tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49660415864012688672024-02-06T19:55:48.901-08:00Whole Family Learning~with Kerry McDonaldKerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-18486731339265045692019-05-11T05:52:00.002-07:002022-09-02T07:54:40.699-07:00UNSCHOOLED Is Here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>UNSCHOOLED</i> is available NOW wherever books are sold!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can purchase the book at your favorite online retailer or local bookstore. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unschooled-Well-Educated-Children-Conventional-Classroom/dp/1641600632/" target="_blank">Here is the Amazon link</a>, which includes paperback, Kindle, and Audible versions!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/blog/unschooled-author-kerry-mcdonald-q-a/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to read my interview with my publisher, <a href="https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/unschooled-products-9781641600637.php?page_id=21" target="_blank">Chicago Review Press</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://fee.org/resources/fee-senior-fellow-kerry-mcdonald-talks-unschooling-with-lawrence-reed-on-loving-liberty-radio/?fbclid=IwAR2ZyiqA4Ol6KBU0-wjiop-bxA68ggJ-addmCjxOUbnUJCgqoffDVL65q1k" target="_blank">Click here </a>to listen to my recent interview with FEE's Lawrence Reed about <i>Unschooled</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://fee.org/people/kerry-mcdonald/" target="_blank">Click here </a>to read all of my recent education articles.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://amazon.com/author/kerrymcdonald" target="_blank">Click here </a>for my upcoming author events.</span></div>
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-41628134983278234182018-12-01T05:03:00.000-08:002018-12-01T05:03:39.614-08:00Unschooled Book Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unschooled-Well-Educated-Children-Conventional-Classroom/dp/1641600632/" target="_blank">pre-ordered</a> your copy of <i>Unschooled</i> yet? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">It's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unschooled-Well-Educated-Children-Conventional-Classroom/dp/1641600632/" target="_blank">available now on Amazon</a> and will be in your local bookstore this spring! Also, Dreamscape just bought the audio rights to <i>Unschooled</i> at auction, so you will be able to read or listen!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I have been writing elsewhere lately. Check out my recent articles at <a href="https://fee.org/people/kerry-mcdonald/" target="_blank">FEE</a>, <i><a href="https://reason.com/archives/2018/09/02/dont-homeschool-your-kids-unsc/amp" target="_blank">Reason Magazine</a></i>, <a href="https://www.ozy.com/opinion/is-unschooling-the-uber-of-education/89932#.W9wxA5qUXxU.twitter" target="_blank">OZY</a>, and <i><a href="https://www.city-journal.org/homeschooling-16265.html" target="_blank">City Journal</a></i>. </span></div>
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-6658553012668448172018-10-21T04:58:00.002-07:002018-11-08T06:13:13.977-08:00Unschooling: Reclaiming the Term<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">John Holt, the well-known author and homeschooling pioneer, coined the term "unschooling" in November 1977 in the second issue of his fledgling newsletter for homeschoolers, <i><a href="https://www.johnholtgws.com/gws-issue-archive/2013/11/2/gws-issue-archive" target="_blank">Growing Without Schooling (GWS)</a></i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this issue, Holt writes:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>GWS</i> will say 'unschooling' when we mean taking children out of school, and 'deschooling' when we mean changing the laws to make schools non-compulsory and to take away from them their power to grade, rank, and label people i.e. to make lasting, official, public judgments about them."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's fascinating to consider how these terms have evolved since Holt's definitions emerged. While initially meant to describe removing children from school, unschooling today is often more narrowly defined as a specific homeschooling approach that is self-directed rather curriculum-driven. The term deschooling has also evolved from Holt's initial definition advocating for eliminating compulsory schooling laws that was largely influenced by his interactions with Ivan Illich, the author of the 1970 book, <i>Deschooling Society</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today, "deschooling" is often thought of as the period of time it takes a child who has been schooled to overcome a schooled mindset and reignite her natural learning instincts. As most of us adults were also schooled, the modern use of the "deschooling" term applies to us as well, as we try to shed the idea that one needs to be schooled in order to learn. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Language changes, and it is no wonder that as the homeschooling population has soared over the last four decades its terms would also be stretched and shaped. This is a sign of success. Holt never imagined that more than <a href="https://www.johnholtgws.com/pat-farengas-blog/2014/3/18/homeschooling-summarized-in-the-congressional-quarterly-researcher" target="_blank">two percent</a> of the U.S. school-age population would be homeschooled; today, the percent is nearly double that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I appreciate what the term "unschooling" now means for many families, particularly for the homeschooling families who navigate the many educational philosophies and approaches available to them in search of the best fit. I also think it is worthwhile to reclaim the term's origins and dig deeper into Holt's initial message--not because we should change how we currently use the language of unschooling, but so that we can expand it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the first pages of Holt's inaugural issue of <i>GWS</i>, he writes about his disinterest in alternative schools except to the degree that they allow more families to take or keep their children out of conventional schools. Holt writes: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>GWS</i> will not be much concerned with schools, even alternative or free schools, except as they may enable people to keep their children out of school by 1) calling their own home a school, or 2) enrolling their children, as some have already, in schools near or far which then approve a home study program."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In other words, Holt wasn't supporting alternative schools but alternatives <i>to</i> school that would enable more parents to remove children from conventional schooling for unschooling--often using homeschooling as a legal designation where necessary. At the time, before homeschooling was fully legally recognized in all U.S. states by 1993, these alternatives may have been the only option for some families. I would argue that today, for many families, these alternatives to school are also the only option they have for abandoning forced schooling for unschooling. While there are plenty of single parents and two working parents who make family-centered unschooling work beautifully, for many parents this is not possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are also many families who are deeply committed to unschooling but find as their children grow that their kids crave new and different opportunities, often surrounded by a gaggle of other kids. Some of these children end up going to school after years of homeschooling. With more alternatives to school, Holt's vision of enabling "people to keep their children out of school" would be more widely successful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By reclaiming Holt's initial definition of the word "unschooling" to mean "taking children out of school," and appreciating his tolerance for alternatives to school that make unschooling more possible for more families, we can help to make unschooling a more expansive, comprehensive term. We can affirm the homeschooling families who allow their children to learn at home and throughout their community in a self-directed way, while also embracing alternatives to school that empower parents to take charge of their child's education and remove them from forced schooling. (The recent <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2018/10/02/home-schoolers-turn-boston-area-new-unschooling-centers/j4TB7K54hm7V7ri0yDPTlM/story.html" target="_blank"><i>Boston Globe</i> article on unschooling</a> describes this in more detail.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And while homeschooling is now legal in the U.S., (but <a href="https://fee.org/articles/homeschool-is-unconstitutional-that-s-what-brazil-s-supreme-court-ruled/" target="_blank">sadly not elsewhere</a>) thanks to the efforts of Holt and others, compulsory schooling laws continue to define education as schooling and trap young people in coercive schooling environments for most of their childhood. I wrote recently about the <b><a href="https://fee.org/articles/compulsory-schooling-laws-what-if-we-didnt-have-them/" target="_blank">Four Things That Would Happen If We Eliminate Compulsory Schooling Laws</a></b>, including a disentangling of education from schooling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So while the modern use of the term "deschooling" is helpful and important in allowing children (and ourselves!) ample time and space for detaching from a schooled mindset of learning, we would be wise to also expand its definition to include Holt's ideas for challenging compulsory schooling laws as a whole. In fact, in the introduction to his 1981 book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Own-John-Homeschooling/dp/0738206946" target="_blank">Teach Your Own</a></i>, Holt writes: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"At first I did not question the compulsory nature of schooling. But by 1968 or so I had come to feel strongly that the kinds of changes I wanted to see in schools, above all in the ways teachers related to students, could not happen as long as schools were compulsory."*</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However we use the terms "unschooling" and "deschooling," the goal is clear: Help more parents to remove their children from coercive schools and create a world in which education is separate and distinct from schooling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>*Editorial note</i>: John Holt's co-author of <i>Teach Your Own</i>, and my colleague at the <a href="https://www.self-directed.org/" target="_blank">Alliance for Self-Directed Education</a>, Pat Farenga, points out that Holt's position on compulsory schooling laws wasn't black and white. In the early pages of <i>Teach Your Own</i>, Holt shares his letter to the ACLU that states: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Though the courts have not yet agreed, compulsory school attendance laws, in and of themselves, seem to me a very serious infringement of the civil liberties of children and their parents, and would be so no matter what schools were like, how they were organized, or how they treated children, in other words even if they were far more humane and effective than in fact they are" (p. 10).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But later in <i>Teach Your Own</i>, Holt calls for restraint when challenging compulsory schooling laws, particularly in light of the larger effort at the time (1981) to make homeschooling legally viable throughout the U.S. Holt writes: "Beyond that, either in asking for narrow rulings or speaking of any we may be able to win, we must be careful not to make large public boasts and outcries to the effect that 'this means the downfall of compulsory schooling'" (pp. 214-15). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I would argue that, thanks to the great efforts of Holt and others, we no longer need to avoid these "large public boasts." </span><br />
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<b class="" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica;"><a class="" href="https://www.amazon.com/Unschooled-Well-Educated-Children-Conventional-Classroom/dp/1641600632/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1539790988&sr=8-7&keywords=unschooled" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-order my new book today! <i class="">Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom</i></span></a></b><br />
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-40630274559200860542018-10-18T18:32:00.002-07:002018-10-19T06:00:59.552-07:00Unschooled Book - Now Available for Pre-Order!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">My book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1641600632/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" target="_blank">Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom</a></i>, is now available for pre-order through your local bookstore or favorite online retailer!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1641600632/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" target="_blank">Here is the Amazon.com link.</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It will be released by the publisher (<a href="https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/" target="_blank">Chicago Review Press</a>) this spring and I can't wait for you to read it! The stories of the parents, educators, and unschooled alumni are so inspiring and uplifting, and Peter Gray's Foreword is spectacular. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Order your copy today--and stay tuned for book release details!</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Please join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b> </span></o:p></div>
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-59829163915802910582018-09-19T05:01:00.003-07:002018-09-19T08:35:48.162-07:00When It's Time to Opt-Out of Institutions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLKliNbFhQuRGtoghGbhbjXRnaUDOtwhX5WFrhDwJ3pAFgVHzAZloS2KGhJbxicgzAucReKDJHUdBdFV35Y4QNtCq3LT1i01MZxuAwFvoGR-wejj5Sxo5POeqfKiSLxKGgIBkzy_oFojO/s1600/time-371226_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLKliNbFhQuRGtoghGbhbjXRnaUDOtwhX5WFrhDwJ3pAFgVHzAZloS2KGhJbxicgzAucReKDJHUdBdFV35Y4QNtCq3LT1i01MZxuAwFvoGR-wejj5Sxo5POeqfKiSLxKGgIBkzy_oFojO/s640/time-371226_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was the stopwatch on the wall that did it. The colorful paint and framed pastel prints nearby tried to hide its conspicuousness, but it was there: red neon digits glowing like the timer at an NBA basketball game. I asked the hospital tour guide what the clock was for, knowing full well its purpose but curious if its intent could somehow be justified. "Oh, never mind that," she replied cheerfully. "It's just a way for us to keep track of how long your labor is."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had been here before. Not in this smaller, supposedly more personalized hospital but giving birth in a hospital, on two previous occasions. Both times medical error caused complications for me, ranging from an allergic reaction to prophylactic penicillin to massive hemorrhaging. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But this new hospital would be better, I told myself in the third trimester of my third pregnancy. Here I could have a natural, non-induced birth, attended by hospital midwives. The baby wouldn't be rushed, she could pick her own birth date, and no one would pull too quickly on the cord. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But then I saw the timer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It reminded me that institutions have policies and procedures, often designed to protect (or at least protect from liability). They have their own timeframe, their own expectations for when and how certain things should happen. You are simply a widget. When you agree to the services of an institution, you agree to their policies and procedures. Sure, you may try some creative bargaining, arming yourself with a birth plan and clearly stated wishes. But in labor, at the hospital, you relinquish control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes things go smoothly and you make it through a hospital birth just fine. With increasing frequency, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/us-most-dangerous-developed-country-give-birth-report-1044898" target="_blank">at least in America</a>, things don't go quite like you anticipated, but everyone reassures you that you have a healthy baby and that's all that matters--even though, deep down, you wonder if that should be so mollifying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes you need to opt-out. On the ride home from that hospital tour, I called the homebirth midwife and committed to an out-of-hospital birth--something that, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/out-of-hospital-births-on-the-rise-in-u-s/" target="_blank">according to <i>Scientific American</i></a>, many more women are now choosing in the U.S., perhaps in light of the fact that America is now the <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/us-most-dangerous-developed-country-give-birth-report-1044898" target="_blank">most dangerous developed country to give birth in</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At home, there were no timers. My last two babies were born on their own time, in their own way, with no complications. (You can read more about my experience opting-out of hospital birth in my article at <i><a href="https://midwiferytoday.com/product/midwifery-today-issue-104-2012/" target="_blank">Midwifery Today</a></i>.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As September rolls along, you may be having your own stopwatch moment. Maybe all is not quite right at your child's school. Maybe you keep being reassured that it will get better, that this is just the way it is, that everything is fine. But maybe you keep sensing that timer. Maybe you wonder if your child is simply a widget, growing along someone else's timeframe according to someone else's policies and procedures. Maybe you don't like the proposed interventions. Maybe school is not in your child's best interest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe it's time to opt-out. </span><br />
