Unschoolers live as if such a thing as school doesn’t exist. We know that school isn’t necessary for learning. It sounds simple. No lesson plans. No grades. No tests. No curriculum. But for those who are used to thinking in terms of planning a kid’s day with programs, lessons, assignments, and schedules, it might be difficult to imagine what an unschooler’s day is like. Perhaps that’s where the misconeption of unschoolers sitting around bored and mindless comes from. If you’re used to schools and schedules telling you what to do all the time, you might not find it easy to imagine knowing what ..read more

People are often intrigued by unschooling, but worry about “the basics”. After all, they have memories of being drilled and forced to memorize words for spelling tests and then having to write the words they spelled wrong. They didn’t particularly love those spelling tests or the hand cramps from all the writing, but it was for their own good. Otherwise, they’d have grown up and not known how to spell, right? Wrong. Just like unschoolers learn to read, they also learn to spell. In their own time, in their own way. Without spelling lists and tests and homework. When my kids were younger, people ..read more

I have a lot of strong opinions. Stick around long enough, and you’ll hear me speak my mind on parenting, education, breastfeeding, vaccines, circumcision, politics, and many more things. I will proclaim to anyone who will listen that compulsory school is bad for kids, I definitely think that breast milk is superior to formula,and punishment and rewards are harmful and not necessary when you are connected to your kids. Every once in awhile, someone will ask me how I can so boldly proclaim these things. “I send my kids to school, and you’re saying school is bad for kids. How dare you judge!” or ..read more

I have been contemplating why some parents seem to have a calm relationship with their kids, without yelling and punishing, while others always seem to be yelling and controlling. I’ve been observing different parents and have noticed that without fail, when parents do a lot of yelling and controlling, there is always much less of the parent being present with their children and connected to them at a deep, soul level. Some time ago, I wrote about Discipline and Radical Unschooling. I’d like to expand a bit more on one of the points I made there, which was, “Spend time with your child. A lot o ..read more

Several weeks ago, a boy in a Pennsylvania school district committed suicide after being bullied. He had, apparently, gone to the guidance counselor and complained about the bullies, but the guidance counselors didn’t do anything. They didn’t even tell the parents. At the school board meeting,parents and concerned citizens stood in front of the school board sharing stories of times they themselves were bullied and demanded that the school put policies in place to prevent things like this happening. Many were frustrated that board members were silent and made no promises. The saddest thing abou ..read more

It was a beautiful May afternoon. Three unschool moms and an unschool grandma (that’s me) sat on the grass while the kids happily played under a tree nearby. They were laughing, playing tag, occasionally hanging off a tree limb, tickling each other with a branch. And then an elderly woman walked up to the kids and told them….wait for it….”Trees are not for playing.” And just like that, the laughter stopped. I was so shocked that I didn’t say anything to her. She sat some distance from us, watching, talking to her two elderly friends, shaking their heads, probably talking about kids these days ..read more

When someone who has never considered the concept of unschooling first hears about kids having no lessons and no curriculum, sometimes the initial reaction is shock. It has been pounded into our collective heads for so long that school is necessary for learning. “What, just leave them to be illiterate with no skills so that they’re a burden on society?” The institution of education is revered. Worshipped, even. Helping kids succeed in school is equated with good parenting in mainstream circles. I am here to very irreverently tell you that school isn’t only unnecessary for learning, but it’s ba ..read more

Every generation loves to whine about “kids these days”. It used to be that comic books were going to rot their minds. Elvis Presley was leading us all straight to hell. Then they complained about TV and video games. Today, people love to complain about iPads and texting, saying that kids need “screen free” time. But last year, when kids started getting into water bottle flipping, something that is most definitely done without screens unless they are recording their tricks for YouTube, complainers still complained. Now there are fidget spinners. If you aren’t familiar with them, here you go ..read more

Is Radical Unschooling for everyone? Absolutely. It is absolutely the best choice for every child. No, I don’t believe that it’s great for some kids but not for others. No, I don’t believe some kids need to have school or arbitrary rules imposed on them. Every child deserves the freedom and respect of directing their own learning. Some parents might not be willing to be a great unschooling parent (and radical unschooling can be hard), and some parents have more difficult life circumstances than others, but that doesn’t mean that unschooling wouldn’t be the best thing for their child. I love di ..read more

I was talking to a young mom the other day who told me about some behavior struggles her child was having. “I don’t think unschooling is working for my son,” she said. She had been reading some unschooling websites, blogs, and facebook groups and had somehow gotten the impression that unschoolers’ lives are pretty much perfect. The parents are always joyful and patient. Siblings never have rivalry, and because they’ve always been given freedom of choice, kids choose vegetables over cookies and always clean up after themselves. They’re easy to reason with, never have melt downs, and never get a ..read more