A new form of homeschooling is gradually taking root in the United States. As against 'typical' homeschooling, where parents play the role of teachers, unschooling is an approach where children have the freedom to choose what they will study. These days, people tend to separate unschooling from typical homeschooling, but there really isn't much difference. There is no typical homeschooling. As long as the child is schooled at home and does not attend mass compulsory education, it is home schooling. Unschooling, undoubtedly has had some success stories, but there exists some concerns and fears that still hasn't been answered.
Exploration, as a concept is vast. When children are left to explore at an early age, there is always the danger of exposing them to issues and conditions that their still-developing minds might not be able to handle. How does a child begin to fathom what he wants to be, when he barely even knows who he is? Children need a long time to decide on their future. During that time, the importance of the teacher's guidance is absolutely necessary. As well as needing time to decide, it is only natural for children to be fascinated by a wide range of interests. A child wants to be an engineer today. Tomorrow, he wants to be a sailor. In a few months, he might want to be a pornstar. Valuable development time is lost in choosing and changing, and sometimes it gets to the point where parents have to intervene. .
Unschooling proponents believe that the major advantage unschooling has over mass compulsory education is that it provide for kids to 'manage themselves'. It is a misconception. Mass schooling does actually have provision for that. Teachers interact with students, observes them, sees where their interest lies, sees their strong points and help them develop it. Often times, where a child's interest lies might not be where he is good at. He needs the direction of the teacher make proper choices.
