UNSCHOOLING EXPLAINED (by an unschooler)
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- Опубликовано: 6 июл 2024
- An internet film by Ben Rehrman 🎥
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Thank you for all the attention this video has received! If you're interested in learning even more, check out my latest piece on unschooling: ruclips.net/video/iQ6YF267AEM/видео.html :)
“I don’t think you need to know advanced math unless you’re going to work in a field with advanced math” please tell all schools this!!!
Julia Hooper I 100% agree! I’m really bad at a lot of my other subjects (especially math) and I don’t want to do anything related to them ;(
On the contrary my school did a piss poor job of teaching advanced math and now as an engineering major I'm struggling like hell.
I don't think you need to know art unless you're going to work as an artist.
Yes and some people will need it so they need to teach it
An understanding of advanced math is actually quite crucial to los of careers. Anything with Engineering or Science depends highly on it, and its useful for social sciences (statistics and models) and business as well. Unless you do liberal arts or something, you might need it. Even if you don't like it. And I think it's smart to "force" people to pursue math at least into high school, because 14-year-olds shouldn't give up all these opportunities because they just don't like math.
I think there is good in unschooling homeschooling and school we just have to figure out how to get the best out of all three and make it one
The formal schooling system doesn’t function as well as it should
Lucky link Formal schooling functions just as crappy as it was meant to. Read "Weapons of Mass Instruction" by John Taylor Gatto. It's no mistake that schools don't run well. They were meant to dumb down society.
well said man
@Speaking Truth i get what your saying but i disagree because the American school system was made to put people in factories and hasn't changed in over 100 years meaning they dont learn everything they'll need to learn for the real word but a homeschooler or unschooler will learn what they need but they'll still have more time to actually learn new thing I'm not saying a regular schooled child wouldn't but they would have less time to do what they actually want to do
Well said speaking truth. It's essential to learn that everything isn't always your way. We have to do so much that we don't want to do otherwise I'd never get out of bed in the morning! I feel i have taken what I have learned from unschoolers and put it into my own homeschool. On Wednesday we have elective days where I teach psychology, music appreciation, art, health, foreign languages both spanish and german and ALSO an interest study. So whatever she has a interest in at the time we will spend about an hour going over it. This week was Japanese culture, last week's was the deep ocean creatures. She is grade 4 but tests like grade 6. I worry with unschooling becoming so popular I hope it doesn't give those that actually do all the work a bad reputation. Right now college acceptance rates are booming and with her wanting to be a doctor that will definitely be her future. But as unschooling becomes more popular I wonder if they will accept less percentage of homeschool students in the years to come.
“Education is not the learning of facts; it is the training of the mind to think.” -Albert Einstein
You completely missed the point of the quote lol
MunkMan9 my self-jerking has nothing to do with the fact the quote has nothing to do with unschooling lol
@@BlazedWeed Explain it then lmao
Entity 121 The point of the quote (which is misquoted to begin with lol) is that education is valuable for shaping a mind on how to think. It isn’t about the ridiculous belief that because you aren’t likely to ever specifically regurgitate the facts you learn in school when you reach the real world means that it’s not important. If anything, the actual quote is a great argument for why unschooling is lazy and dumb.
@@BlazedWeed The quote seems to relate neither to formal education nor to informal education. It only suggests that the development of your ability to think should be the main goal of a good education system. Homeschooling and unschooling are perfectly healthy and supportable methods of training somebody to think if executed correctly, and the formal education system works aswell.
My only question is how you percieve the intent of the quoter when all they did was provide the quote? Maybe they agree with your take on the quote, and are advocating the formal education system?
My boyfriend and his family didn’t attend school. They traveled around in a van and went to library’s depending on the city. He decided to start college when he was 14 as non degree seeking. Graduated at 18 and then completed his PhD after in genetic engineering. He has much more motivation to learn than the students I see at my college. This is because he wasn’t forced to sit behind a desk 6 hours a day for 18 years, he isn’t bored of school like I am at this point. His siblings also went to college and got masters and now law school. They are all very bright, much more creative and authentic people due to less molding from the schooling system. I personally wish my parents had known about alternative options.
.....(edit) I’m surprised so many people are interested in this, should I make a video interviewing him on his non traditional schooling path? Haha
Also to add to the plot, his whole families never eaten meat! ( :0 blastphomy!, not following traditions is an option?!)
that seems so positive
This post is brought to you by Captain Fantastic, out now on blu-ray.
Good parenting
Julia Patters how did he get into college without any prior schooling? Don’t you need to provide evidence of having gone through high school or have standardized tests?
Jeremiah W. yeah, in the US this doesnt seem super possible with the way the system is.
His voice reminds me of brick from the middle
Thank you
Bro I love that show
Captain Cat I can’t stop watchingggg
i miss it soo much 😭😭😭😭😭
Yesss
The American school system actually sucks so this isn’t a bad idea
It's funny because in my country (Poland) everyone says Polish education sucks :p
Or come to Sweden hehe 😂
@@S_u_n_Flower_ well, i'm not from third world but many young ppl from my country envy Americans their education system. We have a saying about it in Poland: grass is always greener on the other side of fence. It means that you see only disadvantages of what you have and only advantages of what other have
Random Christian the public education system is flawed against a certain class no doubt about it to overlook it shows that you have a skewed view
@@chesteruwu can you elaborate? Idk much about US ed system
his voice is literally dustin from stranger things i love it
Hannah holy shit. you’re right
Omg yea! :o
Oh my god i cant unhear it
Trueee
Brrooooooooo!
You look like someone that would be into this kind of stuff.
