Is it illegal to unschool when you're homeschooling?

Question

Just wondering. Doesn't seem like unschooling every day of the school year would be a good thing. I don't know though, we just homeschool.

Answer 1

I have found unschooling to be a wonderfully educational lifestyle I can't imagine living without.  It's completely legal (at least in the 4 US states I have lived in).  Unschooling needs to be 24/7 or it's not really unschooling so I don't really get your reservation about it not being a good thing.

Answer 2

what is unschooling?

Answer 3

Depends on your understanding of unschooling and where you live.

Some places are fairly strict about what the kids are to be learning at home (it'd be hard to unschool); others are somewhat more relaxed or don't have any requirements at all. You could definitely unschool if there aren't any requirements and may be able to unschool where there are some relaxed requirements.

Unschooling comes in various forms, from those who are totally hands-off to those who act more as guides, but still don't require anything. I've met one unschooled girl who was more academically advanced than most public schooled kids--she even designed her own high school program which included science using a university-level text. Unschooling doesn't mean you don't learn anything; it just means the kids do the decision making. (Not that I'm an unschooler, as I feel I need to make certain decisions, but I do know a number of unschoolers. For most, it works very well.)

Answer 4

Unschooling (independent studies) is what Masters and PH D programs are about.

Anyone can do it anytime.

We generally call these things Hobbies or Pasttimes.

It becomes a neo-schooling which it enriches your mind and expands your learning process.

When an Amateur Astronomer starts discovering comets, starts getting published in Sky and Telescope then that pasttime starts to become an educational tool.

Just playing X BOX does not.

Steven Speilberg is the epitomy of an unschooler.

He spent his summers sneaking into Universal Studios and asking questions and watching how they worked.

The Head of Universal offered him an office to continue his "unschooling" studies.

Then he got his own equipment and made a film and screend it for them.

And they let him start directing things.

He did this while High Schooling concurently.

Now hanging around Universal to collect Autographs is not necessarily UNSCHOOLING

By hanging around to find out how things are done is!

Answer 5

I am not really sure where you are coming from. I homeschooled my kids. I read John Holt's book and believed that the classroom was not the only way to teach and/or learn. Homeschooling for many is supposed to be an alternative to GOING to school to get an education, right? The whole idea of parents home schooling their student is so that the child will be able to learn and receive an education in a different way. So, let's say living is the equivalent of learning. We do that every single day of our lives, right?

Unschooling might be removing some of the parts of the educuational system or process such as teaching the subject matter strictly to learn what will be on the test and other methods. In this example, the grade that the student receives for the subject is  based on the student's ability to take a test and get a good grade on it. Removing tests is only one part of unschooling. All students learn in their own way. Unschooling allows an individual to learn about things without the worry of passing a test. I could go on...

As far as the legality of unschooling, I would think that an arrangement is made with the local school  district so that the fact that school is by law compulsory-- the parents show that they are using a specific method or alternative and that that alternative is supervised by a qualified person, such as a teacher. Each state has its own laws and each school district has its own requirements.

Here is a quote from John Holt's book, "Teach Your Own" which is published by Delacorte, copywrited in1981. Revised and updated by Patrick Farenga, Perseus 2003

...I have used the words "homeschooling" to describe the process by which children grow and learn in the world without going, or going very much, to schools, because those words are familiar and quickly understood. But in one very important sense they are misleading. What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children's growth into the world is not that it is a better school than the schools but that it isn't a school at all. It is not an artificial place, set up to make "learning" happen and in which nothing except "learning" ever happens. It is a natural, organic, central, fundamental human institution, one might easily and rightly say the foundation of all other institutions. We can imagine and indeed we have had human societies without schools, without factories, without libraries, museums, hospitals, roads, legislatures, courts, or any of the institutions which seem so indispensable and permanent a part of modern life. We might someday even choose, or be obliged, to live once again without some or all of these. But we cannot even imagine a society without homes, even if these should be no more than tents, or mud huts, or holes in the ground. What I am trying to say, in short, is that our chief educational problem is not to find a way to make homes more like schools. If anything, it is to make schools less like schools.

