Deschooling is the adjustment period a child goes through when leaving school and beginning homeschooling. To really get the benefits of homeschooling, a child has to decompress and disconnect from “school” being the default and “school ways” being the standard expectation.
The longer a child has been in school, the more important it is to allow generous time to process the huge change from not being in a mainstream school setting to learning as a homeschooler.
Parents who are new to homeschooling and have taken a child out of mainstream school should expect the first days, weeks, and months of homeschooling to be somewhat affected by the process of deschooling. It’s not unusual for kids new to homeschooling to have a challenging and confusing time:
- They may make comments “that’s not how we did it at school” and be reluctant and open to working with new methods
- They may not know what to do with themselves, accustomed to having their day planned and scheduled by bells and teachers.
- They may be nervous about attending homeschool events and meeting other homeschoolers, having heard stereotypes about homeschoolers while in school. We have found that our in-person catch ups have been invaluable socialising opportunities for our students.
- If they left school in part of a difficult situation, such as bullying, social issues, or not fitting academic standardisation, they may take their time healing and regaining confidence.
- They may express school-based concerns about grades and testing that are no longer applicable or necessary.
- Having been told what to learn and when, they may cast about to reconnect with personal interests and things they authentically want to learn. This is why at Lions Education, we support the children with their Passion Pursuit
- They may miss school friends and acquaintances as well as specific teachers, classes, and activities. At Lions, community is a core value of ours and we will aim to provide as many in person catch-ups as possible. The students also have plenty of opportunity to socialise with each other after their lessons using the Lions Cloud.
- They may worry about their status as homeschoolers, with concerns and anxiety about whether they can someday get a job or attend University. Here is an article about Homeschooled students often get better test results and have more degrees than their peers.
At Lions Education, many homeschooling parents have found that accepting and allowing for a deschooling period is the best approach.
Parents experienced with deschooling observe that a rule of thumb is that deschooling takes at least a month for every year your child has been in school, which is another way of saying, the longer a kid was in school, the longer it will take for him or her to get used to not being in school.
NOTE: Just for clarity, deschooling also has a second, broader meaning that is applied to the larger world. Ivan Illich wrote Deschooling Society, published in 1971, about his view that society is not served well by institutional schooling, which in his view, should be replaced with decentralised learning networks.
Next week, we will share some Tips for Deschooling for our Lions Education families.