Sunday, January 31, 2010

Unschooling = Unlimiting

Continuing with the recent conversations about the definition of unschooling, and about what terms people use for this educational style of learning through living, I wanted to post something I found here

[To the frequently voiced complaint that the word "unschooling" seems negative, this was written years ago and has not been bested:]
"Lots of people make this point, but I never see the negation as negative in a value-judgment sense when I use the word--to me unschooling is as positive as unchaining, unbinding, unleashing, unfolding, unfurling, unlimiting...

"All mean freedom and growth and vast possibilities to me."


-Suzanne Carter

And that, my friends, is a good part of the reason why I happily say unschooling.  To me, "school" is a negative word.  By unschooling myself, I'm setting myself free from the rigid constraints of schooling in all it's forms!

Peace,
Idzie

1 comment:

  1. Great point! Still, most people who hear the words unschooling and natural learning etc, in my short experience, seem rather threatened or judgemental. I tend to gloss over the intro (our kids aren't at school, we do homeschooling), then move on to sharing how rich our life is, and what our children's current passions are ... that's what really inspires people, the little insights into our daily lives.

    P.S. What do you think about free-style learning, as a term?

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