Guest post by Nicole Olson. My husband, my son, and my mom are truly unschooling enthusiasts, and they love to talk about it with pretty much anybody. Thomas has even been known to start singing its praises to the cashier at the local grocery store! Being an introvert, I find I’m a little more reticent…
Tag: unschooling
When does Guidance become Manipulation?
Guest post by Jan Hunt. Many homeschooling parents have puzzled over the distinction between “guidance” and “manipulation”. As a parent strongly committed to “unschooling” (learner-directed homeschooling) with my son Jason, now 17, I have sometimes wondered if I should encourage certain activities in spite of a lack of interest on his part, or at least…
Where to Start my Research on Unschooling?
I had a friend email me recently asking about how we homeschool our kids. Long story short, well, short story short, we don’t. We unschool, and there’s a world of difference between the two. I sent him this in response: Here’s what you and your wife need to do: Step 1: Read this page under…
Can a Single Parent Unschool?
Guest post by Jan Hunt. These days, many parents find themselves alone, whether by choice or by circumstances. Many of these parents assume that unschooling is not an option for them, but like many other assumptions, this can be self-fulfilling. Happily, unschooling in single parent families is easier now than it has ever been. With…
Living an Unschooling Life
Guest post by Pam Sorooshian. Unschooling is both easy and difficult to describe. The easy answer is that unschooling means “not schooling,” but it is a lot harder to explain what we do instead of schooling. Unschooling means not depending on the usual school methods. It means no lesson plans, no curriculum, no assignments, no…
What is Unschooling?
Guest post by Nicole Olson. Asking, “What is unschooling?” is a little bit like asking, “What is love?” or “What is happiness?”. It means different things to different people. But within its broad framework, there are some fairly consistent themes and basic beliefs that most unschoolers embrace.What is unschooling… Belief #1: Children are hard-wired to…
A Man of Few Words
Guest post by Nicole, Unschoolers.org. My husband Ted did not come to the unschooling life as quickly or as easily as I did. It was kind of a long road for him, with some serious doubts and struggles along the way. So it’s been very cool to watch as he has become increasingly confident in…
Toward a Voluntaryist Praxis
Guest post by Nicholas Hooton.“When philosophy dies, action begins.” – Casey Maddox The overwhelming resurgence of interest in voluntaryist philosophy over the past five years has been inspiring to witness. It enjoyed a brief spotlight in the early 1980s with Carl Watner’s publication of The Voluntaryist newsletter; but the communication technology of the early 21st…
False Dichotomies Abound, Politics and Education
The typical Left vs. Right political spectrum is a false dichotomy. Both the political Left and Right use force to mold people in society against their will. Donald Boudreaux analyzes this and explains a better political spectrum in chapter 2 of Everything Voluntary. But politics does not have a monopoly on false dichotomies. Another one…
Chapter 28 – 10 Ways We Misunderstand Children
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 27 – “On Seeing Children as ‘Cute’” by John Holt 28 10 Ways We Misunderstand Children by Jan Hunt 1. We expect children to be able to do things before they are ready. We ask an infant to keep quiet. We ask a 2-year-old to sit still.…