Deschools

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Helps a person unlearn the assumptions and dependence that formal schooling has instilled, so they can learn on their own terms
2. Liberates a learner from the institutional routines and expectations that conventional education has built into their thinking
3. Releases someone from the conditioning of traditional classroom education, encouraging self-directed learning outside rigid school structures

Etymology: "Deschool" is a verb formed from the prefix "de-", meaning "remove or undo", and the noun "school", so it means to remove someone from the influence or structure of schooling. "Deschools" is simply the third-person singular present form, as in "she deschools her children" or "the movement deschools the classroom." The prefix "de-" comes from Latin, where it could mean "down", "away", or "reverse the action of", and English has long used it to form verbs such as "decode", "defrost", and "decentralize". Attaching it to "school" follows the same pattern: the root supplies the thing being undone, and the prefix reverses or removes it. The formation is transparent, so the word's meaning can be worked out from its parts.