Should You Try Giving up School?
Most of us have been at home with our children for at least a month. My kids have been home since March 6 (but who’s counting?), And while we’re happy to keep our distance as long as necessary, I desperately dream of the days when I could drive my girls to their patient and skilled professional educators instead. … Simplify Zoom calls and digital learning platforms throughout the day.
Parents watch the calendar ticking in slow motion, trying to catch up with emerging expectations for digital learning and lamenting that they don’t have the time or energy to create their own homeschooling complex.
We had been in quarantine school for only a week when I saw this Facebook post from child psychologist Dr. Emily W. King :
On the verge of tears and ready to toss the iPad out the window, I finally felt myself seen. Can we keep this (ongoing parenting, work and training) until June? Can we do it again in the fall if things don’t work out? Perhaps you, like me, have dreamed of ditching structured education in 2020 … putting your kids in the backyard and letting them go back in only after they come across a Ph.D.-level understanding of clumsiness. bugs or something like that.
My fantasies prompted me to research a term I’ve heard before — school dropout — and see if a non-traditional approach to education could ease the pressures that we as reluctant parent teachers are experiencing right now.
What is weaning from school?
The term “school dropout” was coined in 1977 by educator John Holt , a proponent of alternatives to the public school system. Holt believed that instead of sitting in classrooms and following a prescribed curriculum and testing schedule, children can learn from their own curiosity, and parents provide resources and support.
Can I just stop here and say how much I value teachers and schools and everything they do? Especially now? However, many families choose to opt-out and their children are doing well too.
According to a 2017 literature review , 1 million American children are out of school. This is a type of homeschooling that doesn’t follow any curriculum or try to recreate classroom life. You may have heard that this is called “free-range training”, “world training” or ” field training” . So what does it look like in the real world?
Sorry, there is no guidebook – that’s the point.
“The beauty of excommunication is finding answers,” writes Leo Babauta in The Beginner ‘s Guide to School Abandonment. “If someone had the answers to all the questions, there would be no search. And so I would like to teach out-of-school parents and children that seeking is the joy of it all. ”
If you’re still pondering the idea – as a way to end this weird school year, maximize summer learning, or as a family experiment in the next school year – these are the basics of dropping out of school.
Child’s choice
What your child is interested in will completely lead to school dropout. There are no external requirements for achieving any reading or math milestones. Children without education learn to read and do math because these are the tools they need to pursue their interests.
You may already know that your child is obsessed with robots or LEGOs, and this is your starting point. But if you don’t know where to start, don’t worry. The next element will help to discover and develop her areas of interest.
Rich learning environment
Difficult to define, but chances are you already have a rich learning environment at home. Do you have access to books? Safe Internet Content? Open space? Friends and family (even if it’s still virtual)? Content that can be creatively repurposed? None of these elements are required, but some of them together can help a child start a journey of discovery.
No assignments and tests
Deep down, I follow the rules, love standardized tests, and wave my report cards. If you don’t give me an A, how will I know that I’m doing well? Well, school dropouts may say that the system gives children an unnatural need for grading and ranking.
However, since goals are defined by every out-of-school child, they do not need a score to measure success. ( School dropout is legal in all 50 states , although each state may have individual laws on how you approach or report their success.)
Even if your family is not ready to give up the traditional school and all its benefits, the idea of leaving school can help you loosen the structure and expectations that seem so stifling now. Children and parents have been flooded with digital resources and learning opportunities since school closures. Think of them not as a mountain of tasks, but as a Choose Your Own Adventure menu. Your home is a library of non-standard texts and a storehouse of creative materials that are just waiting for a child to have an idea to put them together.
Questions are the cornerstone of self-study. When your child asks a question, follow it! When your child encounters an obstacle, ask him a question! Use your intuition and respect your child’s intuitive learning style.
If your thoughts go back to acoustics and new math, allow yourself to worry about those things again in September. Chances are, if your children are raised by a parent who dives into pedagogical research to determine the best, most holistic teaching method that works for the whole family during the global crisis, they are likely to stay good no matter what. next school year looks like.