Challenging Unschooling

I’ve been frustrated by exchanges on Twitter with unschoolers of late. It’s not new – we’ve gone back and forth a few times before – but the last few rounds have had an extra edge of frustration and snippiness on both sides of the discussion. For me, part of that is related to the current political situation. Regardless, the tension is visible enough that observers have spoken up, making jokes about the nature and length of the discussion. It’s my belief I understand the unschooling philosophy so I’m going to do my best to describe the mindset public school advocates should understand as a part of any conversation with those who advocate for self-directed learning. Jennifer Binis – Public School Advocate The underlying beliefs of those who advocate unschooling can best be summarized as: Learning is as natural to us as other aspects of our humanity such as pair bonding, nourishing our bodies, and being a part of a community  a natural component of the human experience A child is be

I have found this thread on twitter troubling: https://twitter.com/JennBinis/status/852538636163854336 I want to try to back up, and see if I understand the position that I think I am arguing against well enough. So, this is me trying to most charitably state the critique that unschoolers (and other's) must meet. I take the following as shared premises that all involved in the discussion would agree with (although probably not agree as to what exactly they mean): 1. all children have a right to an education and access to the shared cultural heritage of humanity. 2. the US has extreme disparity in access to opportunity along many axes, but especially race and class The Liberal View of Education * That a quality education means specifically:   - An optimal curriculum, that includes *at least* a core set of knowledge (specific subjects) and "tools for thinking" (critical analysis skills, etc.) We will use the shorthand "liberal arts education" f

I've recently started getting into some discussions on twitter where unschoolers have been arguing with non-unschoolers in ways that feel like we are talking past each other. The name of this blog is deliberately ambiguous. I would like some space to have more careful and thoughtful discussion with people of good intentions who are vigorously challenging unschooling on a number of fronts. But I would also like some space to dig into the challenges that can arise while unschooling. We'll see which dominates. While reflecting on some of the conversations that have been nagging at me, I came up with the following principles that it seems like everyone involved shared: All children have a right to an education, and access to humanities shared cultural heritage The U.S. has extreme disparity in access to opportunity along many axes, but especially race and class If you feel that those points are premises you hold when considering the fate of universal education, I woul