Live Free Learn Free Blog » One Family at a Time <title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/wp-content/themes/thirteen/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS 2.0" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/feed/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/xml" title="RSS .92" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/feed/rss/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Atom 0.3" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/feed/atom/" /> <link rel="pingback" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/xmlrpc.php" /> <style type="text/css"> </style> <link rel='archives' title='August 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/08/' /> <link rel='archives' title='July 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/07/' /> <link rel='archives' title='June 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/06/' /> <link rel='archives' title='April 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/04/' /> <link rel='archives' title='March 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/03/' /> <link rel='archives' title='January 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/01/' /> <link rel='archives' title='December 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/12/' /> <link rel='archives' title='November 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/11/' /> <link rel='archives' title='October 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/' /> <link rel='archives' title='September 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/09/' /> <link rel='archives' title='August 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/08/' /> <link rel='archives' title='July 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/07/' /> <link rel='archives' title='June 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/06/' /> <link rel='archives' title='May 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/05/' /> <link rel='archives' title='April 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/04/' /> <link rel='archives' title='March 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/03/' /> <link rel='archives' title='February 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/02/' /> <link rel='archives' title='January 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/01/' /> <link rel='archives' title='December 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/12/' /> <link rel='archives' title='November 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/11/' /> <link rel='archives' title='October 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/10/' /> <link rel='archives' title='September 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/09/' /> <link rel='archives' title='August 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/08/' /> <link rel='archives' title='July 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/07/' /> <link rel='archives' title='June 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/06/' /> <link rel='archives' title='May 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/05/' /> <link rel='archives' title='April 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/04/' /> <link rel='archives' title='March 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/03/' /> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> </head> <body> <div id="headwrapper"> <div id="header"> <h1 id="title"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog">Live Free Learn Free Blog</a></h1> </div> </div> <div id="wrapper"> <div id="content"> <div class="post" id="post-62"> <h2 class="posttitle"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/08/27/one-family-at-a-time/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to One Family at a Time">One Family at a Time</a></h2> <p class="postdate"> August 27th, 2005 at 2:09 am (<a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/category/unschooling-life/" title="View all posts in Unschooling Life" rel="category tag">Unschooling Life</a>) </p> <div class="postentry"> <div />There are more and more unschooling blogs out there. Maybe because there are more and more unschoolers. I don’t know this for a fact - nobody keeps a log of the number of unschoolers - but it certainly seems that way to me. The e-lists are growing. The number of books on unschooling is increasing. More and more people seem to be coming into discussions with an already fairly clear idea of what unschooling entails. This is wonderful!</p> <p>I remember that spark, that a-ha! moment, when I first read about unschooling. Kenzie was little - maybe 2.5 or 3. I had stumbled upon the phrase “attachment parenting” somewhere, and, after realizing that this was basically what I had been doing for the past few years, I began searching for AP sites on the Internet. It wasn’t long before I came across the word “unschooling,” which led me to a few articles written by John Holt. I remember thinking, “Duh,” after reading only the most rudimentary definition (if it can be called that) of unschooling - that kids learn best when they are interested in learning, when they pursue learning on their own, in their own time. I knew this. Of course I knew this. I had seen it in my own life over and over. It made perfect sense. Within 10 seconds, I had made up my mind: Kenzie and I would be unschoolers. I searched the Internet for more information, joined a discussion list, bought a few books off eBay, and excitedly turned the possibilities over and over in my mind.