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86 Comments on What do we teach our kids?

Drew @ Cook Like Your Grandmother on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 8:14 am


Sounds like you need to read some John Gatto:
Modern forced schooling started in Prussia in 1819 with a clear vision of what centralized schools could deliver:

* Obedient soldiers to the army;
* Obedient workers to the mines;
* Well subordinated civil servants to government;
* Well subordinated clerks to industry
* Citizens who thought alike about major issues.
…
In Prussia the purpose of the Volksshule, which educated 92 percent of the children, was not intellectual development at all, but socialization in obedience and subordination. Thinking was left to the Real Schulen, in which 8 percent of the kids participated.
http://www.nevadamidwife.com/HomeSchool/publicschoolnightmare.html

And if that sounds a bit radical, consider his description of the modern U.S. school system: http://www.newciv.org/whole/schoolteacher.txt

Sorry, no easy answers here. But definitely something to think about when thinking about public schools.

Andy Fogarty on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 9:31 am


Wow! (in my Christopher Walken voice)

My oldest daughter, Gina, is 5 too and I think her and Austin could be twins. This exactly the same situation we’re having.

We put her in K4 simply because she was ready for school by age 2 and she could already have a conversation with you better than most 5 year olds. We’ve already been told that she would do very well in 1st grade if we wanted to advance her that far, but the whole age thing would just be too much I think.

I couldn’t agree more about the teaching. I feel like Gina goes to two different schools every day. The one we pay for and the one that actually matters. I’m sure you can figure out which is which. I don’t force anything on her at all, she’s just honestly curious and she asks better questions than most of the adults I know in business.

All I can say is that being a parent has made me both incredibly proud and very curious about what I really hold to be important.

dava on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 9:34 am


Heavy stuff. Hard stuff. Sending my kids off to school was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And my oldest (who will graduate THIS YEAR) totally revolted, making it so much harder. I had to carry her in fireman style, kicking and screaming everyday for a month, she hated it so much. But. I felt she needed to be socialized,and to know what the world thinks she is supposed to know.

I was a teacher for a few years, and just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t punish children for curiosity or for needing to move or for having “mechanical smarts” instead of “book smarts.” No matter how much I wanted to be around kids, I couldn’t do it in the school setting. What the state and the administration wanted felt so wrong I could not be the agent of delivering it, especially to kids who weren’t getting lessons in “going against the grain” at home.

There has to be some sort of middle ground. For my own (extended) family we create it by sending our kids to school and pretty steadily teaching them subversiveness at a low, innocuous level throughout their lives. All of my cousins are ridiculously creative; none of us are what society would consider financially successful – yet.

The Montessori method is a pretty good compromise – learning is self-directed, but there is also direction and guidance. It might be a good option if you decide unschooling is a little to unstructured for you.

Thanks for the analogies to business. It’s tough to comtemplate how live could be if…I hadn’t had to sit still and study the books, or my kids had had time to pursue their interests more fully or we had all gotten direction on how to use our passionate interests to create businesses.

Debbie Ferm on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 9:38 am


I’ve been wondering about this myself. My kids are 14, 13, and 11 and are all in public school. At this point, they’re all happy. Recently, I brought up the concept of unschooling, because I think it’s very interesting. They looked at me like I had a hole in my head:)

I have to disclose that I’m a special ed teacher and left my job last year because I was so frustrated with how that program is run – and also because of the parents who don’t want to help their own kids, but would rather bitch because the school can’t fix them.

I don’t know what the right answer is. I don’t think my kids are being indoctrinated into any one way of thinking, because as a parent, I feel I have a much greater influence on them. I’m very much about the same things you mentioned above, so I think they will be comfortable doing whatever it is that they want to do.

Obviously, there’s not a right answer for everyone. That’s the hard part. You just do what you think is best for your own kids and if it’s not working, then change course. Just like in business, I guess.

I also think it’s important to be supportive of other parents and their decisions for their kids, whatever they may be. It’s hard enough to choose what you think is best, let alone to be judged by people who are clueless.

The great thing about kids is that they’re resilient. You’re going to make mistakes for sure, but they’ll be fine both because of it, and despite it.

That was a ramble wasn’t it:)

Debbie Ferm

Srinivas Rao on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 11:09 am


I don’t have kids, but this post is absolutely brilliant in my mind. Interesting to hear about your 5 year old son and I’m guessing he’ll do something like invent a cure for cancer .

Now on to discussion about conformity, rules, etc. I was just thinking about this a few weeks ago. I come from a fairly conservative community and in most Indian families they think your out of your mind if you don’t become a doctor, engineer, or lawyer. After all how else would you pay the bills? Mention the idea of becoming an artist, muscian, writer or filmmaker and you’ll be met with resistance. If an Indian kid doesn’t happen to have a high level talent in any of these areas, we’re told “This is good as a hobby, but it’s just a hobby. You can’t do this as a career.” In many ways, I wonder how many potentially brilliant artists, musicians, writers, etc does the world miss out on because of the social rewards in conformity. Your idea of the things that we should teach in school really are a paradigm shift that people will have to embrace.

I don’t know if you ever saw the movie, Accepted. It’s a pretty interesting movie where a guy creates a college because he gets rejected everywhere. The experiment in education that he conducts is asking people what they want to learn and then taking all of the funds from their tuition and applying it to their area of interest. When you think about it, even a few companies have started to explore this kind of thinking, like Google with its 20% time. The truth is we need paradigm shifts in education, if we intend to get the most of out of our future generations.

Drew @ Cook Like Your Grandmother on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 11:36 am


@Srinivas I loved “Accepted”. That would be an interesting idea, to use it as the starting point of a serious discussion of the value of college.

Lee Stranahan on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 11:50 am


If anyone is interested in learning a little more about unschooling, I have a project called Unschooling : The Movie that has a few really interesting videos you can watch for free at http://www.UnschoolingMovie.info featuring unschooled kids, unschooling parents and Seth Godin. ,

Jess on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 11:51 am


Conventional schooling isn’t for everyone, but not all kid geniuses are capable of success in a “choose your own education” type of environment…

I think one of the keys to unschooling is that you’ve been schooled. You’re familiar with both sides, can take what you like and leave the rest (ie. “doing the opposite” of your formal preparation). Exploration and experimentation are crucial to a gifted child, though sometimes structured scenarios are exactly what is needed in order to learn how to break away…

Short answer: there is no universally correct answer. Like everything else, it’s trial, error and sometimes a whole lotta luck…

I love your thoughts on this and can hardly wait to see what you and Lee come out with!

Sally G. on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 12:05 pm


I would add Critical Thinking to your curriculum offerings. My daughter learns faster than the majority in her class – she also thinks deeper. While public schools speak to the significance of critical thinking in the classroom … many teachers respond to it with comments like, ‘don’t be rude’ or ‘that’s disrespectful’ or ‘are you going to be an attitude/behavoural problem again today?’.

With so many students to teach at so many levels of development and behaviour … the working reality is often ‘hear me, repeat back what I’ve said/written, keep the momentum going so I can get through the curriculum, don’t disrupt the classroom by opening avenues of discussion, etc.’. Divergent thinkers are often seen as challengers vs pioneers.

I’d just like to add that some structure and boundaries are important to children. They need parameters within which to operate, expectations to which they must responsibly strive. Knowing your child as you do, you’ll make the boundaries as flexible or tight as necessary for the circumstance at hand … but I do believe boundaries of some kind should be in place.

Your son is already ahead of the game. You ‘see’ him – his strengths, his gifts, his potential, his needs. You’re also looking through the right end of the telescope – it’s not about how to fit him into the existing school system … it’s about how will he best learn. Very inspiring!

Tyler Tervooren on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 12:12 pm


Johnny, I don’t even have or necessarily want a kid, and I’ve been thinking a lot about this same topic lately.

I think it’s because I’ve had such a hard time fitting in in the “working world” and doing things the way I was taught to. Now, I’m finally trying to make my own go at working for myself and realizing that all the skills and lessons I’m learning we’re completely glossed over in the education that I got.

In fact, I can distinctly remember the challenges that we’d have in Physics classes in high school where the kids that bent the rules on their projects were reprimanded and the best mediocre project always won the challenge.

When I think about that now, I realize that I would never want my own child to grow up in a system like that. I feel like there are really only a few socialization skills and very basic competencies that someone needs to learn before they’re capable of forging their own path. By forcing them down one after those basic skills are acquired, we’re missing out on an entire world of creativity that’s being “learned out” of children.

Reading Seth Godin’s latest book, Linchpin, really cemented some of these ideas for me. I don’t know a damn thing about parenthood, but I’d recommend it.

Taylor on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 12:55 pm


Having BEEN one of these kids, this is an issue I think it’s probably worth parents losing a little sleep over.

When I was in kindergarten, they skipped me a few grades because I was bright. Naturally, being two years younger than everyone in my class did not make it easy for me to make friends. Everyone was hitting social-dealings landmarks at far different times than I was. I wound up reading in a corner a lot.

When I hit twelve, they decided that my lack of social skills was probably more of a concern than my need to be academically challenged, so, going on the assumption that I could continue to challenge myself in a small-classroom, lots of individual attention, independent learning environment, they kept me in seventh grade for THREE YEARS so I would wind up with my age group again.

By the time I was in high school, I had learned a few things about knowledge.

I learned that you could get straight A’s if you were pretty bright without ever doing your homework at home. You never had to study for a test. You never had to do anything your classmates did. I learned that the knowledge was only useful so far as the next test and that it was okay to forget it after that. I learned that knowledge was useless.

