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Yep, we did this with our kids in the mid 80’s to mid 90’s. I devoured every John Holts book & every ‘Growing Without Schooling,’ magazine. We travelled up & down the east coast of Australia, going to camps of families who were home education their children, we stayed and spent time with many families individually too, several also visited & stayed with us. I watched many of these children grow up. Many never attended school. Some attended towards the end to assist them with entry to tertiary studies. Some never went on to tertiary education but none the less lead successful happy lives. I totally agree that unschooling parents facilitate their children’s learning successfully. My kids eventually went to school due to changes in our family’s structure. They are in their mid to late 30’s now, all doing fine. Parent’s care lots about their kids, we always ensure they are learning lots about the world. They would never have an education diet of Coke! Parents who care about having their kids around them at home make sure their kids access all the learning they want & need in the best way they can. It is natural! That negatively viewed male so called expert, Dr David Zyngier, in this video clearly knows absolutely nothing about unschooling from what he said in snippets throughout this great video, that makes me very annoyed! He seems to think he can have his opinions from only his side of the fence. Ridiculous! The other opinions expressed in this video were spot on. These families are doing an amazing job!

when my children were in school we never had educational conversations, we were in autopilot .. since taking them out we have become closer, we learn together when I do not know something.. we do have plenty of bookwork but it is short and effective.. my 'behind' children who were in school seen as the gold standard have progressed so much and have become a lot more confident and my shy children have become more outgoing go figure how someone can justify it as the poorer choice of education

We use a minimal curriculum, but the unschooling philosophy is why my 14yo has taught herself Japanese, my 12yo has learned to play Chopin and Beethoven from CZcams tutorials and is also composing his own pieces, my 8yo has planted our vegetable garden and takes care of our baby chicks without being asked, and our 11yo has decided to learn to milk our sheep. They just can't help themselves. Learning is built into humans. If we just stand back and allow them to do it, it's amazing. If we cram them into factory schools and crush their autonomy and individuality, well... Just look where that's gotten us.

Dr. Zeno is so full of it. Reading isn't hard to learn, if it was difficult, 5 year olds wouldn't be doing it.

Democracy will not become reality while state controlled schooling persists.

This is very different than the unschooling family blogs you see from the US. A lot of those families won’t say no to their kids, have no rules, and no punishment. Their kids can eat cake and soda for dinner, and climb on furniture. What this family is doing is more like a home version of Montessori schooling, which is great for some kids, but not all. A for the 8 year old not able to read, I think they do need to incorporate some structure to help catch her up because you cannot go to college with mom reading for you. She might also have a condition that may need a specialist. You can’t find that out by just practicing at the same level she is currently on, and it will impact her ability to function of the issue is not addressed and properly addressed.

Love this

I don't think that it should be the parents that does the education. I think they should go to school and be with other children. And there there should be all sorts of tools they can use to learn that the parents can't afford so that they can learn on their own what they freaking want. I think I would have a natural desire to learn to read you don't have to force me to learn this.

Look, I homeschool, but an 8 year old not able to independently read is not okay. Helping my child to read well was the first thing I did. She started reading at age 4, and by age 6 was reading chapter books. She is now in middle school doing High School work, because she can read it.

It was probably like this in the stone ages, but just because something works in the past, doesn't always means it will work now.

I'll be impressed when I see an 'unschooler' become a doctor, lawyer or an engineer.

LOVED this......we have homeschooled/unschooled all 5 of our kids all the way through......& they've all gone on to college/university. We have 3 college graduates already & the younger two are still in school. ;-)

Hmm that guy doesn't seem to know much about children. Yes they absolutely can learn to read without a professional as all the kids I know who are unschooled have. We read to them and we answer questions. They learn to read. Our son did at 6 years old and at a level 2+ years above schooled kids as a general rule. Kids eat a balanced diet if they're given good food and aren't coerced and bribed in an unhealthy fashion actually too. Disappointing!

This is CRAZY af. I agree the system is broke but God damn, teach your kids the basics including MANNERS!!

How can 1 school teacher give a child all they need ? a teacher who has no where near the interest to see your child thrive as you do. Grades for 7 year olds its bullshit I hate school.

I believe unschooling is fine after elementary school. The array of skills learned in K-6 is so important!! Plus most kids under 12 yrs old haven't discovered their passions yet.

Good luck getting a job with a decent salary if you are unschooled, let alone getting a high paying job.

"What if they just wanna play video games?" Well then they will have a very lucrative future as twitch streamers

Nearly 150 years and we still can't decide what's best. Maybe these guys are right, maybe we have to accept different channels for different kids.

The problem with unschooling isn’t the academic side, it’s the work ethic. If a child is raised believing that they never need to do anything they don’t want to do and be successful, you have essentially just ruined your child’s potential. I have no problem whatsoever with homeschooling but unschooling is just wrong.

a 5-year-old who doesn't know the alphabet.. an 8-year-old who can't read. That is very concerning.

