Questions Parents Ask About Independent Meaningful Learning

How Will My Child Learn Math? 

One of the most common questions parents ask when considering independent meaningful learning is: What about math? In traditional schools, math is taught on a fixed timeline that may not align with a child’s actual readiness or interests. This often leads to the infamous, “When will we ever use this?” question from students.

With independent meaningful learning, young people engage with math when it naturally fits into their interests. If they’re building houses in a digital game, they might need multiplication to figure out how many bricks they need. If they’re selling those houses, they might start exploring algebraic equations to calculate earnings. Instead of memorizing formulas without context, they’re applying math in real-world situations – making it more meaningful and memorable.

Unschooling doesn’t mean that young people aren’t learning. It just means that they aren’t being forced to learn things that have no relevance to the interests they are currently pursuing. When young people are learning content in a way that helps them engage with something they are genuinely interested in, they are often more motivated to learn and more likely to retain the information since they are able to apply it immediately.  

A better question to ask might be: Why does my child need to learn algebra before they’re ready to use it? With independent meaningful learning, education is not about following an arbitrary schedule—it’s about learning when it’s relevant and needed.

What About Prom?

When considering unschooling as a possible learning option, many parents worry about their young people missing out on social interactions, and if they have high school-aged kids, they wonder, “What about prom?” After all, for many adults preparing for, and attending, their high school prom was the highlight of their teen years, so they can’t imagine denying their young people the right to experience this for themselves. 

But here’s the thing: unschooling families don’t live in isolation, and most are connected with people in their community that are not unschoolers. These connections come through sports, religious institutions, clubs, social justice movements, or a variety of other personal interests. 

There are also unschooling communities that get together to have prom for their children, but many families find that because their unschooling young people are constantly socializing with others (young people and adults) they don’t need a single, seemingly super special, event to have fun with their friends. They’re having fun with their friends on a regular basis. They get to build with their friends, travel with them, and explore places and ideas together. 

Fun isn’t limited to the hours after school or to 3 hours on a special day at the end of the year. Unschoolers are purposefully planning fun and meaningful ways to interact with their friends and community on a regular basis because those are the experiences that make life rich.

Can I do this if I’m not a teacher? 

Absolutely! 

Long answer: One of the misconceptions about unschooling is that the goal is to recreate school at home, while giving young people a little more flexibility with how they learn. When parents think about it in this way, it can seem overwhelming because they feel like they have to replace all of the teachers that their young person would have encountered in school, and most parents don’t feel confident in their ability to teach math, science, history, language arts, music, art, foreign language, and any other subject that their young person would have taken in a traditional setting. 

The good news is that as an unschooling parent your job isn’t to replace all of the other teachers because you are not expected to be the keeper of all knowledge. Instead, your role is to help create an environment that fosters your young person’s natural curiosity. Instead of needing to select (or create) a curriculum designed to cover grade level standards, an unschooling parent gets to focus on helping their child access books, videos, people, and places that help them learn through their everyday life experiences…and you don’t need a degree or certification to do that.

How Can My Family Afford This? 

Since the goal of unschooling isn’t to replicate school at home, the amount of money you spend on unschooling is totally up to your family. Because young people are able to learn through their everyday lived experiences, you don’t have to incur additional expenses just for the sake of learning. 

While you’re cooking, young people can be learning. As you’re planning your budget for the next month, young people can be learning. Trips to the grocery store, the post office, and the doctor’s office can all be great learning experiences for young people. And when your young person wants to deepen their knowledge on a specific subject, there are plenty of free resources available via the internet, libraries, resource swaps in homeschooling groups, and people in your community who are willing to share their knowledge. 

Another concern when it comes to being able to afford unschooling is the belief that at least one parent has to quit their job in order to stay home with the children all day, but this isn’t the case. There are unschooling co-ops, and self-directed education spaces where young people can go during the day (while their parents work) and be in charge of their learning. There are so many creative ways that families have been able to make unschooling work for them, so if this is something that you’re struggling to figure out, reach out to other families to learn more about how they’re making it work for them.

What Are The Rules in My State?

Each state has different regulations for homeschooling and unschooling. To find out what options are available in your area.  To find unschooling-friendly options in your state, click here.

For questions or feedback, reach out at hello@weareborntolearn.org or join our Facebook community to talk more: www.weareborntolearn.org/facebook