The lisp explains it all
O K B O O M E R
@@Lepo4256 ok soyboy
@@sinistar7876 oh noo you mentioned my favorite ingredient, your boomer brain is full of knowledge and facts! I have been defeated. I will go plau fortnite and vape and eat tide pods while I complain about the fake climate change. :C
@@Lepo4256 lol
Well the American school is a disaster. So not attending it is actually a great idea.
look into acton academy
The american PUBLIC school you mean?
@@danielled108 You know. No offence but I met a few private schooled kids and they are way behind our European students. Sorry. Again: no offence.
I think Americans might need to get off from the high horse
skojig oquist some are always bad, some are ok. I have also had person that migrated from Europe in my class. He was a trouble maker and failed most classes, and kicked out the following year.
@@alexso820 that's fantastic.
And here in Slovakia we had a lot of American families coming over because of their business and their kids all failed the basic slocakuan school system. What we teach them in grade 2 - in the usa that learn it in grade 7. They were falling behind esp in maths and sciences.
Our school is based on succeeding academic my so we give the kids a lot if books to read and a lot if homework and even the p.e. classes are harder here than there. Our American newcomers had a problem on everything. It was a relief when they opened the international school and now they are wreaking havoc over thre.
I was homeschooled until 10th grade and I loved it. I had the time for exercise, I enjoyed school, and I was just generally more curious and interested in everything. Now I go to private school, and It’s completely different. All of my free time is scheduled around school, homework, assignments, projects, etc., and I find myself enjoying things less, being way more stressed and less happy. I have to give up hobbies like dance and running to make time for homework and bus rides. Unconventional ways of education are so interesting, and they do work. Great video!
Hope Armstrong how is your social skills?
At least you can develop some kind of work ethics, you're probably going to need it later on
i was homeschooled until 9th grade, i liked homeschooling up until i got to 7th grade, 7th and 8th grade homeschooling was hell for me, my highschool years at a public school were definitely the best years of my life (so far, i only graduated last year lol), im glad i was homeschooled k-8th and i wouldnt trade it. if i ever have kids i will homeschool them until highschool. if they want to stay homeschooled though and not do public then i wont force them
MuzikSource they’re good. During my time homeschooling, I was involved in lots of team sports, extra activities, church youth group, a homeschool co-op, etc.
catie yes! It definitely depends on the person, and I suppose the higher the grade, the harder it is to homeschool. Some people i know too hate homeschool and love public/private schooling, and vice versa. :)
Unschooling is literally just what you do after college....
Ashley Ugstad so you could say this man is on another level with this ground breaking shit
@Nicolas RAGE youre obviously missing the point of my comment.
@Nicolas RAGE you didn't even do it right, plus it's cringe.
Except the government created college and the education system so they could make people commit suicide, and they have succeeded. Now all you brainwashed sheeple can say what you want but it’s the truth.
Lol if you actually think government and politicians care about you then your crazy. Civilization and society was created to have power over the people. Not to help them.
Graduated unschooler here 💁 I used to be very insecure about the fact I didn't do all the same stuff people learn in public school. Now I realize all the experience I gained has helped me so much in my adult life! I feel I have a much more vivid imagination compared to my peers, I love to think outside the box and I never feel discouraged from learning new hobbies or skills. It may not be for everyone but I really enjoyed it.
I think I would have been better off learning at home. I don’t think children are meant to be in a prison-like structure for 7-8 hours a day not able to explore and learn as their true nature would have them do.
Can I ask what career you took up, or if you got a degree?
@@jamisons9971 Being a creative person I would say I've done a little of everything, I've had a hard time honing in on one interest. I mainly work with photography and post production, something I have a lot of experience with starting as a teenager. It's easy to freelance and find work with that and for many years I made a good living off of a part time job working for a photography studio. I decided not to go to college, although it's not completely out of the question if I want to study something in the future that requires higher education! It's crazy the amount of friends tell me they would rather be in my position (completely debt free, but not a huge salary right now) instead of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. 🤷 This year I have learned that there are so many people willing to teach you their trade too. I'm excited to learn some new skills so I have a fallback job in a field that doesn't die (trade jobs).
Ella Mae college isn’t about being wealthy while your 20. That point of getting a degree is that it’s an investment (which always have risks) to give yourself a much higher earning potential later in life. Sure some people who don’t go to college can make a lot of money but that is definitely the exception and not to rule.
@@MegaCoolman234 And Ella appears to be the exception. I am too. I have a degree but I told my parents I had no desire to use it or any formal degree even as I was entering it. It would have earned me a lot of money but so has modeling and now video production. Some people are entrepreneurs and others are not, on that we agree. I just don't think you understand how many people are born (and successful) entrepreneurs. In society, we still talk about it like it's a very rare quality and it's absurd to do so.
Things I’ve noticed about unschoolers and homeschoolers:
• They get super high scores on SATs
• They create the best arguments
• Most graduate early
• They’re always #1 on Mock Trial teams
Well no shit they have free will (i assume most of the time) in what they learn.
Draw _Lex okay? 😂 i dont get your point
@@keana1057 I think what draw_lex means is that all of the learning comes from your own motivation, you learn to read because you want to understand what is written in the book not because your teacher says you have to, you learn languages because you find them interesting and so on
Squimba factsssssss
@@Squimba Yes that is right thanks for clarifying
I went to public school through middle school til I graduated high school . Most miserable six years of my life. I was a 12-13 year old with depression. Not every child would benefit from homeschooling/unschooling but I sure would have! Left alone, I loved reading, I’d spend all day reading if I could. I liked watching documentaries and learning about history. I could have learned much more on my own. I’m 36 now and still shudder when I think of my time in school.
