“Unschooling” is an educational theory that suggests children should follow their own interests, without the imposition of school. In this report by Christian Science Monitor, one home-schooling mother says, “This life is about freedom and not having limits. It’s about really trusting your kids.” The rise of unschooling parallels a growing dissatisfaction among American parents about the country’s public education system and its focus on standardized testing. It also tracks an increase in alternative educational philosophies that are based on the idea of children as “whole,” curious beings whose education should be guided by their own natural interests and inclinations. And the blossoming of unschooling also reflects something more. While it once was considered a hippie, countercultural practice, experts say that unschooling now taps into changing mainstream values surrounding children and parenting, institutions and individuality, and the best way to seize the American dream. An interesting read.
Free-range education: Why the unschooling movement is growing
More of Today's Solutions
How Paris uses the Seine to cool thousands of buildings without AC
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Every air conditioner does the same thing: pull heat from inside a building and dump it outside. On ...
Read MoreThe 30 percent parenting rule: how to raise securely attached kids
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If you're a parent, you've had these moments. Not the big, dramatic parenting failures, the ones easy to ...
Read MoreColombia outlaws child marriage in landmark move
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Colombia made a historic move to protect its youngest citizens by prohibiting child marriage. After nearly two decades ...
Read MoreWorld’s first Indigenous-led ocean reserve is one step closer to reality
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM An extraordinary marine conservation initiative has taken a major step forward in the Pacific. The Melanesian Ocean Reserve, ...
Read More