This is bullshit! These kids won't know anything as adults.

The funny part about them being unsocialized is that there are so many children that have hundreds of children around them at the public schools and they still have NO FRIENDS!!!

After being radically unschooled since fifth grade (With a childhood a lot like these kids!) I am looking forward to attending college next year and I am a proud CNA with a job in a nursing home! I promise that if a child wants any kind of knowledge they will find it. :)

I think that these educational methods as pre-high school are worthy of consideration. However my concern is in most cases I have doubts that a child can use books and the internet or most parents can EFFECTIVLY teach things that require a base that the usual person would have difficulty communicating. Some of the core concepts of the sciences, higher maths, literature, or crafting papers that is required in the Liberal Arts as they are examples of critical thinking can. be learned by self study . Can Launguages be taught without the Human element to convey nuance and structure. How does a child learn about the complex chemical and biological mechanism of Photosynthesis without the base concepts which are not simple or for most learned easily. If a parent to can find a way to do so, than more power to them. But I don't see that most parents have the ability or the recall to teach it themselves. I hear History being taught through literature of it's time period. But literature can only give one a window into the time period. How can you learn about the rise of AXIS powers, the causes of it's rise.Or The cold war that followed without a larger frame of reference. My REAL concern is that permissive learning does not prepare one for the reality of everyday life. As adults we often find we must do things we rather not, and unless there suddenly a complete alteration to Western society, it's a recipient for disaster. Can you imagine a teenager who chooses to work instead of going to college suddenly having to conform after years of being in control of thier environment. The thing I see as being missed is the essential discipline needed to get along in today's world. Look I don't want parents to feel they must subscribe to "classical" school based learning, but without structure that engaged mind at 7 or 8 can quickly devolve to "whatever" or a lack of understanding that he world does not cater to a single person. If they can find a thier way through the mine field that is adolecence, often marked by a focus that isn't about following thier passion, or actually following ONLY thier passion, it creates a expectation of how the world will tolerate people who can't or won't adjust to fit standards that may not be the most exciting or stimulating but it's the job. I went to a regular school, and yes experienced certain of the same issues that cause these parents to seek the alternatives, but that didn't stop me from following g what I liked. When I had issues with Math, in High School, I required tutors, but those tutors knew what they were teaching. Do any of the regular parents, meaning those without the specific knowledge regarding how one must "show the work" or the order of tackling higher maths problems, feel like they can teach these things EFFECTIVLY. One of the posts had a Mother who questioned the merit of learning the Classics or knowing the work of historians, firing back at the interviewer something like' I don't think it's important, after all I don't remember anything the things had to teach me". Yet children are supposed to follow Thier interests, I say how can you foilow something that you are never exposed to? We're I a parent, which I a not and makes my opinion and uninformed one in a way, thus my comments are from the outside looking in, I would hope I could have the ability to give my child the best of both worlds. The structure of school and it's exposure to core concepts and the way the world outside the home can be, and the spark to follow what they had intrest in and providing the one on one attention that often gives homeshcool children a advantage. I just concerned that in the decision to homeshcool, the pendulum doesn't swing so far in the opposite direction that the child suffers later from things not learnt now.

I think you should have four years of education in some revamped public school system so you can learn all the basics about all the Core subjects etc. Then you can go get unschooled now knowing all the abilities needed to continue their true passion.

I think you should have four years of education in some revamped public school system so you can learn all the basics about all the Core subjects etc. Then you can go get unschooled now knowing all the abilities needed to continue their true passion.

Only humans will attempt to classify how to learn. Learning is developed through the human experience. It's quite simple. Learning structure is required of course. This learning structure is obtained by enveloping oneself around other structured learners and or by the tools created by these structured humans. There is a saying, "You are what you eat". This isn't necessarily the case for learning. I have, in my own life, ate a box of apples, but never turned into an apple. As for learning, if I learn only math, do I turn into math itself? No. I may be very well versed in mathematics, but I do not turn into a parabolic equation.

She sais "university" so weird.

I had a college professor that was smart. We never took an exam in the class. We took something from the history book and taught it to the class and researched outside the class. For the midterm we did pot luck and researched the food. 1. this taught us how to examine fact from fake news. 2. It made us want to learn. 3. I gained literacy skills that helped me in my research as a biology major. If I was a teacher or had kids. I take math and have them use the material in a way that was interesting. Like slope fro example I would build something and make slope. Apparently there is a math equation so snow never collapses the roof. If I had a kid into architect I try to build it with them and use the formula and put real ice on it. My marine biology teacher also took as kayaking. We tested the ph of water in the river. We dissected sharks and went to zoos. I had great teachers. There so many ways to teach kids to aspire them. I dont agree with tests. Public schools are so test inclined. The schools teach popularity matters. Home coming queen and king says it all. I dont want my kids focused on superficial things. The socializing is kinda superficial. Kids can still socialize through after school programs. It seems the schools system is set up to reward being popular. Being popular always the kids that have sex too young. The kids that smoke. The kids that drink. The kids doing adult behavior.