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-39123562781126418672018-09-15T06:51:00.000-07:002018-09-16T07:07:59.622-07:00How To Be A Successful Edupreneur<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicH4vyMSTB8ZVVXuzkiGDFVZFP_hMhHSdwe0c-mPkBb13av6dhW58l0TrG0JQch_rI7Te03yPk9auJGZtzN1_VRdlAx6W3QTqy3HUxPKUjoftHIa5gNNykDsVphhi6ACSnuYlgzSicvIeN/s1600/success-2073660_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="935" data-original-width="1600" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicH4vyMSTB8ZVVXuzkiGDFVZFP_hMhHSdwe0c-mPkBb13av6dhW58l0TrG0JQch_rI7Te03yPk9auJGZtzN1_VRdlAx6W3QTqy3HUxPKUjoftHIa5gNNykDsVphhi6ACSnuYlgzSicvIeN/s640/success-2073660_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">During the 1960s and early 1970s, there was a flurry of innovative schools. The "free school" movement was underway, swept along by a strong anti-establishment current during Vietnam War-era America. The modern homeschooling movement was also born, birthed first by countercultural "hippie" liberals before growing rapidly within the religious conservative sphere.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When the social protests faded and the countercultural stream dried up, the majority of the "free schools" also disappeared. Homeschooling, with its agility, hyper-personalization, and rootedness in the family unit, expanded and flourished, ultimately becoming a <a href="https://fee.org/articles/the-rise-of-homeschooling-was-broad-and-bipartisan/" target="_blank">bipartisan movement</a> that today educates over two million U.S. kids. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But most of the "free schools" and similarly small, ideologically-driven schools of the countercultural era vanished. Ron Miller writes in <i>Free Schools, Free People</i> that "when, in the 1970s, American politics stabilized and hippie fashions, rock music, natural foods, and other trappings of the counterculture were transformed into commercial commodities, the tension between consciousness and politics, between personal wholeness and social change, developed into a split, and radical pedagogy was largely divided into its constituent elements."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few lucky schools remained, like the Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary and serves as a <a href="https://bookstore.sudburyvalley.org/product/planning-kit-sudbury-schools" target="_blank">beacon</a> for edupreneurs looking to launch self-directed, Sudbury-style schools. Most of the earlier edupreneurs were not so fortunate and a primary reason may be that they launched schools based on a mission mindset as opposed to an entrepreneurial one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This continues to be a problem today. Small, innovative schools and self-directed learning centers frequently fail or constantly teeter on the verge of collapse, often because they are driven by ideology and not by business savvy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of these edupreneurs openly declare that they don't want to embrace sound business practices, wrongly associating successful entrepreneurship with greed. They may run their school as a non-profit, arguing that they are not about maximizing revenue but are offering unmeasurable value through relationships and positive experiences. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Newsflash: Whether you run XYZ learning center or Nike, you are creating a value proposition for your clients that hinges on relationship-building and positive experiences. Relationships and positivity are not unique to non-profit edupreneurs. Clients are paying you for a product. This is a free-market exchange. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Successful edupreneurs--whether for-profit or non-profit ones--recognize that a clear and persuasive mission is an essential starting point, but if you stop there, you'll fail. Ideology can only get you so far. Generating revenue, whether through tuition, or donors, or venture capital funds, is the key to an enduring enterprise. So here are four tips for launching--and sustaining--a successful school or learning center:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Go beyond mission to value.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">By all means, start with a clear and powerful mission statement, but quickly move to your value proposition. Why should clients pay for your service? Why is that service special? What do you offer that your competitors don't? When I launched my corporate training company pre-parenthood, I saw a specific need that was not being met by my competitors and I focused exclusively on a niche market. I created value for clients and built a highly profitable company with paid employees. You can do this, too.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. Revenue should be the goal.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Some non-profit edupreneurs cringe at words like "revenue" and "profit," but unless you have a rich uncle bankrolling your venture, you need cash. Time and again I hear from edupreneurs who tried to launch learning centers or schools and they failed because they could no longer work for free. Building a business may require sacrificing some initial income and security, but it should be temporary. Revenue should be your goal.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. Think like an entrepreneur. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What is the opportunity? Where are your competitors failing? Where are the gaps? Successful entrepreneurs seize that gap. They create a product or service that is new and needed. They talk to their customers and their potential customers and then they work their tails off to offer a commodity that is not currently offered--or not offered well. And yes, you are selling a commodity. Even if you are a non-profit, social entrepreneur, you are in the commodity business. Unless you are bartering, clients are paying you for a service. They are giving you money in exchange for something of value. Your job is to sell them on that value.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Sharpen your business skills.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A major reason why the mission-driven schools of the '60s and '70s failed, and why new ones continue to fail today, is that the founders focused on principle and neglected the practical. Don't do this. Accomplished edupreneurs know how good businesses--even non-profit ones--work. They understand revenue and expenses. They know the difference between fixed and variable costs. They recognize how sales and marketing work, and why they are so important. Do you know what a balance sheet is? If not, start there before launching your enterprise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can avoid the fate of the earlier edupreneurs whose ventures dried up when their ideology could not sustain them long enough to pay the bills. Launching a school or a center is running a business. You are an entrepreneur. Your customers are the key to your success. You are selling a commodity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The sooner you adopt the mindset of an entrepreneur, and embrace sound business practices, the better able you will be to create and grow the school or center of your dreams.</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Please join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b> </span></o:p></div>
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-69304092341441245112018-08-29T04:12:00.000-07:002018-09-03T08:20:30.221-07:00Boston NPR Article on Unschooling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgYTkGHp9-s5_Y_uliZsgD23Uje6ITvjhai71zLn1yIZw4BTtA-z5_ZX6Ack37Kpb8DVcmWZ1iBVSVLAuZpxLLZjIlCsEHAc31MfYaSNqcHb-J7K6jL2XXYcYmw2cODuDC-fzHONHiwTI/s1600/computer-2242264_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgYTkGHp9-s5_Y_uliZsgD23Uje6ITvjhai71zLn1yIZw4BTtA-z5_ZX6Ack37Kpb8DVcmWZ1iBVSVLAuZpxLLZjIlCsEHAc31MfYaSNqcHb-J7K6jL2XXYcYmw2cODuDC-fzHONHiwTI/s640/computer-2242264_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have been writing more there than here lately, including my latest article today for NPR Boston. <a href="http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2018/08/29/education-reform-unschooling-kerry-mcdonald" target="_blank">Click here</a> to read my commentary on the rising interest in unschooling and other self-directed alternatives to school. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2018/08/29/education-reform-unschooling-kerry-mcdonald" target="_blank">Boston NPR Article: "The Limits of School As We Know It."</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's an excerpt:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back-to-school time stirs a range of emotions. Some of us have fond memories, but for others, Scout’s recollection of school in Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” resonates:<br /><span style="color: #343c40; font-family: "arnhem" , serif; font-style: italic;">… as I inched sluggishly along the treadmill of the Maycomb County school system, I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something. Out of what I knew not, yet I did not believe that twelve years of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the state had in mind for me.</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can also find my other recent articles <a href="https://fee.org/people/kerry-mcdonald/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/users/kerry-mcdonald" target="_blank">here</a>. An article I wrote for <i><a href="https://reason.com/issues/october-2018" target="_blank">Reason Magazine</a></i> is in the October 2018 print edition, and available <a href="https://reason.com/archives/2018/09/02/dont-homeschool-your-kids-unsc" target="_blank">online here</a>. It's called, "Don't Homeschool Your Kids, Unschool Them."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, this is a <a href="https://fee.org/articles/the-4-pillars-of-good-writing/" target="_blank">fantastic article</a> by writer and editor Dan Sanchez on how to "deschool" your writing to become successful as a professional writer. Here is an excerpt that nails the difference between the way we're taught writing in school and the way today's career writers actually write:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"As a student writer, your job was to perform according to specifications. A successful essay was one that jumped through the right hoops as defined by the assignment requirements and grading rubrics. It also demonstrated that you had done the reading and attended the lectures. But as a real-world writer, you're now in the experience business. Your job is to show your readers a good time: to intrigue and inspire, to enlighten and engross, to please and provoke. You're a dealer in fascinating ideas and satisfying arguments, a purveyor of a-ha moments and epiphanies."</span></blockquote>
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Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-33698069816446234082018-06-26T10:23:00.001-07:002018-06-26T11:43:29.053-07:00An Unschooling Tale: From Watching YouTube to Reading Financial Statements<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJ2ldr69s652js1KiYNkxvd7-ZtKxNcjQp9M1gFgUtRnvK_gpokSWuN0b3qtBJTLMJDwbMeTmurARbmU1xoZ0ezGLqSd0JXBS_OSJRJfUn4t4RENs8AXkbq33GL2xuWAfJdFADf0dXKVP/s1600/financial-2860753_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJ2ldr69s652js1KiYNkxvd7-ZtKxNcjQp9M1gFgUtRnvK_gpokSWuN0b3qtBJTLMJDwbMeTmurARbmU1xoZ0ezGLqSd0JXBS_OSJRJfUn4t4RENs8AXkbq33GL2xuWAfJdFADf0dXKVP/s640/financial-2860753_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It started with a “<a href="http://dudeperfect.com/" target="_blank">Dude Perfect</a>” video on YouTube. A couple of years ago, when Jack was very interested in <a href="http://www.wholefamilylearning.com/2016/07/learning-to-be-self-directed-learner.html" target="_blank">basketball</a>, he found these guys who create fun videos about making baskets with all sorts of twists and turns. He continued to watch these videos, even after his interest in basketball waned; and when his interest in photography sprouted, he followed the basket-swishers on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dudeperfect/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. It was there that Jack first learned about the <a href="http://wish.org/" target="_blank">Make-A-Wish Foundation</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The "dudes" <a href="https://youtu.be/XTDR_4VXbBI" target="_blank">posted a video</a> of a young boy with muscular dystrophy who had an opportunity to be in a "Dude Perfect" YouTube video as part of Make-A-Wish's efforts to grant wishes to critically ill children. Jack was mesmerized. He visited the Make-A-Wish <a href="https://www.instagram.com/makeawishamerica/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> page and was increasingly curious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jack then asked if I knew about the organization. I said I had a vague understanding of their mission, but suggested he visit their website to find out more. He read to me the gripping story about the organization's beginnings to its current impact. I was in tears. He explored much of the site, reading more stories and learning more about the different chapters. He decided to make an online donation, giving 20 percent of his total savings to this organization that captivated him. He wanted to know how much Make-A-Wish's total annual donations amounted to. I suggested he search on Wikipedia, but he couldn't find the information there so he returned to the organization's website and downloaded their 2017 annual report and analyzed their audited financial statements to determine annual revenue and expenses, all on his own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Were you voluntarily reading financial statements at age nine? I certainly wasn't. And I'm fairly certain that the first time I read one was to prepare for a test, not because I was personally curious about an organization's economic health.