Defining TermsChristian: ”There in Antioch the Lord’s followers were first called Christians”. (Acts 11:26) Simply, a Christian is one who follows Christ, one who emulates His teachings. The word ‘Christian’ actually means ‘little Christ’. One would therefore expect a Christian to be very similar — and growing in similarity — in thought, word, and deed to the Person of Jesus Christ revealed in the Bible. Unschooling: The term 'unschooling' was originally coined by John Holt. Today there are many other terms roughly synonymous with the nuances of its meaning - At the time when John Holt coined the term, it simply meant 'not schooled', as in, educated elsewhere than at a school. Today, the term 'unschooling' has come to refer to a specific type of home education, i.e. education that is in the full control of the one doing the learning. Thus there is autonomy and self-direction, and it becomes quite obvious that unschooling is not just an educational approach devised for children, but a definition of how learning happens for all people. In the Unschooling Handbook, Mary Griffith uses a wonderful quote: “Unschooling… means learning what one wants, when one wants, in the way one wants, where one wants, for one’s own reasons." Unschooling is self-education. And self-education is simply the practice of freedom. Learning is freed from an artificial, externally controlled context to become again what it has in actual fact always been — a natural, spontaneous process; part of the whole experience of being alive. Christian Unschooling:
One would expect that although Christian unschooling would be similar to unschooling, it would also be different. Unschooling practised within the parameters of a robust Christian faith would not be the same as unschooling happening without this specific moral context. In the same way, Christian unschooling might look very different to what is assumed to be a Christian view of education and training. Because I wanted to explore this particular educational approach within the context of my life and faith, it became clear to me that I would be challenged to explore the actual meaning of Christianity and unschooling as opposed to the accepted meaning of each. In this way, unschooling became a challenge to my Christianity, and vice versa. In short, there was no comfortable sitting back in this process – I was required to think, to read, to pray. Overall, I asked for the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit. The process is ongoing. And subsequently I have seen that this type of intellectual and spiritual challenge is common in unschooling. When one casts off accepted norms and customs, and begins to ask questions about those norms, it becomes an inevitable opportunity for growth or retreat. To go the way of faith and trust, or the way of fear and mistrust. Either way, a choice is made, and direction is determined by that choice.
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