unschooler
|un-school-er|
🇺🇸
/ʌnˈskuːlər/
🇬🇧
/ʌnˈskuːlə/
self-directed learner
Etymology
'unschooler' is formed in English from the prefix 'un-' + 'school' + the agentive suffix '-er', where 'un-' means 'not' and '-er' denotes 'one who does'.
'unschooler' derives from the verb 'unschool' (formed in the 20th century), which itself was created by combining 'un-' with 'school'. 'School' comes from Old English 'scolu' via Old French from Latin 'schola'.
Initially the element meant simply 'not at school' or 'to remove from school' in early coinages of 'unschool'; over time it took on the specific ideological meaning of participating in 'unschooling' (child-led, interest-based education), and 'unschooler' came to mean someone who practices that approach.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person (often a child) who follows unschooling — an educational approach where learning is self-directed, guided by the learner's interests rather than a formal curriculum or traditional schooling.
The unschooler spent the afternoon researching insects after finding a beetle in the garden.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/26 04:16