. . . 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 MoreFrom Freedom and Beyond: "In sum, a deschooled society would be a society in which everyone shall have the widest and freest possible choice to learn whatever he wants to learn, whether in school or in some altogether different way . . . . It would be a society in which there were many paths to learning and advancement, instead of one school path as we have now . . . a path far too narrow for everyone, and one too easily and too often blocked off from the poor."
Read MoreNorth Star celebrates self-directed learning in its local community with an annual award that goes to a publicly nominated person who did not complete high school (though they may hold a GED) and who “lives as a model of successful self-directed learning . . ."
Read MoreStriking comments and evidence from mainstream economists that increasing college graduation rates and getting better job training are diversions from the real work of finding work worth doing and getting paid fairly for it . . .
Read MorePrior learning assessments (PLAs) are gaining more acceptance as the costs of higher education rise and alternatives to conventional schooling proliferate . . .
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. . . 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 MoreColllege enrollments and tuitions rose like bottle rockets for years but now they are crashing as quickly as spent fireworks.
Though we are pushing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics as the skills most needed to compete economically with the rest of the world, the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates jobs that require empathic skills are also surging in demand . . .
The 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.” . . .
College is a costly lottery that has no guarantees for its graduates, but it does enrich itself whether you graduate or not. Before you commit to a four-year college program, consider some of these other options . . .
Part two of my interview with Wes Beach, teen advisor for students who need options to conventional high school. In this part, Wes details how to create and customize a high school transcript so homeschoolers/unschoolers can gain access to college or work.
Read MorePat 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 MoreCarol Black, an Emmy-Award-winning writer/director/producer of both entertainment and documentary television and film, co-creator with her husband Neal Marlens of the television series The Wonder Years, noted for its portrayal of the American public school experience. She studied education and literature at Swarthmore College and UCLA, and after the birth of her children, withdrew from a successful career in the entertainment industry to become involved in the alternative education movement. Schooling the World was the culmination of many years of research into cross-cultural perspectives on education.
Read MoreIn 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.
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 recent web projects include Zero Tuition College, the Grown Unschooler Opportunity Network, and Trailblazer: "a gathering for self-directed learners, ages 18–22+. From June 10-15, 2013, you'll connect, learn, and grow with other young adults blazing their own trails through life" Blake's 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 second part of a three-part interview.
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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