what is this
This site will eventually contain as much information and as many stories about homeschooling, unschooling and delight-led learning as my wife and/or I care to write down.
Our interest in unschooling started pretty soon after we both finished school and got married. My wife is a trained educator and was certified at one point to teach in Illinois. Near the end of her schooling, though, she was finally faced with the question of "what is your philosophy of education?" She had been through almost four years of school but had never been forced to answer this question. Now that she had to write it down, she found she had more questions than answers.
Why do we have to teach this way? Is this the only way? Is this the best way?
She eventually found John Holt's Teach Your Own (on Amazon) and started finding answers to the questions she had asked of mass education.
On this site you may find several different phrases: "mass education", "government schools", "public schools", etc. All refer to the same thing, the coordinated, government run system of schools intended for 4 - 18 year-olds in the United States of America.
Generally when I use "school", I mean it to refer to any classroom-type school intended for children which relies on teachers and scheduled times and locations. This can include public and private schools and is not limited to the United States.
No guarantees, though.
why is it here
This site is here to act as a repository for the discussions, essays and experiences my wife and I intend to collect on our journey through parenthood as committed unschoolers. There are a lot of unschooling sites out there, this is ours.
who am I
I'm a relatively new father with big hopes for his kids. I don't have a teaching degree but I have been to college. I hope that doesn't change your perspective on what I have to say.
- Original Discussion - some question response from a comment thread on my brother-in-law's blog.
- FAQ - [will be] a more organized list of questions and answers by me.