I went to college never having learned how to learn. I graduated college not much better off.

That’s what unschooling seems to be about. Teaching your kids that knowledge is valuable to them, to their aspirations, to their vision of the world. That knowledge is something more than the required curriculum. That it expands far beyond the ten problems you have to do for homework this week.

As a freelancer and an entrepreneur, I have a whole slew of things right now that I want to do, and I’m aware I need to educate myself on certain subjects in order to do those things.

But I never learned to think of knowledge for MY sake. Knowledge was always for school’s sake, for its own sake. I understand logically that knowledge is incredibly valuable to me, and yet teaching myself to sit down for a few hours every day to attain the knowledge I need to get what I want is incredibly difficult.

Mostly because this is a concept I only learned last year. The idea that knowledge could be tangibly valuable to the pursuit of my dreams was completely foreign to me. They don’t teach you that in school. They don’t teach you this anywhere.

This is all the long way of saying, keep working at it, Johnny. Do your best to come up with something that seems to suit the way your son thinks and interacts with the world, something that will teach him that knowledge isn’t just there because the teachers say this is what you have to learn to get an A.

You learn so you can build the world you want to live in.

It’s a much easier lesson to learn when he’s five than when he’s twenty-five. I can attest.

Lori on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:18 pm


your list of 8 covers our at-home curriculum quite well. we’re self-employed and work at home, too. it really does go hand in hand. you step off the path for yourself and your work/life and it only naturally follows that you’ll pull your kids off the path as well.

it’s really an attitude that you can craft yourself a completely custom life — and so can your kids.

Chris O'Byrne on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:18 pm


Dear god. Like dava, I also taught for several years and like you, I’ve come to these exact same conclusions. If I were to do it all over with my kids, I’d unschool for sure. I’m so glad you’re thinking through this while there’s still time to make a difference with your boy.

Johnny on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:22 pm


The thing I keep coming back to is that he’s so incredibly artistic right now, and so fiercely independent. Kid is already thinking way outside of the box and questioning everything, which I suspect is the natural state for most children.

Give him a few years of being told what to do, what to pay attention to, and what to stop doing, and I’ll bet a lot of that goes away.

I never, ever, ever would have thought I’d be thinking about not sending my kids to school. NEVER. As recent as two months ago, I would have never considered some kind of nutty alternative schooling.

But things have changed somehow.

So much great discussion here. Keep it coming folks, and thanks.

Johnny on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:26 pm


Here’s another thing: My senior year in high school, I was told to read The Fountainhead, among other books. I hated it because I was being forced to read it. Over the summer, nonetheless — which was MY TIME, that the school was intruding upon.

I ran across that book years later and read it again — this time because *I* wanted to read it.

I really liked it. And I wonder how many other good books I’ve learned to hate… simply because someone was FORCING me to read them.

I’m not saying I would have loved my summer reading books (or even would have found them) on my own. But I do know that the resistance I put up when I was told what to do with my time made it impossible for me to like them as it was.

Everett Bogue on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:28 pm


I was unschooled for most of my life — I’m now 25. I went to kindergarten, dropped out because I was struggling. I went to freshmen year of high-school, dropped out because it was boring. I finished college at NYU with a double major in 3 years easily.

I recently quit my day job, started a location-independent online business through my blog and grew my cash-flow to support myself in under six months.

I see so many people who went to school struggling with entrepreneurial concepts that I just take for granted.

It’s no wonder they do. I spent my entire youth learning everything I need to survive myself, they spent their entire youths being told what to learn. I’ve spent my entire life concentrating on what I feel is important, and they’ve spent their entire lives trying to be balanced in subjects they hate.

It’s definitely worth considering for you son. There are downsides and pitfalls. I’d definitely read as much as you can about the subject before you take the dive. It might be an interesting journey.

V'sMum on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:38 pm


Fantastic article! We ‘unschool’ our 8 year old and she’s a published writer already (3 times over)

She can’t do her 2 times table and she never got on in school. We were told she was “unteachable” and that the school “didn’t know what to do with her”. Turns out she’s not a ‘yes’ person, or a sheep or one who follows everyone else or likes being told what to do much by teachers who know less than she does about how to be respectful to one another.

So we took her out and gave her the freedom she craved, told her she was great and could achieve anything she set out to do. So now she can write and draw and climb trees, nurse sick animals, knows all about herbs and gardening, reads until silly o’clock because she doesn’t HAVE to get up in the morning and most important of all she is H-A-P-P-Y and has dreams, aspirations and loves being in the Now.

My schooling never got me anywhere. Everything I’ve done since then that has bought be joy has been through self driven determination and knowing the right people

ennasnosrap on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:45 pm


Great post – I’m wondering if you know anything about the phenomen that’s being called Indigo Children? Kind of interesting and at least worth looking at. My personal theory is that it’s just human evolution that’s giving us all these crazy-smart uber-creative kids (as well as the behaviors traditional schools tend to label as ADD, ADHD, etc., but may be efficient adaptation to living in a world that’s completely changing with every generation, especially in terms of information access and ability to make creative connections). Very frustrating to still be using a public school system essentially based on a model of homogeny, lowest common denominator and submission to authority. I’d also invite you to look into the Waldorf education system, which is much more holistic, creative and keeps being backed up by all the recent neurological research as an approach – and certainly embraces many of the principles you stated like independence, risk-taking, problem-solving, and creativity. Good luck! Parenting is the biggest challenge I think any of us will undertake and god knows there are no easy answers, but just questioning everything is a good start!

Justin Matthews on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:46 pm


There is a fine line that separates letting your kids learn on their own and being apathetic. I know my parents always said “you can do anything you want” without giving any direction. I should be doing nothing but sitting on my ass watching TV. But enough about Thursday.

I just was never given much guidance outside of school work. I found out a few years ago that my dad was really pissed off that I wasn’t going to take over his business. I never knew that he had any plans on that front, so I didn’t know anything about the business. Now he doesn’t think that business school that I went to could have any positive influence on his business.

My point is this, if your kids show interest in something, give them the tools to see if they like it. If not, there is plenty of other stuff out there. Maybe they will be great at it. I like to gently push my kids towards things that they show interest in and it works fairly well. I don’t want to live vicariously through them or be disappointed when they don’t magically turn out like me. But I have my daughter writing fiction with me now….

Léan Ní Chuilleanáin on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 1:57 pm


Hi Johnny,

You don’t know me, but posts about alternative education act on me much like an electro-magnet, so here I am

I’m in Ireland, where non-traditional school models are very scant. Our boys are 5 and 2, and we’re planning to work unschooling into whatever routine we end up in. I’d love if they never went to traditional school, but if they want to try it, they can.

What I’d actually like would be a school along the lines of the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, Massachussetts. Reading their website was my introduction to the whole concept of a radical alternative to the mainstream model, and it. Blew. My. Mind.

I also second the recommendation to read John Taylor Gatto. And – if I may! – Alfie Kohn, and John Holt (particularly How Children Fail and How Children Learn) are brilliant, IMHO.

Most of all, what I believe is that children vary. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

Good luck!

Johnny on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:10 pm


Justin – the first point you raise is spot on. That’s a line I need help in finding, and I plan to ask my unschooling friends about it. Is it okay to just let them sit around all day and watch TV all the time and play video games and do what looks like NOTHING? I’m inclined to think that’s a problem. So finding the line will be interesting.

Johnny on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:12 pm


Léan, you win the “most interesting name of the day” award. Glad you’re here!

Julie on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:17 pm


My son struggled in school all his life. He is SEN, and the line about classes being dumbed down to the lowest level is wrong. The classes are dumbed down to the AVERAGE child. Your child would be bored out of her skull and lose the ability to think for herself because she would be jumping ahead all the time and being told off for it. My son left school in a purple rage every day because no-one would explain things properly to him, they wouldn’t repeat things enough times for him to get the basics. He left school at age 10 with an educational ability of a 5 year old. he couldn’t read because of un-diagnosed dyslexia, he eventually self taught himself to read age 11, once the pressure was off to perform. We had to go back to addition and subtraction in his maths because he just didn’t have the basics, but we have barrelled ahead and done 4 years work in two years, he still has problems with his memory, but at least now he will be able to work out how much carpet he will need for his flat in the future. We are not strict un-schoolers (autonomous in the UK) in that there are a few set subjects we do 4 times a week, but the rest of the time its up to him what interests he follows.
The best thing about Home Education is the lack of stress now. For those of you who dread the thought of the 6 weeks holidays, keep this thought in mind. Do you actually like you kids company at the END of the 6 weeks? Could this be because they have finally de-stressed from school and are finally the people they should be? That is what happened here. We finally got our son back, not the raging, frustrated, bullied shell of a child the school handed back to us every day, but the ‘sunny’ child who was the light of our life, that we thought we would never see again. We can also ensure that he grows up with manners, it’s rare in the UK now to find a young person who will shake a hand when being introduced.
I could go on for hours, if Home Schooling doesn’t work there is always school as a safety net, where it should be, in the background, not a major factor of a families life that controls who, what and where we want to be for generations.

Taylor on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:19 pm


I imagine that the video-game problem might be pretty handily solved by simply not having those things available. It’s kind of like the dieting advice, don’t keep anything in your house that can tempt you.

I got rid of my TV and haven’t gotten a new one because I know that if it’s there, I’ll wind up watching it. Not there? Don’t even miss it.

