In conjunction with this week’s free, online homeschooling conference that I co-chair with Steve Hargadon, last night the Alternative Education Film Festival started. We launched the film festival with La Educacion Prohibida, a wonderful documentary about alternative education in Spanish-speaking countries (with English subtitles), directed by German Doin. Steve and I interviewed German last night and you can view it here . . .
Read MoreFrom the creator: "My inspiration comes from the College Board's new AP Chemistry framework that includes this gem—'The student can connect phenomena and models across spatial and temporal scales.'"
Read MoreAs part of the homeschool plus conference, we're also holding a virtual Alternative Education Film Festival . . .
Read More". . . Most [unschooled adults surveyed] reported themselves to be at an academic advantage compared with their classmates, because they were not burned out by previous schooling, had learned as unschoolers to be self-directed and self-responsible, perceived it as their own choice to go to college, and were intent on making the most of what the college had to offer . . ."
Read MoreI am cochair for the Homeschool Plus conference; it will be held online on August 7 and 8, 2014. It is free to attend and everyone is encouraged to submit a presentation proposal, including first-time presenters . . .
Read More"Homeschooling is more than just freedom to learn. It’s more than just awesome classes or innovative learning centers. It’s time with family. It’s building close relationships with your kids. It’s going through real life ups and downs with the support of your friends, your community. It’s kids finding their own mentors by virtue of living an authentic life . . . "
Read More"European Unschooling Conference from July 2 to 6, 2014 in Switzerland at campingplace Seehorn, directly on the shore of the Lake Constance . . ."
Read More"I think children need slowness even more than adults do. It’s in those moments of quiet, of unstructured time, of boredom even, that kids learn how to look into themselves, how to think and be creative, how to socialize. We are doing a great disservice to our children by pushing them so hard to learn things earlier and earlier and by keeping them so busy . . ."
Read MoreAudio, video, blogs, and research about grown homeschoolers is updated and a new page about them is added to the site.
Read MoreThe role of the teacher is different when the child decides when, where, how, and from whom to learn, and the context and purposes of teaching are radically different in this configuration . . .
Read MoreMoms' Night Out is a Hollywood comedy about three homeschooling mothers' misadventures during a night out. But the co-writer and director has some interesting comments about his life as a homeschooled child . . .
Read MoreI’m delivering a keynote at the online Learning Revolution conference early tomorrow morning. It is being recorded so you can listen to it on your own schedule, but if the topic interests you and you’d like to participate with questions and comments, please grab a cup of coffee and join me. I'm speaking about "What is the role of teacher when children do self-directed learning?" . . .
Read MoreEmpowering children to question authority and become active citizens rather than passive students is not high on the agendas of religious and educational institutions, since they consider physical and psychological punishments to be necessary components of their teaching processes. This is why I’m writing about the Protect Children Project—its primary purpose is to end corporal punishment in school—and they have declared May 15, 2014, as Protect Children Day.
Read MoreAn interest-led learning opportunity in Peru for teens and young adults and a new guide for earning college credit for what you know . . .
Read More"Most people, asked whether parental involvement benefits children academically, would say, “of course it does.” But evidence from our research suggests otherwise. In fact, most forms of parental involvement, like observing a child’s class, contacting a school about a child’s behavior, helping to decide a child’s high school courses, or helping a child with homework, do not improve student achievement. In some cases, they actually hinder it . . . "
Read More. . . The main reason I mention James is because of how quickly things are changing for people without college degrees. Google is now not only hiring people like James—they recruit them . . .
Read MoreWant to participate in a research project about unschooling families—particularly their roles in facilitating their children’s learning as well as their roles in greater societal change?
Read MoreThree types of media for you to enjoy: The slides, bibliography, and videos from my recent talk about how parents of preschool-age children can best help them learn; a new video about Holt's Learning All the Time; and a synchronized update of my slides and video, Homeschooling and Unschooling, presented at the Alternatives to Compulsory Schooling conference at Harvard University in April 2013.
Read MoreAfter outlining the general issues the March 7, 2014, Congressional Quarterly Researcher report looks in depth at three key questions:
1. Should governments oversee home schooling more strictly?
2. Is home schooling academically superior to public schooling?
3. Can home schooling help the public school system?
Read More
On a tactical level, it seems futile to think by signing an online petition about the laws of a country where I am not a citizen that I will somehow help shape that country’s laws. However, on a strategic level, I can see how all these actions are important and linked . . .
Read More
