What Back to School is Like for An Unschooler
by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
For unschoolers like us, there is no back to school. There is continual learning, all of the time. We don't buy a bunch of supplies (unless we find something incredible on sale, like my new $4 planner), we don't buy school clothes (we tend to get messy in whatever we wear, to be honest with you), and we definitely don't need Kindermats or other special, expensive items. I always have to laugh at the people who tell me that homeschooling must be expensive; most of what we do is free, save for special classes like taekwondo, which kids in school do, too.
I've been finding myself in rather hostile territory--or, perhaps, I am just hostile. All of these parents are posting pictures of their children next to buses or with their new teachers, and though I'm not feeling left out, when I joined in with our own participatory photos in "Not Back to School" activities recently, I was met with a little bit of defensiveness. Why can all of these teachers and parents be so proud and open about what they are doing, while I have to keep explaining over and over again why we chose this "lifestyle," what issues we have with public schools, etc. etc. It is as if they automatically think that we think we are better than them or something, rather
For unschoolers like us, there is no back to school. There is continual learning, all of the time. We don't buy a bunch of supplies (unless we find something incredible on sale, like my new $4 planner), we don't buy school clothes (we tend to get messy in whatever we wear, to be honest with you), and we definitely don't need Kindermats or other special, expensive items. I always have to laugh at the people who tell me that homeschooling must be expensive; most of what we do is free, save for special classes like taekwondo, which kids in school do, too.
I've been finding myself in rather hostile territory--or, perhaps, I am just hostile. All of these parents are posting pictures of their children next to buses or with their new teachers, and though I'm not feeling left out, when I joined in with our own participatory photos in "Not Back to School" activities recently, I was met with a little bit of defensiveness. Why can all of these teachers and parents be so proud and open about what they are doing, while I have to keep explaining over and over again why we chose this "lifestyle," what issues we have with public schools, etc. etc. It is as if they automatically think that we think we are better than them or something, rather
