I dont understand this about unschooling?

Question

so how is an unschooler to learn about physics and chemistry?

or how to "do" it and work it out?

like advanced math and stuff

if textbooks and teachings arent what make unschooling, unschooling how do they learn it

Answer 1

You learn about it at the library because you want to.  You find nonfiction books written on your level on the topic you want to know about.

Answer 2

Unschooling doesn't simply mean you don't use textbooks and teachers and such. It just means that it's student/child directed. I am an unschooler, and I've studied biology, physical science, earth science, and chemistry along with algebra one and two, geometry, and this year will be precalculus. I've also studied four years of English, world history, american history, U.S. Government... I'll be studying economics this year, I've studied French, sign language, robotics, programming, animation, ceramics, fencing, guitar, music theory, piano, creative writing, some child psychology, poetry, public speaking, MOO programming, painting, and numorous other things. As you can see, a lot of the things I mentioned are core subjects that public or private schoolers will study if they plan to go to college. I chose to study them because I wanted to go to college, and I am in fact entering an early admissions program at a nearby college this fall to get a head start on college.

You see, unschooling doesn't mean doing without books and the like. Not at all. It just means student lead, interest/delight based, NATURAL learning. If a child is unschooled, of course the parents are there offering/providing educational materials, books, educational computer games, things like chemistry sets or K'nex Education kits or other learning toys, field trips and outings to museums and zoos and aquariums, trips to the library for presentations or just to check out books, the opportunity to take classes in the community in things like art or music or what ever is available, etc. Nothing is forced upon the child. There's no making jr. sit down and write "How now brown cow" over and over until they understand that "OW" makes the sound that it makes, or making them count to one hundred every day by ones, twos, fives, and tens until they know how or drilling them on multiplication tables. They will learn naturally by doing the activities and using the resources offered to them. Learning how your world works and how to do the things others can do and reach the goals you set for yourself is something all humans just naturally want to do. For unschooled children, learning becomes a natural part of life, no different than eating, sleeping, and playing. When there is something a child wants to do but doesn't know how, they will usually just come out and ask someone, especially if the parents stay involved and keep open lines of communication. If a child wants to learn where plants and animals come from, what better time for a biology lesson that could likely lead to more questions and discoveries. If an older child decides that they want to go to college, talk about what has to be done and how they can do it and how you can help them.

I do school the same way a lot of traditional homeschoolers my age would do it, but not because someone is telling me to. I say that I am unschooled because nearly all of the things that I do that are school related are things I chose to do myself. I use textbooks, real books, computer software, lab kits, and outside resources in the community because these are the tools I decided would best help me achieve my goals, and what do you know? They have.  

Answer 3

If an unschooler wants to learn something specific, they find the resources to learn it.  If they want to learn chemistry, physics, or advanced math, they go to the library and find books that explain it, and they learn it.  Or they look it up online, and learn it.  Unschooling doesn't mean that they don't use books!  It means that they don't learn anything on a schedule out of somebody's curriculum.  No schedule, no set time to learn, no worksheets or workbooks, BUT they might take actual lessons for art or music or karate or whatever from a teacher, IF it's something they want to learn.

Answer 4

i thought "unschooling" is what is being taught in the public schools now. no one seems to be learning anything.

Answer 5

Well, I've been learning chemistry on my own with a textbook and the answers--even though I'm an adult, that's the same thing as unschooling.

There are programs and textbooks and help galore out there. An unschooler learns physics and chemistry if s/he wants to and seeks out resources. Unschooling doesn't mean you never use a textbook; unschooling means that if a textbook is used, it's because the learner decided to use that as his/her resource for learning. It means parents haven't forced in any way, shape, or form, the learner to use that textbook to learn.

ADDED: Consider two amazing unschoolers of the past: Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Edison's teacher kept giving him a hard time about being "addled" (aka stupid) and his mom went into the school to talk to the teacher, was so offended, she went home with Thomas and he stayed home. He'd only been in school a few months. At home, she spent a couple of years teaching him to read and write and basic math. Then she let him follow his interests. He was expected to keep learning things, but he could choose what, for the most part. (His father was guilty of trying to bribe Thomas to read certain books so he'd spend less time on science experiments, but it backfired--Thomas read the books, took the money and bought more science supplies. :) ) Roughly from the age of 9, he was unschooled.

Benjamin Franklin is a marvellous example of an unschooler. He went to school for 2 years, I think, then his Dad needed him at the family shop, so he stopped going. He never stopped learning, though: languages, geography, history, improved his writing, navigation and more all fascinated him. He was 10, I believe, when he was pulled out of school and started educating himself.

Both men were fascinated by science. How'd they learn it? By reading and experimenting.

Answer 6

I think unschooling is generally done with younger kids. The idea is that if the topic interests them enough they will learn it on their own. f you turn them lose in a field of butterflies, they figure out metamorphose on their own. If you read to them enough they'll pick up on what the letters mean. I don't think the movement has been around long enough to get students old enough to try advanced math.

Answer 7

I think unschooling is more of a state of mind, not actually just taking your kid to the library and turning them lose to use the force to create an education.

It's being open minded enough to not force your child into a stringent schedule filled with just busy work worksheets just because the public school does. Its more of a lifestyle. School is held whenever it seems right and lasts as long as needed. The school age time-line is totally removed. A kid can learn to read at 4, 12, or whatever age it does.  You have to have a very open mind and lead a life in which you spend every minute of the day focused on teaching your kids by example and at any impromptu event. You don't follow a lesson plan.

In many ways, unschooling is so much harder than using a curriculum. There is very little time for a parent to get any "me" time. They have committed to educating their kid evert minute of the day. When you use lesson plans your school day has an end.

And how do they learn advanced math? well easy, an unschooler still buys textbooks. They just really don't have a set time on when they'll get through them. A kid could love the subject and fly right through in no time, or hate it and it'll take 2 years.

Unschooled kids aren't just a bunch of fat kids laying around all day watching t.v.  

Answer 8

They are naturally smart.

To be honest, I don't understand the question entirely.

Who is this "unschooler?"

Answer 9

Unschooling isn't doing everything without textbooks or outside guidance.

Unschooling is learning without coercion. I consider myself an unschooler, but this year I'm taking two online AP classes, working through math with a textbook, and teaching myself science with lectures. Oh, and my science this year is chemistry and biology.

A lot of people end up learning a decent amount through alternate methods. However, they then act like traditional methods are evil and constricting, when in fact they just aren't necessarily the best fit for the person in question.

When you look at what all unschoolers have in common, it's a lack of coercion. It's all student-led.

'Okay, Junior, pick between these two math curricula' isn't unschooling, because the kid has to pick between those. When the kid has complete control over his education, he's an unschooler.

Many unschoolers ask for structure, and they are still unschoolers. On a philosophical level, there's a big difference between asking your parents to give you assignments, and your parents making you do assignments anyway.

EDIT: I read some answers above. Don't go saying that only a certain personality type can be unschoolers. I like science and working on a schedule, but I'm still an unschooler. I've still independently chosen to take all the classes I signed up for, and could have chosen to not sign up for anything this year. The drive to not be stupid is pretty strong, and that's why I'm working as hard as I am this year. I'm not particularly smart, I'm just in an efficient system.