bruh
You’re not the only one, I’m 14 but last year I suffered from stress induced depression because of the amount of work (piles of work including piles of homework), the amount they give an 8th grader is ridiculous, and the thing is, I only have one sheet of homework as a freshman, it doesn’t make sense but I’m glad it’s over
I’m 13, I suffer from anxiety (diagnosed) and unfortunately makes it very difficult for me to do day to day things without getting anxious. School just makes my mental health extremely worse. My mom won’t homeschool me. I am talented. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I do have things of interest. But I go to a private school, and there I can’t expand my “talents.” :(
I understand, and it’s good to acknowledge you are talented because you truly are, I think it’ll get better in high school thought because you’ll have elective classes like cooking class, agriculture, cosmetology, drama, etc. Just try to look forward to the future, I’m sure it’ll get better
i’m 13 and started homeschooling this year due to depression caused mainly by public school. it was an extremely rough time for being so young, and still going to therapy for it. i’m so glad i got out of that mess
I’ve grown to really dislike reading. Not that I don’t like storytelling or the stories, it’s just that I see it as work, thanks to school. Reading to me is like work, and that’s why I don’t like to read books. Like how somebody who works at a theme park might grow to dislike theme parks because they see it as work. But sometimes I come across a book that I genuinely enjoy reading. Unschooling seems really nice to get a broader pallet.
Yup I get that feeling even though I am homeschooled eh it still kinda made me hate reading since we are given homework but I at least still have free time to learn what I want.
Well I don't want to add discouragement, but I've kind of lost interest in reading myself, and I was homeschooled, but I was never really a bookworm to begin with. I think being on the internet is what really caused me to not be as patient when it comes to reading. Although I do enjoy chatting with people online, that seems to be the limit of my attention.
I really struggled to finish a book, it was a rarity until I got in to audiobooks and now it's part of my daily life. Highly recommend giving it a try! On my second round of all the harry potter books :D
You’re just not reading the right books then, I thought I hated reading until I found books I love
Same. When i was a child, i could get lost in a book and make a whole day of it. But by the time college rolled around, reading had become a chore and my add brain wasn't having it 🤦🏽
With the trauma school left me with, I'm genuinely relieved to hear that an option like this even exists. Great video, thank you!
I didn't know this was called unschooling. This is exactly how I wanted to teach my child. It was very interesting to hear about your experience.
Tiana Coats EXACTLY!! Same
Yes but do it right please! Some folk dont know what they are doing or just dont care to.
BaconOrButter, Yes! Do your research and be prepared to give them the tools they need to educate themselves
@@TomSzold I found that what I did when I unschooled my son , basically boiled down to having faith in him rather than experts, authorities or systems. And I feel it was the greatest achievement of my life
@@Homeside301
So how do you unschooling a 9 year old that just lives for playing video games. And he has time limits too. But when hes done for the day, all he wants to talk about is what he created or what he'll create tomorrow. Hes lazy to a point. Doesnt really WANT to learn anything. Thats why i use a semi structured curriculum as of now
I wish i could unschool but in england there are lots more rules about school and attendance. You HAVE to attend school unless you get homeschooled lol
In the UK the term unschooling isn’t as common because law (up until a certain age) doesn’t require you to follow the national curriculum when home schooling. So you have the freedom to homeschool how you like, including unschooling
Lovett Trash uh yeah it’s like that in America if ur under like 16 I think lol
Here in Germany even Homeschooling is forbidden and we have to go to school up until class 9. After this you either have the chance to attend class 10-12 (which most peeps do) or study for a workfield (not in University but in an actual workplace, its called Ausbildung) but you're usually bound to go to school up until you're 21 or older :/
You know in England, your parents can actually go to court if you don’t attend school since the education here is free. It’s basically in a way of “why are you not going to school? Its free. There’s no excuse for you not to go.” But this usually occurs when there’s no authorised notice of your absence. But your parents can go to jail for up to 3 months (in worse cases).
@@babyfingers9874 same in Germany. A friend of a friend etc didn't go to school for half a year bc their mom tought them at home and she actually just put him back into school bc she would be sued and brought into prison if she'd continue
I am a public school teacher, and I find this to be a very interesting perspective! America’s school system is only inclusive to very specific types of learners, and there are so many students who get left behind from a lack of interest in subjects that are not going to help them in their desired career path. OR students get left behind because they just learn differently! I think unschooling could be a great option for those students. That you for sharing!
Can’t drop out if you never attended in the first place
Yee Yee street bois
Personally I wouldn’t unschool my kids, but I found this really interesting. My time in public school were the best years of my life. I’m in a very math heavy field so traditional schooling is a must for me. But this was really interesting insight.
I think it's definitely a case by case thing. I have siblings who were unschooled but decided to go to school. It just depends on the kid!
Ben Rehrman yeah I see that now. The media portrayed it as a terrible thing. But now I see it’s really not like that.
Khy J you must’ve had a pretty bad life no offense if public school was the best times
CJ Nope I had a great public school life. I had a great group of friends, great teachers and just had overall great time especially in high school. All of our school experiences are different. Mine just happened to be good.
Khy J mine sucks
He was the kindergarten computer hacker that erased his name from roll and didn't get caught
I found the education system today seriously outdated. It really needs to be reformed.
I just don’t understand school at all.
Why should I be forced to learn chemistry if I’m not interested in that at all? Why are we forced to do math problems that have no correlation with math present in the real world? Why do grades define who we are as a person? I knew a kid who broke down in the middle of class near the end of the grading period because his GPA wasn’t high enough to stay in sports.
The school system is wack in my opinion. It troubles me because in the future when I have children, I feel like I wouldn’t want this for them. Of course I would want them to get an education and makes friends, but this is not schooling at it’s best. I want to see a significant change in the school system in the future.
amayabuns can’t you drop chemistry? Probably not, but I’m asking because I don’t know much about the American school system to be honest. I’m Dutch and we choose profiles after a few years of secondary school. I dropped history, economics, French, German and geography, but kept biology, chemistry, maths (you can choose between a few kinds of maths), art, Greek and Latin (there are also some mandatory classes like Dutch, English, pe and more). So you choose a profile so you have subjects you’re good in or will/ want to use later on in life. I quite like that method, even though school is still really really stressing me out.
