An interesting example of constructivism in education is the “unschooling movement”. Cope & Kalantzis explain in New Learning:

"The naturalistic inclinations of these approaches suit them to what we have earlier in this book called ‘authentic education ’. In Piagetian developmentalism, the learner will only learn what and when they are ‘ready’. Let the learner progress at their own pace, so don’t try to teach them things for which they are not ready. And when they are ready, their learning will be through an active process of accommodation and assimilation. The learner must be understood to be an active player in the world, constructing their mental conceptions. Teaching, then, should be true to this readiness. It should create conditions in which learners can construct understandings at levels appropriate to their stage of developmental readiness" (p. 204).

Friends who unschool echo the rationales above when explaining their choice of education for their children. According one unschooling family’s blog (http://happinessishereblog.com/2015/11/what-is-unschooling/), unschooling, for them, is:

• A life without school
• Not equating education with curriculum
• Letting children control their own education
• Trusting children will learn all they need to know
• Often extended to other areas of life (more trust in your children to choose own bedtime, what to eat, clothing, etc.)
• Prioritizing relationships over the demands of society
• Learning from life. Many sources and many people
• Freedom

The mother of “Happiness is Here” also outlines what unschooling is not:

• Unparenting
• Compatible with school
• Only for some subjects
• Standardized tests
• Socially isolating

In her TED talk, "Learning Through Unschooling", Callie Vandewiele shares her experience growing up unschooling in a family of six children. She talks about how obsessed she was with Texas Horny Toads and other aspects of desert life. By the age of ten, instead of spending 7,548 hours in a classroom, as most kids her age had, she spent those hours exploring her world and her passion. She’s now in a PhD program, continuing to follow her interests, constructing her life as she goes.