UnSchooling

Educating Kids without a Curriculum.

for Fractally Generative Pattern Language

Context

Forces

  • Children are naturally curious, and naturally want to mimic adult role-models. (See Ken Robinson, Peter Gray, Daniel Greenberg, Sudbury School.)
  • Children learn when/what they want to. Forcing a subject on them tends to result in low Engagement and retention.
  • A child might want to spend all their time every day learning a single thing for years, then drop it completely to move on to something else.
  • Few people's attention is best packaged in clock-controlled sessions.
  • Two people's interest in a single "subject" may overlap only slightly.
  • Giving a child no control over their schedule for 12-16 years trains them to be NPC-s. "If you want a citizen, don't raise him like a slave."

Solution

  • Let kids follow their own interests, even if it doesn't look like Learning at all. (Agency)
  • Challenge: Credentialism.

Sept'2013: Leo Babauta lists resources

Sept'2011: this survey-invitation includes a list of resources.

http://www.unschooling.com/

http://www.unschooling.org/

http://www.naturalchild.com/guest/earl_stevens.html A large component of unschooling is grounded in doing real things, not because we hope they will be good for us, but because they are intrinsically fascinating.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6529/index1.html

See also Deschooling Society

See the writings of John Holt, applying UnSchooling to Home-School-ing

See Sudbury School-s

Astra Taylor video of her childhood experience.

Sandra Dodd notes http://sandradodd.com/unschooling.html

Lee Stranaham movie: http://unschoolingmovie.info/

http://un-schooled.net/

See 2 unschooler wikis:

See related: Free Range Kids


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