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I am a public high school English and journalism teacher. I first learned about unschooling in September 2003 when I read an article in The Oregonian about "Not Back to School Camp," a summer camp for unschoolers.
The NBSC was run by Grace Llewellyn, an unschooling proponent and author of the book "The Teenage Liberation Handbook."

The article, which was headlined something like "Free Range Education" described a camp for unschoolers that focused on encouraging students to follow their passions in life without tossing aside all "academic" learning. I read it to my high school classes and asked them what they thought. Responses were mixed. Some thought unschooling would fuel the next wave of homelessness. Others were excited about the freedom, choices and potential of designing one's own education around something you are passionate about.

As a high school teacher, I loved the unschooling idea because I have always felt that traditional high school falls far short of creating a complete, realistic, and energizing learning environment. Since I read that article and Grace Llewellyn's book I have attempted to implement unschooling principles in my teaching and in life. I have looked for ways to assist high school students in pursuing things they truly care about. I have adapted the English and journalism curriculum in my classes to give students more choices, freedom, and flexibility.

At home, one of my two sons, coincidentally, benefited from this evolution in my experience. My son's passion is for ballet dancing, but traditional school was beginning to get in the way of what he truly wanted to do?dance. So when he was about to enter high school my wife, my son, and I all decided that home schooling was the way to go. We did research, bought books, borrowed high school texts and his journey began. Because my wife and I both work (She is part-time and I'm full time) we knew our son would have to take charge of much of his own learning. In effect, he soon was doing a form of unschooling. His emphasis was on dance, but he still studied science, math, English and social studies in other ways, and mostly on his own. Over two years he did take two science classes at the high school, but everything else was done independently.

Our son could do things other public school kids only dream of. He could sleep in and stay up late. He could focus on one subject for as long as he wanted. He could focus on his favorite subjects and spend less time on those he enjoyed less. For our son, unschooling worked great. After two years, he decided to take his GED, which he easily passed, and now at age 16 he will be taking college level classes while continuing to dance while looking toward a professional career.

Now when my public high school students tell me there is nothing for them in school, I tell them life and learning is what they make of it. They don't always believe me, but I know from experience there are alternatives to the status quo of traditional school.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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