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A Picture of Christian Unschooling
When one talks to people about the freedom of unschooling in an increasingly structured world, it is so important to be able to clarify what it looks like in practice. But because of the freedom of unschooling, this can be a hard thing to do - unlike a pre-packaged curriculum or a lesson plan, no two applications will be alike. Unschooling is as individual as the families practicing it.
Talking to unschoolers is helpful, as it allows one to form a clearer picture of what it looks like. For this reason, I have deliberately made this website a personal record, allowing you a window through which to observe aspects of the way we live and some of the reasons why we live the way we do. Hopefully this will assist you in working out what a methodology of Christian unschooling could look like in your family.
What is education? Increasingly I see that education is so much more than a way of 'equipping children for life'. We all begin somewhere, and this is a good starting point, but if that is all that happens, then we only scratch the surface of something so deep and so important. Important because of its capacity for meaningful and wholly purposeful living.
At least as important are questions like these: What is the role and purpose of childhood? What is the role of play? And to what extent are our ‘educational’ interventions and requirements counter-productive, or even downright detrimental to the proper development of personhood?
A.S. Neill, founder of the controversial UK school called Summerhill, set it as a goal to use childhood and adolescence to create emotional wholeness and personal strength. His perspective was that people who had this kind of wholeness would be self-motivated to learn what they needed academically. This makes sense, because a person who has a strong sense of personal identity and worth also knows what he wants out of life, and chances are that he has some idea of how to go about getting it. Confident people take the world by storm, and they are not easily swayed from their objectives. As Albert Lamb (editor of A.S. Neill's book The New Summerhill) commented: “With a happy childhood tucked under your belt, your future development is almost assured.”
Like many others, A.S. Neill was deeply concerned that children should be given all the time they needed to play, and to play in an atmosphere of approval and love. Thus they would not play in a climate of mild disapproval engendered by the idea that they might be wasting their time, and that there might be better things to do with it. In this kind of environment it would not matter if you were an early or a late bloomer; neither would it matter if you had interests different to the rest of group.
Many years ago now, while asking God for fresh wisdom about our own home educating approach, I read Psalm 23.The picture of the Shepherd with His sheep was so clear and so vivid. I had a strong sense to create for my children a huge pasture in which they could delight in the freedom of being lambs. Around this pasture it was necessary to create a strong and secure boundary fence. This fence would actually guarantee the safety and freedom of the sheep within. This picture, of a pasture with a boundary fence, illustrates the learning lifestyle of Christian unschooling. The sheep and lambs are together in the pasture. I am a sheep, and along with my lambs we are following the Great Shepherd. However, I am also a shepherd, because I am responsible for and accountable to the Great Shepherd for the well being and growth of my lambs.
The pasture is the place of freedom. The place where a person is free to be, to revel in the joy of living this life in God’s beautiful world. The place of choice. The place of doing what I want. The pasture is the richness of God’s world and the life He has invested in us.
The boundary fence is where the pasture ends. The fence is the principle and instruction of God’s Word. The place, for each of us, of obedience and submission to God’s structures of authority. The place of doing what I ought.
But there is a problem. It is in the nature of humanity to test the boundaries, and our children will do so too—to a greater or lesser extent.
The well being of the sheep and the lambs is secured and defined by the boundary fence. So the fence needs to be kept in a good state of repair.
The boundary fence, far from being a restriction, is actually the guarantee of the freedom and safety of the sheep. This illustration was to be emphasized some years ago while, on a trip to Yorkshire, I rounded a corner and narrowly missed a collision with a group of five mischievous lambs who had escaped through a hole in their pasture fence, and who were merrily playing in the road!
Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. (Psalm 16:5-6)
This picture can be likened to a balance scale. Too much emphasis on the one thing is detrimental to the other. We have to keep the two synchronized. But as there is often confusion between these two aspects of the philosophy and methodology of Christian unschooling, separating them out as pasture and boundary fence helps to bring some clarity to the matter.
To put it simply, the pasture aspect of our illustration means freedom. Freedom to learn what one wants, when one wants, in the way one wants, where one wants, for one’s own reasons. Learners choose for themselves what they need to discover next in the exciting adventure of life.
The pasture is the natural environment into which the child is born. It is NOT a specially adapted and prepared ‘child-environment’, but life as it really is, both as regards persons and things. This does not mean that we shouldn’t enrich the life of the child. Quite the contrary. But we should not labour under the fallacy that life has to be simplified, diluted or 'brought down to the child’s level' (how arrogant that idea is!) Neither - and this is such an important point - does it need to be upgraded with all sorts of fancy equipment, resources and curricula in order for learning to happen.
The boundary is the limits of freedom. In reality, there is no such thing as a limitless freedom. My freedom to be an individual is limited by the needs and rights of the community; my rights are limited by my duties; my freedom by responsibility; my privileges by stewardship. I can, but I ought; ‘me’ is in balance with ‘others’.
It is this tension that leads one into purposeful living – as I sense the place of me in the community of others, I also discover my destiny and purpose in being alive. As Paul put it, none of us live to ourselves, and none of us die to ourselves. The way I live my life, or don’t live it, will always have impact on the lives of those around me; I cannot get away from this reality, try as I might.
Children growing up in a healthy Christian family are naturally brought into an awareness of the limits of freedom as they practice it. It remains for us as parents to support them in fleshing out the structure of that freedom and its limits. We do this through relationship; through discussion, sharing, reading, mentoring, and the setting of example.
A close friend of mine, Steve Miller, who is not a practising Christian, made this thought-provoking comment when I shared with him some of my challenges in considering unschooling within a Christian framework:
"You may be surprised to hear that I understood and appreciated your position and definition immediately when you said
'Christian unschooling should be described as a large pasture encircled by a strong boundary fence: The pasture is the place of freedom....The fence is the principle and instruction of God's Word.'
I loved your clever imagery of the 'pasture' with boundaries. How else would a 'Shepherd' look after his 'Sheep'? It made perfect sense to me. Although you know I don't personally accept all biblical teachings in detail, it made sense to me that anyone who DID - and who lived them - could apply your definition without fear of contradicting Holt - because you are not 'disciplining' by apply YOUR rules - you are teaching your children to adhere to God's teachings - just as you try to... ie You did not make the rules - and this makes your standpoint authentic and consistent. This way you do not have to be an exemplary. ideal Christian as a parent - but merely an honest one - sharing your journey of getting to know God better - especially if you are willing to admit your faults too. The authenticity of your position would be clear to the child, I can see that - with no real risk of hypocrisy as your role model to the child is one of the imperfect striving toward improvement and the perfect love of God. The proof of your approach lies in the results you have; in the 5 wonderful human beings you've raised, Cathy. And the more I think about the Nature and Power of raw, simple authenticity, the more I can see that this is part of why your solution to that potential conflict worked. By resolving that conflict not just through brain power but so that it felt good in your heart, you were able to LIVE it in a manner that gave your kids both freedom AND consistent boundaries. It seems plain to me that children can only truly feel safe when they have both - and the unconditional love that must accompany them. "
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