Discussions

Unschooling is not yet an available option for all children. It does require a stay at home parent, something most have lost sight of the importance of. Because public school currently doubles as the only publicly funded child care option for children between the ages of 6 and 12, unschooled children of single parents would be at a significant disadvantage, most likely spending too many hours alone and unsupervised.  
 
There may be some social disconnect for children who do not engage in any activities with other children. Children with no siblings, who do not do any extra curricular activites, or go to playgrounds, or play outside in their neighbourhoood would be at the most risk.  
 
Unschooled children in Manitoba are at a significant disadvantage as they are required by law to receive an education equal to that of public school but are not provided with any materials, no books, no equipment, nothing. Whereas unschoolers in British Columbia not only receive funding for school supplies, they also have full access to the school of their choice, children can take which ever courses they choose, use any of the schools equipment or facilities play on their sports teams and take part in school events. Perhaps the difference between Manitoba's 'sheltered' homeschoolers and British Columbia's thriving unschooling and homeschool communities is the freedom and equality there verses the barriers and exclusion here.  
 
Unschooling can drain the parents. It takes a network of people, a 'village' to raise a child and parent needs to take advantage of the village or it wont work. Babysitters, daycare, grandparents, neighbours, church can all be a part of that village. Parents need a break too. 24/7 alone with your kids will drive the parents and the kids insane.  
 
Without these breaks it is easy for unschooling to slip into unparenting. It's really a fine line to walk and parents need to stay on their toes. Getting stuck in a rut with the kids is a slippery slope to all forms of neglect.  
 
When you can balance it properly, the extra time together as a family is amazing. It is good for the kids and the parents. The relationships stay open and stay strong.  
 
Unschooling gives the child an opportunity to study areas of interest in depth, even to the exclusion of less important subjects. It is much more encouraging for a child to gain mastery of a skill without it being overshadowed by one or more things they are failing.  
 
Unschooling teaches children respect and freedom and how to live them. I cant quite comprehend how children learn these things while being told when to stand up, when to sit down, when to eat, when they can go to the bathroom, who they must be friends with. The only other people in our society degraded like school children are prisoners...but even the prisoners get to choose what books to read. A child treated with respect becomes respectful, a child given freedom will never tolerate oppression.  
 
Unschoolers have more opportunity to form realtionships with people of all ages, it's like an introduction course to freedom of association.  
 
Unschoolers can grow up slower in the early years, play more, imagine more. They can also grow up more quickly in the later years, avoid the entire awkward and artifical time we call the 'teen years' and move right on to adulthood.  
 
Unschoolers can live a schedule more suited to their lifestyle and that of their parents. They can be up at dawn and down for a midday nap or they can sleep late and stay up under the stars at night.  
 
Today's unschoolers are the pioneers of a revolution. Traditional school is outdated...by about 200 years. As long as the freedom remains, the homeschool movement will continue to grow.