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is unschooling. This is where attaining strong literacy and numeracy skills meet individual interests and innate childhood curiosity. This was not forced. This was not part of a curriculum or an objective to get my child to do something or to learn something. It sprouted from a circuitous path of emerging and waning interests to a current desire to learn more about a specific topic. It involved my adult presence and support and interest in <i>his</i> interest, and my encouragement of <i>his</i> knowledge-seeking. This is how parents and educators create the conditions necessary for self-education.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If someone asks what an interest in basketball has to do with "real" learning or how watching YouTube videos can be "educational," this is a good example of how genuine interests lead to deep learning--when those interests and that learning are supported by grown-ups. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In her <a href="http://www.lifelearningmagazine.com/1204/how-do-they-know-that.htm" target="_blank">article</a>, "How Do They Know That?" long-time unschooling author and advocate, Wendy Priesnitz, writes about the natural and enduring ways children learn without schooling. She explains that the difficulty in imagining how one could learn without school is firmly rooted in our own schooled experience, in our own conditioning. She writes: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"The elephant in the room is that much of what is supposedly learned in school isn’t really learned at all. It is mostly material that has been memorized, whether it be history dates, mathematical formulae, or the difference between a verb and a noun. Absent any interest in learning the material and any context for it, as well as sufficient time to experiment with, adapt, and apply the information, I do not think that we can call this process learning. Rather, it is memorizing, regurgitating, and forgetting. (Why else would teachers and some parents bemoan the 'ground lost' during summer vacation?!)"</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Independent of curriculum and assessment, learning outside of conventional schooling happens organically through real-life immersion in the people, places, and things around us--both real and virtual. When young people are supported in their self-education, and when we adults respect their interests and encourage their curiosity, they learn and do remarkable things: things (like reading financial statements), that many of us would otherwise only do when forced.</span></div>
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Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-19188635726299467822018-06-17T04:17:00.000-07:002018-06-17T06:20:56.934-07:00Unschooling Has No "Last Day"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When I was a child, I remember counting the days until the end of the school year. Once June hit, I would mark off on the calendar the field trip day to a museum and "field day, with its tug-of-war and potato sack races. Those days wouldn't "count" in my total remaining days of the school year because they wouldn't actually be <i>school</i> days. They would be fun. And I loved school! Yet, today I wonder: If I loved school so much, why was I always so eager for it to end?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> feed fills this time of year with photos announcing the last day of school, for both homeschoolers and conventional schoolers alike. Often, these photos are accompanied by a "first day of school" photo from the fall, showing the beginning and the end. I get it. Childhood moves so quickly that we crave tangible markers of the passage of time, visible measures of growth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">These photos are vivid reminders of how different unschooling is from standard schooling or school-at-home. With unschooling, there is no beginning and end, no start and stop. I can't even imagine having a "last day of the school year" photo for my kids. What would it look like? The last day of what? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For unschoolers, learning is woven into the continuous, year-round, natural process of living. It is not separated into certain subject silos or reserved for a specified number of hours or days. It is not orchestrated by a linear, sequential curriculum determining how, when, and in what ways a human will learn. It is not pre-determined. It is not forced.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Children-Fail-Classics-Child-Development/dp/0201484021/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1529194712&sr=1-1" target="_blank">How Children Fail</a></i>, John Holt describes how children become conditioned to be taught, to be coerced into learning, to be prodded with bribes and punishments. Children learn that this is what it means to be educated, that others hold the puppet strings. They learn that learning is not within themselves but at the command of others. Holt writes: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"This idea that children won't learn without outside rewards and penalties, or in the debased jargon of the behaviorists, 'positive and negative reinforcements,' usually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we treat children long enough <i>as if </i>that were true, they will come to believe it is true. So many people have said to me, 'If we didn't make children do things, they wouldn't do anything.' Even worse, they say, 'If I weren't made to do things, I wouldn't do anything.'</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>It is the creed of a slave</i>." [emphasis in original]</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My kids read, write, do math, and explore all sorts of topics all year long--not because we tell them to read, write, calculate, and explore, but because they are genuinely excited about learning. They have not been trained otherwise. They read books that they love, ask daily if they can do <a href="https://www.prodigygame.com/" target="_blank">Prodigy Math</a> on the computer because it is so much fun, write blog posts or scripts or emails or stories because they decide to do so--not because they are cajoled into it. They have no reason to think that math is only something one does during certain seasons or as an "enrichment" activity. They can't imagine a forced writing or reading assignment. They write and read because they want to, because it's useful and enjoyable. They have no mental model to think that reading, writing, and arithmetic are somehow onerous subjects to be avoided, or only reserved for certain times and places. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My 11-year-old daughter has been taking a rigorous fiction writing class through <a href="http://outschool.com/">Outschool.com</a>, an online learning platform for kids. The class is taught by an award-winning fiction writer and incorporates live group discussions with her classmates around the world and ongoing writing expectations and feedback. It is quite a commitment, but it is something that she is passionate about, that she is driving. As an unschooling parent, I connected her to Outschool as a possible resource, as well as other local writing classes, and she found that this online class was the best fit for her writing goals. She writes all the time, enthusiastically prepares for her class, and connects with many of her classmates around the globe through Google Hangouts. She also knows that if this course no longer meets her needs, she can leave. So far, she has no interest in leaving and signed on for a three-month summer extension of the course. I found it interesting that some of her other summer classmates are homeschoolers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Non-coercive, self-directed, interest-driven, adult-facilitated learning has no first day and last day. Unschooling is interconnected with daily life, and authentic learning isn't tied to an arbitrary calendar. There is no ending my children are anticipating this month. If there was something they didn't want to be doing, they wouldn't be doing it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Summertime rhythms will be similar to springtime ones. They will continue to play with friends and pursue passions. Tomorrow will look much like yesterday and next week. We'll do just as much swimming in September as we do in June. Reading, writing, arithmetic--and so much more--will be explored, freely and joyfully. Photos or not.</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b> <b>And check out my new, weekly <a href="http://www.wholefamilylearning.com/2018/06/my-new-podcast-unschooling-and.html" target="_blank">podcast</a>!</b></span></o:p></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-77398473197297343072018-05-17T05:37:00.002-07:002018-05-17T06:06:43.233-07:00Unschooling is not ‘Lord of the Flies’<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3YcJEoUpNymiHSLO-KilwFsor_bTaymCpqhK9tJr6MM0uVsJ5V_FbKDukSUFUZIEPS9iZs7SDr63xJ1sgPbRB98-d7BItmZQBTD0JPOrxln879HzSWgS_AXsCTkKaKrLwkXSDfB4JUnw/s1600/beautiful-2297215_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3YcJEoUpNymiHSLO-KilwFsor_bTaymCpqhK9tJr6MM0uVsJ5V_FbKDukSUFUZIEPS9iZs7SDr63xJ1sgPbRB98-d7BItmZQBTD0JPOrxln879HzSWgS_AXsCTkKaKrLwkXSDfB4JUnw/s640/beautiful-2297215_1920.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I recently read William Golding’s classic 1954 book, <i>Lord of the
Flies</i>, to Jack (age 9). Unschooling is often cartoonishly characterized by
critics as a '<i>Lord of the Flies'</i> environment, where chaos ensues. In the story,
young boys stranded on a deserted island devolve into tribalism and savagery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is an important difference between freedom and chaos.
With freedom, comes responsibility; without that responsibility, and the
fetters it naturally creates, chaos could reign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the book, the absence of adults to model and nurture
responsibility is palpably felt. Adults matter to children. They guide,
protect, tend, reassure, and mediate. The lack of calm, care, and stability
that adults offer children is what ultimately triggers the boys’ downfall. Of
course, the great lesson from this great book is that it isn’t just children
who would descend into brutality when calm, care, and stability are missing; it’s
all of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unschooling requires a significant adult commitment and
ongoing role. Whether they are unschooling parents or educators <a href="http://alternativestoschool.com/articles/list-democratic-schools-resource-centers/" target="_blank">working</a> in a self-directed
learning center or unschooling school, adults are central to unschooling’s
success. They hold the space for children, maintain calm, and tend to their
needs. They facilitate children’s self-directed learning by identifying and supporting a child’s
interests and connecting those interests to available resources. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most importantly, adults model freedom and responsibility. Unschooled children are granted tremendous freedom in their lives and in their learning,
but they must also assume responsibility – for their actions and for their
interactions. For example, most of the unschooling centers and schools that I
visited while researching my forthcoming <a href="http://www.wholefamilylearning.com/2017/11/unschooled-book-deal.html" target="_blank">‘Unschooled’ book</a>, have clear
expectations for clean-up and chores, for acceptable behaviors and obligations.
In some cases, these expectations are drafted by the children themselves, in community
with adults, as part of their school’s philosophy of democratic
self-governance. In other cases, they are established by the adults running
the space and agreed to by the young people who attend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Similarly, most unschooling families have explicit or
implicit expectations for freedom balanced by responsibility in their own homes
and communities. My children have chores and responsibilities, just as we
adults do, in contributing to the smooth functioning of our shared home. We
also all try to live and learn respectfully with one another and in accordance
with our own values. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The responsibility component to freedom is
what enables us all to live peacefully and respectfully in a community with
others. It is what prevents us from the chaos of the lost boys on the island. As
the 20<sup>th</sup> century Nobel prize-winning economist, Friedrich Hayek,
<a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Constitution_of_Liberty" target="_blank">wrote</a> in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Constitution of Liberty</i>: <span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Liberty not only means that the individual has both the
opportunity and the burden of choice; it also means that he must bear the
consequences…Liberty and responsibility are inseparable.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Freedom, as</span><span style="font-size: large;"><i> Lord of the
Flies</i> </span><span style="font-size: large;">so vividly shows, is the easy part. Responsibility is far more
difficult to define, demonstrate, and tend to--for unschoolers and for all of us.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b> </span></o:p></div>
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Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-32507793847993453982018-05-13T10:12:00.000-07:002018-05-14T03:42:18.023-07:00Freedom, Not Force, Creates Lifelong Learners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I remember the book I read that would set me on my life’s initial
career path. I was 14 and it was lying in a book bin in the small den on the
first floor of my childhood home. For 8<sup>th</sup> grade English class we had
a brief and unusual hiatus from whatever curriculum directives dominated the
syllabus and we were allowed to read whatever book we wanted. It was called “free
choice.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The pages of Dale Carnegie’s classic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People" target="_blank">bestseller</a>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Win Friends and Influence People</i>,
captivated me. A blend of historical anecdotes and real-life applications for
understanding human relations, Carnegie’s book triggered a fledgling personal interest
in both business and self-improvement. Years later, as I founded my own
corporate training company and taught hundreds of professionals across the
country in business workshops ranging from public speaking to client service to
leadership skills, the key idea of individual self-mastery first planted by
Carnegie’s book remained with me and was echoed throughout the classes I taught.
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don’t remember much else about 8<sup>th</sup> grade
English. The lessons that stayed with me, and that would ultimately define my
early professional life, had nothing to do with what I learned in school.
Perhaps that is why I am such a vocal advocate for freedom and choice in
learning: the seminal lesson from my time in school was the brief moment I was given “free choice” to do something completely outside the ordained curriculum, following my own interests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is one reason why I don’t tell my children what books
to read. They are free to choose whatever books interest them, whatever styles
and genres and subjects fascinate them at any given time. My job is to connect
them to available resources, to make frequent visits with them to the local
library, to fill our home with a variety and abundance of books and other
reading material, to read to them often and to model my own love of reading for
them. But all of their books are “free choice.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At seven, my daughter Abby is our family’s newest reader.
