It’s possible that when you hear the word “unschooling,” you’re horrified. Others hear it and breathe a sigh of relief that someone, somewhere, has finally invented a word for what they’ve been trying to do all along. Perhaps the word prompts in you a different reaction entirely.
Whatever the case, unschooling is starting to take off, especially amongst Silicon Valley tech families – as well as their counterparts in Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles – who want to know more about this nontraditional medium for educating their children.
With adherents like Elon Musk behind the concept, it’s easy to see why unschooling has become such a hot topic in recent years. In addition to being the founder, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX, he is also the CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors, chairman of SolarCity, and a co-founder of PayPal. As TrueActivist reports, Musk recently launched an unschooling effort for his own children. But he’s not the only cutting-edge tech parent to believe that unschooling is a better way to achieve a robust education than traditional school environments.
So just what are the perceived benefits of unschooling? For one thing, kids often get more time with their parents and can continue their education from anywhere in the world. For another, kids get to follow their interests in choosing curricula and lessons.
Although unschooling is much like homeschooling in that it breaks the traditional public education mold, it moves even further away from the traditional school model, basing its curriculum on what naturally interests children in order to stimulate their true love of learning. Lastly, many unschool parents believe removing grades provides a better, more intrinsically motivated environment.
Families who decide to unschool their kids aren’t even necessarily doing so because they believe the traditional public (or private) school systems are bad, but rather because an unschooling environment better fits their lifestyle. Many families travel frequently and taking their children along allows that parental bond to remain strong with a parent (or parents) who would otherwise be inaccessible much of the year. Moreover, an unschooling approach gives kids a chance to see other countries, engage in tailored one-on-one educational activities, and gain life experience in a real-world setting.
Parents who decide to go this route often look for a nanny, in-home educator or traveling educator to support their efforts. Adventure Nannies is an agency offering just such teachers, all of whom have real-world experience with children, are expert travelers, are trained educators, and understand the ins and outs of one-on-one, interest-based learning.
If you think unschooling might be for your children, or simply want to learn more about our travel-ready nannies, feel free to check them out here. Our clients love the services our knowledgeable, experienced nannies and private educators provide and routinely leave us glowing testimonials.
What other educational philosophies have you researched as a parent and/or childcare professional? We’d love to hear about it — contact us on Facebook, Instagram, and check out the other posts on the blog!
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