If I wasn't unschooled I wouldn't Ben bully 2Xtreme in school. Everyday when I went to school I cried in the morning because I knew the bullies or ready for me when I went to school. I got spit out they put gum in my hair they pushed me they kicked me. I was always sad to go to school and scared and my grandma and my aunt didn't really do nothing about it or the teachers didn't care they just kept bullying me and getting away with it.

Please check out 'The Catholic Unschooler' to learn how to educate children without school! Thank you!

Homeschooling is perfectly okay. Kids are just learning at home and usually they are immersed into other activities like football,soccer, and choir. But unschooling children isn't healthy. Yes it might but fun for the time being but what happens when the child is 18 and can't read over a grade 4 level? What happens when they no nothing more than 3rd grade math? School is extremely important. Trust me, if you were going to the doctor to have a kidney transplant and the doctor said to you, " I never picked up a book or practices this before, but i certainly played outside and watched tv all day." You wouldn't be concerned?

here in South Africa there are a lot of graduates with agriculture degrees seating at home, here they are no opportunities for graduates, I am one of them I completed my BSc in agric (soil science) in 2016.

one good thing I have observed that the unschooled children have really great communication and friendly relationships with their siblings.

this is a terrible idea

lazy ass parents

Kids are not property. So you watch over them like a hawk for 18 years not trusting them and then send them out into the world .. here you are ready to make your own choices we are done.start trusting your kids early.. you can repeat info to me all day long... if I do not want to learn the information... I simply won't. As an adult if I need to know something... I look it up. The only thing school ever taught me is to pick a b c or d.

The mum is clueless about reading, the child should be holding the book, taking control of page turning themselves. I'd love this documentary to re visit in ten years

She not taking any part in her children's learning sitting in a chair, eating and playing on her phone. Shouldn't she be discussing what they're reading? Idle. Too Idle to get them up and to school, too Idle to teach them at home. Children needs adults to lead their learning sometimes, it's just how it is. Children don't always like all subjects, they need encouraging to do those subjects by making them fun. We would create opportunities for children who didn't enjoy mark marking/early writing to do so without really realising they're doing it. Make a role play garage, put a note pad for them to write what's wrong with the cars etc. These kids would be allowed to ignore writing abd mark making. We did have play based learning, but there's time for adult lead learning. I also believe you should have to show a level of intelligence suitable for teaching children.

The problem is that when kids go though unschooling, they don't learn structure. You need structure in the work place. When the boss says you need to do something and you say "oh, well i feel like doing something else: it won't work well.

Future liberal voters. No responsibility, no accountability and no one counting on you to show up anywhere and be part of a team or even simply be on time. Just stay home and play video games and smoke weed because "that's what you're interested in". No worries because your government masters will ensure your check and food stamps you settled for get posted on the 1st each month. The upside - these kids won't be out in the job market competing with the rest of us.

You should learn more than just the things you love. Otherwise, you are not a very well-rounded, educated person. It is incredibly conceited for a parent to think that children should only learn from the child or parent's perspective. I kind of feel like some of these parents have no interests in their lives and so choose to dominate their child's life. Geez, give them a break from you once in a while. They need freedom. You are the ones stifling them.

I honestly can't see how this prepares a child for entrance into college. They would not have the basic knowledge needed for college or for life in general. What child is going to choose math, history, etc.

It's false news to say that home educated children are not social. We can sure prove in watching our own children.

unschooling is mother of all discovery, creativity, innovation and freedom

The only thing I don't like about this is the fact that parents are claiming that they can do just as well teaching their children as a teacher could. Meanwhile I'm working towards my teaching credentials, going to several classes including child development, educational foundations, and several other courses that 1. Are NOT easy, and 2. Are advanced. Teachers train extensively for YEARS just to become a teacher. It's like saying "I can be my child's doctor just as well as any other doctor" LIKE...NO. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE QUALIFICATIONS TO BE YOUR CHILDS DOCTOR, DENTIST, ETC AND YOU DO NOT HAVE THE QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A TEACHER.

unschooling has been around since before public schools ruin the children lives. So let children choose of what available for themselves, rather than throwing them in government building to trap themselves in a terrible situation. Public schools are nothing more of a social democracy to keep kids safe in one class through the whole building.

yes if done correctly homeschool works.. but Im unsure about the unschool stuff

My cousins did a low-key version of this through elementary school and they are in college now...well one of them is, the other one is still in highschool but she's doing well. I don't know if it's a great idea or anything, but they're not dead.