She told me the other day: “Mama, I only read books that I like.” It
was such a simple, yet culturally radical, statement—for a child anyway. I
replied that I, too, only read books that I like. Most of us adults
are, I hope, free to choose what books we read and don’t read. Yet, for
children we often assume that there are certain things they must read. Not only
that, we often force them to learn to read in a long, arduous, mundane process,
completely disconnected from their interests and on an arbitrary timeline that
increasingly pushes young children to read before they are developmentally
ready. <span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
assistant professor of education, Daphna Bassok, and her colleagues at the
University of Virginia <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/01/19/kindergarten-the-new-first-grade-its-actually-worse-than-that/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7d80d315559f" target="_blank">discovered</a></span><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">: In 1998, 31% of
teachers believed that children should learn to read while in kindergarten. In
2010, that number was 80%. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">If we were to design a system of reading instruction certain
to fuel a general dislike of reading, and by extension learning, then we would
create a system that forces children to read things they don’t like and that
have no meaning for them, at ever earlier ages, with rampant labeling,
tracking, testing, and interventions to ensure that they meet an artificial
curriculum standard. Are we surprised that <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/23/who-doesnt-read-books-in-america/" target="_blank">one-quarter</a> of American adults haven’t
read a book, in whole or in part, in the last year? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“<i>But there are certain topics children should know about</i>,”
one might say. “<i>American history, for example</i>.” I agree that it is desirable for
educated citizens living in a free and democratic society to have a certain
collective knowledge about important topics. But I disagree that the best way
to impart this knowledge in a free and democratic society is through force. This
may also explain why, according to a 2017 University of Pennsylvania <a href="https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-are-poorly-informed-about-basic-constitutional-provisions?utm_source=news-release&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017_civics_survey&utm_term=survey&utm_source=Media&utm_campaign=e5f213892a-Civics_survey_2017_2017_09_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9e3d9bcd8a-e5f213892a-425997897" target="_blank">poll</a>, 37
percent of Americans could not identify one right protected by the First
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution! Curriculum by force, and knowledge imparted
through compulsory schooling, may not be working so well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">“<i>But surely you have read things in your life that you didn’t
like but that you had to read</i>,” a critic may add. Yes, I am sure that I was not
thrilled to read certain journal articles or essays in college or graduate
school, for instance, but I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">chose</i> to go
to college and I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">chose</i> to take that
course in pursuit of an individual goal. The choice, and attendant responsibility, were on me. I could also have
chosen not to go to college and not to take that course or pursue that goal. Most children are not
granted that same free choice in their learning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">As author Ray Bradbury famously <a href="http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930312&slug=1689996" target="_blank">said</a>: “You don’t have to burn books
to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” If we want an
educated and engaged citizenry, with a passion for reading and knowledge and ongoing
self-improvement, then perhaps “free choice” should be the norm rather than the
exception.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b> </span></o:p></div>
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Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-8197885544860244322018-05-01T05:00:00.001-07:002018-05-01T08:26:04.666-07:00The myth of institutionalized learning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RJKeDONC6ihjTQouxLh8PB6VDJxlDnCR1-UJymxE_Ot51_dKa9q9fZCnW9UnmYDcVb3XCykLTI1tpzayQcQ9oxuSiICzsahFXHFRHY2p3E2Fxs1D9ZseSIej2LXFxDfn9e0Bz9h_Rvy3/s1600/maple-326827_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RJKeDONC6ihjTQouxLh8PB6VDJxlDnCR1-UJymxE_Ot51_dKa9q9fZCnW9UnmYDcVb3XCykLTI1tpzayQcQ9oxuSiICzsahFXHFRHY2p3E2Fxs1D9ZseSIej2LXFxDfn9e0Bz9h_Rvy3/s640/maple-326827_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Saturday was spring clean-up day at our city community garden, where we just received a plot after a long time on the waiting list.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">One of the gardeners announced that she needed volunteers who could help identify maple tree saplings. They had to be spotted and removed before casting shadows on the growing crops. Two people spoke up, saying that they could identify maple seedlings: my 11-year-old daughter Molly and a veteran gardener who has been planting in that soil for decades. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When Molly said she knew how to identify the plants, the other gardeners were delightedly surprised. "Did you learn that in school?" one asked. "No, I homeschool," Molly replied. "So, did you learn it in homeschool?" the gardener continued. "No, I just know it," she answered cheerfully.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This weekend conversation exposes the deep, underlying myth in our culture that children cannot learn unless they are systematically taught. Whether in school or school-at-home, children can only learn when they are directed by an adult, when they follow an established curriculum, when they are prodded and assessed. How could a child possibly know how to identify plants if it wasn't part of a school-like lesson?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yet, this assumption was not placed on the older gardener who also knew how to identify the maples. No one asked her if she learned about tree identification in school, or if she had a recent refresher course on the topic. It was assumed that she knew this information from experience, from immersion. She had been gardening a long time and likely enjoyed the process, becoming increasingly interested in plant and soil life. Maybe she spent time with other, more experienced gardeners who over time shared their wisdom with her. Maybe she read some books and referenced some field guides. No one questioned that the veteran gardener learned about maple-spotting through time, experience, and real-life immersion; yet, they had a hard time imagining that a child could do the same.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Molly became interested in gardening when she was quite young, prompted in part by her great-aunt's passion and talent for gardening. A master gardener, her aunt happily included Molly and her siblings in gardening efforts over the years. Molly became particularly interested in plant identification. She asked a lot of questions and absorbed all of the answers, through active involvement in the real-life process of gardening and exploring nature. She also referred to books and field guides periodically, when it mattered to her. Molly learned about plants from following her interests, asking questions of those more knowledgeable, listening thoughtfully to answers, and, crucially, from doing the real work of gardening. She learned the same way the older gardener learned, the way most humans naturally learn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Most of what I know today was not what I learned in school. It is what I have learned since school, while following my own interests and pursuing meaningful work. This is how most of us adults learn--particularly if we have been fortunate enough to retain, or rekindle, that innate spark of human curiosity so often dimmed by conventional schooling.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As the renowned social reformer, Paul Goodman, wrote in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Compulsory-Mis-Education-Community-Scholars-Goodman/dp/0394703251" target="_blank">Compulsory Mis-education</a></i>: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"The hard task of education is to liberate and strengthen a youth's initiative, and at the same time to see to it that he knows what is necessary to cope with the on-going activities and culture of society, so that his initiative can be relevant. It is absurd to think that this task can be accomplished by so much sitting in a box facing front, manipulating symbols at the direction of distant administrators. This is rather a way to regiment and brainwash." (p. 140)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Children do not need to sit in a classroom, or at the kitchen table, following a regimented curriculum of knowledge deemed by others to be important. They learn as all people naturally learn when free from institutionalized education: by following the human instinct to explore, discover, and synthesize our world. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Children are astoundingly eager and capable learners when they are granted freedom, respect, and authentic opportunities to interact as vital members of their larger community. We must remove them from the box and welcome them to the world.</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b> </span></o:p></div>
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-91795377430232268582018-04-05T14:08:00.000-07:002018-04-06T04:27:42.836-07:00Educated: A Must-Read<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8RTeKU6DjJAwArWCnuPorjIDeK1y8f8hIGkUFDvXBd5CYcTesP9XtldLhinhEaITVvnWYaBWN_VpZiuz12Zy-cOZ1QobwGuV8LBwr3E_SbzlG5AU3-5JIjCPx4NcOrZoTbxZXqfncptZ/s1600/IMG_0892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8RTeKU6DjJAwArWCnuPorjIDeK1y8f8hIGkUFDvXBd5CYcTesP9XtldLhinhEaITVvnWYaBWN_VpZiuz12Zy-cOZ1QobwGuV8LBwr3E_SbzlG5AU3-5JIjCPx4NcOrZoTbxZXqfncptZ/s640/IMG_0892.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To be honest, I didn’t want to read it. I dragged my heels
on buying the book, thinking it would be an irritating diatribe on
homeschooling or a shallow attack on the deep complexity of parenthood. I
thought it would be one long whine from a now 30-something acclaimed writer
with a Ph.D. in history complaining about how her parents had ruined her life. I thought I would hate it. But as Tara Westover’s book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Educated-Memoir-Tara-Westover/dp/0399590501/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522926659&sr=8-1&keywords=educated+a+memoir" target="_blank">Educated: A Memoir</a></i>, hit <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times </i>bestseller
list for one week, then another, and another, I relented. I’ll hold my nose and
swallow, I told myself. It will be good for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">From the first page, I was captivated and, cliché as it is, I
truly couldn’t put it down. I read the book swiftly, entranced by
Westover’s vivid depiction of growing up in rural Idaho in a religious
fundamentalist, survivalist family. School was where the devil hides, often
clothed as socialists, or so her father said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In piercing prose, Westover offers an eloquent illustration
of conviction blurring into paranoia, ideology into lunacy. She describes how fragile those lines can be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Without blame, Westover’s memoir serves as a sharp reminder for homeschooling and unschooling parents that with freedom
comes responsibility. The freedom to educate our own children, or to facilitate
their own self-education, is tempered by the constant, demanding obligation to
provide them with resources, support, and opportunities to widen their world.
Benign neglect or willful indifference toward a child’s education are incompatible
with responsible homeschooling and unschooling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Still, despite the unimaginable obstacles Westover
encounters during her childhood, her book showcases the extraordinary human
drive to self-educate. Her life story reveals the almost primal instinct to seek
out and synthesize knowledge, even when those most dear to you may actively
dissuade you from doing so. It shows how capable we are of self-directed learning
and mastery, even when barriers seem insurmountable. Westover writes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Learning in our
family was entirely self-directed: you could learn anything you could teach
yourself, after your work was done. Some of us were more disciplined than
others. I was one of the least disciplined, so by the time I was ten, the only
subject I had studied systematically was Morse code, because Dad insisted that
I learn it. ‘If the lines are cut, we’ll be the only people in the valley who
can communicate,’ he said, though I was never quite sure, if we were the only
people learning it, who we’d be communicating with” (p. 46-7).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While Westover was able to overcome childhood neglect and violence, and
succeed as a self-directed learner, her book is a candid reminder that <a href="https://www.self-directed.org/" target="_blank">Self-Directed Education</a> is an
education philosophy and lifestyle that families <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">choose</i>. It is not a default or a lapse or an inevitable outcome of
alternative education. It is not laziness or apathy. It is capital letters, not
lowercase ones. Choosing Self-Directed Education for your children requires
significant thought, effort, and vigilance on the part of parents. Whether it
occurs mostly at home or at an unschooling <a href="https://www.self-directed.org/resources/" target="_blank">learning center or self-directed school</a>, Self-Directed Education is a commitment to providing the time, space,
support, and opportunity for interest-based learning to thrive. It is freedom <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Educated</i> is a
powerful memoir, a testament to the human capacity to self-educate, and a reminder
to parents about their educational duty, however and wherever their children learn. It is definitely worth adding to your spring reading list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b> </span></o:p></div>
