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"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built upon the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think. Whereas, if the child is left to himself, he will think more and better, if less showily. Let him go and come freely, let him touch real things and combine his impressions for himself, instead of sitting indoors at a little round table, while a sweet-voiced teacher suggests that he build a stone wall with his wooden blocks, or make a rainbow out of strips of coloured paper, or plant straw trees in bead flower-pots. Such teaching fills the mind with artificial associations that must be got rid of, before the child can develop independent ideas out of actual experience."


—Anne Sullivan  

  


FAQs at Maryland.OrganicLearning.org

What is Organic Learning?

Organic learning is a lifestyle based on trust of children's natural desire to learn about the world around them. Every person's learning journey will develop organically based upon their interests, experiences and choices. What schools have twisted into a one-size-fits-all curriculum naturally unfolds for each child in an individually determined way. Children will learn what is important and meaningful to them when they are ready. By living in the world rather than being tucked away in an artificial environment, children encounter an unlimited variety of learning experiences.

Is it legal?

Yes, unschooling is a kind of homeschooling, which is legal in all 50 States, including Maryland, though the method and degree of reporting varies widely. Most important is to know the state laws and to talk to other unschoolers in your area about how they have successfully met the state requirements. Most unschooling parents have developed successful strategies for protecting their children's organic learning while fulfilling state requirements.

How do children learn if you don't use a curriculum?

Children learn because that is what they are driven to do, naturally. Just as they learned to walk, talk, run and climb, so, too, will they learn about the world around them and how it works. The child who is fascinated with dropping things from his highchair is learning valuable physics lessons. This same child, if his explorations and curiosity are not stifled or stamped out, will continue to learn about the physics of the world as he grows. What child would not rather build a catapult in his backyard than read about abstract textbook physics while stuck at a desk? Children learn from play and exploration, learning everything from physics and mathematics to complex interpersonal and critical thinking skills when given the freedom to learn organically rather than coercively.

How do you know they're learning if you don't test them?

Humans learn every waking moment of the day—it's nearly impossible not to learn, even if those lessons are negative rather than positive. Parents of organic learners have multiple opportunities throughout the day to observe their children's play, to interact with them and to have genuine conversations with them, all of which provide important insight into what their children are learning. By paying careful attention to our children and being immediately present and available, parents are able to offer opportunities for further inquiry, to nurture current interests, to provide new experiences and adventures based on our children's interests. Because organic learning has trust and close relationships at its core, such involved parents will find the learning difficult to miss.

How do you bring the world to your child or your child to the world?

Much of the learning that takes place for organic learners they create for themselves, but this is not the same thing as learning in isolation. Organic learners find learning in many places at home and abroad. Parents can foster learning by following their children's comfort level and developmental cues. Bringing new things into the home to explore, from games to movies to books to tools to toys, provides countless learning opportunities for children. So, too, does enabling our children to explore the wider world by finding new and interesting places to visit from museums and theaters to tourist attractions and community areas.

What if my child just wants to watch tv all day or play video games?

There is a tremendous amount of learning that goes on while watching tv or playing video games, which educational researchers are just beginning to document. When learning is not stifled by an unwanted curriculum, tv and video games become additional tools to expand the mind rather than shut it down.

Studies done on television's affects focus exclusively on schooled children who use the television as a way to unwind and escape from the forced learning they've endured for six hours a day. Free children do not use television or video games in the same way. Children who are free to learn organically use television as one more tool to expand their worlds and are able to interact with these tools without shutting down.

Video games provide tremendous learning opportunities, as researchers are beginning to document and professions from medicine to aviation are beginning to use to their training advantage. Stephen Johnson's book Everything Bad is Good for You (2005) offers compelling arguments for the learning inherent in modern media, as do What Video Games Have to Teach Us (2004) by James Gee and Don't Bother Me Mom, I'm Learning (2006) by Mac Prensky.

How does a child learn to live in the real world if s/he doesn't have to work now?

Organic learners discover how to live in the real world by being in the real world instead of isolated from it for 6+ hours a day, 5 days a week. Children see and experience the realities of daily living instead of having those details hidden from their view, done while they're away or after hours. They learn about budgeting and cleaning and shopping because they are part of the household; they learn about recycling and seasonal maintenance because they are involved.

Children are likely to participate when they are not "made to" and when the tasks of daily living are not turned into "chores." They're also likely to take an interest when their free time is not severely limited by academics and overly-scheduled activities.

How do children learn about limits and boundaries if they are free to do whatever they want?

Organic learning is not about freedom to do whatever one wants regardless of how it impacts others, nor is it about arbitrary limits and boundaries for the sake of teaching a lesson. Life is filled with natural limits and boundaries, which people naturally learn from every day. Autonomous children are empowered children—empowered to make choices and to evaluate the consequences of their choices within real contexts rather than going through life believing that they have no choices.