Answer 6

No, because that is just a term.....technically, you are still learning and that is what counts.

Answer 7

It's not "illegal" unless you don't follow your state's requirement about the hours/days of instruction and/or the courses that must be taught.  Even within unschooling you could still teach/learn those topics - just in a more unstructured, non-textbook sort of way.

We're a strange mix here of "school in a box" (sort of - we deviate a bit) during the set "school" hours, which only take 2-3 hrs/day.  Then the rest of the day my DS is "unschooled" by doing self-directed learning.  I make the tools available to him (Cosmeo, Brain Pop, CyberEd, library books, etc) and he studies things he wants to study.  He's learned a ton about solar weather and solar physics this way (he's 9)...or even the history of the Rubik's cube or Garfield comic strip (both not very academic, but they build his research and retelling skills).  He'll have a "subject of the month", then he moves on to something else.  He has access to the web which opens many doors.

Answer 8

you should have school sometimes at least.and no i believe that it is not illegal.

Answer 9

It totally depends on how you define it. Some people believe unschooling is using life to educate. Others believe it is to sit in front of a TV. Yet others believe it to mean independent studying such as reading.

What state laws do you have to deal with? Here in FL we just have to prove that our child(ren) have successfully advanced according to their ability.

Answer 10

It is not illegal, just even less traditional than regular home schooling.

For a complete answer as to what the difference between homeschooling, and unschooling is see this post:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 11

I like Earl's answer. We're unschoolers. Technically what unschooling consists of is trusting that a child will learn what he/she will need through living a full and enriched life. We have radically unschooled for two years now, and I can say that my children are all academically ahead of their age peers, and even better, because they've learned it through relativity, and it's retained and has more meaning.

Unschooling doesn't mean unparenting. We have routines that we follow, we make plans and follow through on them, it's not at all the anarchy that many people imagine. By respecting the needs of our children, they learn to respect the needs of mom and dads (like the need for tidyness, courtesy, timing)

HTH. There is an unschooling blog ring that is amazing. Sandra Dodd's blog is interesting, as she has three children two of whom are out on their own now. They are truly successful and amazing men.

Oh, to answer your question lol! It's not illegal. Homeschooling is legal in every state, the implementation is all that differs. There are unschoolers in every state, they just are more...imaginative with their information and paperwork. IE testing...many states require testing, but some only say that the kids have the test, not that the scores mean anything. Some just have to show improvement, so if they get a 20% one year, they only need a 25% the next. TBH though, i don't know any unschooler who performs that poorly without purposefully throwing the test.

Answer 12

Different states have different laws.  Some states require that certain subjects be covered for a specified number of hours/minutes each week.  Other states don't regulate at all.  Even in states with strict regulation, it would depend on what the student did while unschooling.  Unschooling doesn't mean that the student never picks up a text book-  it just means that the student chooses what to study, when to study it, and how to study it.  A student who seems to be fooling around building a clubhouse is using math skills, getting a physical workout, perhaps exercising drawing skills, etc.  So that student could legitimately claim part of that time as "Math Class", part as P.E., and part of it as "Art". (Not to mention wood-shop.)

Also, a lot of people who claim to unschool are not radical about it.  Many require their kids to do a minimum of work in the basics.  (From my way of thinking this would be more accurately called relaxed homeschooling, but since no one owns the trademark on the word "unschooling" it is up to each person to define it for themselves.)

So before you could say whether it is legal, you would have to exam many things.  The laws in the state where the family lives, what kind of things the kids do during the day and what subjects could be claimed under those activities, whether the parents require certain things, whether the kids have jobs or not... Its not something you can just decide because they call themselves unschoolers.

By the way, my family does not unschool, but I do know people who do, and their children seem to learning what they need.

Answer 13

No it isn't illegal. UNschooling is wonderful, if done right. Kids are naturally curious and if they are interested in something, they will learn more and walk away with a greater understanding than if we cram the information down their throat. At some point there has to be other things introduced that they would not naturally ask about. I think unschooling is great for younger ages, but some structure is needed for older children to get the proper education.

I homeschool, but personally I would go nuts without any kind of structure. We do not unschool, but I support it.