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Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-17827185475512538132018-03-31T05:32:00.000-07:002018-03-31T05:32:18.424-07:00Unschooling and Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-GZJe5cWgk28B_0lsCr43iyUvvwdj1w4IMH9BpZI1CjraCWcZ3VCdSTxFj2ZIsI2D0ZLy8r2StD0M1Fb99ipf4v2qIwmfnz48DuPFcVhyphenhyphenRrZ_cyJE33s3L4Gui1OzyXpQDaA3p9C-p2I/s1600/home-office-599475_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-GZJe5cWgk28B_0lsCr43iyUvvwdj1w4IMH9BpZI1CjraCWcZ3VCdSTxFj2ZIsI2D0ZLy8r2StD0M1Fb99ipf4v2qIwmfnz48DuPFcVhyphenhyphenRrZ_cyJE33s3L4Gui1OzyXpQDaA3p9C-p2I/s640/home-office-599475_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Do you remember sentence-diagramming in school? I do. It was the onerous process of breaking apart individual sentences into their component parts and identifying those parts, like the subject, the verb, the modifiers, and so on. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">By the time sentence-diagramming was introduced in elementary school, I had learned how to play the game of school. I had learned that obedience, memorization, and regurgitation of exactly what the teacher wants is the key to school success. I played it well. Looking back, and witnessing how my own unschooled children learn how to write, I realize how arbitrary and artificial learning in school was. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Those of us who buried our enthusiasms in the name of conformity did well. Those who recognized just how silly it all was did not. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Along with sentence diagrams, we also learned how to write simple letters and five-paragraph essays, again by dissecting component parts and following meaningless (to us) writing prompts. Those of us who could ignore the fabrication and effectively mimic the teacher did well. Those who refused to play the game did not.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The reality is that sentence-diagramming and copying someone else's writing template don't create better writers. They create students who may meet contrived curriculum benchmarks and pass standardized tests. They create students who can play the game.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">With unschooling, there is no game to play. There is no manufactured curriculum or assessment. There is simply life. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My son Jack (age 9) downloaded an app this week that offered a free 7-day trial. It includes an abundance of content related to <a href="https://fee.org/articles/what-skateboarders-can-teach-us-about-education/" target="_blank">skateboarding</a>, one of his present passions. There is a section of content in the app that he particularly likes, and he wanted to know how often that content is refreshed before deciding whether or not to purchase the app. He searched the company's website for information. Unable to find the answer to his question, he drafted and sent the following email:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">To Whom It May Concern:</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I am interested in subscribing to [your company’s channel] mostly for the show “XYZ” (and others). Right now I am in a 7 day free trial and am very pleased. I was wondering when the “XYZ” upload date would be. Is it once every 2 days or once every 2000 days? </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Thanks,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Jack</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We didn't spend time on sentence-diagramming. He learns parts of speech from playing <a href="http://www.madlibs.com/" target="_blank">Mad Libs</a> with his siblings sometimes. He likes to <a href="https://www.typingclub.com/" target="_blank">practice typing</a> to get faster and better. He asked me how to address a letter to someone when you don't know his or her name, and the rest he wrote by sincerely expressing himself about something that matters to him. He learned spelling and punctuation by reading a lot, and reading things that he wants to read. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This wasn't an "activity" we decided to do that day. It didn't occur as part of a curriculum segment on letter-writing or in preparation for a standardized test. It wasn't a lesson. Jack wrote this letter because he needed information that was otherwise unavailable. In short, he wrote this letter for the same reason you or I might write a letter: because it is purposeful. When we write, it is for a reason. It is authentic. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In my forthcoming <a href="http://www.wholefamilylearning.com/2017/11/unschooled-book-deal.html" target="_blank">Unschooled</a> book (now at the <a href="http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/" target="_blank">publisher</a>!), I highlight the story of a grown unschooler who didn't really write until he was a teenager. Then, he wanted to communicate with a girl he liked and wanted to impress her. That provided the real and motivating context to write--and to write well. He never had formal writing instruction as an unschooler, but after writing back and forth to the girl, he realized that he liked both the girl and the writing! He became increasingly passionate about writing, ultimately majoring in journalism in college and becoming a successful journalist. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When learning is connected to living it is meaningful. It is not something that occurs at certain times, in certain places, with certain people. It occurs all the time, everywhere, and with everyone around us. Unschooling allows natural learning to occur by providing the time, space, support, and opportunity for interests to emerge and talents to sprout. With unschooling, reading, writing, and arithmetic become purposeful activities connected to personal interests and motivations. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Writing letters is enjoyable and important when it is necessary for your own purposes. Writing letters when someone else tells you to--when it is forced--may not be so fun or helpful. As Plato <a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato)" target="_blank">warns</a>: "Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind."</span><br />
<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-57166859170679018082018-03-26T13:05:00.001-07:002018-03-26T13:14:13.991-07:00Unschooling and Grit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHs7SbnmU7-tGBPTDp1BO972iw2diZmy2iEgIMuQov0g3UVr8ucvBZmOLEza5BQ_ggq4eaaz9lkx07cHS3SbYfm5H9JoBoX1_-Yzdp461XyXRbEP-5tPCf1byotnEuo5ZRUkXFl6f4bdY/s1600/IMG_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHs7SbnmU7-tGBPTDp1BO972iw2diZmy2iEgIMuQov0g3UVr8ucvBZmOLEza5BQ_ggq4eaaz9lkx07cHS3SbYfm5H9JoBoX1_-Yzdp461XyXRbEP-5tPCf1byotnEuo5ZRUkXFl6f4bdY/s640/IMG_0683.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"If you don't teach them, how will they ever learn?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"If you give them freedom, how will they gain discipline?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Without schooling, won't they just do nothing all day?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">These questions are only a sampling of the typical unschooler's interrogation. I get it. Unschooling challenges everything we have been taught about learning, knowing, and growing. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">At a friend's birthday party this weekend, the topic of unschooling came up. After I had explained, thoroughly I thought, that we don't replicate school-at-home, that we learn in and from our daily life in the city, that the children's interests guide their learning, that we <a href="http://www.life.ca/naturallifebooks/books/Beyond_School_Living_As_If_School_Doesnt_Exist.htm" target="_blank">live as if school doesn't exist</a>, the person paused and asked: "So do you give them exams?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sigh.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The conversation was all the more poignant given the martial arts tournament Molly competed in earlier that day. During a walk around the city last fall, we passed a newly opened <a href="https://www.oomyungdoe-ne.com/" target="_blank">martial arts school</a>. Molly was intrigued. She walked in, made an appointment for a trial class, and was instantly captivated. Since then, she spends three afternoons a week at martial arts classes. Her enthusiasm spread to her younger sister, and now Abby joins her for classes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYG9bF71WLLhXdYTCKYiegyyjzMXNlq1zgiMV19GguIvDfJ2cyP7cZj9D9sMQFTHxLPqp6c6SMTEPTdzPrcX4YYRvz_K-A0YpAfikHM3IxSMwg3wxlFWQIkAuMVgz0zot95TaImckoCZbk/s1600/IMG_0550+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="798" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYG9bF71WLLhXdYTCKYiegyyjzMXNlq1zgiMV19GguIvDfJ2cyP7cZj9D9sMQFTHxLPqp6c6SMTEPTdzPrcX4YYRvz_K-A0YpAfikHM3IxSMwg3wxlFWQIkAuMVgz0zot95TaImckoCZbk/s640/IMG_0550+2.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">If you are unfamiliar with martial arts, as I was, it is a very disciplined, physically and mentally demanding activity. Respect, for oneself and others, is paramount. The training is rigorous and regimented. The focus is on control of one's mind and movements. It is not a sport for slackers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I have since discovered that many unschoolers gravitate toward martial arts. I am not surprised. Unschooling epitomizes self-discipline and self-direction: key qualities of martial arts training.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Unschooling may, at first glance, seem like a rejection of formal instruction and rigorous training. The reality is that unschoolers often choose very formal instruction and very rigorous training. The key word, though, is <i>choose</i>. They choose--based on their own interests--what to learn, when, how, and from whom. When they find something they are interested in, unschoolers often immerse themselves in it wholeheartedly. They commit to rigor and regimentation when it matters to them. Choosing to join the military and endure boot camp training is quite different from being drafted. Freedom is the opposite of coercion.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">While Molly competed in her first martial arts tournament this weekend, I was struck by its tone and structure. Dozens of students, of all different skill levels, ranging from age six to over 70, competed before an awestruck audience. Sprinkled between their individual performances were master-level demonstrations of the highest skills in eight martial arts. Observing a highly diverse group of people of all ages and stages gathering together in pursuit of a common interest, with only themselves to compete against, was truly inspirational. It's rare to see such intergenerational collaboration and respect.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Unschoolers unapologetically reject coercion, choosing freedom over force in learning and in living. Freedom comes with responsibility. When children are given freedom and opportunity, they will take responsibility for their own education and become astonishingly self-disciplined. They will immerse themselves in meaningful passions and commit to mastery of skills and content with unimaginable enthusiasm and grit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So, no, we don't give our kids exams. But that does not mean they are not tested.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qqD3fu3FPjqX4L9Y4AZYpQPBKpxg7UqfGBi-96kfy4TNE_PWBZ1_irsPRLMH-E3CPX2yxfcgu6besaFVkP4syHscmphrJDwpQ1N4DXnOq7z9Voh3sUX0N5T_Qy8WY9CPA8zkyzBiHUos/s1600/IMG_0703+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qqD3fu3FPjqX4L9Y4AZYpQPBKpxg7UqfGBi-96kfy4TNE_PWBZ1_irsPRLMH-E3CPX2yxfcgu6besaFVkP4syHscmphrJDwpQ1N4DXnOq7z9Voh3sUX0N5T_Qy8WY9CPA8zkyzBiHUos/s640/IMG_0703+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b></span></o:p></div>
<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-66389626336281280122018-03-14T07:39:00.000-07:002018-03-14T09:11:45.299-07:00Walk out and don't go back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzwRijhxUaoXPUL-ApAEvDwSo6UeOc82lhizQzPu5hC-Dbg4OdNnY_Pwwe0iJHv4iMxZwHtWcTRzSL5UcKz1pQjBxL4vhiQL4CpA907Kd8nzZzX7sqm9qgDBUvkcIrBFLR0hdCvDAU6SF/s1600/rush-1822566_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1600" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzwRijhxUaoXPUL-ApAEvDwSo6UeOc82lhizQzPu5hC-Dbg4OdNnY_Pwwe0iJHv4iMxZwHtWcTRzSL5UcKz1pQjBxL4vhiQL4CpA907Kd8nzZzX7sqm9qgDBUvkcIrBFLR0hdCvDAU6SF/s640/rush-1822566_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today, students across America will join in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/us/school-walkout.html" target="_blank">national school walkout day</a> to memorialize the 17 people tragically killed in the
recent Parkland, Florida school shooting and to advocate for stricter gun
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<span style="font-size: large;">But what if they don’t go back?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The real protest would be to challenge the increasingly
restrictive environment of forced mass schooling that is leading to serious
mental health issues for children and adolescents. Recent data show that <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/generation-risk-america-s-youngest-facing-mental-health-crisis-n827836" target="_blank">20 percent of children</a> ages 3 to 17 suffer from a mental, emotional, or
behavioral disorder. That is one out of every five children, or about 15
million kids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/03/health/teen-suicide-cdc-study-bn/index.html" target="_blank">numbers keep getting worse</a>, particularly regarding adolescent anxiety, depression,
and suicide. The suicide rate for teen girls ages 15 to 19 doubled between 2007
and 2015, reaching a 40-year high in 2015. The suicide rate for teen boys also
jumped 31 percent during those eight years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">While there are no clear answers as to why many American
teenagers are in such emotional turmoil, school seems to be a key factor.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/05/30/youth-suicide-rates-rising-school-and-internet-may-blame/356539001/" target="_blank">discovered</a>
that, unlike adults who experience suicide increases during warmer months, children's suicidal feelings and attempts decline in summer and spike at back-to-school time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">School isn’t what it used to be. Today, young people are
spending much more time in school than ever before, beginning at earlier ages
and for much lengthier portions of the day and year than at any other time in
our history. University of Michigan researchers <a href="http://ns.umich.edu/Releases/2004/Nov04/teen_time_report.pdf">found</a>
that children spent much more time in school and school-like activities in the
early 2000s compared to the early 1980s, with a corresponding decline in
outdoor play activities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Since 2001 and the passage of the federal No Child Left
Behind Act, schooling has also become much more standardized and test-driven.
Common Core State Standards were adopted by most states in 2009, the same year
that Race to the Top grants enticed states to accept these national curriculum
frameworks. And in 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act reinforced standardized
curriculum goals, with yearly testing expectations from 3<sup>rd</sup> through
8<sup>th</sup> grade and again in high school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">More restrictive schooling encompassing more of childhood,
along with a corresponding drop in free, unstructured childhood play, may be contributing to the alarming rise of childhood mental health disorders.
