As an evangelical Christian Educator with professional curriculum design experience, I must admit that I came to "Christian Unschooling" with enough knowledge to know exactly where the book was heading. Needless to say, the authors did not disappoint me.In the realms of education, hordes of ideas compete to be heard. Following the writer of Ecclesiastes is wise, since he has already written of there being nothing new under the sun. And true to this, there is nothing new to "unschooling". Unschooling is simply a warmed-over version of Rousseau's "Emile", in which children learn by being left to their natural devices, all the while being shaped by natural law. The Christian unschooling movement adopts this same thinking, but with a view toward the Holy Spirit, rather than natural law, as the guide behind each child's education.
On the surface, this rather Zen-like idea that "the curriculum is that there is no curriculum" appears so obvious as to warrant a self-inflicted slap to the forehead (and the parental anecdotes included in the book universally describe that slap in detail.) Letting a child primarily learn what sparks his imagination seems like a breakthrough in this context. But again, the idea isn't new or revolutionary. Modern versions of this philosophy - as espoused by the likes of Ralph Tyler and John Holt - tend to fall more naturally into the Christian viewpoint than Rousseau's, but the genesis of the ideas are the same. (If most Christian unschoolers knew of Rousseau's lifestyle, there might be a bit more introspection concerning the use of his theories - and ultimately their source - I suspect.)
But there are serious deficiencies to examine here. The problem with any book such as this is that it is in love with its own premise.
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However, though truth is usually found somewhere in the middle, "Christian Unschooling" is clearly mired in one end of the spectrum of educational thought. On the other hand, books in the other camp (such as "The Well-Trained Mind") cling to the more behavioral (B.F. Skinner) approach of "drill, drill, drill, rote, rote, rote" that has been traditionally predominant in Christian homeschools, certainly to the detriment of those children as well.What is needed is a proper synthesis. Surely children need to be encouraged to find avenues for learning that appeal to them and come naturally, but this must be tempered by continuously providing experiences far outside their comfort zone and limited scope. And certain knowledge may be desirable to have even if it does not come by self-exploration. Sometimes we must knuckle down and learn things we don't immediately want to know.
Take, for instance, a case appropriate for the Christian audience. A child might love the great heroes of the Bible, earnestly researching their lives and tales, while at the same time showing no desire to ever understand or pursue doctrinal knowledge. Certainly no parent would want that to continue. The hole in the unschooling model is that there are few ways of remedying this lack without moving outside of unschooling. Therefore, as a philosophy unto itself, it fails. Other examples that find the chinks in the armor abound.
Now in the case of this book, the authors earnestly quote Scriptures to prove their philosophy is correct. Unfortunately, they ignore as many or more verses that cramp their theories. This is disingenuous on the part of the authors. The truth is, as mentioned previously, more broad than one educational philosophy. It is necessary to incorporate a wide-ranging scope of education ideas when homeschooling. Unschooling is only one color in the rainbow of ideas.
As for the actual content of the book, it is far too anecdotal to be helpful as a reference tool for building an unschooling program. Large sections of the book consist of "Me, Too!" stories by parents who have jumped on the Christian unschooling bandwagon. This seems to fly in the face of the author's own advice to parents to find their own way in all teaching. If no example is appropriate, then why include any? In short, the entire middle of the book only functions as a cheerleading device. That the authors feel put upon by other Christian homeschoolers who look down upon unschooling, only adds to the need to pad the book with supporters.
This is not to say that the book has no merit. As a counter to other forms of education, it is good that someone espouses this philosophy so that parents can make informed choices. Unschooling does have appeal in that it tries to make learning more practical, applicable, and fun. Who could fault that? And while the majority of the book has truly little to add to the topic of unschooling, the appendices in the back contain lists of useful resources.
An important philosophy and possibly one of the few Christian unschooling books out there, but on the whole, not a great book.
(One final note: As homeschooling comes under increasing fire by professional educators and bureaucrats- witness the trends in states like California - unschooling will become increasingly harder to justify to state governments. As a person who supports homeschoolers of all philosophies, my warning is to think hard about unschooling since it may be the first philosophy to wither under proposed new homeschooling standards.)
