Literacy, Rousseau, and Unschooling, Part 1

Little Red Schoolhouse, Talbot County, MD, Author Shopkins91, (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported and GNU Free Documentation License)

Unschooling (to be distinguished from homeschooling) is a controversial educational philosophy which has gained rapid popularity online, and allows children to direct their own learning [1][2].  A rosy picture is painted of care-free learning, without pressure, stress, structure, or restrictions.

The assumption is that children pursuing only the subjects which interest them will learn more naturally and easily.  The corollary assumption seems to be that subjects of little immediate interest to them will be of no later use.

Some parents are not even teaching their children to read or write, and are actually proud of that fact.

The Rousseau Connection

Whether its proponents are aware or not, unschooling derives loosely from the writings of an 18^th Century philosopher.   In his work Discourse on Inequality, Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposed that human beings in their “natural” state were inherently peaceful, egalitarian, and good.  They had simply been corrupted by civilization.

This idea has great appeal to those who believe wholeheartedly in Darwin’s theory of evolution.  It suggests that a return to Eden is possible, a return to innocence and union with nature.  All we need do is discard the trappings of civilization – trappings like law and formal education.

Unfortunately, this is nonsense, spiritually and otherwise.  Innocence and ignorance are not the same.

Literacy Highlights

Literacy has been prized by civilization for thousands of years [3].  We denote pre-history as such because literacy did not exist.  All knowledge had to be passed down orally.

The Sumerians wrote on clay tablets.  The Egyptians wrote on papyrus.  The ancient Greeks and Romans wrote on almost anything to hand:  papyrus, wooden boards, wax tablets, and leather scrolls.

During the Dark Ages and long after, literacy was confined to an elite.  Those who could not read or write labored or plundered.  They signed contracts with an “X” and were bound by their terms.

The Bible was first translated from the Latin Vulgate into English by John Wycliffe around 1382 AD, and was significant in spreading the Gospel to the English speaking world [4][5].  William Tyndale completed a translation from the original Hebrew and Greek in the 1520s, and was martyred for it [6].

The prevalence of literacy in William Shakespeare’s England is reflected in his plays and poems [7].  Reading skills were common, though writing less so.  Shakespeare, himself, had read the Greek biographer Plutarch, the Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio, the English chronicler Raphael Holinshed, and many others [8].

Literacy played a critical role in political discourse before and during the American Revolution [9][10].  Books, pamphlets, newspapers, and other writings were used to spread the idea of independence, as well as lay the foundation for that concept.

Anti-literacy laws existed in many slave states before the Civil War which prohibited teaching blacks to read or write [11].  Punishment ranged from fines and flogging to imprisonment.

Following the Civil War, there was tremendous effort by freed slaves to establish black schools, hundreds of which were burned during the Reconstruction Era [12][13].  There was a reason for this violence beyond the hatred and revenge of former slaveholders.  It was a political tactic.  llliterate people can be more easily controlled.

Not until 1954 did the seminal and hard fought Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education finally hold that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional [14].  That is an achievement which should not be lightly discarded.

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[1]  Healthline, “What Is Unschooling and Why Do Parents Consider It?” by Eleesha Lockett MS, 9/27/19, https://www.healthline.com/health/childrens-health/unschooling.

[2]  PureWow, “Unschooling Is the Latest Controversial Parenting Trend on TikTok, But Does It Actually Work?  Experts Weigh In” by Alexia Dellner, 5/1/25, https://www.purewow.com/family/unschooling-trend.

[3]  Encyclopedia Britannica, “Education in the earliest civilizations”, 10/26/25, https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations.

[4]  Evidence for Christianity, “When was the Bible first translated into English from the original languages?” by Dr. John Oakes, 12/27/09, https://evidenceforchristianity.org/when-was-the-bible-first-translated-into-english-from-the-original-languages/.

[5]  Wikipedia, “Bible translations into English”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_translations_into_English.

[6]  Encyclopedia Britannica, “William Tyndale”, 10/2/25, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Tyndale.

[7]  Bardology, “Literacy in Shakespeare”, https://www.bardology.org/literacy-in-shakespeare/.

[8]  Thought Co., “Shakespeare’s Sources” by Lee Jamieson, 5/11/25, https://www.thoughtco.com/main-shakespeare-sources-2985252.

[9]  Encyclopedia.com, “Literature and the Arts in the Revolutionary Era”,  https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/educational-magazines/literature-and-arts-revolutionary-era.

[10]  National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, “Literacy and the American Revolution” by Renee Lyons, 6/30/23, https://thencbla.org/2023/06/30/literacy-and-the-american-revolution/.

[11]  Wikipedia, “Anti-literacy laws in the United States”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-literacy_laws_in_the_United_States.

[12]  American Experience, “Schools and Education During Reconstruction” by Eric Foner, Clarence Walker, Ed Ayers, Russell Duncan, Ted Tunnell, and David Blight, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reconstruction-schools-and-education-during-reconstruction/.

[13]  The Reconstruction Era, “At Least 631 Black Schoolhouses Were Attacked During Reconstruction” by Patrick Young, 12/20/21, https://thereconstructionera.com/at-least-631-black-schoolhouses-were-attacked-during-reconstruction/.

[14]  Encyclopedia Britannica, “Brown v. Board of Education”, 9/26/25,  https://www.britannica.com/event/Brown-v-Board-of-Education-of-Topeka.

 This series will conclude next week.

The Federal Govt. has frozen childcare funds to all 50 states in light of an ongoing fraud investigation in Minnesota.  

See, https://abcnews.go.com/US/hhs-freezing-child-care-payments-minnesota-after-fraud/story?id=128793851.

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