RE: NOT-BACK-TO-SCHOOL TODAY ... and how School is Developmentally-Inappropriate for my Right-Brained Child
I remember when Focus On The Family Radio had Dr. Moore on (it was a replay) and the take away for me was, essentially, don't send your child off to school just when they are becoming an interesting i.e. speaking, mobile able to engage with you, their parents. Especially after years of diapers, sign language and the "terrible twos" etc.
Dobson and Moore talked of how we need to allow the child to come to a worldview that is grounded in a happy home and trust in their parents i.e. they are not going to be thrown out of the nest with all the anxiety that come with a child being torn from their family at a young age. Why not wait until they are secure in their identity and their position in their family.
They, and I, did/do not advocate "no schooling" but education by parents or managed by parents. They did/do advocate for delaying the structured and static formal schooling that is prevalent in U.S. schools then and today until the child is ready and hungry with a vision for the "why" they go to school.
Dr. Moore's book, Better Late Than Early, did advocate for what people now call "unschooling" but only up to the age that the child is developmentally ready to start formal schooling. So that would be age 8, 9 or 10 depending on the child. He didn't mention homeschooling at all in the book or about teaching them anything formal at home. He said to just let them be children until you put them into the age-appropriate grade. Now that he advocates for homeschooling, he says that some children should not start formal schooling until age 12. I think it really depends on the child and what their learning style is. I have been unschooling so far (although I dabbled in little bits of formal teaching). My son will be 12 this month. He is extremely right-brained and so that pushes out his age of starting formal schooling to the latest norm. I will see if or how he progresses to doing more formal work. It is a journey for me, that I modify based on each child and what is best for them.
I see your point. I should have been more clear (comments are limited). I guess I used a "buzz-word". By "no schooling" I meant turning them over to nature without any parental supervision e.g. "Lord of the Flies" or something. I would just distinguish the point that every parent, even while "unschooling", is teaching. Manners, being good, chores etc. are all education and instruction and I lumped that in with "school" and that is definitely different than formal school.
You are right. He did differentiate "formal" education or school. I think, if I remember correctly, that he had evidence that showed children who waited until 10-12 could make up all the years of k-5/ k-6 in a very short time. Maybe two to six months. I think that is because when kids hang around their parents all the time, they just learn and they are confident in their position and love from their family.
Yes. Unschooling is not unparenting.