For unschoolers, learning is woven into the continuous, year-round, natural process of living. It is not separated into certain subject silos or reserved for a specified number of hours or days. It is not orchestrated by a linear, sequential curriculum determining how, when, and in what ways a human will learn. It is not pre-determined. It is not forced.
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Unschooling is not ‘Lord of the Flies’
In the book, the absence of adults to model and nurture responsibility is palpably felt. Adults matter to children. They guide, protect, tend, reassure, and mediate. The lack of calm, care, and stability that adults offer children is what ultimately triggers the boys’ downfall. Of course, the great lesson from this great book is that it isn’t just children who would descend into brutality when calm, care, and stability are missing; it’s all of us.
Gay Offspring, Libertarian Regulation, Universality of Unschooling, & Economic Law (27m) – Editor’s Break 080
Editor’s Break 080 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: how to handle one of your children coming out as gay; what sorts of regulations libertarian advocate for; why unschooling is for everyone so long as they want it to be; the harsh truth of economic law; and more.
Violence, Aggression, Gun Control, Talking Back, & Unschooling as Abuse (30m) – Editor’s Break 077
Editor’s Break 077 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: are libertarians opposed to violence?; what he hates the most: aggression; why state gun control in any degree is a violation of the right to bear arms; whether or not children have a right to “talk back” to their parents, and the importance in doing so; why he unschools to hide his “abuse” of his children; and more.
Unschooling and Writing
The reality is that sentence-diagramming and copying someone else’s writing template don’t create better writers. They create students who may meet contrived curriculum benchmarks and pass standardized tests. They create students who can play the game. With unschooling, there is no game to play. There is no manufactured curriculum or assessment. There is simply life.
Unschooling and Grit
At a friend’s birthday party this weekend, the topic of unschooling came up. After I had explained, thoroughly I thought, that we don’t replicate school-at-home, that we learn in and from our daily life in the city, that the children’s interests guide their learning, that we live as if school doesn’t exist, the person paused and asked: “So do you give them exams?”
Unschooling at the Institution
I had to consider how I had lasted through my 12 years of servitude and continual higher ed since then. The secret is that I never took it seriously. I was so busy educating myself that I had too little time to question my enjoyment of my environment. Never in my scholastic career did I see myself as not being self-owned, not being self-directed.
An Unschooling Snapshot
“No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.” ~ Ansel Adams How does unschooling actually work? What does it really look like? How do children learn without being…
Unschooling Dads with Skyler Collins, an Interview
“Skyler is an unschooling dad of three children and is the editor of the book Unschooling Dads: Twenty-two Testimonials on Their Unconventional Approach to Education. It’s not often that we get to hear about unschooling from the dad’s perspective and I really love that you took the time and effort to pull this book together. I really enjoyed reading their perspectives.”
Rodger’s Journey, the Free State Project, & Radical Unschooling (47m) – Episode 095
Episode 095 welcomes Rodger Paxton of The LAVA Flow to the podcast for a chat with Skyler. Topics include: Rodger’s podcast production company Pax Libertas Productions, mid-90s awareness of Ron Paul, Ayn Rand, the New Hampshire Free State Project, the importance of homeschooling to advancing liberty, Rodger’s experience with radical unschooling, the heavy costs of authoritarian parenting, drunk driving as a victimless crime, and more.