Boston College psychology professor, Dr. Peter Gray, argues in a <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ985541.pdf" target="_blank">journal article</a> for
a causal link between the decline in childhood play and the rise in
psychopathology in young people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">As students walk out of their schools on Wednesday, they
should think seriously about whether or not they want to return. Instead of
spending their childhood and adolescence in increasingly restrictive,
test-driven mass schooling that is damaging their well-being, they could <a href="https://www.self-directed.org/" target="_blank">take back their own education</a> and
explore <a href="http://www.facebook.com/alternativestoschool/" target="_blank">alternatives to school</a> that put them in charge of their own learning
and doing. With the support of their parents, they can regain their mental and
emotional health and chart a future that is meaningful to them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">These students can disentangle their own education and
individual passions and goals from the institution of forced schooling. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">What a
protest that would be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-size: large;">---</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></o:p></div>
Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-9353188266683218482018-03-10T08:23:00.000-08:002018-03-10T16:59:25.153-08:00Watching Children Learn Naturally<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxLZAp6IDlGvzJXRs-CiEWS2WZLjA8l6hf_Go2C7PyZaxpK3gyPuzFRBRm4_dxDjm9QskDXd7fbSrcoEgXeD6_vHl6o67Yi2QEGD0L91axpMyAzTQVf3jY5fOxiMiw7Tq1VOJBOEARFRQ/s1600/IMG_0357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxLZAp6IDlGvzJXRs-CiEWS2WZLjA8l6hf_Go2C7PyZaxpK3gyPuzFRBRm4_dxDjm9QskDXd7fbSrcoEgXeD6_vHl6o67Yi2QEGD0L91axpMyAzTQVf3jY5fOxiMiw7Tq1VOJBOEARFRQ/s1600/IMG_0357.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Watching children learn naturally, while following their own interests, is nothing short of astonishing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It shouldn't be, of course. We shouldn't be surprised that giving children freedom and autonomy, and trusting them to pursue passions most meaningful to them, would lead to deep and lasting learning. But <a href="https://www.self-directed.org/" target="_blank">Self-Directed Education</a> is so rare in our widely schooled society that most of us don't get the opportunity to see what learning without schooling (including school-at-home) looks like. Self-Directed Education, or unschooling, is strikingly different from schooling--in all of its various iterations.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Over the last few weeks at our house, unschooling looks like Jack (age 9) spending countless hours taking online photography classes. He started with <a href="https://www.udemy.com/" target="_blank">Udemy</a>, but then we found even better-quality, online courses through <a href="http://lynda.com/" target="_blank">Lynda.com</a>--which is available for free through our local library (<a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/282718/you-can-probably-get-free-lynda.com-access-from-your-local-library/" target="_blank">and probably yours too</a>).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The instructor he likes the most on Lynda I find to be rather monotonous. I don't know how he sits for six hours and listens intently to this guy, but Jack loves him. He keeps returning to this particular instructor over the others that are available because he finds him to be the most knowledgeable and he likes his style. To each his own. A Self-Directed Education means the ability to pick and choose one's courses and instructors. A teacher who I may not click with may work beautifully for someone else. Having the freedom to be discerning of what we learn and from whom we learn it is a core tenet of unschooling. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtneHA1Ul-Tsvd-fgYBgqf4eZmS0I10_gQsJiYboegcvuZ_ZMz38TyW5-VF9MD9MEC4ifw77OWhBQM_pRyeam8BVvL6Zkn_9Xtzo54XTcH8g6g1BdEv2cA4iRop4pq-iVP_5YIBBBgIt7N/s1600/IMG_3340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtneHA1Ul-Tsvd-fgYBgqf4eZmS0I10_gQsJiYboegcvuZ_ZMz38TyW5-VF9MD9MEC4ifw77OWhBQM_pRyeam8BVvL6Zkn_9Xtzo54XTcH8g6g1BdEv2cA4iRop4pq-iVP_5YIBBBgIt7N/s400/IMG_3340.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack photographing neighborhood fences</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Unschooling also recently looks like Jack poring over photography books, learning about angles and shutter speed and light and depth. It looks like practicing with his camera, taking various shots and then editing, uploading, and sharing them. It looks like an in-depth conversation, and some email exchanges, with an adult friend of ours who enjoys photography as a hobby and whose interest emerged when he was around Jack's age. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Unschooling looks like us reading books together and watching a PBS documentary about Ansel Adams, the famed 20th century landscape photographer. Incidentally, Ansel was homeschooled after the school told Ansel's father that Ansel was hyperactive and needed more discipline because he was restless and couldn't pay attention. Ansel's father disagreed, saying he needed more freedom. He gave it to him. That was in 1915 and Ansel was 12. Today, what label and pill would he be given? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ansel Adams wrote in his autobiography:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"I often wonder at the strength and courage my father had in taking me out of the traditional school situation and providing me with these extraordinary learning experiences. I am certain he established the positive direction of my life that otherwise, given my native hyperactivity, could have been confused and catastrophic. I trace who I am and the direction of my development to those years of growing up in our house on the dunes, propelled especially by an internal spark tenderly kept alive and glowing by my father."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BWhuDx-CHPwemSx_OdaQMEqcZtPTUKFup2Lc1hq9Y27cRtormbTsHWx558-KuWPtR1XeKis6N7owiRxEb9Ut01cMbCwompcGX8ifUudoovlwJNWvThkNwN7x9KF__MEzZo9JheUZE2gH/s1600/IMG_3537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BWhuDx-CHPwemSx_OdaQMEqcZtPTUKFup2Lc1hq9Y27cRtormbTsHWx558-KuWPtR1XeKis6N7owiRxEb9Ut01cMbCwompcGX8ifUudoovlwJNWvThkNwN7x9KF__MEzZo9JheUZE2gH/s400/IMG_3537.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack - Reflections</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Unschooling leads to intense study of content that matters to the individual child. Through that individually-driven intensity, advanced literacy and numeracy skills are developed and sustained. These are not skills memorized and regurgitated for someone else's test. These are skills that are essential for one to know in pursuit of his own passion-centered education.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When children know that they are responsible for their own education--that it is not a teacher or a parent or someone else deciding what they must learn and do--they will take their own self-education very seriously and tackle it with great enthusiasm. Children's self-educative inclinations are with them from birth. They do not disappear on their own, but they can be stifled when a child is trained to be taught. That is why, if a child has been schooled, it can take a very lengthy "deschooling" process to reconnect with those early self-educative instincts. As John Holt writes in <i>Teach Your Own</i>: "In short, if we give children enough time, as free as possible from destructive outside pressures, the chances are good that they will once again find <i>within themselves</i> their reasons for doing worthwhile things."</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">[1]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Witnessing children's natural learning, and supporting them by helping to connect them to resources related to their developing interests, is both astounding and deeply rewarding. It is also unsettling to think of how easily it is for children's natural, self-educative tendencies to be weakened through schooling. Unschooling preserves these powerful natural learning capacities, granting children the ability to determine and drive their own education. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Let's connect! Join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> community.</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[1] Holt, John, and Farenga, Patrick. <i>Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling</i>. New York: Da Capo Press, 2003, p. 99.</span><br />
<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-61997091292134535022018-02-24T06:56:00.001-08:002018-02-24T11:24:29.454-08:00An Unschooling Snapshot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98aIFw07XvRQrDM-tyV6At5y4qfop9-Bx1eL9Uncrn5BLEN6YINU65he82omIWYQOg2UAQSovIJSqUKGKMhlWfltu9Nu1F0Fg5k2ryFlJHW_zsOtE8IMIzTxqkKSU_2Y_mF_0ppWvxOAi/s1600/IMG_0193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98aIFw07XvRQrDM-tyV6At5y4qfop9-Bx1eL9Uncrn5BLEN6YINU65he82omIWYQOg2UAQSovIJSqUKGKMhlWfltu9Nu1F0Fg5k2ryFlJHW_zsOtE8IMIzTxqkKSU_2Y_mF_0ppWvxOAi/s640/IMG_0193.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">"No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit." ~ Ansel Adams</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">How does unschooling actually work? What does it really look like? How do children learn without being schooled?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I get it: unschooling is an amorphous concept that challenges everything we have ever been taught about human learning. It can be difficult to grasp the possibility that children can successfully educate themselves, by following their own passions, when surrounded by supportive adults and community resources. But they can, and they do. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A real-life story may help to illustrate how unschooling, or Self-Directed Education, works, including the interplay between children learning and adults facilitating.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My nine-year-old son Jack has many interests, but lately he has become increasingly passionate about, and competent in, photography. He liked looking at the photos on my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> account, and became more interested in social media and, specifically, photo-sharing. Children are eager to learn the customs and skills of their society, and technology is modern humans' most important daily tool for work and play. Jack is exposed to these technological tools, by observing the people around him using these tools and by being allowed to play freely with these tools on his own and with his peers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He began taking photos on an old smartphone that a family member gave to him when she upgraded her phone, and his photos grew in sophistication. He started sharing his pictures with family members, writing creative captions to describe what he saw: "A time warp of light" for one photo; "A ray of sunlight going through the trees," for another. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxxDX2cyFEcIcIOql0nAg7sKhlyegdVbSAUgXdX3eLFUDl4cBEd9zobMV3f2a_Kxhv7oFJqJLsIkw750LZB9Ecy_p8acZ_Li6UF9GzZJM0hmziL6zYTmuBnpJ1DttWoBU9Z4utZmHHe2l/s1600/IMG_3156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxxDX2cyFEcIcIOql0nAg7sKhlyegdVbSAUgXdX3eLFUDl4cBEd9zobMV3f2a_Kxhv7oFJqJLsIkw750LZB9Ecy_p8acZ_Li6UF9GzZJM0hmziL6zYTmuBnpJ1DttWoBU9Z4utZmHHe2l/s640/IMG_3156.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jack still wanted to learn more about photography, and particularly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhoneography" target="_blank">iPhoneography</a>. His dad and I suggested that there may be online courses on photography that he might find helpful. He eagerly began searching the Web for various photography courses, comparing different options, prices, formats, and instructors. He finally decided on a course through <a href="https://www.udemy.com/" target="_blank">Udemy</a>, a popular online courseware platform. We paid the 12 dollars for his course, and he threw himself into the class, listening intently, taking notes, and practicing what he learned. He did this all on his own, resulting from his own interests--</span><span style="font-size: large;">not because someone else told him to. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Jack continues to learn and practice, devoting hours each day to exploring photography tips, getting outside to take nature photos, and sharing his best shots with others. By being exposed to the tools of his culture, used by real people around him doing real work and play, he uncovered an interest in photography and pursued that passion on his own. As adults, we noticed his interest and provided the time and space for him to dig deeper. When he reached a point where his skills were not yet developed enough to do what he wanted to do, we suggested further resources. He researched online courses; we paid the class fee. He took the class, learned, practiced, and elevated his skills; we watched--amazed again at what young people are driven to learn and do when they are given the time, resources, and support to do it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">With unschooling, young people discover interests and pursue passions by being exposed to the authentic world around them through the daily course of living and doing. These interests and passions often lead to further inquiry, while adults help to connect children with available resources that enable them to explore their interests more fully. Using the people, places, and things around them, unschooled children learn remarkable things. Often these things look nothing like schooled learning. Indeed, this is why we choose unschooling: to distance ourselves from institutionalized education and allow our children to learn in a more natural, authentic way that leads to rich and varied learning because it springs from personal interests, not packaged curriculum. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Who knows how long Jack's current passion for photography will continue, or what other interests may emerge as he explores this topic? That is the real gift of unschooling. Human learning is circuitous and dynamic, always changing and evolving, often tied to what interests us in that moment. Unschooling supports the natural learning process by helping young people to educate themselves, while being fully supported by caring adults and the resources of their community. This can happen in family-centered unschooling environments like ours, or in the fast-growing network of <a href="https://www.self-directed.org/resources/" target="_blank">self-directed learning centers and unschooling schools</a> spreading across the country. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In a changing world, where robots increasingly perform the jobs of humans, retaining children's natural curiosity and supporting their incessant drive to explore and invent are key priorities. Unschooling provides the educational framework to ensure that human intelligence prevails over its artificial antipode.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">***</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>WRITING UPDATE</b>: The <a href="http://www.wholefamilylearning.com/2017/11/unschooled-book-deal.html" target="_blank">'Unschooled' book</a> manuscript will be heading off shortly to its publisher, Chicago Review Press! I'll keep you posted on its production timeline...</span><br />
