re: #273 HappyWarrior

Imagine if we hadn’t adapted a form of universal public education. I really think that is one of our nation’s largest successes that isn’t talked about enough.

And the Right Wing is trying to dismantle that, too.

I watched a video on YT today by a young man whose parents “unschooled” him. It was surprisingly frank and even-handed. He does not see unschooling as necessarily better than regular schooling, and says he regrets not having a typical school life as a teenager. (He’s 18 now.)

As I watched it, I realized only people of a certain means can manage to “unschool” their kids, because it requires parents to provide the necessary tools for their kids to learn with (computer, Internet, books, art supplies, etc.), to drive the kids various places for activities like sports or dance, and even to take their kids to unschooling conventions, so that they can meet other kids in similar situations. The filmmaker said he has several good friends, but they all live so far away that he can’t just drop by their house and go to the mall or movies. Unschooling is a symptom of middle-class entitlement and selfishness. My kid is special, so special that I want him or her to learn only what they want when they want it.

John Holt came up with this concept. I remember reading his books as a high school teacher and thinking which planet he grew up on.

Here’s the video. It’s about 45 minutes long.

Life Is. | A Look Into the World of Unschooling