The longer our family lives as unschoolers the more I wish it for other families. So many are unnecessarily living with stress brought on by an outdated educational system where obedience and compliance are most valued, and it has seeped into parenting within our culture. Because of my deep desire to bring awareness of this lifestyle, I am always looking for new ways to explain unschoolingand radical unschooling* (I also like to use the term Respectful Parenting because the term radical can be misunderstood) to those that are unfamiliar with the philosophy. Recently, it occurred to me that Scouting, an activity I think most would consider relatively mainstream, has many similarities to and aligns with unschooling and respectful parenting practices.
My personal experience with this comes from a local Scouts BSA troop my son is in and a local Girl Scouts of the USA troop in which my daughter is a member. I will say, not all troops are created equally, and we are fortunate to have found two extremely well-run troops with excellent leadership. So, if you haven’t had the same experiences we have, I am sorry. I wish you could find a great troop because when it’s done right it provides great benefits for the scout involved.
On the Scouts BSA (BSA) website, the program is described as follows: “In Scouting, boys and girls start with their best right now selves and grow into their very best future selves. It’s fun, hands-on learning and achievement that puts kids in the middle of the action and prepares them for today – and for life.” 1 “Service, community engagement and leadership development become increasingly important parts of the program as youth lead their own activities and work their way toward earning Scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout.” 2
Similarly, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has the following description on their website: “Girl Scouts helps girls develop their full individual potential; relate to others with increasing understanding, skill, and respect; develop values to guide their actions and provide the foundation for sound decision making; and contribute to the improvement of society through their abilities, leadership skills, and cooperation with others.”3
Overall, the goals of each scouting organization are similar with a focus on leadership development, communication skills, personal growth, and community service. The way they facilitate the pursuit of these values varies, but the end goal is the same – to aid in the development of youth to become self-motivated critical thinkers who can lead as well as work collaboratively while positively contributing to the local and larger community.
As a radical unschooling family, we give our children (both teenagers now) the freedom to follow their own interests; this is the main priority and helps guide all other decisions. In scouting, this is also a primary focus. For example, in BSA, all advancements are done at an individual scout’s pace. So, a scout can move quickly through the requirements to achieve rank advancements or take his time. Rank advancements are not required to participate in the program. Some scouts will choose to work toward the highest rank, Eagle, and some will be content with lower ranks. Just like an unschooler, the scout will go as far as he chooses. The same path exists for merit badges. Although there are some required merit badges if a scout chooses to work to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, all other merit badges are chosen by the scout and worked on individually. There are more than 135 merit badges4 that can be earned in a myriad of topics ranging from STEM to nature studies to sports to the arts and more. In GSUSA, levels are determined by age and badges can be earned at each. There are more than 125 badges5 just in the STEM category.
Another important part of following the unschooling philosophy is providing and facilitating opportunities. In both BSA and GSUSA, the troops plan regular activities and trips such as camping and outdoor excursions as well as visits to parks, museums, educational centers, businesses and more. Freedom of choice is still key here in that the scouts choose whether or not to participate in any of the planned events. Additionally, in each troop, the scouts are part of the planning process. It’s not just adults making the decisions and telling the scouts what to do. The scouts give suggestions and vote on choices. Then, the adults help facilitate the activities by contacting companies to schedule and make final arrangements and/or payment.
An open line of communication between adults and children is essential when it comes to respectful parenting (aka radical unschooling) and the same goes for the relationship between adult leadership and scouts in BSA and GSUSA. In both types of troops, the adults encourage scouts to take charge of their scouting experience by expressing their wants, needs, and opinions. The adults earn the respect of the scouts by showing the scouts a mutual respect and a relationship of open communication and trust is established. Scouts are expected to determine their own path and take the steps to achieve their individual goals while the adults provide support as needed and/or requested.
At the end of the day, all humans just want to feel like they are seen and heard and that their opinions are valued which is essential to unschooling and respectful parenting. People want the freedom to make their own choices. This practice is expected within scouting and can easily be done between parents and children at home as well. I hope this article will help others start to see the correlation between scouting and radical unschooling and the benefits of putting this philosophy into practice in your own home. Radical unschooling isn’t really that radical…it’s about treating people, young and old, with respect and trusting that they know what is best for themselves.
*Unschooling is self-directed learning; it allows children to move at their own pace spending as little or as much time on whatever they choose to explore. Parents are more like facilitators and provide the environment, resources, and opportunities for children to follow their interests.
**Radical Unschooling (aka Respectful Parenting) takes the unschooling philosophy and applies it to all aspects of living. It is about creating a partnership based on trust and connection between the child and parents. There are no strict rules or punitive punishments; respectful parenting practices keep the lines of communication open.