INTRODUCTION
Hi, I'm Pam Laricchia, nice to meet you.
What Is Unschooling?
Welcome to the wonderful world of unschooling.
Learning About Learning
This book will discuss the ideas behind unschooling and extend them into day-to-day living. Don't just skim through the ideas, as logical as they may seem. Really live with them. Let your mind ruminate on them as you go about your day.
IDEA ONE: REAL LEARNING
Paradigm Shift: Instead of looking at learning from a teacher's point of view, look at it from the learner's point of view. Real learning is best defined by the learner precisely because it can only take place in the learner, regardless of any teaching being done around him or her.
At first it may seem like a small shift of focus, looking through the learner's eyes instead of the teacher's—almost semantics—but this shift is the key to observing real learning. How do we get there?
Learning versus Teaching
What Is Learning?
Building a View of the World
Deschooling
IDEA TWO: FOLLOWING THEIR INTERESTS
Paradigm Shift: Learning need not be defined as exclusively occurring in classrooms, during school hours, with those of school age. It can be found everywhere, at anytime, and can happen at any age.
People—and children are people—enjoy learning things that are useful to them now, and they learn best when they are interested and engaged.
Where Is Learning Found?
Connections Create the Web of Learning
Embracing Passions
IDEA THREE: CHOICES
Paradigm Shift: Instead of learning what choices to make, it's better to learn how to make informed choices.
Unschooling children are picking up skills and gathering information all the time, but at the same time they are learning how to navigate the world. How to make choices and decisions in both unique and everyday situations is a key life skill. How do we help them gain experience with this?
Judging Choices
Learning from Living
Quitting Activities
IDEA FOUR: INSTEAD OF NO
Paradigm Shift: Saying no can make life seem easier in the moment but saying yes encourages children to explore their world and cultivates their ability to live confidently in it.
The reflex, almost automatic, no accomplishes so much: it reminds the child where the power in the relationship sits; it discourages messes and hassles; and eventually it deters the child from bothering the parent in the first place. But what if those aren't your goals?
Analyzing Situations
Rules versus Principles
Moving to Principles
IDEA FIVE: LIVING TOGETHER
Paradigm Shift: It can seem that parents have, by virtue of age and childbirth, earned a position of power, but everyone in the family has important needs and wants and can have a voice.
Children are often the second-class citizens of the mainstream family. Does giving them a voice in the family lead to chaos?
Learning to Live with Others
Learning about Themselves
Moving on Out
PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER
References
Additional Reading
