given some thought to a while back and I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject.

One day I saw an ad that emphasized the importance of children in poor countries being able to attend school and become literate. It occurred to me in that moment to pose the following question to myself: If school is so vital to these third world children, why am I so totally opposed to my own children being in school? Why is it good for those kids and detrimental to my own? Is unschooling elitist?

First, I think it’s important to define what is meant by unschooling. There are lengthy discussions devoted to this subject on the Internet, but for myself I would rather call it Natural Learning because I believe it is a normal, natural function of young mammals to learn. In other words, I believe that human children are programmed to acquire the knowledge and the skills required to become a functioning, contributing adult in their unique society. For example, a child growing up in a rainforest hunter-gatherer tribe will naturally learn to hunt, craft bows and arrowheads, weave baskets, learn the herbal lore, etc. Here in the Western world (aka: 1st world) the skills our children need are more complex. First and foremost they require literacy, and access to technology helps a great deal. They need a basic understanding of economics and math (think shopping: price comparisons, discounts, taxes, balancing a checkbook, interest rates, etc). Being a technological society it is helpful to have at least a basic understanding of science and the scientific method. Art is an important part of our culture, and history helps us to put it all in context. Not all children will be drawn to all these subjects to the same degree, just as tribal children may take on different roles depending on their natural skills, class system, or gender for example.

The problem with unschooling in the Third World, as I see it, is that these are often countries that are trying to be Westernized, but aren’t there yet. Their traditional means of “making a living” (be that farming, hunting, etc) can no longer provide families with the food, shelter, clothing, and other basic needs. Or it may be that, as a culture, they believe that if their children can partake in Western society (the Global economy, if you will) they will be better off. I’m not going to pass judgement on this: I am nowhere near educated enough on the issues facing the Third World to be so arrogant. But the net result is a situation where children need to acquire skills that the adults in their community do not have. How can a child learn to read in a home with no books, and parents who cannot read to them? How can they learn about technology with no access to a computer? Unschooling, or natural learning, cannot work in this situation.

In other words, it’s not that unschooling is something only people in wealthy countries can do. It’s that Natural Learning cannot take place when the skills children must acquire, and the resources to acquire them, are not available to the children within their home or among the general adult population. There is a disconnect between what the adults in the society are able to do and model and pass down as information, and what the children must know to be functioning adults in a society that is DIFFERENT from the one in which they are being raised.

My kids are being raised in a household with plenty of access to books and parents who can read to them, and both learned to read all on their own. A child in Africa will never learn to read on her own without access to those things; school is her best option. That, to me, is why institutionalized schooling is so important to children in third world countries, whereas here in Canada I am doing everything I can to keep my children out of institutionalized schooling.

Giant (Predaceous) Diving Beetle

Daughter has done it again. She seems to have a knack for finding bizarre insects. Last week while Husband and I were tearing apart an old greenhouse to salvage the roof for our new pig-house, Daughter was exploring the overgrown gardens when she shouted excitedly about finding a really huge beetle. I assumed it was a Common Black Ground Beetle, which are plentiful around here. We continued with our work. It wasn’t until much later that Daughter showed us the beetle, which she had caught in her butterfly net. I’d never seen a bug like this before!

It was larger than a ground beetle and had paddle-like hind legs. It reminded me very much of the Giant Water Bug she found last summer. After some Googling we finally found out it was a member of the Dysticidae family: Giant Diving Beetles, aka: Predaceous Diving Beetles. Thing is, this creature lives in water and there are no ponds or lakes anywhere nearby. Mind you, I suppose it depends on your definition of “nearby” and how far a beetle like this can fly. Still, I suspect this fellow was way off course!

Play is a Child’s Work

I’ve been neglecting this blog lately as there has been a lot going on at our farm. But I wanted to share what I learned attending the Gordon Neufeld conference in Vancouver on May 1st. Neufeld is a developmental and clinical psychologist and the theme of this year’s conference was “Rest, Play, Grow”. For the opening and closing talks Neufeld spoke about the importance of play for the healthy development of children, both neurologically and emotionally. Drawing on information gleaned from decades of published studies, Neufeld stressed the critical importance of play. He defined play as having three properties: Play is not work (which he defined as outcome-based), is free of consequences, and is expressive and exploratory. We had fun as an audience going through a number of activities and determining which were Play. For example, reading a book is not Play because it is passive, recess at school is not Play because it is hard work and is not free of consequences in the social environment of the school playground. This definition of Play is used by developmentalists who study Play and its critical role in child development.

Neufeld spoke about Play and what it means to a child: it is how they express themselves and show who they are. They are not like adults who can be introspective and talk about themselves in a reflective manner; Play is children’s language of self-expression. I especially loved it when he explained that Play is where creativity is MOST likely to happen. That is true for academic scientists as much as it is for children! But interestingly for me he also said that this creativity can relate to academic subjects: creativity with numbers, with words. I have seen this in action! I have seen my children PLAYING with letters and words and numbers and that is how they learned to read and do math. I was hit with a lightbulb moment then: drilling students in math or reading, whether you are in school or doing curricula at home, turns it by definition into Work. But by leaving children free to choose to play with numbers or letters it becomes Play and that is where optimal learning takes place.

He then went on to describe the role of Play in development. It was fascinating and I don’t have nearly enough time or space to give it justice. Suffice it to say that Play programs the brain by developing neurological systems for problem-solving. Play can prepare for instructional-based learning, but the latter does NOT build those problem solving networks (fascinating validation to an unschooler!). As an example, he pointed out that the reported advantages of early childhood education disappear in healthy, functioning homes. And while he applauds the development of play-based learning in preschools and some kindergartens he noted that separation and peer interaction can cause stress that undermines the conditions that give rise to Play in these environments. Therefore, he states, preparation for instruction-based learning is best provided in the home; early education programs (play-based) would best serve those parents who are unable to provide the conditions for true play.

He went on to demonstrate how to create and foster the conditions necessary for Play. It boils down to Enough Freedom: enough freedom from pain and hunger and tiredness, from scheduled activities, instruction and schooling, the technology of attachment (Facebook and the like), from being entertained (DVD’s, etc) and from having to Work. The latter category included, most importantly, freedom from Attachment work, which basically means a child who is having to pursue a relationship with their parent, or take responsibility for that relationship (those familiar with Attachment Parenting theory will understand what this means).

I really enjoyed this conference, and especially Neufeld’s morning and end-of-day talks. The science geek in me loved hearing about how Play affects neurological and psychological development. The parent in me felt so validated! It cemented my belief that we were doing the right thing by our kids by providing them with this wonderful life, full of freedom and time to Play! There are so many occasions when I feel like I don’t held up to my own standards for myself as a parent, but this was something I could feel really proud of. What’s more, I felt like it was a real validation of Natural Learning (Neufeld is very supportive of homeschooling, though he recognizes not everybody can do it and he works with teachers and schools a great deal). He didn’t focus on this aspect as much but Natural Learning, or Free Learning, is truly Play by the definitions he gave us. And it is abundantly productive as I have seen in my own children and other unschooled kids. The fact that Play prepares the brain for work is an answer to all those who wonder how unschooled children “will ever learn to work”. Indeed, they are primed for it!

In between Neufeld’s talks we attended two workshops, each participant choosing from a list of topics. I found my sessions really informative and they provided me with a much-needed boost of inspiration to continue using parenting techniques that foster a solid attachment relationship with my kids. I’ve been a Neufeld fan for many years now, but it’s so easy to fall back into old bad habits that I find I need to refresh myself regularly. Attending this conference was just what I needed. It was a wonderful way to spend a day away from home!