So if you’re worried about playing video games or watching TV all day, maybe it’s worth considering just not having those things in your house? Or if you’re going to have a TV/video games, only have stuff you wouldn’t mind him using. My parents somehow rigged our TV when we were little so that it only played PBS. Educational programming, we were allowed to watch until our eyes fell out. I suspect the same could probably apply to educational video games and so forth.

Ms. Jenn on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:21 pm


Oh, this one goes straight to the heart for me. Children and education are my passion, so excuse me if I ramble on below. My kid is not as advanced as yours, not even close. I just hate the school system he’s in. I’ve had an issue with it before he ever entered it.

I found great preschools for my son, who emphasized creativity, inquisitiveness, and how to be a person instead of just shoving worksheets and facts at him. One of the programs was even bilingual. All the kids in his class ended far more advanced, free-thinking, yet still with a measure of discipline as to not be disrespectful.

Then came kindergarten. He lost his ability to speak a second language, kept going over what he already knew, and was bored. He was lucky to have a lovely teacher who adapted to her students and assigned different work for different levels of advancement. But, now that he’s in 1st grade, I’m the one who has to give him work that isn’t a repeat of what he already knows. There is no semblance of social responsibility or ethics being taught to him. None of the kids are learning to do what is right because it’s right. They aren’t encouraged to go further or to lead in any way.

My son’s best friend missed the bday cutoff date, so despite the fact that the kid is functioning at 3rd grade level and already went to kindergarten, this year they did not let him into 1st grade in the public system. He’s currently attending a private school, but it’s just another example of how f***ed up the system is.

Not every parent can afford to homeschool/unschool, but if it’s a possibility, I encourage it. Kids can be socialized through sports or community activities. However, I do believe that pushing kids into unusual situations is good for them. There are things I was exposed to in school that I probably wouldn’t have sought out on my own and I ended up enjoying and actually using int he long run. You also need to learn how to deal with things you don’t want to do, but might need to.

The problem is when schools (or anyone) assume that all kids are the same. It’s ridiculous to assume that all 7 year olds will be at the exact same level. You’ll have to spend some time bringing others up to speed, cater to those who are WAY to far ahead and still keep into consideration their social maturity level.

There are children who won’t want to be entrepreneurs when they grow up. I’d go as far to say that kids who will grow up to be lawyers, doctors, dentists, etc. would need to go through a system, because the profession itself functions on a standard that needs to be taught. That isn’t to say they wouldn’t benefit from a little more encouragement to think critically, because schools are definitely lacking in teaching that these days.

Personally, I benefited from going to school. However, beyond elementary school, I went to private schools that encouraged all the things you listed as being necessary to an entrepreneur. {Oddly enough, one of them was a catholic school, but because the students came from affluent families, it was expected that we’d all start our own businesses, so we were taught as such.}

I’d like to see a school that emphasized personal attention to students, foreign languages, different learning styles, travel… mixed in with some of the usual curriculum. I think we should all learn personal finance before we turn 18; it should be part of the curriculum. I think before you turn 18, you should know how to do research, how to speak another language, how to deal with different kinds of people, and how to manage your money and do your taxes… carajo that list could go on for days…

There’s always going to be a kid who is extraordinary and won’t fit in a school within the area, but right now, I feel that MOST kids don’t fit into the school provided for them. That’s tragic and infuriating to me. We might not get it perfect, but we can do a hell of a deal better.

Curious, are there any magnet or art based schools around you? {Montesorri is good, too.} If unschooling or homeschooling isn’t possible for you, or just too much, perhaps that’d be an option?

Heather on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:24 pm


Excuse me for being rude… but that is YOUR kid and you seem to know he’s going to be bored out of his gills but your sending him ANYWAY.

“I think there’s value in learning how to sit still and be quiet”

at five? really? is it necessary? Don’t you think it could be learned through experience?

“how to take direction, how to subordinate your id’s desires occasionally to the needs of others.”

Personal choice. Taking direction is a matter of wanting to follow directions. I don’t see any harm with my kids not learning how to blindly follow directions in a classroom. They happily play with their peers and I witness the give and take that “leading” and “following” require. I also witness personal choice, and learning it in their own time… when they need it.

“I think there’s value in not always being the leader.”

Why do you think unschooling means always being the leader? Maybe you have a misconception of what it actually looks like?

And those 8 things you listed early in your article. Do you REALLY think your kid is going to learn that in school? Really? Why put his life on hold until he’s 18. Why not let him be who he is, right now?

I don’t know… I hope I give you something to think about. I came here from Twitter, I saw your about me page and I said “Wow, here’s a guy who does things his own way”. I love that in people. Sense of self, independence, an attitude that says, “fuck it, I’m going for it”.

Then I read the post on Unschooling and I sighed as you stated your were sending your kid off to his very first brush with forced conformity, Kindergarten.

Think about it.

Michele Nicholls on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:26 pm


Lots of excellent comments on an inspiring a well thought out post, thanks. I’m a granny now, but i ‘home schooled’ all my children (3 girls and 1 boy) for a great part of their education, and they’re all doing great, with much much more adaptability than most of their contemporaries. The only one who has really struggled to be fulfilled and happy is the eldest, who went to school at 5, and like Austin was way ahead – and got held back. We only home schooled her briefly, in her teens, but she was already convinced by the authourities at school that she was ‘stupid’ (huh? reading at 3 is stupid?! WTF?)

We did a mix of some formal teaching, and learning through experience – a great excuse to visit museums, art galleries etc! My 2 nd daughter, whom i taught at home from 12 through to College at 18, is now a high-flying English teacher in Hannover, Germany, teaching specialised English to business CEOs, lawyers etc. My 3rd daughter, who is dyslexic, was also written off by her school as ‘stupid’ went on from home schooling to Bradford University, where she gained an honours degree in Forensuc Archeology, then threw it all up to run her own art gallery in Edinburgh! My son is a manager at one of GB’s biggest department stores, and preparing to start his own coffee business – not bad for a bunch who were discarded by the system!

You know Austin best, do what you believe fits him, each child is unique.

Julie on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:28 pm


Socialise = going out and playing, when older going out for a meal or a drink with friends, meeting like minded people. Can be learnt anywhere, starting at toddler groups and expanding though Home School groups, playing in the street, guides and scouts etc.

Socialization = Learning the rules and mores of the life you are living. Manners, acceptable behaviour, when to shake hands. Not taught in schools, unless you class the ‘shut up sit down and behave’ ‘or the give me all your money or I will knife you’ as learning the rules and mores of society.

Johnny on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:42 pm


Heather, I think you misread my post. This is HARDLY a knock on unschooling. If anything, it’s PRO-unschooling. I’m surprised that you feel the way you seem to.

This is new to me. I was raised in school, did my time, and always thought that was the way to do it. I’m raising questions; I don’t know what I’m going to do.

I have NOT decided one way or the other. Take another read.

Chris O'Byrne on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 3:00 pm


Johnny, I think you misunderstood Heather’s post. I think she’s saying that if you see public school as the soul-sucking structure it is, then why are you even thinking about sending your son?

I do have an idea… why not give unschooling a try for a year? It’s easy enough to send him to public school after that.

Also, Montessori and Waldorf are both decent alternatives.

Naomi Dunford on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 3:20 pm


I went to 12 different schools growing up, and skipped three grades in the process. This gave me a really interesting perspective on how much the “necessary” curricula differs from place to place. (It also gave me the chance to do a social studies unit on Japan three consecutive years.)

I was amazed by what was considered vital in one place and wasn’t considered at all in another. I was amazed by the difference between schools in affluent areas and schools in poor areas. And I was amazed by the fact that, with the exception of French, bouncing around with no respect for continuity did absolutely nothing to delay my academic advancement.

I learned my multiplication tables in grade two, and again in grade three, and again in grade four. (I didn’t take grade five, so who knows what would’ve happened there?) I learned about the second world war from the perspectives of two different countries and got a hell of a lot of conflicting information as a result. And when I got to seventh grade in an advanced placement program in a rich neighborhood in Edmonton, Alberta, I realized I was the only kid in the room who knew what an adverb was.

What I really learned, though, was that the idea that these dudes know what the fuck they’re doing with our children is shamefully, systemically flawed. What your kids learn about math was figured out by some dude 30 years ago. What your kids learn about language was supposed to be what some other dude figured out 30 years ago but their teacher this year finds it too much of a pain in the ass so she’s doing it her own way. What your kids learn about sitting still, paying attention, and subordinating the id was figured out 200 years ago in a Prussian war-zone.

It is horribly, horribly, horribly broken. Unschooling’s no cakewalk either, especially when you don’t have a support system in place yet. But if I’m going to fuck up my kids, I’d rather do it by letting them play too many video games and watch too much TV than by sending them to an essentially unknowable abyss that admits to doing its level best to take everything unique and bright and special out of them.

Fuck that shit, man. I’d rather he doesn’t know how to sit still.

~Tara on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 3:36 pm


I loved reading your processing through all of this. And it is a *process* to go from a schooled mindset to the understanding of unschooling. (The process itself is called “deschooling”.)

I enjoyed school until high school. That’s when I became bored and disillusioned and left to unschool. Of course, we didn’t know any homeschoolers, let alone unschoolers, so what I did looked a lot like dropping out to others and we had no way to argue their point. But I had a sense of empowerment that you don’t find in kids who feel they’re going to grow up to be losers because they don’t have a high school degree. I didn’t feel like a dropout. I felt like I was “opting out” of a crap system and finding my own way…someone else termed it “rise out”. It made me independent and opinionated and stubborn, all attributes that have served me well, TYVM.

