Radical unschooling and homeschooling from 'Mother Anarchy'

October 8, 2:21 PMUnschooling ExaminerSara McGrath

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Back in '05/S.McGrath

During my younger, more fiery parenting days, I maintained a relatively popular blog called Mother Anarchy (aka just folks). The following is a list of posts tagged homeschooling from that blog, which reflect my navigation through the sometimes confusing and tumultuous world of homeschooling and unconventional parenting. The list is prefaced with a definition of anarchy as I lived it.

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire. ~ Ferdinand Foch

Definition of Anarchy (September 2, 2005)
Anarchy is sometimes inaccurately defined as lawlessness and disorder, but its simple definition is "without a ruler." So, it does not mean the absense of order, as is commonly supposed, but the absence of rule (coercive authority, hierarchical organization.) An anarchist society would be organized from the bottom up by voluntary cooperative participation and association of its individuals. . . .

Unschooling Versus Parenting (October 6, 2005)
I choose to unschool my daughters, because I want them to be free. When I first considered their future "education," I knew that I didn't want to send my children away for hours every day to be coerced, ordered around, and judged, with even their basic needs scheduled, by someone paid to provide this service. . . .

Reading Recommendation: Gentle Wind School Newsletters (October 19, 2005)
I'm not quite through it all myself, but it's good stuff. It starts out a little basic for those familiar with unschooling or already opposed to 'the conditioned existence called education,' but the authors dig in to the topic. (Warning: 'Extreme' language.)

You think I like not fitting in? (November 24, 2005)
"You think I like not fitting in?" I asked my husband. I see a weary look on his face sometimes when I'm ranting about modern child-rearing methods. As our children get older, it seems we get more and more off the mainstream path. I'm the instigator fom non-diapering to unschooling. It starts looking like I aim to be be contrary. . . .

Extreme Language (November 27, 2005)
I like "extreme" language. I find it refreshing and oftentimes humorous. However, there seems to be a widespread preference for watering down or trying to preserve neutrality when presenting controversial topics. I'm not referring to sensational language intended to shock or offend people, but rather to honest passionate expression. . . .

Is that a prison or a school? (December 26, 2005)
"Is that a prison or a school, do you think?" I asked my husband as we drove past a compound enclosed by chainlink and barbed wire. Then I saw the playground. It was a school. . . .

Rules of Schools (February 16, 2006)
School: A group of fish, all swimming together in the same direction. A description of schooling from a children's activity website for teachers. . . .

Moving Toward a Shared Philosophy (July 10, 2006)
Me: impulsive. Him: cautious. I immediately embraced the unschooling philosophy. The first reason was that I wished I had been unschooled. I would have benefited from it, because I was (am) a self-motivated learner despite the fact that I didn't enjoy attending school and rarely felt passionate about the information my teachers presented. . . .

Homeschooling Socialization Quote (November 10, 2006)
"It is always ironic to hear educators' claims that homeschooled children are socially isolated. The research shows that this is not true at all. Educators do not realize that homeschooled children are socializing in a natural, healthy way with their parents, siblings, neighbors and members of the community all day long. . . ."

Socialization (January 23, 2007)
No Thank You, We Don't Believe in Socialization! A great article (posted to my local unschooler group) on the socialization homeschoolers are fortunately missing out on by not attending school. . . .

School Age (September 16, 2007)
Since the school year has started and my daughter has reached kindergarten age, people keep asking her what she learned today, and she keeps responding with a confused silence. People know that we homeschool but still assume that asking her what she learned will result in her answering with a list of subjects. . . .

Unschool (October 9, 2007)
I put a lot of energy into 'unschooling,' and it occurred to me that unschooling often gets portrayed as not doing anything. However, the energy I put into unschooling is in the form of awareness of my children's learning. I participate a lot, too, for the reason that I enjoy playing and learning, but the real energy is in the awareness. I love sharing in my daughters' discoveries, and I love giving them the gift of freedom to follow their own rhythms, their own natural inclinations in every regard. I also love including them in my own inspired activities. Their interest enriches those activities for me. . . .

Radical Unschooling Rant (February 17, 2008)
Radical unschooling, as I understand it, brings the unschooling philosophy to the rest of life. I take issue with the "radicalizing" of unschooling, not for the reason that I don't apply "un" to the rest of my life, but for the reason that people use the radical unschooling identity to measure one another. I detest labels. . . .