It’s DIY ABCs.
No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks — in fact, no more teachers at all.
Nonconformist moms like Mami Onami are doing away with traditional education to, instead, “unschool” their tots with unstructured, free learning.
“We don’t teach our kids anything,” Onami, a spiritual influencer and mom of two, confessed to over 527,000 viewers in a TikTok tell-all.
“Everything that they learn is either in response to their interests or their questions,” added the unorthodox mommy — who, as a consequence to her lassie-faire parenting, has been deemed “neglectful” and a “clown” by online detractors.
“We have no curriculum,” said Onami. “No school hours.”
A globally buzzy swing away from scholastic norms, unschooling is a pedagogical philosophy that allows children to learn through self-directed teaching based on their curiosities.
Unlike homeschooling, which upholds the principles of conventional learning through standard academic materials and resources, unschooling is a more relaxed approach to education that often relies on a child’s everyday experiences.
The anti-institutional ideology — rooted in doctrine spurred by 18th-century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau — was popularized in the U.S. by former elementary school teacher, John Holt, in the 1970s.
But after decades of virtual obscurity, interest in the unorthodox method surged during the pandemic.
The term “unschooling” reached a fever pitch in internet searches in August 2020, per a Google analytics report. And it soared to similar heights in April 2024, owing to its trendiness on social media.
“Parents adopting this conception perceive rewards, threats, evaluations, and planned sequential teaching as learning disruptors,” wrote Canada-based study authors in a 2021 investigation into the long-term outcomes of unschooling.
“These parents are also convinced that, when the child acquires in-depth knowledge on a subject that interests them and develops skills on their own,” said researchers, “all the commitment, work habits, and effort put into attaining this knowledge can then be transferred to another learning objective.”
Unschooling advocates Adele and Matt Allen are raising their brood of three with “child autonomy.” The permissiveness allows their kids to set their own curriculum, bedtimes, menus, meal times and chore lists.
The UK couple believes in, “…enabling kids to take governance of their life, make their own choices, and decide what goes on in their life rather than dictating to them.”
“This doesn’t mean no guidance,” said Adele. “It’s just about involving them in the decisions.”
Lauren and Roy Tyson decided to “world school” their two tikes after realizing their oldest son, age 5, “hated” going school in January. The ultramodern mom and dad, also from the UK, now encourage their little ones to learn the languages, practices and histories of other cultures as they take routine family tours through exotic lands.
Like Onami, mom vlogger and unschooler Kelsey Rhae has caught flak from online haters who fail to see the value in removing kids from the classroom.
Concerned naysayers have even threatened to involve Child Protective Services after Rhae shared a viral clip of her youngsters cleaning out the family car and helping her pick up groceries on “Day 1 of unschooling.”
But mom of four Angela Baker, who, too, unschooled her kids, ranging in age from 13 to 21 — with her three eldest now in college — says the do-it-yourself training isn’t about doing chores and running errands.
Instead, it’s meant to ensure a minor’s lasting pursuit of their passions.
“Unschooling is where…you, as a parent, facilitate your child’s learning and the development of them as an independent learner,” she said. “[It] looks different for every child and every family.”