Fast forward and I’ve owned my own businesses and live a joyful and exciting life. It wasn’t always easy but I wouldn’t change a damn thing. I love my life and I truly think that my passion and determination came from the empowerment I received from leaving school.

My ten year old sounds like your 5 year old. He went to a private school for 2.5 years. It was hell. He became very depressed and disillusioned and still struggles to let go of that worldview 3 years later. But everyday of unschooling has seen him growing and learning and loving life more and more. There are some days he plays video games all day long; there are other days he reads or plays with animals or builds things. Most days are a combination of many things. And since we’ve been traveling, no two days are the same. He asks endless questions (something he stopped doing after being told to stay quiet in class), and is fiercely independent.

Unschooling is not for every family or every child within every family (some kids may choose to go to school). If you can’t give your child a supportive, rich environment, free from judgments about his time and/or pressure to perform, and with unlimited access to resources, it might not be the best situation for anyone involved.

But if you can create an environment that encourages curiosity (even when it’s inconvenient- which it often is), one that supports each person as Who They Are (even if they aren’t at their best in that moment), one that takes into consideration every family members needs without putting any one persons’ ahead of the others (but still giving some extra courtesy for those who are younger and still learning), one full of interesting resources and ideas and people and experiences and TIME (your time specifically)…well then I’m sure you all will love it as much as we do.

Some things to keep in mind:

1. Some kids will go through a time of “doing nothing”…or what looks like nothing. Sometimes this is a necessary downtime to process new things or prepare for mental shifts. Sometimes it’s just downtime. Either way, it’s okay. My best advice to anyone who’s kid wants to “do nothing” but video games or TV is to DO THEM TOGETHER. Seriously. Amazing stuff happens when we connect with our kids and their activities.

2. Natural learning happens in spurts. Some kids may not read until they’re 12 but will go from illiterate to the Harry Potter series. This happens in most areas of knowledge and from what I’ve seen the big learning tends to happen in passionate leaps and extravagant bounds as they hit their teen years. So it’s okay to not worry for a long time; simply sit back and be amazed.

3. It’s okay for kids to never learn their multiplication tables. Or ever love reading. The natural curiosity of humans means they will love *something* and never being told it’s of no value, they will likely learn how to do it well and without constraints (on their time, passion or ingenuity).

Ask questions, ponder, debate and be open. Meet some local unschooling families, especially with older kids. Attend some conferences. And know that if you ever change your mind your child can always go back to school and will likely be ahead of the game (or catch up so quickly you realize just how cool not going to school can really be). Or if he goes to school, he can always be withdrawn (although his deschooling process may not be much fun).

Good luck with whatever you choose. If you keep your child in mind (and social expectations out) I’m sure you’ll all end up happy.

Heather on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 3:38 pm


Chris has it on the nose.

I didn’t see your article as anti-unschooling at all. What I did see, and I could be completely wrong, that you had planted a tree that you were having trouble seeing around. And maybe YOU didn’t plant that tree. Maybe your 13 or more years of compulsory schooling did.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked your article and it always makes me happy to see someone else on the verge if giving their child a life they deserve. It just makes me happier when that leap of faith taken. I can tell you from experience that it’s the single most awesome thing I’ve ever done.

Support systems are out there. Lots of them are online, some in person. Get your butt to an unschooling conference. Sorry you misunderstood me.

Mark on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 3:55 pm


Very interesting piece – and I think that the best thing for anyones’ kid is to see what they respond well to, which might be the entrepreneurial stuff from dad (or mum) and the academic stuff from school.

I’m trying the entrepreneurial stuff myself now, and not doing too well at it so far. Luckily my schooling has been part of the journey that means I can earn a pretty good wage whilst I try my hand at other things (I even took a year out aged 34). School didn’t teach me everything (I dropped out inbetween GCSEs and A-Levels), but the qualifications did open doors. And when the limited qualifications I had stopped opening doors, then I went back and got more (whilst still working full time). This time I got the best results out of 400 students – because I could apply my real-world working knowledge to the theory stuff.

Knowing how to write and structure a report, how to do research, how to do maths is all useful stuff for most people in business as employees or employers or one-man entrepreneurs. It’s not necessarily fun to learn, but it can help you do work you do enjoy, whatever form that takes.

Kids should not be denied mainstream knowledge and skills. However, if we can expose them to the world of possibilities that allow them to think for themselves, be creative and fearless, etc – well that is even better. We don’t have jobs for life any longer. The more breadth and ‘skills’ we can give our children, the more freedom they’ll have to try their hand at a multitude of things throughout their lives.

Johnny on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:04 pm


Heather – It’s all good. We will certainly NOT be conventional in whatever we do, but we do need time to process. You have to understand how deeply engrained the idea of “kids go to school” is in me. It’s actually amazing to me that this even ended up on my radar.

Taylor on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:06 pm


That’s pretty close to the point, I think. Years ago, the idea of going off to be a freelancer was absolutely absurd. No one DOES that. I think it’s going to take us a little while to wrap our heads around the idea of alternative schooling, too.

Just like freelancing, though, it’ll probably be the thing that we can’t believe we ever did without.

Naomi Dunford on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:09 pm


One more thing to add:

I’ve noticed a lot of parents IRL have a belief system that the best thing to do, when willing to unschool, is to ask the kids. I wanted to bring up a fundamental problem I have with that.

Little children are sold a concept of school that is complete and total bullshit. The average four-year-old thinks school is recess and Spider-Man lunch boxes and cubby holes with your name on them.It’s lots of time to do arts and crafts with their friends — or soccer, if that’s their bag, it’s the belief that friends are a guarantee, with the added bonus of riding a shiny yellow bus twice a day.

It’s like spending three years talking about how great Disney World is and then asking if they want to move to Florida. When moving day comes, the realization is swift and the betrayal is harsh.

Dorothy Perry on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:20 pm


I have a son with Asperger’s Syndrome who helped me put the rubber to the road. I just COULDN’T justify bringing him to a building where he was showing such an inability to handle the sounds, smells and stresses of his school environment and was being punished as a bad kid for his issues.

The day I took him out of school we skipped all the way home (even though later I went into the bathroom and cried with the enormity of what I thought was going to happen.) After time, trial and error, we are doing a virtual school where only 3 hours of actual school is required and we can work on his strengths towards a different type of life. One where he can grow and develop as the type of person he is.

I have always felt like an outsider and proudly let my freak flag fly. For my child, however, I feel his hurt deeply inside every time he has been rejected. I celebrate this new paradigm through technology and open minded discourse where this stuff matters less and less in the end

Heather on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:21 pm


I get that. I was there. My knee-jerk reactions are usually a product of being in the exact same place at one point.

If it helps your processing…. remember that Kindergarten isn’t mandatory in some places. Maybe something to check out.

Good luck!

dava on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:31 pm


One other thing has come to mind reading this discussion through the day: my children rapidly developed lives independant of me, my husband and our family at school. Much to the chagrin of some teachers, I left school mostly to them; it was their thing and I only intervened if specially requested. They always did fine – as many have pointed out, it’s not hard to do well at school.

They are nearly grown and I’m quite sure either of them could make it through the world without my help if they had to. School contributed to that. I’m not a huge fan of the system and cheer anyone who has the balls to try something else, but it did help my kids develop an independence they might not have had otherwise.

Andrew on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:55 pm


I can look at this from about 40 different angles. I’m a high school English teacher by trade, which stereotypes me as one of the worst of the conformists.

I’m also a renegade by nature, and someone who insistently rubs up against rules and regulations and wonders why things have to be the way they’ve always been and thinks the past ways aren’t good enough for today’s kids.

I also also have a almost 16-month-old daughter I want to learn to think for herself, to be strong-willed, and to be independent. I don’t know what we’re going to do with her when she gets to kindergarten age and wants to play celtic punk.

I don’t know the answer.

Brianna on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:56 pm


Clicked over through twitter-

We are in love with unschooling but haven’t always been. I recently wrote about our process going from conventional parenting and schooling to the unconventional, take a read if you think it might help.
http://serendipitymama.blogspot.com/2010/03/beginnings.html

Good luck with whatever you decide-

Quanzi on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 4:58 pm


Really interesting post and comments. I don’t have kids (and not sure I plan to) but I remember reading a magazine article about unschooling when I was in middle school and thinking it made a lot of sense.

One thing I wonder about is if unschooling can potentially hurt a kid’s chances who grows up and DOESN’T want to be an entrepreneur. It’s not for everyone, and I’m sure there are kids who even left to their own devices would want to grow up and work in the business world or be scientists or something like that. So what happens when you apply for that job and you don’t even have a high school degree? Am I missing something essential about the way unschooling works? Do you get some kind of equivalent degree?

Andrea on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 5:11 pm


Johnny,

I come from the Twitter-verse as well and wanted to stop by and give you some comfort in your “What the hell am I thinking?!” thinking. I come from a family where the shame of the family is my uncle who didn’t finish high school because they didn’t figure out he was dyslexic until 11th grade. He was beaten for years and years because he couldn’t read and when he found out it wasn’t his fault, he dropped out and told his parents what they could do with that belt.

I finished high school myself (despite hating every moment of it) because I couldn’t bare the shame of dropping out. I ended up graduating in the bottom 10% of my class because a series of bad things happened to me and I ended up homeless. When trusted adults suggested that I drop out, I quit talking to them. I couldn’t believe any reasonable person could suggest not finishing school.

Here I am a dozen years later with four adopted teenagers, all of whom are unschooled. It took me some time, I started “schooling at home” homeschooling because I thought I was supposed to. Finally, I got tired of fighting my youngest to do his schoolwork and one of my kids said, “Mom, I really love to learn and if you would quit telling me what to learn and when, I would be doing so much more than the minimum you require.” Yeah. She was 12 at the time.