According to what you say, I don’t think you can choose between something like that where you live.
The fact that sports and hobbies are a part of school seemed always so cool to me, but now i really see the disadvantages of that! That sucks that he couldn’t stay in sports.
Here sports aren’t linked to school. You join a sport club which has nothing to do with school.
I do agree with you on grades defining us. I feel like everything we learn has to be tested. I barely know anyone who actually cares about a subject. We all just want pass and go on, which is kind of sad.
And I have one question if you don’t mind, how much homework and test do you have? In terms of how much time a day does it take you to finish and does it really get checked by teachers? Because I don’t ever do my homework (oops) and I’m curious how long it takes because I might want to take a gap year and attend a semester of high school (maybe, because I also don’t want to get shot at school yikes)
Sorry for my long comment and putting my opinion and shit online even though no one asked. I usually don’t do this but I was really bored :))
Omg, same thing in my country (I'm from Serbia). It's a bunch of bullshit that you're being forced to study even if you don't want to. Currently, I have three negative grades in math, if that doesn't tell how much I hate it and don't want it in my life, idk what does.
That’s why in many Scandinavian/Nordic countries they don’t have grades until secondary school when you’re actually doing what will benefit your future
amayabuns sure you may not use science and math in your future career. But everyone needs to know these things for the benefit of everyone. When people don’t know basic science or math, we get things like anti vaxers or flat earthers
In the uk we can choose what we can study by year 9, i think thats grade 10 in america, which is good in theory. However, its been critisized for discouraging people from subjects based on previous prejudices, like girls from maths and the sciences, since a lot of the time its the parents choosing for their kids because they dont know enough of the subjects at the age of 14 to make uninformed decisions.
for some reason whenever I see someone with long hair, in real life or on tv, I keep imagining braiding it.
Winter 👀
THE LUNAR CHRONICLES AGH
@@louis-on5vj winter
OMG Winter!!! I got to meet Marissa Meyer once and it was SO COOL AHHHHH
Toriana Douglas 😂
The school system should be more like this. they should focus on more things we could actually use for life teacher than things we clearly hate and will just forget.
Everything around you in the physical and digital world was built through gaining a deep understanding and practical application of science, engineering, math and technology. These are not fringe subjects that the public education system forces upon students for no reason
Yeah, but if they do all that, how will they find the time to make kids hate their country and each other?
It never will be because it’s about creating indoctrination (why public school is free) and it’s also about money. There’s a reason why standard testing is going away. It’s to hide the fact that their teaching stud kids is shit and they are creating dumber and dumber kids.
Interestingly enough, as a former school teacher turned homeschool mom, I knew a lot of kids in public school who couldn't read or were years "behind" in reading, but I've never met a homeschooler/unschooler who couldn't read, and most of them are "ahead."
This actually sounds good but the name “un schooling” just sounds bad
Agreed. freeschooling or independant education sounds less degrading than most people might think of this topic.
I like life schooling even more!!
To be fair, I went to school and I also couldn't read until I was 8. Turns out I was just dumb
@Esther A I don't believe in God. Now do you think I'm dumb?
Unschooling sounds like that kind of hippie ass alternative bullshit trend that popped up like a year ago
Every state and country has their own rules and regs, except for the lone star state, Texas, which has no laws regulating how you educate your own children.
New Jersey as well. I was homeschooled growing up, but I had some unschooler friends. In New Jersey they literally don't care what you do as long as long as there's no child abuse involved.
Habeeba Elwalily everything is legal in New Jersey
• 蓝 冰 龙 • Hamilton?
@@crow1628 I would say most things are actually not legal. I always have to be hyperconsious of what I'm doing to make sure that I am not breaking the law. For some reason the state doesn't really care about how people choose to be educated. Some things are illegal, but so stupid the cops don't really care if you follow that law is not.
70 subscribers with no videos you bet
Public School teacher here for 15 years......BRAVO Bravo Bravo
As an unschooler I can confidently say that we are much more open minded and more real than most who attend public school. To me being open minded and allowed to think for yourself is so important and is what will allow you to do great things in life, plus unschooling allows you to figure out who you really are rather than public school kids who strive to have some sort of validation from their peers. And I’m saying this because I went to public school till 9th grade so I understand what it’s like on both sides
Edit: living and learning from the real world from a young age better equips you with the knowledge you need to be successful later in life, in my opinion
1,000% agree
“unschooling is good”
“i couldn’t read til i was 8”
no diss but damn
edit: with these replies i’ve realized the importance of pre school.
@jilly but 8 years old? That's pathetically late
@jilly soyboy Democrat
imagine thinking soyboy is an insult.
@@zachsteele6964 late for for what tho ?
I went to high school with kids that could barely read a fucken Captain Underpants book so I think he's doing pretty well
I was so happy to see this video. My girls were homeschooled and what l refer to as life school. So many children graduate school even college and have very little real life skills. There are so many issues l had when my older two girls went to public school. The bullying is out of control and now all the school shootings. I hate when l hear from strangers . Why aren't your kids in school ? It drives me insane alternative schooling is normal now. My oldest daughter is a professional photographer and make up artist. My second daughter has graduated and is pursuing social work. My youngest is extremely intelligent and is an artist . They are all well socialized and thriving. Please keep spreading the information about how it's just a different way of life. Im blessed to have been with my kids so much. Im in nursing and would work different shifts so l could help them. To each their own. Good job with this video.Blessings to all
You seem plenty mature, responsible, and educated to me!
I wish I was unschooled! The amount of time wasted in school and university is depressing. Not to mention the political indoctrination you go through.
