Unschooling: Where Students Are The Teachers

by Meredith

"The students are the teachers" -- This may not be a phrase you have heard often in school, but in the comedy "Accepted," it is the most important phrase at the "unschool" South Harmon Institute of Technology. In the film, a group of high school seniors, who were rejected from colleges they applied to, create their own educational insitution where students are encouraged only to learn about what they are interested in and to teach other students what they care about. The film plays out a lot of adult stereotypes about young people "being left to their own devices"--students teach each other Party 101 and pick-up lines, along with carpentry and skateboarding. Movie humor aside,  "unschooling" is becoming popular as a real solution to raising children outside of the traditional educational environment. 

What is unschooling?

The term unschooling refers to a belief that young people learn more from natural life experiences--like playing, social interaction, and work responsibilities--than a curriculum or "external" force of education. Teachers at "unschools" encourage students to pursue activities by themselves or in groups, do not use a grading/testing system, but will take supportive roles in a student's self-motivated learning (like teaching you how to research a subject or get the materials you need to teach yourself).

Many famous artists and other creative people are self-taught: they are motivated to learn about something that isn't necessarily being taught to them or maybe something no-one has done before. Even in technical jobs like chemistry or medicine, the interest and motivation to learn something new and the benefit of being able to think "outside of the box" is often the driving force behind what someone does with their life. The quest for knowledge is a personal one, but self-motivated learning may be easier for some to begin with than others.

Learning to learn

Sometimes what seems most important for us to understand is not a desire shared by the people we know and care about. This could be a spiritual journey, the entire contents of the Harry Potter saga or simply learning how to build a bicycle. Striking out on your own can be challenging and stressful but taking the steps to educate yourself can make it less difficult. Here are some tips for motivating yourself to learn something new:

Develop a goal - I like to use the SMART system when developing personal goals. It's a way of asking yourself the right questions about how to accomplish something.  Let's say I just saw My Morning Jacket shredding at Bonnaroo this summer, and they inspired me to learn electric guitar in 6 months. I would break down my goal by asking myself these questions:

• Is it Specific? "Learning the guitar" is a pretty big task. More specific would be: learn how to play all the songs on the album Circuital by My Morning Jacket
• Measurable? There are 10 songs on the album, so I know that if learnt how to play 10 songs--I've done it!
• Acheivable? If I dedicated one hour everyday after work to do this, I know I could learn some songs. I can play along with the album and find tabs online.
• Realistic? OK, in my experience, it takes a least 3 weeks to learn how to play a song well, and I may not practice everyday. Maybe learn one song WELL in a month -- learn 6 songs in 6 months
• Time-Bound? One hour a day for 6 months. If I don't reach my goal of 6 songs -- it will still feel awesome to know how to play "You Wanna Freak Out"!

Putting your goal into action Now that you've got a good, acheivable goal *DUN DUN DUN* it's time to put it into action! Develop a plan where you write out how you are going to acheieve your goal EVERY DAY. It may seem excessive to begin with, but when you get on a roll, the feeling of accomplishment you can get from moving closer to even the most modest goal that you have set for yourself can be really inspiring and encouraging.

How can we, as young people, teach ourselves and eachother useful things? Do you think traditional schooling teaches some things that are difficult to learn other ways? Have you been to an unschool, home-schooled or grew up outside the schooling system?