I started exploring unschooling and came up with a list fairly similar to yours, only mine included basic things one NEEDS to know to get by in life, such as reading and understanding contracts, tracking income and expenses, etc. Even then, you probably know as many people as I do who can’t do some of those things.

In the end, I realized that all I really want for my kids is for them to be happy. Now and in their futures. My job as a parent is to help them achieve this now and give them the tools to get it for themselves later. No matter what happiness looks like to them, their happiness is paramount. When I realized this and realized that what would make me happy (they were all doctors or lawyers or some such) is not necessarily what would make them happy, well I simply EASED up.

They are a happy bunch of teenaged unschoolers who pursue art, music, drama, reading, writing, programming, animal/child care, and science as interests that they may like to make money with someday. In the interim, they randomly go out and do the fast food jobs to make some extra spending money.

Oh, and did I mention they’re happy?

Andrea on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 5:14 pm


Also, for any of you who want to know more about unschooling, I also very much enjoy the blog of Dr. Peter Gray titled “Freedom to Learn.”

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn

I recommend scrolling down to the bottom and starting with the first few posts.

Ed on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 5:34 pm


I struggled in school while testing off the charts.
Schools are the same way for my kids now.

Here is some further material to support your thesis:

A blog post by @Joi Ito http://joi.ito.com/weblog/2010/02/28/formal-vs-infor.html

More from his sister Mimi Ito @Mizuko : http://www.itofisher.com/mito/

And the must see videos from
@SirKenRobinson
[My most retweeted video url in 4 years on Twitter]
http://bit.ly/2lGahe

New, 5 minute update from Ken:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ko-m6K2dz0

Hope these help,
Ed

Sonia Simone on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 5:40 pm


Two more things to add to your reading list: Mindset and Drive. They both have some almost scary insights that I think are incredibly important for anyone spending time with kids. Nurture Shock has some good stuff as well.

My Little Dude loves his school and it’s doing really good things for him. When they start squishing him into a box, we’ll be done with that. As I think you may know, it’s a French school, and the bilingual environment has been pretty amazing. But he’s close to fluent now, so if we decide it’s not right any more even in 1st or 2nd grade, I know he’ll keep the language.

Sabine on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 5:54 pm


Well, school taught you to read and write, and look where that got you It also taught you calculus. Sure, you got bored in some classes, but you also had the occasion to learn how to concentrate, to do hard work without being deterred by the boring stuff (even wacko entrepreneurs have to deal with accounting), to socialise with a bunch of other kids, to fall in love in your early years, and to observe your teachers.
School can quell your enthusiasm if you let it do so. But it can also teach you to structure your thoughts and to think critically (or maybe I just say that because I went to a good one) and in all cases, a prime observation field to acquire those wily street smart skills.
My stepmother was a bright child and could have jumped a level, but she did not and good plenty of time for leisure instead. She became a ballet dancer then a researcher in law.

Drew @ Cook Like Your Grandmother on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 6:05 pm


I think Naomi just wrote the mission statement for the unschooling movement:

“If I’m going to fuck up my kids, I’d rather do it by letting them play too many video games and watch too much TV than by sending them to an essentially unknowable abyss that admits to doing its level best to take everything unique and bright and special out of them.

Fuck that shit, man. I’d rather he doesn’t know how to sit still.”

Amber on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 6:20 pm


Don’t even get me started. Actually I don’t really have to say much as I’m thinking all the things you wrote but not exactly sure what I’m going to do. There actually IS an “entrepreneurial” charter K-12 near me that I could send my kids to: http://www.ivyacademia.com/academics.cfm?subpage=203701 but that kind of freaks me out too. What if my kid wanted to do something skilled, like medicine or law? Course my husband went to med school and now he builds websites with me. Hmmmmm

Jason Black on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 6:24 pm


I share so many of these sentiments. My son will start Kindergarten in the fall, and I too am worried that he’ll be bored. Much of what you say has a lot of sense to it.

I wonder also if you’re undervaluing the benefits of the standard education.

The goal of unschooling–being supportive and offering guidance in a child’s own chosen path–is very noble on the face of it. But how well can a child truly _see_ what paths may be chosen without a broad exposure to a wide range of ideas and skills? That is, without some general education like you get in school?

Take art and trigonometry, two subjects you mention in your post. It’s great that your son is so artistic (and I’m jealous as hell of that, btw). That being the case, it would surprise no one if he chose an artistic path. If he aims for the intersection of art and the entreprenurial spirit you so value, then no one would be surprised to see him push art in new directions. To explore artistic uses of digital media and all that jazz.

Which–ta da!–requires some math. You literally can’t even draw a circle on a computer screen without some trigonometry. If your son goes to school and gets a basic grounding algebra, if he is taught what math is for and how it works, then he’s good to go. He can figure out how to put two and two together, and let his artistic impulses run wild.

But if his unschooling parents have nobly supported and nurtured him in whatever he chooses, he’s probably going to choose on the basis of what his child-centric world has shown him. Physical media. He’ll be a whiz with paint, pencils and crayons, and he may kick-ass at photoshop. If he starts to get notions about generative art, fractal systems, or goodness knows what else, he’s going to find out real fast that there’s this brick wall in his way with “you never learned basic math” painted on it.

What a buzz-kill.

The potential uses to which basic math, science, literature, history, etc., knowledge might be put to by an unencumbered and creative mind are not, I think, at all easy to predict. Yet we can surely predict that if this unencumbered and creative mind lacks that knowledge, it will not come up with anything new and revolutionary to do with it.

Similarly, a good grounding in the basics is surely helpful in one’s later decision making and critical thinking skills. If you know about history, say, you’re more likely not to make the same categories of mistakes that historical figures have made. And conversely, you’re more likely to see how to emulate the successes of historical figures.

For instance, if you’ve learned about the history of the civil rights movement, you may well get an inkling that society doesn’t give you power until you take it. It just doesn’t. You have to stand up and demand it. How is that not spot-on relevant to the fierce, independent, self-confident faith you hope your son develops?

Formal schooling definitely doesn’t teach you everything you need to know to achieve wild success in the world. But that doesn’t mean that what it does teach you won’t contribute to that success, possibly in unforseeable ways. It’s never a waste of time to learn anything.

Andrea on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 6:43 pm


Jason,

You are assuming that none of those topics can be learned without public school or even formal education. When unschooled kids come up against a “you never learned basic math” wall they just start learning math. And because they were never told how or what they need to learn, they will learn what they need to know in just the manner they need to learn it.

I realized at 25 that I had never really learned World Geography, I thought New Zealand was in Europe and when a friend kept talking about how warm it was, I looked it up and discovered it was an island off the coast of Australia. Oops! I didn’t have any difficulty learning World Geography just because I had never been taught it in public school, I simply picked up World Geography for Dummies and now I know a ton about it. Kids are more than capable of doing the same.

The waste of public school is not necessarily the knowledge they have to impart on you, but how much of your life they take in imparting it. Kids spend a conservative 14,400 hours of their little lives learning things that while they may be helpful, they’re not everything and there are so many better things they could do with their time.

While it’s a tongue in cheek, I recommend reading this Onion article for some perspective.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/6yearold-stares-down-bottomless-abyss-of-formal-sc,2510/

Brianna on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 6:55 pm


Jason-

1. To assume that if you take a class on trigonometry in school, you’re going to learn it is simply untrue. Especially if since Kindergarten you’ve had math crammed down your throat in an incredibly boring way.

2. Learning basic math is valuable because it is used in every day real life, including by unschooled children! Math isn’t something my unschooled son is passionate about. He doesn’t check library books out of the library or see math computer games. He doesn’t pursue it as an interest the way he does other things. He does however, LEARN math all. the. time. because it really does have a value in his world.
How much allowance does he have? How much more does he need for the toy he wants? How tall is that building? How far away is the moon? How old will he be when his sister is 10? If four people give him $20 for his birthday, how much does he have?
Unschooling doesn’t mean that you ONLY learn things you have a fiery passion for. You learn whatever is relevant to your life and math certainly is.

All the ‘basics’ are basic for a reason- because they simply come up in life everyday. You’d have to live in a closet to not be exposed to them! And unschooled children are actually living out in the real world where all of that ACTUALLY exists, rather than living in a classroom that has to artificially recreate it.

As an unschooled parent, you are a tour guide through life. You point things out. You discuss things. You don’t sit around twiddling your thumbs waiting for your child to ask to learn about geography and history. You provide enriching life experiences. You live. And the majority of unschooled children are interested in all of it because it’s just part of life and they’ve never learned that it’s boring or work or had a reason to avoid it!

Jesse on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 7:11 pm


Serendipity strikes again. I found this on twitter and as I was reading I was badgering my 7 and 11 yr olds to finish their lame worksheets to ease mommy’s guilt over whether or not I’m providing them with the right materials in case we re-enter the craziness of public school in the Fall.

Mine aren’t as brilliant as some and aren’t struggling like others. We started at a Catholic school because it was the only option that wasn’t full day kindergarten. It was enjoyable until 2nd grade when 1st communion prep ramps up and I was hearing questions like, “Why does God care what I eat on Friday?”

Do to divorce and discomfort with the religiosity, we switched to public school where we learned that we were a year behind in math. We got up to speed, but the oldest hated it, and kept pressuring me to homeschool. The youngest (girl) loved the social. Grades were excellent, staff was marvelous, but I hated feeling like my kinds were being indoctrinated. Plus, a lot of the day was devoted to teaching kids how to be nice, wash hands, keep hands to themselves and share. Shouldn’t they be learning that at home?