You must have some smart and loving parents. Good for them. It's evident that unschooling works great just by listening to you talk.
Keep at it! :)
This is the most informative video on unschooling I’ve seen. You’re a very articulate and intelligent person, thank you for explaining this so well.
I was homeschooled until middle school then un-schooled and I loved it! It all made sense
palexxpixie do you graduate as an unschooler ?
It all made sense because you were never challenged with anything more difficult than everyday life.
@@BeLikeNexus thank you
@@BeLikeNexus ikr, if you aren't challenged then you won't be prepared for the real world, because it has many challenges.
We are unschoolers! Thanks for spreading the positive message. 🤗
Finally! Someone's taking a stand against the fked up schooling system. I went through 13 years of formal schooling and am about to enter college. I learned absolutely nothing. Keep up the great content. Love it! We should collaborate :)
I love that there is more awareness about these types of learning. I would say I grew up with a mixture of homeschooled and unschooled. Never stepped foot inside a school until I started college at 15 lol. I am 19 now and almost have a bachelors degree. I have amazing memories of being a kid and not stuck in a classroom. Love this video
That is so awesome! I have a very similar story actually! I was homeschooled/unschooled up until I started college at 14. I am now 16 and on my way to getting my associate of arts and hopefully, my surgery technician certification. I adjusted well to college and I've done great in my classes! It is strange to me how so many believe that homeschooling will prevent you from doing well in or even being accepted into college!
@@larkluvshorses7631 My husband and I also have very similar stories as well, and we are now unschooling/worldschooling our children too! It has been an adventure of a lifetime.
@@larkluvshorses7631 wow, that sounds great!
I am 16, and I have been homeschooled (not unschooled) for my entire life, I just started college.
Working towards a computer science degree, which is something I probably wouldn't have gotten into had I been public or private schooled.
I feel like not having a “traditional” learning would have worked for me... though my parents never would have let it fly just because of how they were raised. But I don’t think I would ever dismiss the though had my child brought it up or even give them an option. I’m learning a lot of other ways of things wile times change and it’s so cool and interesting because my mind wants to read more and be soooo informed about these things.
Thanks for this Ben! It's such a challenging topic for most people, due to all the cultural programming they've received about schooling. It was refreshing to hear the topic handled in such a balanced way and covering the real concerns that people trip over about unschooling. I found this a very helpful resource that I'll share with other parents.
Thank you so much!
Great video man. We applaud you and your family for taking this path. About two years ago we pulled our kids from school - started traveling full time and started homeschooling on the road. We are now more unschooling than anything and we love it. You are an inspiration - thanks for sharing your story.
You are not unschooling, you are *Life schooling*
I’ve been “homeschooled” for 3 years now but now that I’m watching this video (and I also live in Pennsylvania so what you said you do is exactly what I do to pass the grade legally) I think I also am doing unschooling, we just do what we want and what we’re mainly interested in while covering the basics of what’s necessary, thanks for making this video :)
Thank you for making this video. We also unschool our 9 year old son and are seeing amazing results. School is great for some, and unschooling is an amazing option for others.
As someone who went from homeschooling my whole life up until last year into my local public high school, I had a bit of a culture shock. Less than others that make that transition, but it was there.
I prefer public school because I feel more prepared and it lets me be less close minded socially.
And through homeschooling, hobbies were accumulated really well. Homeschooling and unschooling do support much more artistic and creative hobbies which are really helpful.
I mainly switched because I got really depressed as a homeschooler and I wanted to be exposed to people who genuinely felt the same without the guidance of my parents because that was also another factor for my depression.
Now I’m an AP student and I plan to go into law and asl interpretation on the side and defend ethical cases. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing from your perspective. I plan on showing this to my teen so he can hear from another teen. It’s good to hear from a kid rather than a parent sometimes. 😊
Blessings!
Thanks for sharing your perspective, I'm a homeschool mom, and have started implementing unschool days. The children get to choose what they learn, its empowering for them to decide and have a voice. I've noticed they are much more productive throughout the week.
Twenty something former unschooler here, very much appreciated your take on this! I love how unschooling tends to foster a greater love of learning simply because you’re not being force-fed anything. I like to say I’m still homeschooled and my 3yr-old daughter is already homeschooled 🤗 also great point about having more time to learn new skills. When I was 14 I took an interest in piano and because I didn’t have other obligations crowding my day, I could spend most of my hours practicing and reached an advanced level very quickly. I’m now a piano teacher and get to spend more time with my daughter (unschooling of course!) because of it!
Fabulous! Great job, Ben! Congratulations to your parents for being such forward thinkers, I love it!
I'm homeschooled, but we do all this and just normal school
This made me so happy to watch!! My family started homeschooling when I was in 1st grade and then slowly switched to unschooling when I was about 8 or so. I'm 22 now. My brother also learned how to read when he was 8 and it was amazing seeing him just start reading out of nowhere! And I have for sure found that homeschoolers/unschoolers are much more likely to talk to/have friends of all ages. I always thought it was weird that some of my other schooled friends were so uncomfortable talking to people that were of a different age than them. I'm dyslexic so one reason I was pulled out of school is cause they didn't believe my mom when she tried to tell them and wanted to put me on meds for an issue that I didn't have. Anyways, it makes me happy that people are talking about this in a good light rather than a bad one. Love this video!!
As someone whos someone in college now to be a public school teacher, I find this really interesting! Ive never heard of this before. Thanks for expanding my knowledge of different kinds of education 👌
Thanks for making an easy to understand video. Some people still don't get it why we're on this unschooling path, although my kids are still young (3 & 4 years old). I'm excited for them to follow their passion and explore as much as they want! 🙏🥰
I never heard of this before, but it's super interesting. I mean this is exactly what most of us need, what we all have always wanted. You do good young man, and show 'em you're just on the right path for you. Maybe this will spread awareness on how counter-productive school can be. Maybe people will listen, and people will apply this to their children more and more often. It'll definitely create a brighter generation.
