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Radical Unschooling tiktok examples.

Radical Unschooling

Updated Jun 20, 2024 at 02:45PM EDT by Zach.

Added Jun 20, 2024 at 10:35AM EDT by sakshi.

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Overview

Radical Unschooling is a movement that was popularized in the United States after the 1970s. Unschooling is a form of informal learning not unlike homeschooling, however, "radical unschooling" proponents do not follow any formal education regiments and instead choose to let their children direct the course of their education. Radical unschooling gained notoriety in the early 2020s due to Facebook groups and various influencers sharing their experiences, many of which revolve around undereducated children who lack basic reading and writing skills.

Background

American educator John Holt is generally regarded as the father of the unschooling movement, largely popularized by his newsletter Growing Without Schooling, which was founded in 1977. Other unschooling propagators have devised their own methods to "unschool" children, including Sandra Dodd, who coined the term "radical unschooling" where a child is placed completely in charge of directing his or her education with no set curriculum or timed learning goals.

On March 7th, 2007, YouTuber[2] Dayna Martin posted the earliest known video about "Radical Unschooling," gathering over 17,000 views in 17 years (seen below, left).

On April 19th, 2010, ABC News's official YouTube[1] channel posted a segment about the "Radical Unschooling" movement, gathering over 200,000 likes in 14 years (seen below).



Online History

On June 6th, 2011, Redditor[4] /u/unschooler posted to the subreddit /r/AskMeAnything, writing, "I am a 24 year old who was unschooled since the 4th grade. AMA." They present themselves as an unschooling success story in which they received a degree in math and a doctorate in statistics (seen below).


304 I am a 24 year old who was unschooled since the 4th grade. AMA submitted 13 years ago * (last edited 13 years ago) by unschooler I was lucky to live in Portland, which had (and still has) a great home-school community. My parents gave me the choice after third grade of staying in school or unschooling. I chose to unschool. It was not religiously motivated in any way, though I did meet other home schoolers for whom it likely was. I did fine in elementary school, but hated all the homework (busy work). My mom was great at finding other communities of home-schoolers to spend time with, and she helped me find resources when I wanted to learn something specific. Learned a lot of vocab through Magic the gathering and RPGs, taught myself to develop websites and program. Started community college at 18, transferred to Portland State, got a B.S. in math, and am now in California getting a Ph.D in statistics. For those completely unfamiliar with unschooling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling EDIT: It's been fun, but I have a qualifying exam to study for. Thanks for all the great questions, and I'm sorry if I didn't get to yours. 631 comments source share save hide report crosspost hide all child comments

The Facebook group "Radical Unschooling" was created in 2012 by Dayna Martin, also known for her unschooling videos on YouTube. The group regularly produces screenshots of parents expressing concern about their child's inability to read or write. Redditor[5] /u/JadedAyr posted one such screenshot to /r/insaneparents on August 2nd, 2020, gathering over 2,000 upvotes in four years (seen below, left).

Another screenshot showing a parent expressing worry about their 19-year-old being unable to read made the rounds on X[6] in March 2024, gathering over 40,000 likes in a month (seen below).


2591 Unschooling This is what 'radical unschooling' can do to kids. (i.redd.it) submitted 3 years ago by JadedAyr 145 comments share save hide report crosspost hide all child comments 2h- Radical Unschooling This might end up being long, so if you read it all the way through, thank you so much. My 10 year old wants to learn to read. She's very frustrated about not being able to, like she thinks she's stupid and it just breaks our hearts. She is so good at so much, but focusing on paper has never been her strong point, that is actually why we got into unschooling to begin with. It has been years honestly with no issues. She reads D--- and Jane with my mother, no one else, and tbh I kinda think she has memorized enough to play through those books, but Idk. Anytime she tries to read something else she just makes up what it says (she's an AMAZING story teller). She wants to write stories, but right now she can't. So she just tells them, she'll record herself telling them sometimes. Her vocabulary is broader than the majority of adults I know, including myself. I notice most people say kids learn to read by reading to them, especially when they're little. She never had any interest in that. I stopped trying when I realized I was literally forcing her to sit with me and read. She hated it, it wasn't fun for her and so I stopped when she was still a toddler. She would still like to sit with my mother and be read to though, so it's not like no one ever read to her. We've tried more than once to help her learn to read, but it just ends up frustrating her and in turn whoever is trying to help. Then she wants to quit so we quit. Trying to force her to do it any Mx. T. Goethe (Open to Work) @InspectorNerd ... I know as a literacy tutor this is gonna piss me off but I gotta ask anyway... W-- is "radical unschooling" and what do you mean your 19 yo is illiterate????? Ashley Fitzgerald @RizomaSchool • Mar 14 I got into radical unschooling when my eldest was a baby but as she got older I found it lacking. This scenario is a parent's worst nightmare! : Radical Unschooling 1h 8 . How do others handle feeling like a complete failure? My 19 year old can only do very basic math, and cannot spell or write and argues about everything. The 12 year old argues about everything also. I am so burned out in doing absolutely everything with zero help. How does everyone else make this work? D15 21 comments 5:10 AM Mar 16, 2024 4M Views •

