Do Right-Brained Learners Gravitate to Unschooling?

I’ve had a theory for a while now that I believe most people who end up unschooling do so because the parent choosing to unschool is a right-brained learner, or the child in question is a right-brained learner. In my case, my first-born son is a strong right-brained learner, and he would end up teaching me how he best learned, which led straight to unschooling.

Basically, the reason I see this to be true is that right-brained learners tend to be mirror/opposites of left-brained learners. Their developmental learning process has a completely different order. Since school, and thus, most school-at-home approaches teaches in a left-brained manner, a right-brained child has to carve out a different path in order to achieve their optimal learning path. This causes a gravitational pull toward unschooling or eclectic homeschooling that allows, or even encourages, these differences to exist.

The foundation of an unschooling environment is honoring the interests of the child. The foundation for a right-brained learner is pursuing one of the creative outlet interests (building/electronics, art/ photography, computers/video games, fashion/sewing, cooking/gardening, math/numbers, puzzles/mazes, theater/ showmanship, music/dance). Looking over this list, one doesn’t find these interests or gifts in the younger years of elementary school. Frankly, you rarely find these interests and gifts to any relevance in compulsory school at any age. In this way, the foundational unschooling philosophy welcomes diverse interests and gifts to be pursued and honored.

Now don’t get me wrong, right-brained learners can actually flourish in a variety of styles of homeschooling. It’s just that unschooling is a great environment to kick start questioning the compulsory school patterns of learning as the only valid path, especially for the homeschooling parent. There’s a lot of talk about the deschooling aspect that children need to traverse after leaving the schooling environment. It’s said we need to detox from the shoulds of that environment one month for every year attending school. The parents need it even more, considering most of us were schooled for more than twelve years. That said, if a parent is mindful that other interests, gifts, and subject pursuits are as viable as those found in school, as well as consciously note that diverse time frames are as acceptable and valid as those found in school, other educational structures can be complementary. For instance, Montessori, Waldorf, project-based, unit study, or Thomas Jefferson education ideals can all provide a positive framework under which right-brained children can thrive.

What I’ve learned on my journey with my very different children is that I wanted to be loyal to my children’s learning style, needs, and interests over any system of learning, no matter how much *I* may like it. I discovered that as my children grew through their developmental learning process, their needs changed and shifted with them. What may have worked one year may not work another. Or what may work with one child, doesn’t for another. As much as humans are creatures who desire community, belonging to the term unschooler or Waldorfer or TJEer couldn’t overpower the divine nature and individual worth of each child. I believe the term “eclectic homeschooler” evolved to fill the role needed for the parent to belong somewhere, and even still bring in some of their own learning bent or beliefs, while honoring the unique path a child needs to navigate learning organically.

So, back to my original idea: Though both left-brained and right-brained people can flourish with the unschooling learning environment and philosophy, I believe most who came to it did so because they needed a place to hang their hat as they nurtured the needs of a child who had a different time and focus than found in school: the right-brained learner.

Question: Is the parent or child who led you to unschooling a right-brained learner? What do you think of this connection?

If you choose the eclectic homeschooling label, is it for the purpose of marrying the different learning style needs of your child with your (the parent’s) particular learning structure bent or beliefs? Why do you think so, or not?