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From:	Christiana (70.68.20.192)
Subject:	Re: What you are talking about is radical unschooling
Date:	October 12, 2009 at 7:06 pm PST

In Reply to: Re: What you are talking about is radical unschooling posted by beth saylors on October 19, 2008 at 1:10 pm:

In terms of options and resources, I do support unschooling. It is a leap of faith to expect children can and will learn when not given requirements, timelines or expectations.

If your child has been schooled (whether institutionally or at home) and has had outside expectations placed upon him or her, then it is typical to go through a period of "de-schooling". This sounds a lot like the concerns of some of the loving parents who have posted in this thread. It seems that this is one of those things that you simply need to go through (all the way through) in order to find the satisfaction of a solid resolution on the other side.

In terms of resources, I stongly recommend "The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to quit school and get a real life and education" by Grace Lewellyn. It is written "to" a teen audience, but as a parent I found it to be a great way to allay my fears when we stepped away from schooling in a bricks-and-mortar institution and learning based on my children's own interests and enthusiasm at home.

I'm also an experienced teacher, and I expected it to be brutal on me to accept and embrace an unschooling approach. I do recall going through a de-schooling period, both for myself and for my child. I also have to admit that I do occasionally "push the issue" when I see a seguay into a learning opportunity for my child and when I feel it is important to take advantage. For the most part, however, we do unschool... perhaps even radically unschool!

• Teenage Liberation Handbook