Thank you for posting this.
You go dude, this sounds really interesting and I wish this was an option for me growing up. Just keep at it and keep being passionate! 💕
Such a great video! Thanks for making it. I’ve been thinking of unschooling my own children. I went to public school myself so this was very helpful for me ❤️ on a side note, I’m also a professional graphic designer so love that you’re learning more about that 👍
This is the PERFECT intro to unschooling. It's just as comprehensive as it needs to be. You're kinda awesome, Ben.
Thank you so much!
The thing is, with homeschooling, unschooling, and even private schooling comes with a lot of privelege, and people don't usually get to have that.
Private and home schooling no doubt, but unschooling is I think widely accessible with newer and cheaper means to access information. For the unfortunate souls without access to internet, there's still public libraries and people that could help.
Fabulous Sniper You’re right to an extent, but you also have to take into consideration other factors like socioeconomic status.
For example, many parents have to be at their jobs to make ends meet, secure benefits like health insurance, etc. and just wouldn’t have the opportunity to stay home each day and participate directly in their kid’s education. Even if they want to it’s not realistic for many families.
As for resources, many educational experiences do cost money, and those that don’t can vary quite a bit in quality. For example, my hometown has a great library with almost everything I care to check out available to me, and they have an exchange system for people to request items that our county library doesn’t have. But I’ve been to and heard about other areas with less funding, far fewer options, a website that’s basically useless, no exchange system, and so on. For low income families that can’t afford internet or a lot of books, that’s a big deal. Communities that have less money available to spend on resources like libraries and museums just can’t offer the same quality learning opportunities.
Even if they do, and that’s a big if, transportation is another factor. Family cars, gas, bus fare, and even bikes can be difficult to pay for for some families. Buses and bikes also take a significant chunk of time out of the day compared to a family car, and lost time comes with opportunity cost.
Safety is also a factor. Unschooling involves learning from the world around you, and in some areas there’s a lot of violence, drug abuse, human trafficking, etc., which could make it unsafe for kids to leave the house to learn, even with a parent present.
Then you have to think of the social repercussions of unschooling on different groups. Even in cases in which unschooling is effective and kids get good standardized test scores, unschooling is unconventional and generally has a bad reputation. That’s already a disadvantage in some ways (think of closed-minded potential employers, admissions personnel, etc.). But beyond unschooling itself being a disadvantage in the eyes of more traditional folks, it also enables people to discriminate against marginalized groups more easily. For example, people may view a white kid who’s been unschooled as more intelligent than a black or Hispanic kid who’s been unschooled. And it may not even be conscious, but those biases exist and may make it harder for certain groups to progress if they’ve been unschooled-even if they’re just as intelligent and qualified.
So even with more widespread internet and libraries, unschooling is just not realistic for many families, and by nature it most benefits the people who are already most advantaged.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk 😉
@@alexgerweck4507 It's 2 am and i didnt expect that, wow. If only unschooling became the norm...
I also notice that often they are lacking in social skills, no matter how much they always claim they went to camps or hung out with other homeschool kids and whatnot, you just truly don’t get the same kind of socialization (and through the socialization, soooo many life skills) as those in a public school system
@@kvglenn1 Sure does, except earning those skills imply you adhere to an old and inefficient educational system for 12-13 years of your life. And what if you can't develop those skills? What then? You're stuck in your own social inhibition and a system that doesn't do much to help either.
Thank you for covering some of the basics of unschooling. I think it's important to remember that even as adults, many of us continue our education outside the school system ie: University or College and so you can count a vast amount of adults as unschoolers. Humans are naturally curious creatures and many of us naturally take pride in the things we learn from our own interests. It's not much different once we reach about 8yrs old. Our brain waves speed up and we become more self aware and pride in learning is a given if the home environment is a supportive environment. It's appropriate you used Pink Floyd's The Wall as the intro and outro music, as I re-listened to the album the other day and am really taking on a deeper awareness of the poor assumptions and Victorian factory worker mentality around education. Mainstream education is at best 50 years behind current research and understanding of learning but it's such a juggernaut at this point that change happens slowly. Parents who understood they were short changed by mainstream education and are making the decision to offer their children another option is important for our society as a whole.
Hands on learning is great. I dropped out high school in 9th grade and got my GED at 16. While everyone was still in high school, I was working as a research assistant at one of the top medical schools in the country and going to college. I learned more about what I was interested instead wasting time in the typical school system.
You put this so well! I'm was unschooler here in Canada and when I finally went off to college the idea of it baffled my classmates. I wish this video had been around then. All the best to you and your learning!!
You're amazing ...thank you for doing this awesome video
The idea that you don’t need to know “super advanced math” is absurd. It’s proven that the main purpose of math class is not just to learn procedural math, but to develop logic and reasoning skills as well as hone problem solving skills. Also in high school you do not need to take anything more advanced than algebra or math analysis, which is actually quite useful and maybe even essential for life
Thank you... I also love hearing children talk about how the real world works and what they need and don’t need to succeed lol
Richie Holden finally a logical person
I.. Kind of agree actually. When I was 16, I knew I wanted to study social work. My school required far beyond algebra, and my grades suffered. I was an all-around good student until then. 10+ years later I am finally getting my Social Work degree. And STILL suffering through mandatory math classes. I think once a child is set on a career path, usually around 15-16 they have some sense of what they would like to do, it would be better to start introducing subjects more relevant to their interests and abilities.
bunny They call that college. all schooling before that is structured to encompass a broad range of learning so you don’t have to choose a career path as a naive high schooler. And we were all naive as hell in high school, let’s not kid ourselves
TitanOfChaos What an absolutely absurd thought process. You honestly believe that learning how to mathematically reason and think hurts a persons reasoning skills? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
The only reason people in the RUclips comments are bitching is because they think everything in their life is supposed to be fun. That hedonistic crap is what damages reason and thought process.
