Unschooling NYC

No matter what anyone tries to tell you or your child, the most important things in life do not include where you went to school, how well you did in school or how much money you make as a result of your schooling.

You can take all that and just throw it in the garbage.

The only thing that matters is doing something you love.   It might make a lot of money or it might not, but it doesn’t matter.  If you are pursuing your passion you will have a rich life.

Here are two amazing recent examples (as written … Read more

I’ve been out of school for a long time now.   Long enough to have realized that the Great & Powerful Oz which we all sort of feared (“If you don’t do well in school your future is ruined!”) is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.   Long enough to know that my Senior English teacher was correct when he told us that 95% of everything we’d learned in school up to that point was garbage.

Being around my two unschooling kids has caused me to learn a lot about the nature of learning.  The two main points?  Learning happens all of … Read more

I read a great blog post today from my friend Brenna McBroom entitled “Unschooling and Class”, wherein she discusses the probability of unschooling among poor communities.  There is a misconception that unschooling/homeschooling can only be done by middle or upper income families where one spouse can stay at home with the kids.   Obviously this is an ideal situation, but many people I know homeschool under less than ideal situations, as Brenna also points out.    That said, the obstacles among those living in extreme poverty seem to be almost insurmountable.   As Brenna says, how do you unschool your child if … Read more

Memorizing facts may be impressive, but it’s not learning, at least not in any meaningful way.

You only have to listen to kids from about the age of 10 on up talk about school to know that what happens there is not meaningful (although they are taught to believe it is).

The things I remember from my time in school and at college are the people, a few stand out books and some radical ideas.

My kids have already been exposed to more of those than I ever was; I am exposed to more of them now through and because … Read more

After I graduated from college, I remember telling people that I wished I could have majored in off-campus studies.  I spent 6 months on a Germany/Austria program, but would also have loved the London program, Kenya, Jerusalem…..   Unfortunately, financial aid could only be obtained for one off campus semester – if you did more than one, it was all on your own dime, and it wasn’t cheap.

When I look back now and remember myself saying those words, I can’t believe how clueless I sound.   As though the ONLY way to go to London, Kenya, Jerusalem, Germany & Austria was … Read more

It’s been a crazy week here on the East Coast.  One week ago today we were just lifting our heads to get a good look at the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy.  Then there were days of a weirdly split city, where half the population was stuck in a sort of post-apocolyptic stupor – no power, no water, no heat and in some cases, no housing.    Subways that didn’t run, overcrowded buses and long lines in every Starbucks north of the no electric zone.

One week later, friends in some areas of Brooklyn and Long Island are still without power … Read more

Schooling is all about control.  The hardest task for parents of unschooled children is letting go of our ideas about control when it comes to education and what children should learn and when they should learn it.

Loss of control scares people.

But answer me this:  Can you look me in the eye and tell me what, exactly, a person will need to know 10 years from now in order to function and succeed in the world?   Which facts, which technology, which skills will be in demand?

You can’t do it, because no one knows.  Technology changes so quickly and … Read more

Homeschooling in any form is illegal in Germany.

Which, you know, is a real drawback.

However, other aspects of German childrearing and general attitudes towards learning are fantastic, putting into sharp relief how ridiculously paranoid and over-thought we Americans tend to be when it comes to our kids.

Here’s a short list of examples:

1.  Not every German kid is expected to attend University.  Many go to trade schools.  Riding in the train from Munich to Frankfurt on Sunday morning, we met a young woman who had gone to trade school to learn to be a jewelry-maker.  She then worked … Read more

Hello again.

We’re back from 16 days in Europe, having arrived on Sunday shortly before NYC began its’ shut down in preparation for Hurricane Sandy.  Good timing, for sure.   And good to be home.  And dry.

Over the next few days, I’ll be writing a lot about this trip; about different events and things that happened, but for today I want to talk in general about why we travel.

“The World is my Classroom” is a quote you see a lot in regards to unschooling.    It’s one of those things that people say, it brings a smile and then you … Read more

In 48 hours we will be in the air over the Atlantic on our way to Germany.

We’re just a tiny bit excited by this.  I haven’t been to Germany since before Ben was born, and haven’t seen my dear friend Tina, with whom we will be staying, since we were all in London two years ago.  (Wow, that means I’ve been blogging for over two years now! I started the August before our London trip.)   We’ll be in Germany for a week and then are taking a train to Venice, which is going to be spectacular as we are … Read more