Along The Way
For ongoing conference details and registration information, please visit their website: www.rethinkingeverything.net
Along The Way
1. What are some of the BIG issues and challenges families face over the years?
- 1. Acceptance of their out-of-the-box approach to parenting and education by other family members.
- 2. Learning how to listen to, respect and honor their children's desires, passions, inclinations.
- 3. Getting comfortable "bucking the system" of education, i.e., learning how to allow and nurture a child's developing intelligence in the absence of a need for such things as testing, grades, formal curriculum.
- 4. Learning how to live as a cohesive, loving, respectful family, all finding ways to both get their own needs met and nurture and support the needs of each other.
2. What if my child decides all this is not for them?
An unschooled child or teen will often decide that he really wants to try or go back to school for a variety of reasons. In a loving, respectful family that child is completely free to make this choice and it will be fully supported with full knowledge that he may again reverse his decision and leave the school behind later.
3. Can I try it for a year and go back to public school if it doesn't work out?
Of course.
4. Where can I turn for help, information regarding college?
Many unschoolers attend college and the truth is that they have a reputation for excelling in college. The application process is typically non-traditional however, as most unschoolers have either not taken or produced only fair scores the SAT and don't have course transcripts. Each college or university will have their own requirements for unschooled students, so the best place for information is with each's Admissions Office. There are many resources available as well. Try Amazon or Google and then order through your library.
5. I need all the lists of resources, other programs, organizations, other people and places I can turn to when needed. Where are the best places to start building this list?
There is so much available it will fill a 400 page book. I recommend the following books as starting points: 
- How Children Learn and How Children Fail and Teach Your Own, by John Holt.
- Dumbing Us Down and Underground History of American Education, by John Taylor Gatto.
For ongoing support, I recommend:
- Life Learning Magazine, www.lifelearningmagazine.com
- Home Education Magazine, www.homeedmag.com