And this isn’t to mention how stupid an argument is that learning something, ANYTHING is bad. Why would anyone who isn’t a blindly ignorant bum want to actively avoid consuming knowledge? Your point is beyond dense and makes zero sense.
This is very encouraging to hear. I went to public school and its the worst thing that ever happened to me, and I want to give my future kid(s) a better life.
Better life = learning complex math formulas
Love this! Also, nice editing and music!
Thank you!
Seriously what a great video! Thanks for the info.
I was ‘unschooled’ until the age of 14. I was told it was autonomous home education. I basically did whatever I wanted when I wanted. I developed English and mathematics skills naturally, and just lived out my life. I passed my GCSE’s, and am currently in my third year of college in the uk. It’s actually a really good method of education. A happy, stress free way of living :)
I think Homeschooling is a mix of this and the actual school system. Cause I got to travel all over the world, pursue my dreams, and still get a 4.0 gpa in high school and in the community college I went while I was still in high school.
I wish more people wouldn’t hate on it so much and call homeschoolers stupid and friendless.
But I’m glad you’re making such a great video on unschooling. I’ve been arguing this point to my parents ever since I was younger haha, so I’m interested to see how this would all work with colleges and such
This was super helpful, thank you. I appreciate you sharing your experience.
This is fantastic! Thanks for creating this. I've been thinking about unschooling more and more each year that we homeschool, and this was really helpful. Also, excellent song choice.
We have something like this in secondary school here in Ireland. It's called Transition Year and is optional in most schools and is just learning through experiences.
Thats awesome!
Amazing! You sound like a pro from being such a young man. Congrats 🎉🎈! Love your video.
Thank you so much!
Great description, Ben! I relate to the reading idea: it's so great to read when you're not forced to do it -- same with writing.
Thank you so much. I truly enjoyed your explanation 🤗
I love this so much! My son is almost 3 and I believe this way is best and the route we will take with him. Thank you for giving me some insight. :)
we unschool and I am enrolling him in Acton Academy for 4 days a week so he can work with other "aiming up" kids.
I wish my parents had done this with me. I spent a year outside school and ended up learning the constitution and how to pay taxes and manage my personal finances, started reading again, ended up devouring all my uncles and aunts college books on topics ranging from economics to philosophy and politics, had enough time to practice the classical guitar as well as a multitude of other instruments and started about 7 experimental musical projects with friends. I became interested in math and decided to start learning from the start as I had realized I did not learn anything from school and that math cannot be taught. I discovered philosophers and completely re-invented my self. I went from skinny carefree kid who would rather skip classes and despised the traditional schooling system to someone who does calisthenics regularly and eats healthy, reads everyday, practices math, and is aiming to learn 7 languages. Problem is, I figured all that out in a year or two when I was kept home by the quarantine which affected me in a more positive way as I enjoyed having more time to myself and not having to sit in a room with 20 other people listening to someone try to explain something I wasn’t interested in. I did not have enough time to master the things I wanted to master or learn about what I wanted to learn about before I was shoved right back in to the traditional school. I hate it so much. I’m bored all the time and to make matters worse I am unable to leave due to a scholarship and I am unable to do anything else as I am attending two schools simultaneously as a result of some complications regarding my records. It’s complete bullshit. My parents threaten to take my books away if I don’t comply to the school. I’m number one in my class but they still scold me for not passing requirements on time. I don’t play video games I read. That was my choice, I decided to abstain from most things someone my age would enjoy. And they still find ways to take away what I love, to see my interests as detrimental to my education. Anyways, I think parents should recognize when their children are clearly uncomfortable with the way they are learning. I know it probably isn’t easy for everyone but take the time to teach your children, teach them the important things they’ll need and be a conscious parent when it comes to their education, their health, and their sanity. I feel like I’ve wasted so many years of my life, yet I am only a teenager in the 10th grade.
You’re so sweet 💕 you make me feel better about unschooling my children. You’re parents should be so proud!
You did a very good job on this video! Thanks
I basically did this to myself as a teenager. Biggest regret of my life.
Really? What about it made the choice regrettable? I think unschooling is not a particularly good idea, but I think it might work for some folks. Want to know your perspective.
wii3willRule I guess it’s good if you want like an office job or something, even something in the arts or design. If you want to do anything that requires further schooling or even a high school diploma? Don’t do it. I was lucky and went back to school for my final 2 years. But my time off resulted in me having no sense of direction, a weak work ethic, and also made my depression and anxiety worse and less manageable. You can teach yourself everything about something but that will not make your hireable in that field so you’ll have so much knowledge but be more likely to end up in a job that doesn’t use your brain to its full potential.
@@katrinawall4315 Yeah unschooling is a waste of time. I doubt anyone thinks to themselves that they want to work a minimum wage job in the future so they won't do their school work lmao
Melon Productions yep! Especially in America where it’s difficult to get a job. at least in other places there are trades you can go into but they ask for school reports to do apprenticeships, and you really need to do “unschooling” right to develop the skills but here’s the kicker, you’re a kid so you don’t know what the right skills are!
Katrina Wall That is why your parents guide you... statistically, homeschoolers and unschoolers actually have a better work ethic and make better grades in college. Universities often recruit homeschoolers as well because they are known to be so successful.
It may not sound like a good idea to you, but the statistics say otherwise.
