Deschooling

Deschooling is the term used to describe the process of taking time after withdrawing from traditional school in order to homeschool before jumping into doing any sort of academic work. Think of it as detox for all you thought you knew about school. While most people initially think of it as being needed for their children, I often think that it is the parent who probably needs it just as much.

So why would a student need a period of rest and a time to do a major reset before changing educational methods? I can think of several. First, there is usually some catalyst for a family deciding to jump of the traditional school train and into homeschooling. It could be any number of things, including bullying, anxiety, a student's academic needs not being met, escalating behavior due to stress in the school environment, a lack of appropriate services and plans for a child needing support, or some combination of these. If things are going well, it is not as likely that a switch to homeschooling is going to take place. 

We learn a lot of in schools, probably far more than what is in the stated curriculum. We learn that getting correct answers is good, that giving wrong answers is bad, that choosing our own activities is not allowed, that being curious about things not on the day's lesson plans is not appreciated, that other people's schedules rule the day, etc., etc. If you attended traditional school, you certainly don't need me to list any more of these lessons. 

I would say a fair number of people making the switch initially try to recreate traditional school at home. This is understandable since often that is the only thing they know; that learning and education can be done in a myriad of different ways and be equally viable really hasn't entered their consciousness. But it is difficult to recreate something with one or two children (or even ten) when it was designed to educate far greater numbers than this. Plus, so much of what happens in traditional school needs to be documented so that all the other people in the system (including parents) can see what is going on, can see what progress is being made. The whole thing becomes unworkable and both child and parent start to think that they just can't homeschool. 

This is where deschooling comes in. (This is not my phrase or concept, by the way. It has been around a long time.) Instead of taking a system that wasn't working for a child in the first place and trying to duplicate it at home, deschooling says to take a break. Give yourselves (both parents and children) a chance to rest and think. This time can be spent catching up on sleep, figuring out what you like and dislike, how to order your day, find your curiosity, and slow down. I would also suggest that parents take some time and do some thinking about what education means. How do people learn best? Are tests and grades important? How long does it actually take to learn something? How do you know it has been learned? What is important to know? What makes an educated person? What is important to our family? Without answers to these questions, it will be very difficult to figure out what homeschooling should look like for your family.

We have never pulled our children out of traditional school because they never started there. If we had chosen that route, I sometimes wonder how different our lives would look right now. You see, I was very good at school. I am good at book work and tests and sitting still and paying attention and I am especially good at reading. These are all things which pretty much guarantee that you will be successful at academics and well regarded by teachers. But I still had a lot of unlearning to do in order to be successful at homeschooling. Before we even took the plunge, I had researched the heck out of the idea, starting out because I wanted to debunk it then eventually changing my views. Essentially I deschooled myself before we even began. 

Actually, I happen to think that wrestling with these questions is important even if you are not homeschooling. How we learn is a vital part of who we are as humans and our experiences learning affect nearly every aspect of our lives. It is not something to be taken for granted. And even if you choose to go the traditional school route, I think it is always good to keep in mind that there are many different ways to become educated.