Criticism

The subreddit /r/Unschool was created on April 6th, 2010,[3] where the most upvoted post is a November 23rd, 2021, thread by Redditor Mattnovum. The post is titled, "Criticism of Unschooling from a former student," gathering over 290 upvotes in three years (seen below).

291 Criticism of Unschooling from a former student (self.unschool) submitted 2 years ago by mattnovum So, I just want to share my thoughts here for those interested is unschooling. Please be aware that it can be a very poor experience, and I would caution anyone against pursuing it. I am 35 now, and still continue to struggle with social interactions and making friends, even though I know all of the "what about socialization?" rebuttals which don't actually happen in practice. Yes, public schools are flawed, but unschooling is not the answer. I was unschooled from 2nd grade until graduation, and my mom was a very prominent figure in the unschooling world so I knew many other families and can say these experiences were not just my own. I want to warn anyone who is considering this practice: Most adults don't have ideas of what to learn or what they want to do, let alone children; expecting children to direct their own education this way is idealistic at best, neglectful at worst. I can't tell you how many times I was berated and yelled at for "not having enough interests" and being blamed for my lack of an education. I was depressed, isolated, and most of all I blamed myself for the failure of an un-thought-out system. And when it came to socializing, it was the same: I was blamed for being friendless, i was told I was failing at unschooling and needed to try harder, and I had nowhere to turn to for support: other unschooling families just fed me the same unwavering dogma of "you're free to do what you want, stop complaining and figure it out" or "how DARE you say you have no friends or social life, I'll get you all this literature some other mom wrote about how socialization is not a problem in unschooling, that'll set you right." On the other hand, it was highly discouraged to associate with any "public schoolers" because of their dangerous ideas. Unschooling puts the blame on the child, and allows neglectful parents to flourish. If you're uneducated, it's your fault, since you (as an uneducated child) are in charge of your education. Some (most) parents, mine included, use unschooling as a way to let their children run free and absolve themselves of any guilt for developmental delays, since the child is in charge. (Oh he can't read? That's okay, he'll learn it when he feels like it...)


In 2024, various Unschooling proponents on TikTok drew the ire of critics, especially after they shared their children's progress online. TikToker[7] @mami.onami posted a video showing her child's attempts at writing out "lion" and "egg" in a notebook on May 21st, 2024, a video that was reposted to X in June.

X[8] user @imbobswaget made a post on June 19th mocking the child's notebook, gathering over 47,000 likes in a day (seen below).


Various Examples

@mrwilliamsprek Let’s really talk about ‘unschooling’ #teachersoftiktok #teacherlife #teacherproblems #parentingtips #parentsoftiktok #unschooling #momsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Mr Williams

@teresakayenewman A teacher response to yet another “unschooling” parent. Or in their words-- “free school”#teacher ♬ original sound – Newman Music Academy

Search Interest

External References

[1] YouTube – Radical Unschooling

[2] YouTube – What is Radical Unschooling

[3] Reddit – /r/unschool

[4]  Reddit – /r/AmA

[5] Reddit – /r/insaneparents

[6] X – InspectorNerd

[7] TikTok – mami.onami/

[8] X – imbobswaget

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