This last yr (5th grade and 2nd) both of them would be clinging to my legs as we walked out the door every morning. I worked in the youngest’s class once a week. I could see the frustrations. My oldest (son) is an enthusiastic reader if you don’t make him read stuff he’s not interested in. The youngest felt like she was spinning her wheels, waiting for other kids to catch up. Upset stomachs, poor sleeping, crabbiness and bad moods were like a cloud over our house.

The first week of Nov. 2009 I started working from home. By the first week of Dec., I couldn’t think of any good reasons not to homeschool, so I pulled them out. They are sleeping great, when I can get them to stop reading and turn out the light. They are eating well. They aren’t moody. Their love of learning and natural curiosity has returned.

I always swore my kids would be public school kids. I had cousins who were homeschooled. If you judge them by society’s standards, they aren’t stellar examples of a success with homeschooling. (There are a lot of variables contributing to that, including parents and environment.)

My kids do lots of fun math stuff on the computer. They’ve learned to be fantastic skiers. They have always been more comfortable with adults than kids. (That’s a function of having older parents.) I wish they knew how to better relate to kids. So they miss a prom? So they miss football games? I hated that stuff.

In the meantime, they do not want to go back in the Fall – to a new and hopefully better school where I hope they fit in better. (Am I fooling myself?) In the meantime, I see my daughter create a doll and dress out of scraps of fabric, and read a whole Magic Tree House Book in one day, and tell me about ancient Greek mythology. My son can tell me the history of golf, and the details of the new technology involved in producing that next line of Rossignol skis.

My aunt is a retired principal. My cousin is a principal’s asst. They think I’ve lost my mind. The thing is. I like my kids. I don’t want to farm them out for the day. I have this question in the back of my head, “Has public school outlived its usefulness?”

Strawberry Fields on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 7:19 pm


I agree whole heartedly – the current school system prevents our children from ‘thinking’. We are all born creative, without fear and with a curiousity for our world and more importantly a compassion for each other. The current school system teaches children to believe what they are told and do as they are told. I’m amazed by how many adults still unquestioningly believe what they ‘learnt’ in school even though it is outdated – my stock answer is ‘if we all thought the same way, we’d all still believe the world was flat’

You would be interested in Ken Robinson’s work, a former professor of education
http://buzzup.com/qnd8 and his views on the current school system. He also has a Twitter account.

Karri Flatla on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 11:22 pm


Take heart, Johnny. And keep doing whatever it is you’ve been doing as a father, insofar as encouraging, supporting and facilitating your son’s intellectual and creative exploration.

THIS will be the greatest influence in his life, shaping him in far more powerful ways than a system much weaker than your love and respect for your child.

I only wish more parents understood this.
Cheers to you for being the parent your child needs,
Karri

Michelle on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 11:39 pm


Well, if you want the opinion of someone fairly fresh out of the schooling system (I turn 22 in September)…

I was probably a lot like Austin as a child, I learned to read very fast, was curious about everything, loved to draw. I HATED public school. To be fair/honest, I don’t know that my situation was 100% typical – I went to a pretty small school (graduating class of 65 people) in a conservative, very fundamentalist Christian town, and that might have affected things one way or the other. Nothing I’ve heard from public schools has made me particularly fond of the idea, though.

Aside from issues with students (I was the definite weirdo there), the teachers were…woah. I remember being reprimanded for reading several times when I was younger (as in, pre-fifth grade). I remember being reprimanded for asking questions. As I got older, I got yelled at several times for trying to correct the teachers or the textbooks (which I, cough, might have written in a few times to do so). I won’t lie and say I didn’t have a chip on my shoulder, but I think most frustrated kids in that situation would have! I distinctly remember one teacher who was supposedly teaching us about myths around the world; I had to explain to her what Yggdrasil was (it’s the World Tree in Norse mythology – if the average person didn’t know that, that’s not a big deal, but a freaking teacher saying she’s knowledgeable about mythology?!).

I was frustrated, angry at the system, and begged my mom to let me stay at home or graduate early every chance I got. She finally gave in and said I could graduate early – in my senior year of high school! What was the point then?

All of the areas I pride myself in, I completely taught myself, buying books with my allowance money and reading them on the side. My knowledge of world religions? Self taught. Mythology? (hehe, if you want to separate that from religions ) Self taught. Most of my history? Self taught. You get the idea. My aunt was a science teacher and would give me old science textbooks, which I pretty much devoured. I bought art theory books (as a freaking third grader, I shit you not!) and read them on my own. I get frustrated sometimes because I’m picking drawing back up again, and I’m sure if it’d been encouraged at school I’d be MUCH better at it than I am.

My husband had a similar experience – he was from a different town, but another small school. He had a speech impediment when he was younger and the school assumed that meant he was special needs (!!! don’t get me started on his parents not contesting this) and put him in the special ed class until he was in middle school, when they retested him and decided that he was gifted instead.

So, the TL;DR version: I think public schooling sucks. I will never, EVER send my children to public school. I still have semi-regular nightmares about being forced to go back to school and wake up in a borderline panic attack. There are a few other issues at play than my terrible experience (societal issues, making sure my kids aren’t being indoctrinated with their teacher’s political or religious beliefs, etc.). I also seriously doubt its effectiveness as a learning tool anyways, since it seems the only reason I graduated high school with a large vocabulary and a basic grasp on grammar/spelling/logic/history/etc. is because of my voracious reading on the side.

And ANYONE who thinks that public school gives an accurate portrayal of things that can be twisted subjectively at all needs a reality check. Maybe some of them do, but my school at least glossed over several large issues in history (suffrage, exactly how violent Christian conversion in Europe was, and Native American genocide are the two that come to mind first). Not to mention I really feel that a class on world religions should be mandatory since it’s becoming such an issue in our world today – but I’m sure it would probably be really hard for that to be done in an unbiased manner. I know it couldn’t have been done at my school AT ALL. I remember having to correct my history teacher when he talked about how Hindus worship cows.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist or anyone with a special agenda, I swear, but there are plenty of things that are not addressed adequately in public schools, even before you get to all of the other issues.

SO. That’s my story/opinions, maybe it helps you, maybe I just took up a ridiculous amount of your comment space for no reason, who knows.

Michelle on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 11:40 pm


Oh good gods that was ridiculously long! Sorry!

Rachael on Sat, 27th Mar 2010 2:53 am


My ten-year-old daughter requested internet time to research Giant Clams today, on which she intends to write a Report. (No, I did not assign it to her.)

My eight-year-old son has given me a list of airplane parts to buy him so that he can build a 747 in the back yard. (No, he is not joking.)

Homeschooling IS AWESOME. I’m not very coherent right now because it’s almost 3am, but homeschooling = best thing ever for my kids. Ever.

Anne Galivan on Sat, 27th Mar 2010 4:50 am


Well hey there Johnny! I don’t have to introduce myself to you – seeing as you’re the dude who set up my website.

But if you haven’t actually read the “About” page at that website you may not realize that I have been home-schooling for 20 years now. So here’s my take.

First of all, “unschooling” is merely one of many forms of home-schooling. A subset if you will. I plan to address unschooling in a four-part series entitled “Getting Started in Home-Schooling” and a five-part series on “How to…” (which will cover several different types of home-schooling) when I launch my website (official date for that is May 3rd).

So one thing you can think about is that you can home-school very effectively, and accomplish the goals you are trying to accomplish, without necessarily following the “unschooling” model.

Personally, I use a very eclectic approach (as do most of the home-schoolers I know). I use textbooks sparingly. I use workbooks to target certain areas. I use computer games. I consider guitar lessons and dance lessons and sports all a part of my children’s “schooling” experience.

To give you a little feel of how this works for me: I actually spend only a few minutes a day actually teaching my two children who are still home-schooled (I also have two grown children: one has a Master’s degree in Forensic Drug Chemistry and the other graduated college with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management at the age of 20 with a 4.0 GPA).

My 16-year old works independently. I give him his lesson plans weeks in advance and he has a general idea when he needs to have things done but I don’t micro-manage. Next year his entire schooling will be at the community college, where he will be enrolled in their dual-enrollment program.

My youngest just turned eight and is in second grade. He spends maximum 30-45 minutes a day on “schoolwork” – and part of that is at the computer learning Italian through Rosetta Stone (which he loves). What does he do with the rest of the day? He plays the Wii, he plays computer games, he makes Power Point presentations of whatever is going on in his head. He is constantly creating things with various objects that he tapes together (he goes through dozens of rolls of tape every few months). Essentially, he gets the chance to be a kid and be home and interact with his mom and his siblings.

His sister takes him for “tennis lessons” (even though she has no experience!) My son, who is a golfer, is going to take him to the putting green tomorrow because he’s been asking to go. His dad is self-employed so occasionally he runs around with him meeting clients or just getting errands done.

Many years ago when my oldest two were still very young, I used to go to the park meetings of the local home-school group. I was so excited with this fascinating (and at that time very new) concept of home-schooling. One of my home-schooling friends looked at me one day and said, “you are a marked woman” – meaning that it was evident that I was destined to be a home-schooler. From what I know of you Johnny I’d say you are a “marked man.” (Let me know when you make the official decision so I can welcome you to this crazy club

Roisin Markham on Sat, 27th Mar 2010 8:19 am


Find a Waldorf Steiner school to send your son to…

Dan Morelle on Sat, 27th Mar 2010 3:09 pm


Thanks for yor post Johnny and attracting a great bunch of comments. I have two kids, 8 and 4. They are currently both in full time state education here in the UK.