<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-77129403977436358772018-02-20T17:08:00.000-08:002019-01-05T09:39:16.553-08:00The Freedom to Quit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW1EiNHvc-t7R5PnVUNs9i2ZGAVUDENXWbRkeQSv8VKJd_Y26V7039minOUcHKDUBtEnAjSbVxr8K7zAKXT0NzkIYKFubKqemnuq57sS1MKSoGHOrhhkasSfDYWTn-VUQK8DK2JqxCG8F/s1600/IMG_0052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW1EiNHvc-t7R5PnVUNs9i2ZGAVUDENXWbRkeQSv8VKJd_Y26V7039minOUcHKDUBtEnAjSbVxr8K7zAKXT0NzkIYKFubKqemnuq57sS1MKSoGHOrhhkasSfDYWTn-VUQK8DK2JqxCG8F/s640/IMG_0052.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sam started skiing this year. At four, he was eager to join his older siblings on the ski hill. I am (or rather was pre-kids) an OK skier, but I do not feel at all capable of helping a fledgling skier learn. So, I connected Sam with a couple of lessons on the bunny slope.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He loved his first instructor and the one-hour lesson went great. I was at the foot of the slope the whole time, and he knew he could stop at any time if he wanted to.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A couple of weeks later, Sam took a second lesson with a different instructor and it didn't go well. Maybe it was the instructor, maybe he just wasn't in the skiing zone that day, maybe he was cold, or hungry, or tired. Maybe it was all of the above. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Again, I was at the foot of the bunny slope during his lesson, and again Sam knew that he could quit at any time. The instructor was a bit taken aback by this. She said that sometimes kids see mom and start crying even though they were fine before seeing mom. As though Mom is the problem.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I don't buy it. I see these kids on the mountain--some of them younger than Sam--often crying for their moms or whimpering as they muddle through their lesson. That's not how we approach childrearing. Skiing is supposed to be fun; it's not a chore. Certainly not for a four-year-old. If a kid is crying or wants his mom or just wants to be done with skiing, let him be done. Why push a kid who can't even wipe his own bottom to man up? What's the point?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">As Sam and his instructor continued with the lesson, preparing to head up the lift again, I overheard him say something to her. I couldn't quite make out what he said, but I heard her reply, "Oh no, you can't stop. We have to keep skiing." At that, I went over and asked Sam how it was going. He whispered to me that he wanted to stop but the instructor had said no. I asked if he wanted to do just one more run with the instructor, and he said no, that he was done. I listened, and politely told the teacher that Sam was ready for the lesson to be over. I could tell she was a bit annoyed. The lesson was only half done and we had paid in full--but that's my loss, not hers. She got paid. She could go into the lodge and have a cup of soup on me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The freedom to quit is an essential aspect of an unschooling lifestyle. Frankly, I think a four-year-old should be able to quit anything, whether he's unschooled or not. That's about gentle parenting, not any educational philosophy. But for unschooling, the freedom to quit--as long as that freedom does not negatively impact someone else--is a vital part of Self-Directed Education. We should connect our children to resources in their wider world, expose them to new and different opportunities, and be very clear about participation policies when signing up for things so we have the freedom to quit. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">If quitting causes an instructor or organization to lose money they relied on or prevents a class from running that impacts others, then we should be extra sure that we are willing to commit to an entire program--whether we like it or not. We should think long and hard about whether or not a class we can't quit is worth the chance. Most of the time, quitting a class does not cause hardship to others--just to our own pocketbook--and should be a viable option. I have registered for adult education classes in the past, found a couple of them to be <i>meh</i>, and quit the classes because they weren't worth my time. I lost my money but I regained my time, and I learned to be more discerning of instructors and courses the next time I registered for something.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Granting children the same ability to quit that we adults enjoy is not about giving in or being soft; it's about respect and fair treatment. I don't want to be coerced into doing something against my will and I don't want my child to be coerced either--particularly something that is supposed to be for enjoyment. Going to the dentist is one thing; a beginner ski lesson is another.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe Sam will want to ski again, or maybe not. Maybe it won't be his thing, or maybe it will. We'll follow his lead--and listen when he says stop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZHdcV12ys6sXxG5onqor_TC80I1YZfkzHgthLIUy6k3MAa9YtqEI5FtiesXCIOo4ebvPMDL-pQCgQLc1DvQLxiKk3njDTPs-ufYwj1GDr0YevtB3SadDM6FF6WfCdFhP5pUYuxSHSemK/s1600/unschooled_mcdonald.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #b45f06; float: right; font-family: "Century Gothic", Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZHdcV12ys6sXxG5onqor_TC80I1YZfkzHgthLIUy6k3MAa9YtqEI5FtiesXCIOo4ebvPMDL-pQCgQLc1DvQLxiKk3njDTPs-ufYwj1GDr0YevtB3SadDM6FF6WfCdFhP5pUYuxSHSemK/s320/unschooled_mcdonald.jpg" style="border: 0px solid rgb(42, 42, 42); padding: 3px;" width="212" /></a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Century Gothic", Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Century Gothic", Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><b class="" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px;"><a class="" href="https://www.amazon.com/Unschooled-Well-Educated-Children-Conventional-Classroom/dp/1641600632/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1539790988&sr=8-7&keywords=unschooled" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pre-order my new book today! <i class="">Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom</i></span></a></b><br style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Century Gothic", Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /></span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Please join me on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wholefamilylearning/" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/kerry_edu" style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</b> </span></o:p></div>
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-19506302109793156252017-11-28T15:58:00.000-08:002017-11-30T10:01:04.289-08:00Unschooled Book Deal!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvC79sgpnCbdr7042phCB-cu4lqMZOyh73jEs2BKTStqAV1gN5Gh52zNgBnz2EUmEneFELGvodev4iH84fPCjHKhPukt8YT-N1CxyHNPXy55Qizpcx2ZbH0nQTUK3FntZS95KmsiLDXraW/s1600/crp.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="117" data-original-width="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvC79sgpnCbdr7042phCB-cu4lqMZOyh73jEs2BKTStqAV1gN5Gh52zNgBnz2EUmEneFELGvodev4iH84fPCjHKhPukt8YT-N1CxyHNPXy55Qizpcx2ZbH0nQTUK3FntZS95KmsiLDXraW/s1600/crp.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I am so excited to announce my <a href="http://www.marsallyonliteraryagency.com/uncategorized/sold-352/" target="_blank">recent book deal</a> with <a href="http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/" target="_blank">Chicago Review Press</a>! Tentatively titled, <i>Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Kids Without Conventional Schooling</i>, this book will be a nice boost for unschooling families and self-directed education organizations everywhere.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A special thank you to my amazing <a href="http://www.marsallyonliteraryagency.com/uncategorized/sold-352/" target="_blank">literary agent, Jill Marsal</a>, for seeing the potential of this book and finding an ideal home for it with Chicago Review Press, a well-respected publisher with a long legacy of books that "give voice to new ideas that reach beyond the trends."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQICOjrLySRemx9SxKxi6gCP7-nl7vTZCukhLiLZMlUX6ouzGxpqSlz22JR0qWekqa0WeqiC_orY0ZHk-kQDy_OUAAmHT9AaTC9Ftg4B15FKXKTApZxOt6aZMQk_xOsm-QI-KWvvFxMfy7/s1600/IMG_0810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="719" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQICOjrLySRemx9SxKxi6gCP7-nl7vTZCukhLiLZMlUX6ouzGxpqSlz22JR0qWekqa0WeqiC_orY0ZHk-kQDy_OUAAmHT9AaTC9Ftg4B15FKXKTApZxOt6aZMQk_xOsm-QI-KWvvFxMfy7/s320/IMG_0810.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Over the next few months, I will be writing, writing, writing! (A lot of it happening <a href="https://workbar.com/" target="_blank">here</a> at a local co-working spot!) Fortunately, Brian works part-time which is the only way this endeavor is possible. It's tricky to write a book about unschooling while unschooling! And we are so fortunate to have amazing family members and friends eager to jump in and help.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I plan to provide the philosophical and historical context for unschooling and self-directed education, as well as the latest educational research on how and why it works; but this book is really a platform to spotlight the families and organizations that are committed to supporting natural learning and facilitating self-directed education. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">If you would like to share your story on why unschooling and self-directed education are important to you, please email me at kmcdonald@post.harvard.edu. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is a defining moment in the unschooling movement when a major publisher takes these ideas seriously enough to give them a national platform. I am grateful for and humbled by this immense opportunity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Please help me to make this book as powerful as it can truly be.</span><br />
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<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-43013041462048935472017-11-03T12:42:00.000-07:002017-11-06T06:40:30.594-08:00What do you want to be when you grow up?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZjMQbSvqFd72IC0FAupjFe2z5RvJylRceardSwHIBcIoUIT_-q1rXC82VGeZfyMMjaZeGKxNPVoruvd61QJ_Y8lRPXyf1P9amQt9iXl7w4aNTobcLz4pwhVZaEN1RH0cYjzEIlGiAcRf/s1600/unnamed-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZjMQbSvqFd72IC0FAupjFe2z5RvJylRceardSwHIBcIoUIT_-q1rXC82VGeZfyMMjaZeGKxNPVoruvd61QJ_Y8lRPXyf1P9amQt9iXl7w4aNTobcLz4pwhVZaEN1RH0cYjzEIlGiAcRf/s1600/unnamed-14.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My daughter is a baker. When people ask her what she wants
to be when she grows up, she responds breezily: “A baker, but I already am one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You see, with unschooling there is no postponement of living
and doing. There is no preparation for some amorphous future, no working
toward something unknown. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is simply life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The question of what a child wants to be when she grows up is a curious one well-rooted in our schooled society. Disconnected from everyday living and placed with same-age peers for the majority of her days and weeks, a schooled child learns quickly that "real life" starts <i>after</i>. It starts after all of the tedium, all of the memorizing and regurgitating, all of the command and control. It starts after she is told what to learn, what to think, whom to listen to. It starts after her natural creativity and instinctive drive to discover her world are systematically destroyed within a coercive system designed to do just that. She must wait to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With unschooling there is no after. There is only now. My daughter is a baker because she bakes. She is also many other things. To ask what a child wants to be when she grows up is to dismiss what she already is, what she already knows, what she already does. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Baking brings my daughter daily joy and fulfillment while also helping to nourish her family and friends. She writes a baking blog, sharing her recipe adaptations and advice. She reads cookbooks, watches cooking shows (<i>The Great British Baking Show</i> is a favorite), talks to other bakers--both adults and kids--to get ideas and tips. She learned this all on her own, following her own interests, and quickly outgrowing the library children's room cookbook section to the adult aisles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As unschooling parents, we provide the time, space, and connection to resources that enable her doing. She has unlimited access to the kitchen. She has abundant opportunities to visit the library and explore the Internet for real and digital information to help her in her craft. She has three younger siblings and many neighbors and friends who are eager to be her taste-testers. Her work is also incredibly valuable. I have never made a pie from scratch but she makes them all the time, bringing them as frequent desserts to gatherings and special events. The market price for her delicious, seasonal pies would be steep. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Will she always be a baker? It's hard to say. Will I always be a writer? I think so, but who knows? Will any of us always be who we are now? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvpoQDlO2ckrkJdQUGPp9IiR-zxgk8upQ0W0tPJQhmEOdJAcimBVYKUn9PJ_PssFTIszt0VJvoaFbmMGdCjd763gD_cdavXp2u4G1E0d6a_rNhEKu6hGq1UHPBM0E6rfCsNfI-f6YEsvO/s1600/unnamed-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvpoQDlO2ckrkJdQUGPp9IiR-zxgk8upQ0W0tPJQhmEOdJAcimBVYKUn9PJ_PssFTIszt0VJvoaFbmMGdCjd763gD_cdavXp2u4G1E0d6a_rNhEKu6hGq1UHPBM0E6rfCsNfI-f6YEsvO/s320/unnamed-16.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">We can certainly have goals and ambitions that we work toward. My daughter wants to open a "bakery-makery" someday that combines her dual passions of baking and making, selling her pies and dolls side-by-side. That may be her future goal, but it doesn't stop her from being a baker and a maker today, creating and selling her goods when and where she can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With unschooling, learning and living are seamless and synonymous. There is no separation of one from the other. There is no segregation of children from the "real world." It is all real. The well-known educator, John Holt, who coined the term "unschooling" decades ago, wrote in his book, <i>Learning All The Time</i>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;">“We can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn and thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions -- if they have any -- and helping them explore the things they are most interested in.”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Children are eager to explore and discover their world, and to engage in meaningful work and actions tied to their interests and fueled by their limitless curiosity. Our job as parents is to listen to their interests and ideas, support and encourage them, and help connect them to the wider world around them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our job is not to prepare our children for who they will become, but to help them be who they already are. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">"I believe that education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living." ~John Dewey (1897)</span></i><br />
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Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-15275361573662972732017-10-28T03:39:00.002-07:002017-10-30T07:25:19.638-07:00At the MIT Media Lab<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLyabP0Ea-jN4Otm6GmVWArZFm8S0De9VKQ5RdZalMdaJHMOzmjcyBb6G0hvhAVVPBbkSCs5bGZZ53jtxrnLoTYC8c4v2TdKMVyScvn97bF2g9KNjuFsbW3iuP8V-gLln-ojZTNVyLduE/s1600/unnamed-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLyabP0Ea-jN4Otm6GmVWArZFm8S0De9VKQ5RdZalMdaJHMOzmjcyBb6G0hvhAVVPBbkSCs5bGZZ53jtxrnLoTYC8c4v2TdKMVyScvn97bF2g9KNjuFsbW3iuP8V-gLln-ojZTNVyLduE/s1600/unnamed-12.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A LEGO-made scaled model of The Media Lab</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Earlier this week I visited the famed <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/" target="_blank">MIT Media Lab</a> here in Cambridge to talk about self-directed education and natural learning. An unschooling dad, <a href="https://ves.fas.harvard.edu/people/andre-uhl" target="_blank">Andre Uhl</a>, who is a researcher at The Media Lab organized the visit for me and Ben Draper, who runs the <a href="http://macombercenter.org/" target="_blank">Macomber Center for Self-Directed Learning</a>--one of eight self-directed learning centers for homeschoolers/unschoolers in Massachusetts. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It was a blast. This is a place where researchers have nearly free-rein to pursue their own projects, based on their own passions, and collaborate with like-minded tinkerers, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, and often all-of-the-above.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our visit included a personalized tour of The Media Lab from <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/people/ps1/overview/" target="_blank">Philipp Schmidt</a>, who runs The Media Lab's Learning Initiative. Schmidt was involved with the team who helped to create <a href="https://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm" target="_blank">MIT OpenCourseWare</a>, one of the original Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that became the model for subsequent free and fully accessible online content for self-learners. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Schmidt and his team work closely with Mitchel Resnick and his Lifelong Kindergarten group at The Media Lab, where they explore how people learn, barriers to learning, and how to help remove these barriers to optimize learning. Resnick's new book, <i><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/lifelong-kindergarten" target="_blank">Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity Through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play,</a> </i>explores many of the key conditions that lead to deep, joyful learning. Embedded within MIT's urban campus, The Media Lab has a heightened focus on technology. Both of these learning labs, as well as Resnick's book, focus on the power of technology to facilitate learning.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tuesday's Media Lab visit is hopefully the first in what will be a series of discussions on self-directed education, unschooling, and natural learning. The MIT researchers seem fascinated by how children learn in non-school settings and, particularly, how they teach themselves--often using technology. Schmidt, for example, is currently interested in how people use YouTube content to teach themselves all sorts of things. I told him my eight year old son would be thrilled to show off his YouTube-learned <a href="https://fee.org/articles/what-skateboarders-can-teach-us-about-education/" target="_blank">skateboarding</a> tricks anytime!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As a hub of innovation and an incubator for pathbreaking ideas and technologies, The Media Lab is an ideal ambassador for self-directed learning. I am excited to see where our ongoing conversations about natural learning lead us. </span><br />
