Iam;a;Christian;and;I;unschool;my children.;Usually,;when;people hear;this,;they;are;surprised;and a;bit;suspicious.;The;word;“un-schooling” often conjures up images
of children watching cartoons or play-ing;video;games;all;day,;teens;painting
their nails and talking to their friends
while disrespecting their parents, and
just;general;chaos;and;mayhem.;Often,
we are misunderstood and looked upon
with disdain as folks who don’t educate
their children; folks who just let them
do whatever they want all day. Out of all
of;the;ways;to;homeschool,;unschooling
is the hardest to define and the easiest
to malign.
There are many myths around un-
schooling,;including;what;the;term;even
means. When homeschooling began in
the;early;1970’s,;unschooling;was;syno-
nymous with homeschooling and simply
meant;“not;educated;in;a;conventional
school.”;The;early;homeschoolers;reject-
ed the system of government schooling
and;its;methodology,;and;opted;instead
to give children the freedom to learn
what,;when,;why,;and;how;they;wished.
We will explore how this freedom has led
to;many;misunderstandings;and;myths,
especially;among;Christians.
Myth 1: Unschooling means the
children are in charge
Myth 2: Unschooling means that
the parents are uninvolved and
education is left up to the child
Myth 3: Unschoolers don’t
discipline their children
Taken together, these three myths are
perpetuated every time national media
features an unschooling family in an un-
favorable light that borders on neglect.
Unschooled children are given a great
deal;of;liberty,;but;not;at;the;expense;of
others’;liberty;or;property.;Children;are
expected to be respectful of each other
and;their;parents,;as;is;pleasing;to;the
Lord (see Ephesians 6: 1-4, Amplified
Bible).;In;turn,;the;parents;do;not;gen-
erally burden the children with arbitrary
rules and standards that have nothing
to;do;with;growing;in;Christ,;but;have
more to do with pleasing men (see the
same;passage;in;Ephesians).;So;yes,;rules
about;bedtimes,;meals,;staying;out;of;the
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
Homeschool Support
By Julie Polanco
Dispelling
7 Myths
about;Christian
Unschooling
Out of all of the ways to
homeschool,;unschooling;is
the hardest to define and the
easiest to malign.