The focus on mediocrity at state school is all too aparent. Make everyone just good at everything as opposed to focussing on excellence in a few or even one thing is the order of the system. And the training they are given seems to me to be preparation to become drones in an industrial society - sit at the desk, take orders from the leader, carry out instructions. The context to the education is just as conditioning as the content. My four year old even has to ’clock-in’ with her classmates every morning (put their names in a tin). 9am start, an hour for lunch and book bags the shape of briefcases.

School is also conveniently scheduled to coincide with working parents timetables, a state sponsored childcare operation to maintain an ever expanding economy and hunger for stuff.

As parents we’ve realised it’s our responsibility to find inspiring teachers, allow our kids to explore and discover their tallents through extra curricular activities and expose them to technology and tools that schools are only just beginning to notice as being relevant to preparing our kids for the future. Their school has only in the last couple of months started to send newsletters to parents by email.

Education by definition is for training for work. The system is antiquated, summer holidays scheduled to coincide with the historical need for child labour – extra hands to harvest the crops.

The Curriculum is too prescriptive, the children must shape to the system rather than the system shaping to the children.

We’ve grown jaded with all this and decided to do something about it - we’re selling our house and taking the kids travelling around the world. The idea of homeschooling is daunting for us and we don’t know if on-the-road schooling is the answer but it’s a path that is going to challenge us.

Big dreams are the only ones worth chasing. Don’t let others convince you to be mediocre, it’s a terrible fate.

Anne Galivan on Sat, 27th Mar 2010 5:22 pm


I just have to add another comment to those on here who say they would like to home-school but are “daunted” or don’t know if it will work for them (especially Dan).

Keep in mind I am speaking as a home-school veteran of 20 years and listen carefully: there is only ONE thing you really need in order to home-school successfully. It is commitment. Plain and simple. If you commit to do it and you commit to find the tools that are out there to do it with, you will succeed. There really is no secret formula or special quality you need as a parent to be able to home-school successfully.

Finally, if you have any specific questions or concerns send me an e-mail at anne@homeschooling911.com.

Angel Dey on Sun, 28th Mar 2010 9:06 pm


There are many more options to homeschooling; unschooling is only one. I didn’t like the idea of unschooling because I think my son needs some structure. He’s dyslexic and ADHD. I also believe that the basics of math, science, history, etc. are important. Especially since these things are necessary in functioning (cooking, designing, holding intelligent conversations, etc.). However, once you teach the basics, you can move on to discover what your child really loves and teach him that. My son really enjoys 3D animation, and he simply isn’t going to get that in school. So I teach him graphics and animation and let him explore his own path.

The one thing that struck me about your post is that many children who show such a creativity and intelligence level as such a young age may also end up having learning disorders (like dyslexia). It’s just the way the creative mind works sometimes (look at Einstein and Thomas Edison). If you find your son having trouble reading despite such great intelligence, you will want to do something fast. I had school officials keep telling me “Oh that’s normal at his age”, year after year. But I should have trusted my instincts and had him tested earlier. It just made our public school troubles that much more troubling.

Anyway, I would definitely suggest homeschooling but you don’t have to unschool. You don’t have to choose a curriculum but teaching the basics is important IMO.

Vrinda on Mon, 29th Mar 2010 8:59 am


There are many many wonderful comments and great links here, and I have nothing much to add, except to say that I was home-schooled simply because my dad worked with teachers, saw how unhappy they all were with the educational system and decided not to put his kids through it.

I’ve always been grateful for this decision. I missed the stress of endless, pointless exams, got to travel and have wonderful experiences, and then when I was ready I went to college, and then to university. I now have a degree, having skipped everything that usually comes before that.

One of the best things about it, for me, was being raised without restrictions. I chose what I was interested in learning, whether it was my graphology phase at age 10, psychology and NLP through from about 11 onwards, or writing, herbalism, photography (the passion that stuck)… basically I was encouraged to run with whatever I liked and see where it led.

Also, the other restriction I didn’t have, was who my social group was. At school kids tend to socialise with others of a similar age group, and are less involved with people older or younger without special reason. When I was 16/17 my best friends were 16, 34, 10 and 4. I had very close relationships with all of them, and didn’t talk up or down to any of them, and wasn’t talked up or down to by them.

Well, this quick comment has become a bit longer than planned. Just, consider what will provide the best personal growth for your son, now and for the long term. You’re already thinking outside the box. This bodes well for him!

WilsWords on Tue, 30th Mar 2010 10:47 am


There’s a lot wrong with the current systems in the US and UK. I think the biggest problems are with language learning. One of the advantages of being location independent with kids is the chance that they can actually learn to speak other languages rather than just learning the grammar and being to afraid to use them.

Lori Bourne on Sat, 3rd Apr 2010 11:24 am


It’s great that you’ve realized the truth about traditional education while you still have a chance to explore alternatives for your son. I’m a Montessori teacher by profession and I homeschool our kids with Montessori. One of the main reasons I homeschool is so my kids aren’t bored and frustrated the way I was in school growing up.

I third (or fourth) the recommendation to read anything by John Taylor Gatto (I heard him speak at a homeschooling conference recently and swooned as if he was a rock star). Look into homeschooling (it’s not all unschooling) and Montessori as well.

There are plenty of ways to help children learn that encourage their creativity and problem solving ability rather than suffocating them under the burden of grades, rules, tests, stultifying textbooks, pointless homework, and the subjective whim of teachers who can’t break out of the system even if they wanted to.

Angel Dey on Sat, 3rd Apr 2010 6:21 pm


@Lori — My point exactly (it’s not all unschooling). Because my son is dyslexic I use videos (love BrainPOP), Legos, art, science experiments and other multi-sensory tools to teach him. We go to museums, go outside and do whatever we need so that he learns his way. He was only in public school for a short time before his teacher decided he frustrated her too much and refused to teach him at his level. She had a system or formula or whatever and just wasn’t going to stray from it. Homeschooling was the ONLY option for us if he was ever going to learn anything.

Andrea on Sat, 3rd Apr 2010 6:38 pm


@Angel Dey

I hate to burst your bubble, but what you have described is unschooling. Engaging children in learning through a variety of media and tools is what unschooloing is al about. Kids will learn without any aid from us, as witnessed by the children who pick up Mom and Dad’s bad habits despite best efforts to stop them from doing so.

One of the things that may make you a homeschooler is if your son shows an interest in learning more about say Pirates and you discourage him or only let him read one book. Also, if you’re reading about Benjamin Franklin and he decides he really wants to know more about electricity and you tell him, “We’ll learn that later, not now,” then you’re definitely NOT an unschooler.

The key difference here is homeschoolers direct what their child learns and how and when, just like in public school. An unschooler follows their child’s interests, but is always available with new materials to present. I mean, how will they know to learn about it if they’ve never heard of it?

Andrea on Sat, 3rd Apr 2010 6:39 pm


Ooh, sorry for all of my typos! I responded from my iPhone which autocorrects and only lets me view one line at a time. I’ll be more careful in the future.

Lori Bourne on Sat, 3rd Apr 2010 6:40 pm


Hi, Angel! I have friends who unschool, and it works for them, but like you I find my kids do better with structure. We have a classroom in our basement and spend at least 3 hours working each day. There’s a lot of freedom during that time for them to study what they’re interested in, but there’s structure to it as well.

Sounds like what you are doing is great! It’s too bad that public schools cannot always accommodate different learning styles, but those teachers are locked into curriculums and smothered in layers of bureaucracy – even if they wanted to help your son, it would be difficult. Their hands are tied as much as anyone else’s.

Lori Bourne on Sat, 3rd Apr 2010 6:45 pm


Andrea, I think it’s more complicated than that. For instance, in a Montessori classroom (which is definitely a school environment), if a child is interested in a certain subject they are encouraged to pursue it as far as they want to. But that doesn’t make it unschooling.

To me, the difference between unschooling and homeschooling is that homeschoolers generally use a curriculum of some kind and unschoolers don’t. In both cases, though, children will probably be encouraged to work at their own pace and follow many of their own interests in a flexible timeline.

At our house, the curriculum is Montessori, which means lots of hands-on materials but no textbooks. But it’s still a curriculum.

Unschooling doesn’t mean not doing anything academic with your children, which I think people have misconceptions about.

I’m not quite sure where Angel would fall on that spectrum, but she may have additional information.

Angel Dey on Sat, 3rd Apr 2010 6:50 pm


@Andrea — No bubbles burst here

What I meant was that I use the multi-sensory methods to teach my curriculum. Yes, I allow him to learn the things he’s interested in but I also want to teach him reading, math, basic US and world history, science and things he would learn in public school. I stick to a curriculum and mix unschooling in as well. I do let him go off on tangents on occasion but I need to reel him in sometimes when I am trying to teach a certain topic and make sure he gets it.

@Lori — I know plenty of teachers and understand that they have their hands tied. Some of them homeschool because they know the system all too well (like you). I don’t blame his teacher because I understand her frustrations. I was just frustrated with the situation and decided to take it into my own hands.

Anne on Sun, 4th Apr 2010 1:11 am


Note to Andrea:

When you say, “The key difference here is homeschoolers direct what their child learns and how and when, just like in public school.” – you are not only incorrect but you are being insulting. I have been home-schooling for 20 years (as I noted in comments above) and I guarantee you my home education program is NOTHING like what goes on in the public school.