I'm studying stuff that I won't use in my future and I keep asking why is the system this way
FiNEsT pOtATo the point isn’t to remember everything your taught. School teaches you to learn. I don’t get why it’s so difficult for people to understand that.
I also thought this. Until I got older and found out I'm interested in the field that does need math. I understand your point because I once also thought this, now I'm happy I had that education. 🤷🏻♀️
The system is this way because factory owners in the industrial revolution need a workforce of obedient drones to work for them, so they sent lobbyists to change our school system so that they indoctrinate the youth, preparing them for factory work, thus why schools have the bell system like in factories, and why it has strict rules(raising your hand to go to the bathroom, assigned seats, etc). This to enforce obedience and blind loyalty for factory life. However since our government is corrupt, we kept the school system after advancing out of the industrial revolution.
This is so cool! I agree the perspective of an unschooling student is totally missing from the coverage. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Ben and I'm looking forward to checking out your other films!
Love your content and ending song!
“Some basic math” *watches this while doing Accel pre cal hw
I appreciate your video. I unschooled last year and didn’t realize it. My two teen sons had me there to give them direction here and there but they studied what interested them and they learned more than most learn in several years, including how to care for an infant. As for reading, my oldest 2 who read by age 4. My 3rd child wasn’t reading until she was 8. It depends on the child.
I unschooled my daughters till they were 6 and 9. I think you did an excellent job describing what unschooling is and how unschoolers learn. I also really appreciate that you spoke about how regulations vary from state to state.
Your story about reading is so encouraging for me. My homeschooled/ actually more unschooled 7 year old hasnt got much interest in reading yet, and ive been relaxing about it, trusting she will come to it in her own time. Its always reassuring to see other peoples experiences. Great video thankyou for sharing :)
This is the future! Kids need to learn through living life, not through being controlled and brainwashed.
Isn't living life just being conditioned? How are you supposed to live without having struggles that prepare or "condition you" to get through the lows?
@@zachsteele6964 Oops sorry I thought "conditioned" meant like "brainwashed" for a moment, I'm not a native English speaker!! :D
Also, so many people are depressed because of school and the whole system in general. School mainly trains your left side of the brain and doesn't want you to develop the right side of your brain, creating an imbalance.
Yes, struggles help you learn, that's included in learning by living. School just takes away your powers, they control us. It's so much better to learn by simply living and study only the things you need/want to. That's so much more natural.
@@notavailable403 left/right side of the brain doesn't exist
@@notavailable403 The left and right side of your brain control different motor functions, but it isn't split into analytical or creative. The problem is that teenagers don't know what they need to learn to be successful.
@@lameduck1690 Not if you trust your intuition. We should be able to learn through living without the influence of the system. Sure, implementing a new school system isn't easy, but it's necessary. Forcing kids to learn stuff they don't need or want to learn is just not it.
Also, it's not like all teenagers don't know what they want. More teenagers would know what to learn if they wouldn't be repelled by learning because school made it something that's the opposite of joyful. Learning is actually so wonderful, but most people don't think so because school made it awful for them.
I think an important skill in life is being comfortable with doing things you don’t really feel like doing! In life you’ve gotta persevere and do boring, unglamorous or uninteresting things so for me unschooling isn’t the one
That is wise.
But might as well do it when you have the choice to have fun and explore things before you are forced to a schedule in the work world. For most people, they spend many more years working then having the opportunity to play and explore. So might as well take it while it is avalible to you
I agree with that, I just don't think unschooling avoids that. You do things with purpose, so when you have to do something uninteresting or not very glamorous it makes since and you do it. The point is not to avoid uncomfortable things, just to avoid pointless things.
@@BenRehrman My only experience is with public school and I have observed a few homeschool curriculums within families. That being said, it is difficult for me to imagine a person with no obligation persevering through something they deem uninteresting. Would you mind giving me a few examples please?
@@uke7084 Sure! I unschool but still do some formal learning. I'm mainly focusing on math and government at the moment. I enjoy the government stuff but not the math, however I still do it because I see purpose in it. Having a good math understanding is very useful in everyday life and needed to go to college. So despite the fact that I don't enjoy math I still do it daily because I see the purpose in it. I hope that answers your question!
This is really helpful for me as a homeschooling mum, who was also homeschooled, and is trying to get to the heart of why I do things the way that I do and what is it that my children really need.
Excellent video, informative and consise 🙌
The beauty of Unschooling is that it’s different person to person! No unschooled child does it the exact same way and that’s what it’s really all about
This was an amazing summary! I have been researching unschooling as an option for my infant son, and if he turns out as eloquent and well-spoken as you I will be thrilled! Thank you for this!
Not sure I like everything about this educational approach, but I love that you felt the initiative to make this video! It feels muchmore sincere than just listening to people sell books on unschooling.
Great job, Ben! We fully support you! - An Unschooling Family in SoCal :)
Why does he look like late 80’s Julian Lennon?
Nice catch.. Spot on
Salvation Salvatoré I was looking for this comment THANKS hahahahahs
he gave me Lennon’s vibes
i also discovered a resemblance
I would love to see a video about how this will effect you in the future with colleges and stuff. If you plan to go or not and how you would go about applying if you did. And If you do then I would love to hear about your experience being in a traditional school system!
I'm hoping to make that kind of video when the time comes! Most likely when I start submitting to colleges or find an alternative to college.
Zgall053 I’m a Homeschooler/unschooled that is now in college. I’m 15 currently and going to the college has been amazing! I also feel that homeschooling set me up really well for college, as I have been quite successful up to this point.
This is awesome!
I was homeschooled in Australia (though we call it Distance Education) from years 8-12, still did general school subjects, but I managed to work a 40 hour job in highschool. Set me up great for life!
Was the best thing I ever did, it has inspired my interests and things I wanted to learn as I actually had the time to do things.
Good luck with your future mate!! :)