Dive into what research says about the pros and cons of unschooling, and find out whether unschooled children thrive as adults.

Unschooling – a homeschool philosophy characterised by a “learning through living” approach – can be an exciting idea for some families. To others, it might seem daunting. Does it actually work? Will your child learn what they need to in order to thrive in society? Are unschoolers successful?  If you’re asking these questions, you’re in the right place.

What is unschooling?

Unschooling philosophy is designed around giving children a childhood where they get to explore their interests, build on their passions and – in doing so – gain confidence, self-esteem and new skills along the way. Teaching resource provider Twinkle defines Unschooling as “a child centred approach to learning. It is different to home education as children learn through living, rather than learning through some form of structured approach to education.

With no curriculum, children decide what they want to learn, how they learn, and at what pace. Unschooling is also known as “natural learning”, “independent learning”, “self-directed education”, or “experience based learning”.

Are unschoolers successful?

Surveys of adults who were unschooled suggest that it can be a fantastic way to learn. One international survey found that 83% of unschooled adults pursue a higher education, 44% complete a bachelor’s degree or higher and some even made it into Ivy League universities. Most adult unschoolers reported feeling that they had an academic advantage.

In the same survey, 78% of the respondents said that they were financially self-sufficient – but that they also valued frugality and meaningful work over a lucrative income. A high number of respondents pursued careers in the arts or as entrepreneurs – with 77% of respondents stating that their career related back to their childhood interests. 70% believed that unschooling enabled them to grow into self-motivated, self-directed adults. 72 out of 75 respondents said the benefits of their unschooling experience outweigh the disadvantages.

In a 2013 survey of unschooling families, parents reported that the benefits of unschooling their children included:

• Learning more life-relevant material
• A greater interest in learning
• Happier, less stressed and more self-confident children
• More socially outgoing children
• Family closeness
• Freedom to create schedules that suit individual families

If you’re looking for more reasons to unschool or simply to homeschool, you’ll be happy to learn that homeschooled children have been shown to score higher on tests than children receiving public school education and typically score higher than average on college admission tests.

While there’s definitely room for further research on unschooling outcomes, existing research is positive. Several studies have shown that homeschooling benefits outweigh public schooling in terms of social, emotional and academic development.

Well-known unschoolers

If you’re looking for well-known unschoolers with successful careers, look no further than singer Billie Eilish. In a 2019 interview with Pitchfork, Eilish describes her unschooling experience, saying:

“I still learned everything – but I learned it in life. I learned to do math by cooking with my mum and seeing how many halves are going to make this amount – if we double this recipe, how many more do we have to put in this batch right here? And so that’s how I learned math. I learned how to build from my Dad. I learned in life.”

In terms of well-known parents who have chosen to unschool their kids, Alanis Morissette, Mayim Bialik and Elon Musk are reportedly among a growing number of unschooling parents.

What are the positives of unschooling?

In the 1960s NASA commissioned a study that was designed to help them recruit innovative individuals. 1,600 children aged 3-5 were enrolled in a program that tested their creativity. The results were pretty staggering: the test results suggested that 98% of these preschoolers were “creative geniuses”. Now here’s the sad part: follow-up tests showed that the longer these children spent in school, the more they lost the ability to think creatively. By age 10, only 30% of these children maintained the characteristics of a “creative genius”, and by age 15 it was down to 12% of children. The study’s leader, George Land, reportedly put this decline down to the education system.

Based on this, unschooling offers the opportunity to help your kids not lose their “creative genius” throughout their lives. Aside from this, as research mentioned earlier in this article suggests, unschooling may foster:

• Financial self-sufficiency later in life
• Academic confidence
• The drive to pursue a career that aligns with your child’s interests
• Self-motivation
• A greater interest in learning
• Family closeness
• The freedom to design your family’s schedule and lifestyle

How do unschoolers learn?

There’s a great video on this, created by unschooler Ben Rehrman, which provides a real-life example of how unschoolers learn. He explains:

“When you unschool, you have no formal work. Instead, you focus on getting as much experience as you can. Learning through hobbies, museums, experiences…Shortly put, all of this is about learning through living. It’s about learning outside the classroom, experiencing as many things as possible…The way unschooling works is you only learn what you’re going to need for life – unless you need to or want to learn it for some other reason.”

Learning to read

When it comes to learning to read, Ben says “unschoolers are some of the biggest readers I know. I think one of the reasons for this is they’re not forced to read like they would be in a classroom. They just get a love of reading on their own.”

Maths

“I don’t think you need to know super advanced math unless you’re going into a field that involves super advanced math. Just as you wouldn’t need to know advanced painting techniques if you’re not going to become a painter”, says Ben. He adds that everyone does unschooling a little differently, and that for him, working his way through a math book on a weekly basis is how he covers his bases.

Learning new things

Ben ends his video by explaining, “homeschoolers have the most amount of hobbies I’ve ever seen. I personally have the time to explore new things because I don’t go to school.”

What to do while unschooling

If you’re feeling lost on where to start, the Learning Our Own Way Instagram and Learning Our Own Way Facebook pages are great places to find inspiration. Here, you’ll find ideas for your own unschooling journey. A typical unschooling day could include anything from:

• Arts and crafts such as tie-dying, pastel drawing, nature art, painting, etc.
• Learning about wildlife at a local zoo or wildlife reserve
• Science experiments where kids answer their own questions by testing their hypothesis
• Outdoor education: hikes, rock climbing, surfing – you name it!
• Learning homesteading skills such as gardening, raising chickens, baking, etc.
• Library visits and reading based on your child’s interests
• Creative writing
• Forming new friendships with local unschooling groups
• Learning maths, strategy and problem-solving through activities like Monopoly, Sudoku, Snakes and Ladders, and chess
• Practising spelling with word finds, Bananagrams and Scrabble
• Teaching kids about basic business skills by helping them to sell their creations at local craft markets

Once your kids are given the opportunity to follow their interests and find answers to their own questions, their learning can go in some pretty amazing directions!

Unschooling resources

The resources available to help you on your unschooling journey are endless. Some of our favourites are:

• The library/bookstore – there’s endless learning to be had with books!
• YouTube & Netflix: so many great kids’ documentaries to be found!
• Local shops, toy stores & second-hand stores: there are some great educational finds to be had such as kid’s circuit boards, science kits, board games, puzzles and more!
• Pinterest: it’s full of great ideas and free printable resources!
• Local museums: so much learning can happen at museums when you let your kids follow their interests!
• Twinkl.co.nz for printables, slideshows and resources for most any topic or skill you can think of!

I have an entire list of highly recommend resources that my kids and I love right here!

Getting started on your unschooling journey

If you’re ready to begin unschooling but need help crafting your unschooling application, please get in touch or view the range of services I have on offer to help with this.

For parents/caregivers at any stage of their  unschooling journey, I also offer unschooling coaching sessions designed to help you gain confidence, form goals, brainstorm ideas, find resources and form your unschooling community.

Article written by Mina Phillips Writing

In conjunction with Learning Our Own Way