<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-38837970238117755592017-10-24T12:54:00.000-07:002017-10-25T04:31:29.968-07:00Why Homeschoolers Love To Read<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyIDxH_g1GJBGs18OlCpM4CZpRme1Mt0QFTgwnzFmcLmCnNISkTIfKzfWzGFOnpNzh2f3QmkYipcd8Aj7azERUqFL8vlojusevLhXknX8nF_DKlLQ2A78DZh4V-YId8lLCmq0tuHZ2GHG/s1600/unnamed-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyIDxH_g1GJBGs18OlCpM4CZpRme1Mt0QFTgwnzFmcLmCnNISkTIfKzfWzGFOnpNzh2f3QmkYipcd8Aj7azERUqFL8vlojusevLhXknX8nF_DKlLQ2A78DZh4V-YId8lLCmq0tuHZ2GHG/s1600/unnamed-5.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I saw the headline in Monday’s <i>Harvard Gazette</i>: “Life
Stories Keep Harvard Bibliophile Fixed to the Page.” My first thought was, ‘I
bet he was homeschooled.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">He was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/10/life-stories-keep-harvard-bibliophile-fixed-to-the-page/" target="_blank">article</a> describes the experience of Harvard University junior,
Luke Kelly, who grew up in Mississippi and was homeschooled for most of his
childhood. Much of his time was spent reading and he developed a passion for
books and literature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Why did I suspect that a bibliophile college student was
homeschooled before even reading the article? Because most homeschoolers love
to read--I mean, really LOVE to read. Many of them develop this affinity because they have the time, space,
and freedom to read when they want, what they want, how they want. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Released from standard schooling constraints that dictate
reading materials and create arbitrary reading levels, homeschoolers learn
quickly that books are vital tools for knowledge and discovery. They are not the props of arduous assignments. They are
vibrant narratives that entertain and edify. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">With homeschooling, reading is not a separate subject to be
covered at certain times in certain ways; rather it is an integral and seamless
part of overall learning. Trips to the library are not reserved for 40-minute
blocks once a week with a librarian-led lesson. Homeschoolers often spend hours
at the library, scouting the shelves in search of a good story, seeking
librarian advice when needed, exploring the vastness of its real and digital resources.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">And boy do they read! My older daughter has read more books in the past six months than I read in my entire K-12 public schooling stint.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Homeschoolers are also able to learn to read at their own
pace, on their own timetable, following their own interests. With mass schooling, reading is
regimented. Children learn to read in a specific way, following a specific
curriculum, at a specific time. Increasingly, that time is being pushed to remarkably
young ages. Kindergarteners are now expected to do the serious seat-work
previously reserved for older children. Even preschoolers are being
pressured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Erika Christakis, author of <i>The Importance of Being Little</i>,
writes about the dramatic changes in early childhood education. She explains
that much of this change originates from more standardized, Common Core-based
curriculum and high-stakes testing requirements. Christakis <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/the-new-preschool-is-crushing-kids/419139/" target="_blank">writes</a>:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Because so few adults can remember the pertinent details of their own preschool or kindergarten years, it can be hard to appreciate just how much the early-education landscape has been transformed over the past two decades...A child who’s supposed to read by the end of kindergarten had better be
getting ready in preschool. As a result, expectations that may arguably have
been reasonable for 5- and 6-year-olds, such as being able to sit at a desk and
complete a task using pencil and paper, are now directed at even younger
children, who lack the motor skills and attention span to be successful. Preschool classrooms have become increasingly fraught spaces, with teachers
cajoling their charges to finish their ‘work’ before they can go play."</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Teachers are beginning to internalize
these standards, rather than question them. <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a;">As assistant professor of education, Daphna Bassok, and her
colleagues at the University of Virginia <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/01/19/kindergarten-the-new-first-grade-its-actually-worse-than-that/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;">discovered</span></a>:
In 1998, 31% of teachers believed that children should learn to read while in
kindergarten. In 2010, that number was 80%. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Many kids who are not developmentally ready to read on this increasingly pressurized, standardized school timeline are then slapped with a learning disability label
and given an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to get them caught up to the herd. This can often lead to deep resentment, not only of reading but of
learning in general.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Homeschoolers avoid the standardization and regimentation of
forced schooling, and their learning is often much richer and more meaningful
as a result. It's also more joyful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">So I wasn't surprised that a college bibliophile was homeschooled. I would have been surprised if he wasn't. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-18751981454435670072017-09-29T04:55:00.000-07:002017-09-29T11:33:25.234-07:00Sustainability and Self-Direction in Boston: JP Green School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Instead of complaining about the education status quo, build alternatives to challenge it. That is just what pioneering educators and entrepreneurs are doing across the country. Disillusioned by increasingly restrictive, test-driven, one-size-fits-all mass schooling that crushes creativity and originality, individuals and organizations are clearing a new pathway of learning that is non-coercive and self-directed. Earlier this month, I highlighted <a href="http://www.wholefamilylearning.com/2017/09/ingenuity-hub-new-massachusetts-sde.html" target="_blank">Ingenuity Hub</a>, a new self-directed learning center founded by a public school teacher who was fed up with forced schooling and decided to create an alternative to school. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Today, I am delighted to share with you the story of <a href="https://jpgreenschool.org/" target="_blank">JP Green School</a>, a self-directed learning center for homeschoolers/unschoolers in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston that combines a passion for sustainability, a deep desire to preserve and protect the natural world, and a focus on non-coercive, self-directed learning. Here, co-founder </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Andrée Zaleska, a climate activist and educator, shares her story of launching and growing JP Green School. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you have a story of creating an alternative to school focused on non-coercive, self-directed education, please share it! I can be reached at <a href="mailto:kmcdonald@post.harvard.edu" target="_blank">kmcdonald@post.harvard.edu</a>.</span></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. What is the JP Green School and why did you decide to create this innovative education space?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">JP Green School is a small alternative "free school"--a space for self-directed learning. We focus on teaching the mindset of sustainability and respect for the living world. We offer experiences involving gardening, cooking, green building, basic science, and free play in an urban environment. While we do some science "lessons," most of the day consists of free exploration.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. Tell us a bit about the space, location, and your offerings. What is it like to be a learner there and what programs are you offering this fall?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are based in my home and garden -- a place called <a href="http://jpgh.org/" target="_blank">JP Green House</a> created as a demonstration home for sustainable living. The house is "energy positive," meaning it creates more energy than it uses through both active and passive solar technologies. The large garden is densely planted with vegetables and native flowers. We have a beehive, and we'll be starting up a chicken coop next year. A large play structure with a climbing wall, hammocks, a slack line and crow's nest sits in the yard, next to the concrete patio where we do most of our lessons. We have a funky indoor classroom featuring a loft and a firepole, books, games and art supplies.<br /><br />We have 8 kids in each class, ages 5-10. There is a teacher and one teen assistant per class. We also have a part-time certified teacher who develops science curriculum and teaches the more formal lessons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last year, our first year of programming, we started with 2 students! The number doubled several times, and this year we began with 24, in four classes. There are two classes for homeschoolers each week, and 2 for after-school students. We expect to attain our goal of 4 days/week programming for homeschoolers by fall of 2018.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><b>3. You have a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. Where did your passion for this come from and how does the JP Green School integrate these themes?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">JP Green School is the synthesis of two different passions on the part of its founders. Kannan Thiruvengadam and myself (Andrée Zaleska) met in the climate movement. We have worked for years as activists and educators to call attention to the grave threat of climate change. As we worked in this mindset of opposition--fighting the fossil fuel corporations and the forces of denial in our culture--we both felt a need to also model the potential beauty of a sustainable future in which humans live in harmony with the living Earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Both JP Green House and JP Green School are attempts to do just this.<br /><br />Additionally, I was leaning decidedly towards a belief in totally non-coercive schooling while raising two sons (now 16 and 19). After much exploration and observation of different schools, I have seen happy schools and schools that feel Orwellian. Non-coercion and emphasis on community appear to be key factors in all the successful models. (I credit much of my thinking on these matters to years of conversations with my son Kuba, who has been to 5 different schools, studied others, and has developed clear opinions about successful educational models.)<br /><br />JP Green School aligns philosophically with local learning centers such as <a href="https://www.partsandcrafts.org/" target="_blank">Parts and Crafts</a>, <a href="http://macombercenter.org/" target="_blank">Macomber Center</a> and <a href="http://www.northstarteens.org/" target="_blank">North Star</a>. We also take inspiration from Montessori and Waldorf, unschooling, and forest schooling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is the devotion to modeling human beings in healthy relationship with the natural world and each other, that makes JP Green School both a happy place, and a powerful experiment in the times we live in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><b>4. How do you see JP Green School fitting into the larger alternatives to school movement in general and to Self-Directed Education in particular? Why do you think these alternatives to school are important now?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">People educated in coercive models will be damaged for life (most of us are). The lack of respect shown to their autonomous selves as children translates into a lifelong tendency to "get what they need" by any means necessary. Much of what we think we need are acquisitions and achievements -- hollow substitutes for love and belonging. In most cases what we demand in substitute for love is robbed from the natural world. A community of people, plants, and animals is what human beings long for at their core. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Our little experiment returns children to those primal relationships, in a quirky house and garden in the middle of urban Boston. We are part of a growing counterculture which finds traditional schooling damaging in ways that are intertwined with the general brokenness of our culture.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">5. How can interested families connect with you?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Interested families should go to our website <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://jpgreenschool.org&source=gmail&ust=1506699202567000&usg=AFQjCNGcTlOI1ZKCJiUy1UxThN2We92fcg" href="http://jpgreenschool.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">jpgreenschool.org</a>, contact us at <a href="mailto:jpgreenschool@gmail.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">jpgreenschool@gmail.com</a> for a visit and tour of the school, or call Andrée directly at <a href="tel:(617)%20512-3502" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+16175123502">617 512 3502</a>.<br /><br />Like Boston, our school is diverse. LGBTQ families, many ethnicities, religions and races, and diverse economic backgrounds, are all represented here. We welcome all families and make our best effort to make our programs accessible financially to all.</span></div>
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Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966041586401268867.post-40148041264039876192017-09-28T04:55:00.000-07:002017-09-28T05:07:11.830-07:00Balancing Multiple Ages and Stages (Or How To Survive Toddlerhood)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I get asked what the biggest challenge of homeschooling/unschooling is I say that it is balancing multiple ages and stages. With four children ages 3 to 10, I find that my kids' needs and interests don't always intersect. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think this is especially true if a toddler is in the mix. Toddlers and homeschooling can be a tricky combination. Spending our days exploring our children's interests and ideas can be tough when a toddler's needs and interests are so immediate and often so different from those of older kids. And they are urgent! Mommy, I need food NOW! Daddy, I need to go to the bathroom NOW! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wish I had some perfect solutions and astute wisdom to share with you about how to navigate toddlerhood while meeting the needs of your older homeschooled children, but the truth is that I am very much in the weeds of this now too! I think flexibility, support, asking for help, and gaining perspective are important for all this juggling--regardless of the ages and stages of the kids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For some families, managing the multiple and varied needs of homeschooled children with different ages and interests involves some reshuffling of priorities and routines. For our family, we try to divide and conquer when possible. As some of you may recall, my husband left his crazy job with long hours and weekly travel a bit over a year ago so that we could both be more present at home. He now runs his own business part-time and I write part-time so that we are both able to dedicate time to our kids and their blossoming passions, while also supporting our family. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzC47bZlJ1grFeR13E-L5ClWc67rL_1lhSCRyQFMelO5A1oOJRm1rIJxPPUgOSRXrbIsG_fpeli_R1JhkIEheZhG2FcbpVh0_NuAugvxtdRuTkM5NrXzjoDyu6vb8rDACVwG-zC8ScIyRA/s1600/unnamed-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">For example, yesterday morning I took my eight year old to the skatepark with his friend and did some work calls there while Brian did chores at home and played games with the younger ones. My 10 year old spent the time at her sewing machine working on the dolls she is making for an upcoming fall craft fair. In the afternoon, he took the three older ones (10, 8, 6) to the Omni planetarium show at the Museum of Science where they headed into deep space. I took my 3 year old for a walk to the bank and to the park and to get ice cream. It has been hot here in Boston!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's just one day-in-the-life of managing multiple ages and stages with homeschooling, and it certainly varies based on class schedules, work schedules, play dates, visitors, seasons, and so on. The key, I think, is flexibility, collaboration, communication, and the acknowledgement that this is all temporary. Toddlers grow up and their needs become less of an emergency, and older kids grow up and are able to go off all on their own, pursuing their passions without us in tow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, when we're in the weeds, it's reassuring to know that this is simply life with littles. It's busy, it's loud, it's unpredictable, it's frustrating, and it's exhausting. But it is also beautiful, and fun, and rewarding, and hilarious, and fleeting. It's life. And it's learning.</span><br />
<br />Kerry McDonald, M.Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05970816682727759140noreply@blogger.com0