I found out about unschooling (not putting children to school and letting them direct their own life and learning) a couple of years ago, and finding it validated many thoughts I already had about school and raising children. It didn't take a lot of convincing for me to start to think that unschooling would be what I would have chosen for my life had I been given the opportunity and trust... What I could appreciate at first was the role that school had played in my life; it allowed adults around me to not notice how unhappy I was, took a lot of my valuable childhood time for meaningless tasks, and prevented me from learning what I would really have needed to learn. Only later I've come to understand the depth of compassion and genuine respect for children many unschoolers have that goes beyond not putting children through school, and what kind of freedom children benefit from in many unschooling families.
I'm not really interested in defending unschooling; it just clicked with me when I found the idea, and my belief in its virtue has only become stronger over time. (I'm aware that unschooling is difficult or nearly impossible for people, especially in Finland, to manage.) There is a lot of well thought-out school critique out there, especially the books of John Holt and John Taylor Gatto, I believe, are worth checking out. (Not that I have read Gatto.) John Holt's books also give a fantastic perspective on how children learn, and what prevents children from learning to the fullest. Holt explains how children are willing to learn and already know how to learn things, why there is no such thing as "the basic skills" etc.
For anyone interested in unschooling I would recommend reading the following sites:
When you've found out the basics, a fantastic place to hang out at is the shine with unschooling yahoo group. This group is filled with stories of *shine*, children and families being themselves and enjoying life. Occasionally someone posts a problem, and the group responds with a lot of wisdom and empathy. Many times I've felt moved to the point of tears reading the messages in this group. The founder, Anne Ohman, also has a wonderful joy-filled blog, and has written some interesting articles about parenting and unschooling. Her story about her older son Jake is just breathtaking, I wish that everyone had had such parents and understanding when growing up! If you only read one thing I almost wish it was that piece. Another brilliant article by her is about being highly sensitive and unschooling.
Many unschooling families also have blogs that will allow you to take a peek at their lives. Some can be found for example in the unschooling photo blog ring.
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