February 6-12 2022
But What About College?
Posted on February 12, 2022 on Unschoolers.org
“Does it make you sad that your kids won’t be able to go to college?” my mother-in-law asked as we nibbled on the delicacies provided for my nephew’s high school graduation party.
I nearly choked on my cookie.
“Um… what do you mean?” I spluttered, sure I must have misheard.
“Well, you know, since they’re homeschooled. Do you ever feel a little bit sad that they won’t be able to get into college?”
Nope. I hadn’t misheard.
click here for more
What Does Unschooling Look Like? A Week in the Life
Posted on February 12, 2022 on Happiness is Here
In our family, school plays no part in childhood. Our four children have never been to school, and don’t seem interested in going any time in the near future either. Does that mean they’re not getting an education? Of course not. But, most people have a lot of trouble imagining what learning looks like outside of school, having known no different. Not to mention unschooling! We don’t do school-at-home, we don’t use a curriculum, our life looks very different from school. So how does it work? I think the best way to explain is to show people.
The Re-imagining Education Conference (REC) 2.0
Posted on Re-Imagining.Education
How do we reframe and sustain learning environments that honour diverse knowledge ecologies and cosmologies in a rapidly changing world? Join us for a 4-day virtual conference to re-imagine and embody the future of higher education.
The Re-imagining Education Conference (REC) 2.0 invites new connections and deepening relationships that will transform higher education within and beyond academia. REC 2.0 is hosted by the Ecoversities Alliance with learners and communities from a plurality of worldviews, backgrounds and experiences.
APN School Revolt 2022
Posted on Anarchist Pedagogies Network
APN’s School Revolt 2022 is a multi-week festival of talks, workshops, and special events that deal with Anarchism, Education, and Intersectionality. It will take place online between February 14 and March 18 through a variety of media, presenting a range of ideas, knowledge, and practices from people across the globe.
The Real Schedule and the Shadow Schedule
Posted on February 11, 2022 on Tipping Points Magazine
When people ask me what I do for work I say I work at a school where we let children do whatever they want all day. Typically I get a lot of follow-up questions.
It’s on purpose because I’m a fan of questions, which is necessary when the work you do is at a school for self-directed learners. ALC-NYC, where I am officially a facilitator and librarian, is an independent K-12 school in East Harlem, New York. There, anywhere from one-to-three-dozen young people shape their own learning, in community with 3-4 Agile Learning Facilitators and a handful of volunteers, in a creative, cooperative space.
Teens and Passions with Robyn Robertson, Episode 316
Posted on February 10, 2022 on Living Joyfully with Unschooling
Robyn Robertson, unschooling mom of two, joins me again on the podcast this week. Since our last conversation in 2018, Robyn's kids have grown! We talk about how unschooling changes when our children become teenagers. Robyn shares how supporting their interests and passions looks different now, but that the connection and relationships are still strong.
How to Give Kids Back Their “Stolen Focus”? Johann Hari Recommends The Let Grow Project!
Posted on February 9, 2022 on Free Range Kids
“F**king amazing!” in fact, is how bestselling author and TED Talk favorite Johann Hari describes The Let Grow Project. We met when he came to New York to research his new book, “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — And How to Think Deeply Again.” Together we visited two schools — one well-off, the other a Title 1 / high poverty school — where kids were doing The Project. That is, they’d been given the homework assignment, “Go home and do something new, on your own, without your parents!”
Meander the Unschooling Way
Posted on February 10, 2022 on Stories of an Unschooling Family
There are two routes to our local town. The first one is the efficient way. Once we’ve left the road that leads out of our village, we drive along the highway, through multiple sets of traffic lights before we arrive in town. The other route is the meandering one, the one that winds its way through bush and paddocks, round bends, and up hills and down.
Michelle Bruce on Boatschooling
Posted on February 8, 2022 on Off-Trail Learning
Michelle Bruce is a mother of 4 who (along with her husband John) has been “boatschooling” since 2013. We discuss the evolution of her eclectic homeschooling approach, the family’s slow travel philosophy, the boat’s life-support systems and operating expenses, her kids’ “rollercoaster” social life, her impressions of the worldschooling community, what happened during the pandemic, and the judgment she received from other parents for raising her family at sea.
The Puppy Midwife: Unschooling Science in Action
Posted on February 7, 2022 on Unschoolers.org
When it comes to due dates, apparently dogs and humans have something in common: they are rarely correct. We already had an inkling about that, since our dog, Honeybee, had delivered neither of her previous two litters when she was “supposed” to. But that had hardly mattered to us, since we’d already delivered her to the breeder who kept her from several days before the due date to several days after. Not so this time. For her third, and final, litter, Honeybee was scheduled to have a c-section at a vet near our home. The plan was that we’d take her over there the morning of December 1st, and fetch her and her little bundles of joy later that afternoon.
Poll Results: What Age Were You First Allowed Outside on Your Own?
Posted on February 7, 2022 on Free Range Kids
My poll of over 1500 folks — albeit on Twitter — discovered something heartening:
The majority of both those born BEFORE and AFTER 1982 say they were allowed outside on their own by age 7. BUT, the percent of kids given freedom by age 7 is sinking. And I didn’t specifically ask anyone born after 1992, or 2002 to answer, and I wonder what the response would be.
The Great Resignation | What the Big Quit Reveals About Our Generation
Posted on February 6, 2022 on BlackDad
Before hearing about the Great Resignation I quit my job as part of the Big Quit. But why are millions of Americans, including myself, quitting jobs in the Great Resignation? I quit my job teaching to homeschool (unschool) my kids - but what catapulted me into joining the Big Quit is the paradigm shift that the Covid-19 pandemic caused.