It may be a matter of semantics, but the fact is that “unschooling” has its own very particular characteristics just like other types of home-schooling. Unschooling is simply one type of home-schooling. Most home-schoolers (such as myself) use very eclectic means i.e. they may exhibit some of the traits of unschoolers but also will use curriculum, clubs and various other activities, videos, computers…in essence a whole gamut of tools.

Andrea on Sun, 4th Apr 2010 1:52 am


Anne,

I’m sorry you were insulted by my statement. I did not have intent to imply that homeschooling is like public school, but that public school directs what a child learns and when and unschooling does not. I openly acknowledge the many nuances of both homeschooling and unschooling and at the end of the day, it truly does come down to semantics. Most unschoolers at least will agree that the key difference between what they do and what a homeschooler does involves who is directing the child’s learning.

You did not imply in your 20 years of homeschooling that you have ever not directed your child’s learning. This is the point and the similarity between what you do with your child(ren) and public school. I did at one point in time direct my children’s learning until I realized how unworkable it was to continue. I have not directed their learning in years. The fact that they ALL know Algebra has nothing to do with me, save for the fact that I bought tons of materials when my second to youngest asked me to. I was barely even asked any questions during the learning process. I was perfectly content to have my children grow to adulthood without knowing Algebra–I think that may be the difference?

Simple Living News Update on Mon, 5th Apr 2010 10:02 am


[...] What do we teach our kids? [...]

Megan on Mon, 5th Apr 2010 12:44 pm


Hey Johnny,

I totally understand where you are! I was a very young mother and put my son in school (in the beginning) because I thought that was what you did – part way through kindergarten I started to doubt it, and half way through grade 1 I started thinking about homeschooling. By Grade 2 that’s what we are doing – my son is currently half way through gr. 11 and he’s only been back to real school for “one” of those years. I’m SO glad we did this and I would NEVER subject another child (if I were to have one) to school… My husband and I are currently advising our son not to go to University or College right away, to work in his chosen field for a few years to decide if a) it’s what he wants and b) if he even needs a degree to do the job he’s looking for

Enough about me… There are more kinds of homeschooling than just pure “unschooling” (although, I am NOT a proponent of “school at home” systems). We have chosen to use a combination of unschooling (child directed learning) and literature based learning. My son studied and read 19 Shakespeare plays when he was 12 (well, he read the Charles Lamb book and listened to the audio plays themselves) because he LOVES Shakespeare… seemed worthwhile. He actively studies poetry, mythology, and writing far beyond mos kids his age (his gr. 11 mythology is an entire course in and of itself) because he loves these things. he’s always had far more biology and animal focused learning and has volunteered once a week (during school hours) in a reptile store for 3 years now because he wants to work in that field. These are all aspects of unschooling. But, I do make him do a math class, and he does have scheduled curriculum too. (He has a LOT more choice over how an when things get done though – he’s self-sufficient at this point)

Maybe you want to unschool with the clear directive that the TV is left off from 9-3 – that’s always been a family rule at our house. Maybe you want to plan out half his school work and let him plan out the rest? I’m a firm believer that what school looks like for your family should be what best suits YOU (the parents) and THEM (the child) – not what someone says should happen, no matter how worthwhile the system they advocate.

Of course, your kid is awfully young, I think pure unschooling is more than enough for the next few years anyway. And then you’ll figure out whether he’d benefit from a bit more structure. The really important thing with homeschooling (and unschooling specifically) is that you have limitless opportunities for learning. They can’t start fiddling with a guitar if there isn’t one in your house. They’ll never read Shakespeare if you have none available. You need to be able to both offer them opportunities in the things they know they love and keep your eyes open for new experiences they might just learn to love if they tried them.

And the way to avoid Justin’s apathy warning is to talk to your kids. Explore with them and then talk to them about their thoughts and experiences…

And, I think I’ll stop blabbing and taking up your space now. Hope I said something of use to you.

Yours,
Megan

Evelyn Saenz on Tue, 6th Apr 2010 8:59 am


Hi Johnny.

Thank you for writing: What do we teach our kids? and love the voice you have put to the thought process involved in coming to the decision to unschool your child. Having unschooled one child until 7th grade and now unschooling my youngest starting in 7th grade, I feel you put to words that which I was unable to express.

For those of you who worry about socialization, I can only say that I have found homeschoolers and especially unschoolers to be the most well-adjusted, polite and confident people around. They know how to talk with others of any age, how to join a conversation and how to listen and add to that conversation.

For those who worry that their child will not learn and be prepared in the event that circumstances change and you must send you child to school, I can tell you that when my oldest decided that she wanted to go to school for the first time in 7th grade, she scored off the charts. Her reading level and vocabulary were at a college level and she was reviewing math up through her first year in college. She is now majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Theatrical Costume Design and aced her first year.

Unschooling opens the door of learning to your child.

Evelyn

Anne on Wed, 7th Apr 2010 2:56 am


@Andrea:

I appreciate the clarification.

Yes, I do “direct” my children’s education. But as someone else pointed out, I absolutely reject the “school at home” approach…way too much work for one thing. (I talk more about this in my first blog post “Getting Started in Home-Schooling” which will come out on May 3rd.)

One thing that I would like to mention here, as it hasn’t seemed to come up yet, is the concept of the “relaxed home-schooler.” Yes, I direct my children’s education, but I do not micro-manage. By the time my children reach about 5th or 6th grade they are expected to work on their own. I only check in with my 16-year old once every few weeks! And he certainly has plenty of time to explore his own interests, such as his interest in music (he has played the saxophone in the home-school band for 5 years and recently taught himself to play guitar.)

My 8-year old, who is the only other child I am still home-schooling (I have two grown children, college grads) spends not more than 30 minutes to an hour a day on “school.” The rest of the day he spends on his own pursuits…you should see the things he can create with just about anything…and some tape!

Paul Huynh on Fri, 16th Apr 2010 3:23 am


Johnny,

Wow, so much reaction to your great article. I found you through Chris Guillebeau, and I’m so glad I did. Though I’m not admitting that I know all the answers to your questions, my perspective as an 18-year-old drop-out with a high GPA might be interesting for you and some readers. Some of my story is on my new blog that I have started, and the information you’ve shared resonates deeply with what I have found true for myself.

I was a stellar student before high school, always getting top marks on grades. Even throughout high school, I generally set the curves for my exams and was the most unconventional and successful presenter. But in the end, with just months before my graduation, I had an epiphany that I could be doing so much more than constrain myself with the system. I abhorred how restricted my thinking was, and though I excelled at learning, it simply wasn’t enough and often times not practical to learn.

I ended up dropping out, spent $400 dollars in gear for traveling, and another $150+ investment in materials that would help me start my new online business (mostly information). Right now I’m traveling cross country then going out of the states, documenting what it’s like to travel without a car, money, and alone. I’m doing this while learning as I go, and finding an audience to hear my story.

Going back to your questions, I am very against the conforming nature of the system. But even though I went through the system and fell through the cracks all my life (I’ve gone to 3 different high schools in 3 different states) it has never dampened my unconventional spirit. Sometimes I wish I could have just skipped over middle and high school and just been put into a college setting, because I’ve sat in for lectures and classes, and I loved it. I intend to go to college, but if I didn’t, I know for sure in my mind and heart that I can be successful in this world, no matter what obstacles are in my way.

Paul

Johnny on Fri, 16th Apr 2010 7:33 am


Thanks for that, Paul. I’m now pretty sure we’ll do some form of unschooling… it’s just a matter of working out the logistics and getting our heads around it. It’d be a hell of a lot more compelling and easier if we were somewhere with a better community for that sort of thing, but we’re planning to move soon anyway… so that may get easier.

Andrea on Fri, 16th Apr 2010 1:18 pm


Johnny,

Congratulations and welcome to the club! I’m curious about where you are that there is not at least some community for unschooling. I’ve seen some extremely conservative areas that have mostly homeschoolers, but even those have at least one other unschooling family that participates in park days and outings.

I don’t know how long it will be before you move, so it may or may not be helpful, but have you tried searching yahoo groups for local unschoolers? This is something you may do in your new location as well. I’ve found that you’ll find the largest clusters of unschoolers in “liberal-minded” cities, whereas you’re more likely to find the homeschoolers who do “school-at-home” in the conservative cities or areas.

There are a few places you can move and be assured of a large unschooling community. The ones that I’m aware of include Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and the seacoast of New Hampshire leading into Maine. I’m also aware of a community in Las Vegas, Nevada, though I haven’t personally visited it.

Good luck and know you can successfully ask for advice here on your blog and receive plenty of it!

Andrea

Mary E. Ulrich on Sat, 17th Apr 2010 7:41 pm


Okay Johnny. Let’s make a deal–I don’t know squat about creating a blog that will generate income. We’ll barter expertise.

I’ve spent a lifetime making the public schools work in Ohio. Let me know where you are and do my best to help you find a good place where your son will have what he needs and blossom. Hey, I made it work for a kid with autism, even if it meant changing state law.

Mary

Spruch on Wed, 19th May 2010 11:13 pm


Hello from Germany! May i quote a post a translated part of your blog with a link to you? I’ve tried to contact you for the topic What do we teach our kids? | Johnny B. Truant, but i got no answer, please reply when you have a moment, thanks, Spruch

Johnny on Thu, 20th May 2010 9:33 pm


Absolutely! That’d be fantastic, thanks.

5 Tips for Disruptive Thinking (Or, How to Get a Pompous Classist Like Johnny B. Truant to Feature You on His Blog) | Johnny B. Truant on Wed, 30th Jun 2010 11:03 am


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