News and reports about learning without going to school from Belgium and Colombia. Life Without School–A Plea To Unschool Our Learning is a new title written by two Belgian authors, and Colombian researchers explore the economics of homeschooling/unschooling in their country and the characteristics of a really alternative school.
Read MoreToday’s vision of education isn’t about morals, citizenship, personal development, or social cohesion: it’s about sorting the winners and losers in a race for jobs. Here are more life-affirming visions of education than social Darwinism.
Read MoreTwo new online forums built expressly for unschooled teenagers are described by Jim Flannery, the founder/moderator of both. Plus the third Northeast Changemakers Jam happens at the end of March.
Read MoreSitting in a classroom or at home in front of a teaching machine is hardly a major advancement for a child’s social, physical, and mental growth. Our 19th century school assumptions about how learning happens bind us to an industrial model of the school as a knowledge factory, rather than a model of people as active learners. The photo on this post is from an article about the history of B.F. Skinner and his teaching machine by Audrey Watters.
Read MoreSince the dawn of time children were an integral part of adult daily life, for better or worse, but since the Industrial Revolution we've deliberately kept them out of adult society to focus them on school instruction, school schedules, and school awards.
Read More"This article may be very useful to homeschoolers, not only as a guide in their own work with children, but also as something to quote from in their homeschooling proposals."—John Holt. This excerpt from math Prof. David Wheeler's paper contains his five principles of remediation, which can be helpful as you seek to walk a more patient path of learning with your children.
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This is a great resource for anyone thinking about what we can do besides replicate conventional school practices and schools.
Read MoreIt is all too easy, particularly in election years, to forget that homeschooling is a wide-ranging social movement, not a party-specific political movement . . .
Read MoreThe second annual Education Jam is happening in Burlington, VT, this August . . .
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 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 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 MoreMosaiculture is a horiticultural art form you can share with your family. All sorts ideas and opportunities for exploration are embedded in this unique, outdoor art.
Dr. Peter Gray writes a followup article to his controversial Salon essay, "School is a Prison and Damaging Our Children" . . .
Read MoreFree recordings from the first online, global homeschooling conference, including all the audio-visual presentations, are available now . . .
For those who do not enjoy and flourish in conventional schools there seem to be few choices: homeschool or enroll in a private school. However, even most of those choices mimic the conventional school model, so for someone who does not learn or enjoy the way school teaches they are not great options . . .
Day Farenga at the Eiffel Tower, July 4. Did that really happen?
Read MoreA review of Peter Gray's new book, Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life.
Read MoreLisa Nielsen, director of digital literacy and citizenship for NYC schools, co-author of Teaching Generation Text: Using Cellphones to Enhance Learning, is unfairly criticized by the NY Post for her support of homeschooling and other heresies against the religion of school. I chose that language because the label attached to the photo here, copied from the Post online, calls this photo "heretic1." Who will be the Post's heretic 2?
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In this final installment of my three-part interview with Blake Boles, author of Better Than College, we discuss two of his current projects—The Grown Unschooler Opportunity Network and Zero Tuition College—and how we can encourage people to think big and embark on grand plans. We also unpack the argument that graduating from college will give you a huge earning premium just by holding a four-year degree.
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