Deschooling is a term used by both education philosophers and proponents of alternative education and/or homeschooling, which refers to different things in each context. It was popularized by Ivan Illich in his 1971 book Deschooling Society (ISBN 0060803818). The Philosophy of education is the study of the purpose, nature and ideal content of education. ... In education, the phrase alternative school usually refers to a school based on a non-traditional, new, or non-standard educational philosophy. ... Thomas Edison attended compulsory school for only three months, after which he was taught at home by his mother and a tutor. ... Ivan Illich Ivan Illich (Vienna, September 4, 1926 - Bremen, December 2, 2002), polymath, polemicist. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

Philosophically, it refers to the belief that schools and other learning institutions are incapable of providing the best possible education for some or most individuals. Some extend this concept beyond the individual and call for an end to schools in general. This is based on the belief that most people learn better by themselves, outside of an institutional environment, at a self-determined pace (this is the meaning of the term as used by Illich). Another common criticism is that institutionalized schooling is used as a tool for the engineering of an ignorant, conformist working class through constant schedules and prearranged time blocks and one-size-fits-all teaching methods. Practical alternatives arising in place of institutionalized learning have been free schools, unschooling at home and forming networks with other deschooling families and individuals. Free Schools (or Free Skools) are decentralized networks that share skills, information, and knowledge without hierarchy and the institutional environment of formal schooling. ... Unschooling (also sometimes referred to as natural learning, child-led learning, discovery learning, autodidactic learning, or child-directed learning) is the term that means being responsible for your own education. ...

The term is sometimes used synonymously with unschooling. Unschooling (also sometimes referred to as natural learning, child-led learning, discovery learning, autodidactic learning, or child-directed learning) is the term that means being responsible for your own education. ...

External links

• deschooling.org (Internet Archive)
• Deschooling described at Home-Educate.com
• Deschooling described at Homeschool Zone
• Deschooling FAQ at Pura Vida (moonwindstarsky)