There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what unschooling is, how it works, what people mean when they use the term... So I wanted to do a great big thread on the topic addressing some of the biggest misunderstandings that seem to crop up repeatedly.

Disclaimer: I am obviously speaking from my own understanding/experience (& will be including links to longer posts I've written exploring things more in-depth), others might have different takes.

Misunderstanding #1: unschooling is just a synonym for homeschooling.

While USing falls under the HSing umbrella, it is it's own unique approach, lifestyle, & understanding of how learning works & how children should be treated.

While "homeschooling" frequently means school-at-home, unschooling is delight-driven, interest-based, self-directed life learning. It's children owning their own education, learning what, where, when, how, & with whom they want (within reasonable constraints).

Misconception #2: Unschooling is just educational neglect.

Unschooling does NOT mean abandoning children to their own devices.

Adult carers take an active, involved role in the lives of unschooling children, creating environments that foster exploration, finding resources, acting as guides & partners in learning. Their role is just collaborative, instead of that of "teacher."

Misconception #3: Parents must just be sneakily "teaching" their kids, then.

Nope! Unschooling requires a shift in understanding about what learning is & how children should be treated...

Trusting & respecting children is central to unschooling, & trying to manipulate children into doing what the adults want would completely undermine that.

I wrote a whole thread dispelling that particular myth: https://twitter.com/Idzie/status/1248742526401601542

Misconception #4: You can unschool part time.

The assumption behind this claim is generally that weekends & summer break can be for "unschooling," after the REAL learning has taken place in school.

But as I hope it's becoming clear, unschooling is a *lifestyle*, it's a whole different way of approaching living & learning with children. It's not something you stuff into spare moments, without challenging dominant ideas about schooling. http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/2018/10/why-cant-you-just-unschool-part-time.html

Misconception #5: Unschooling is just a way for parents to isolate their children from the wider world, to keep them away from the "wrong" sorts of people & influences.

I think it's hard to convey to those outside of the community just how wide a schism there is between religious & secular homeschooling/homeschoolers. The ideology is NOT the same.

The fundamentalist/evangelical homeschoolers often DO want to isolate their kids. Unschoolers, though, tend to fall heavily on the secular side of reasons-for-homeschooling (whatever their personal beliefs or religion is), & do not want their children isolated at all.

I tend to make the distinction between those who want kids to have MORE access to the world than school provides, vs those who want kids to have LESS access. Generally more = good, less = bad in terms of the experience kids have
http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/2018/08/homeschooling-right-way-more-of-world.html

Misconception #6: Unschooling means you stay at home all the time.

I mean, right now most people are home all the time. But NORMALLY, & expanding on the above point, that is not at all the case. https://twitter.com/Idzie/status/1248375017827491840

Unschoolers usually see plenty of other people, have friends & activities & spend lots of time out & about. They are plenty "socialized"
http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-ultimate-unschooling-socialization.html

Misconception #7: Kids (& people in general) are inherently "lazy" & won't learn unless forced to.

I feel like there are two components to address here. The first is "laziness" as a concept, which... I do not think exists. My reasoning can be found here: http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/2014/08/i-dont-believe-in-laziness.html

Also the fantastic article "Laziness Does Not Exist (but unseen barriers do)" by Devon Price is a must read on the topic https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

But the second part of the misconception is that kids (being "lazy"), must be FORCED to learn, with the inherent assumption that learning must be hard, & that no one would willingly do it.

When really, SCHOOLING is the unpleasant thing that many children resist, find stressful or boring or de-motivating. That's the part that kids don't like. Schooling & learning are not synonyms, & learning does not have to be that way.

Unschoolers know that living is learning, & that children just need supportive & resource filled environments in which to thrive. As long as their needs are met, they will learn enthusiastically, joyfully, fiercely.

Misconception #8: Children will never do hard things on their own.

Obviously similar to misconception #7, but I thought this one still deserved it's own attention. Because obviously... Learning CAN be hard!

Learning new things is often hard: sometimes it's joyful work, but sometimes also frustrating. The thing is though, that people--children included--will do hard things if they feel there's a good reason to do so.

Certain things need to be in place to make hard things more manageable, which I go into way more depth on here: http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/2014/05/unschooling-doesnt-mean-theres-no-hard.html But ultimately, it doesn't require force. It just requires support.

Misconception #9: That kids will "rule" the household if adults aren't busy controlling their every move.

This one... Well, it seems to be coming from people who have a wildly different, very negative view of human nature in general & children in particular as compared to USers.

If you see the world through a starkly hierarchical & authoritarian lens, if you think people need to be ruled, & that homes should be run like miniature dictatorships, unschooling might seem like it could never work (respect & trust children?? Surely not!).

The fact is DOES work, that there are lots of parents trying to undo their own authoritarian conditioning & create non-hierarchical models based on consent in their homes instead, which children then thrive in, shows that those doubters do not understand human nature so well.

Unschoolers of all backgrounds (those whose parents made the decision & those who left school themselves as teens) show that not only do parent-child relationships not have to be based on control, but teacher-student hierarchies can also be disrupted: http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/2014/07/breaking-down-hierarchies-in-learning.html

People of all ages really are capable of cooperating, collaborating, & learning together in ways that aren't based on coercion & control.