. . . If I could have given myself one piece of advice when I was a child, it would have been: “If you happen to make your mark by doing what you purely enjoy, then fine. But never do what you fail to enjoy for the sake of making your mark.” . . .
Read MoreThe status symbol of a university degree is wrapped up in many values for Chinese and American education consumers: their high cost, the scarcity of top-level teachers and resources, public bragging rights about you or your child’s intelligence, and so on. I’m reminded of Ivan Illich’s phrase, “The university graduate has been schooled for selective service among the rich of the world.” . . .
Pat Farenga interviews Wes Beach about how his work in school led to his strong support for homeschooling; little-known ways that homeschoolers and other nontraditional learners use to gain access to community college courses; gifted children; and many stories about how Wes helped overcome educational peevishness about people’s learning.
Read MoreBlake Boles is the author of books, articles, and web projects about learning and finding good, meaningful work without going to college whose work I have followed for some time. His most recent book is Better Than College, which we discuss, as well as how he came to support the world of homeschooling and unschooling so energetically even though he, himself, was never homeschooled. This is the first part of a three-part interview.
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