New homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers sometimes wonder about the word "deschooling" vs. "unschooling". The prefixes "de" and "un" often mean such similar things. We "de-humidify" and we "un-tie" our shoes — both acts of reversing the meaning of the root word.
And in that sense, the words are related. Both deschooling and unschooling require thinking about the inverse of schooling.
But within the world of homeschooling, the two words deschooling and unschooling have meanings that are, most often, distinct from one another.
Within the culture of homeschooling, deschooling refers to the transition from school. Here at TheHomeSchoolMom.com, I have written about deschooling for kids as well as a whole series about deschooling for parents.
Within the culture of homeschooling, unschooling refers to a specific approach to homeschooling -- a homeschooling style that emphasizes living and learning without regard to school expectations and norms. TheHomeSchoolMom.com also has a lot of information about unschooling, and a good place to begin is with our article Unschooling: How to Start, Laws & Best Practices.
Deschooling is important for all families who are starting homeschooling, even if they will ultimately use an ongoing approach or homeschooling style that is not unschooling. After a period of initial deschooling, they may choose a unit studies approach, a curriculum approach, a Waldorf- or Montessori-inspired approach, an eclectic approach, an engaged homeschooling approach, a Charlotte Mason approach, or the Moore Formula, all homeschooling styles which are explained here at TheHomeSchoolMom.com.
What can get tricky to wrap your head around terminology-wise, is that deschooling might also lead to unschooling. Some families go through the deschooling process and become so comfortable with the ideas of learning without school, that they make a conscious decision not to turn to a different approach to homeschooling.
Some families just slip into unschooling without a decision. During the deschooling period, they see their kids are learning, and the parents continue to facilitate that learning, brushing aside the idea that they would adopt a different homeschooling style once a certain deschooling period was complete.
In that sense, deschooling trails off into unschooling. And many unschoolers will tell you that they continue to "deschool" for years and years, looking for ways that clinging to the defaults of schooling may be harming effective learning at home.
There are even parents who know they will unschool from the beginning (they come to home education planning to use unschooling as their ongoing approach to their children’s learning) -- who still find themselves deschooling. We live in a society where schooling is so pervasive, that getting out of the box of school norms can take a lifetime.
This can make embarking on deschooling especially scary. What if I can't get my kid back to My Plan? What about graduation requirements or college admission? (There's a wealth of information out there by people like Alison Mckee, who explains how this can work—but it's another topic for you to pursue as you are learning about home education).
And yet, even advocates of more formal and structured approaches to homeschooling (homeschooling styles other than unschooling) continue to advocate deschooling as an initial step to home education. There is, quite simply, no substitute for it, especially for families who have been in or around schools for a long time.
To complete the circle (and add to the confusion?), I know many families whose unschooled kids have chosen to attend school, particularly for high school and college. Without compulsion to be there (they know they can return to learning at home), and without burn-out from years of schooling, they often enjoy school and do well. Others decide after a semester or a year that the trade-offs are too great, and they go back to learning at home.
And, of course, we know kids who have always attended school for whom school happens to be a great fit. These kids and their parents may wonder why anyone would need to deschool, unschool, or homeschool at all!
If you were one of those successful school kids, or if you are a teacher by training, and you are now embarking on homeschooling your kids, you may resist deschooling at first and dismiss unschooling altogether. If you homeschool more than a year or two, hang on for the ride of your life.
A popular speaker at homeschooling conferences, business groups, and parents’ groups, Jeanne Potts Faulconer homeschooled her three sons in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia for twenty years. Holding her Master of Arts degree in Communication, Jeanne conducted portfolio evaluations for Virginia homeschoolers for evidence of progress for many years. Jeanne is a former college faculty member, former editor for several publications, news correspondent for WCVE, and former director of Brave Learner Home. She is the contributing editor for TheHomeSchoolMom newsletter and writes the popular Ask Jeanne column addressing homeschool parents' questions here at TheHomeSchoolMom.
Discouraging? The situation that we find ourselves in is unfortunate, but your mere explanation of the state of affairs is spot on and helpful!
This article was VERY helpful for me and answered exactly many of the questions I have as a newly transitioning homeschool parent....literally like the last 2 weeks I finally said ENOUGH!!! So I had heard of unschooling from friends that basically stated that as African-Americans are in school they are taught that their only role was slavery and the few Martin Luther King and Harriet Tubman. However, there is SO MUCH more and the continued expectation of our children to be unintelligent and from broken and impoverished homes gives them a limited view of themselves and expectations that are below average. My son is actually quite gifted and that shocks the teachers and they are not sure how to deal with it and even students call my son a liar when they compare grades and my son scores higher than the white students, they have often called him a liar because they could not ascertain the fact that this black kid could score higher than them. Long story short....I had heard of unschooling and now that I have begun to take the plunge began to see the term deschooling and this article was most helpful. So thank you very much.
Hi K.M.
I'm glad you found the article helpful. Deschooling and unschooling sound so much alike and are often confused. Start out by deschooling! As you deschool, read about different approaches to homeschooling and get to know your son even better, so you can try out different homeschooling styles.
As you homeschool your son, you will be able to help him learn about history, government, science, art, music, literature, writing, and math in ways that are meaningful. That can include stories and information that are often left out of textbooks and classes. That can include learning about African-American writers, artists, inventors, and scientists (and more!) who made huge strides in their fields and lasting contributions to humanity. You can present these notable people not as exceptions but as part of the fabric of "all inventions" and "all history," yet you can also celebrate the individuals as role models.
Something I love about homeschooling is this: when parents are educating their own children, education can safely be "potential-based." You see the potential in your son, and you can help him learn up to his potential. In schools, education needs to be standards-based in part because it is "easier" or more common for some children's potential is invisible or stereotyped or discounted in some institutions. (Not saying this is true of all schools or all teachers). When you are helping your child learn, he is not limited by other people's perceptions of what he may be able to do. He also does not have to be limited to minimum standards.
Best wishes on your homeschooling journey. If you are out here exploring unschooling and deschooling, you are off to a good start!
Looking forward,
Jeanne
For someone that's just starting the homeschool venture, I found this article to be very discouraging. 🙁
Awwww Stephanie, we don't want you to feel discouraged! If you're reading this response, maybe you can tell us how it makes you feel discouraged. Our intent is to be honest about the transition from school. So often, people think that the best way to jump in is to continue what their kids were doing in school or to begin with a strict school routine at home, along with a prescriptive curriculum. After years of experience in helping people homeschool, we know that taking time off to "do something different" is a big help with the transition. Everyone needs time to breathe and re-set.
You said you're just starting, so you may be unaware of how often the words "deschooling" and "unschooling" are mixed up. We're really just trying to clear up two commonly confused terms. People often ask about this in their first year or two of homeschooling.
You might feel more encouraged if you look at other resources in our Homeschooling 101 section. Let me know if you have specific questions or concerns I can address. Don't worry - homeschooling can be a fantastic way for a family to learn together!