</p> <p>Several years later, it’s not something I think about in such an excited way anymore. It’s simply the way we live our lives. In the beginning, it was amazing to contemplate the idea that Kenzie wouldn’t actually have to attend school. Now, I can’t even imagine him in school. Heck, I can’t quite remember how I got through school, myself. Unschooling is, for us, normal. It’s schooling that’s foreign. What would it be like to have to wake Kenzie up early so he could catch the bus? Or nag him about his homework? Or have parent-teacher meetings? Or contemplate Ritalin? Or worry about the TAKS test (mandated by NCLB)? What would it be like to live with a child who spent such a huge part of his life in a prison-like place where he wasn’t allowed to speak or even go to the bathroom without first asking permission; where brand names were the end-all, be-all; where age segregation, socio-economic segregation, and even racial segregation were the order of the day; where cliques ruled; where people who hardly knew him tracked and graded him? What would my child be like? Who would he become? I can’t imagine…. I don’t want to imagine….</p> <p>In any case, more people seem to discovering unschooling. Thank goodness. Once the general public understands that homeschooling can be more than little desks and a big chalkboard in the dining room where Mom is the teacher and Dad is the principal (spelled P-A-L because the principal is your pal - nevermind that most principals are the ones doing the paddling) - once unschooling gains some well-deserved respect - then we will be a huge step closer to true educational choice. It’s not a choice if you don’t know about it. But, because unschooling is spreading into more and more communities, it’s only a matter of time.</p> <div /> </div> </div>  <h3 id="comments">1 Comment</h3> <ol id="commentlist"> <li id="comment-2"> <h4 class="commentauthor"><a href='http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/juliepersons/' rel='external nofollow'>julie persons</a> said,</h4> <p class="commentdate"> August 29, 2005 at <a href="#comment-2" title="Permanent link to this comment">9:32 am</a> </p> <p>You are SO right and it is wonderful; my husband and I have always planned on unschooling our kids and have only recently been able to find others who are doing the same. It is empowering and refreshing to be in the company of those who feel the same way about living/learning. (and it helps to squelch the whining of those who feel we are doing something “weird” and unheard of.)Not that I care, really, but it becomes tiresome and my children don’t need to listen to it IYKWIM! Love your blog and I see we are listening to the same music these days… Cheers, Julie </p> </li> </ol> <h3 id="postcomment">Post a Comment</h3> <form action="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform"> <p> <input type="text" name="author" id="author" value="" size="28" tabindex="1" /> <label for="author">Name (required)</label> </p> <p> <input type="text" name="email" id="email" value="" size="28" tabindex="2" /> <label for="email">E-mail (required)</label> </p> <p> <input type="text" name="url" id="url" value="" size="28" tabindex="3" /> <label for="url"><abbr title="Uniform Resource Identifier">URI</abbr></label> </p> <p> <textarea name="comment" id="comment" cols="60" rows="8" tabindex="4"></textarea> </p> <p> <input name="submit" type="submit" id="submit" class="submit" tabindex="5" value="Submit Comment" /> <input type="hidden" name="comment_post_ID" value="62" /> </p> </form> </div> <div id="sidebar"> <ul> <li id="meta"> <h2>Meta</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/wp-login.php">Login</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/feed/" title="Syndicate this site using RSS">Entries <abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/comments/feed/" title="The latest comments to all posts in RSS">Comments <abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="search"> <form method="get" id="searchform" action="/blog/index.php"> <p> <input type="text" value="" name="s" id="s" /> <input type="submit" id="searchsubmit" class="submit" value="Search" /> </p> </form> </li> </ul> </div> <div id="footer"> <p> <a href="http://wordpress.org" title="Powered by Wordpress, state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform.">Powered by Wordpress</a> · Design by <a href="http://beccary.com" title="Theme designed by Beccary">Beccary</a> and <a href="http://weblogs.us" title="Theme sponsored by Weblogs.us">Weblogs.us</a> · <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer" title="This page validates as XHTML 1.0 Transitional"><abbr title="eXtensible HyperText Markup Language">XHTML</abbr></a> · <a href="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/check/referer" title="This page validates as CSS"><abbr title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</abbr></a> </p> </div> </div>  <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> var sc_project=605365; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=4; var sc_security="d224bf47"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/counter.js"></script><noscript><a href="http://www.statcounter.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://c5.statcounter.com/counter.php?sc_project=605365&java=0&security=d224bf47&invisible=1" alt="free stats" border="0"></a> </noscript>  </body> </html>