Freedomain Radio

Recently I've been reading books about unschooling, including The Teenage Liberation Handbook.

I have been struck by the number of such books which were published all the way back in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The information has been around for a long time, but somehow I didn't hear about it until just a couple of years ago--even though I would've been a perfect candidate. If you had come to me on the first day of high school and told me that “homeschool” did not necessarily mean that your mom is your teacher and she assigns you homework and busywork just like school--but that instead I could drop out and learn whatever I wanted at my own pace, and get my friends to drop out so we could start a business and travel together--I would have been out of school within a month. And, with access to the right information, my parents would have let me do that. We just didn't know.

And nobody else who I talk to (outside of the freedom movement) has ever heard about it either. Something is seriously up with that.

Just last night I met a new friend for dinner. I was telling her about the startup I'm working on, and how we want to make it possible for people to prove what they know--to “certify” themselves--without school. At one point she was almost in tears after she realized the full scope of the pointlessness and destruction of school, and that none of it was really necessary. She would have been a perfect candidate for unschooling too.

It seems to me that people who know about alternatives to school really haven't been working that hard to reach people who are outside their immediate sphere of influence. Sure, most of my friends know about this stuff because I talk about it, but only a few of them go on to tell their friends about it, so the information doesn't spread. Now it could be that the information doesn't spread because it isn't all that compelling. But I think the main problem is, for the most part, that people who know about unschooling or other alternatives to school just can't remember what it was like to *not* know about these things. They don't empathize with the people who have never heard of such alternatives and who can't come up with them on their own.

So I'm proposing that we accept there may be more “low-hanging fruit” out there than we thought. How many other people out there are waiting for just one person to tell them it's okay to hate school and want to escape--and that it's possible to escape?

I want to put up billboards, big yellow billboards, telling kids who are trapped in bad schools that they have other options. I want to give unschooling, entrepreneurship, traveling, and other alternatives the marketing treatment they deserve. “Think you need a high school diploma to succeed in life? Think again.” That kind of message.

With the help of a couple of friends, I've already made some good progress on a website and promotional flyers. The “next step” is to get enough “likes” on the Facebook page to be able to run a few low-cost Facebook ads, in order to test various slogans for the billboards.

When the time comes, I will appreciate donations toward the billboard campaign, but for now you can help get things rolling by liking the Facebook page and sharing it with other freedom-loving people you know: http://www.facebook.com/schoolbreak.org

Thanks so much for your help. Let's get started!

Nash

Wow, great effort Nash, the websites you've built look great.

I've been living at Loyola Chicago for two years now and I completely agree that there are more "low-hanging fruits" than I could've ever imagined back in high school.  Whenever the topic of education arises I try to voice my criticisms as clearly and succinctly as possible and most kids I've talked to are very receptive.  

For instance, my girlfriend's roommate has a little sister who is really struggling in her first years of high school.  At the start of the conversation the girl seemed to have a disappointed tone and I could see the frustration behind it when she explained the "solutions" her family has been trying.  Private tutors are too expensive, she said, "remedial" classes are quite humiliating, and extra hours of extra studying just makes no sense for someone who has struggled throughout the whole system. 

It was at this point that I jumped in with my limited knowledge and mentioned a few of the notables like John Taylor Gatto and John Holt, and broke down their basic philosophies about learning and self-direction.  She seemed interested in the abstract, like "Oh wouldn't that be cool."  I'd compare the reaction to telling a fat person that "fatty boot camps" exist that would cut their weight in half in just a year or two- abstract interest coupled with subconscious fear.  I also had nothing more than my words to give her and no links other than to wikipedia pages, so of course she'd just forget once the next topic arose.

There's no way a child will ever act when they feel it is them against the world. Having a community or central hub to represent the unschooling paradigm as a whole would make the notion more acceptable to folks who may just be afraid of talking to their parents about such a horrifying issue.  So, I applaud you on this endeavor and I hope you might have some position [future or current] that I may be able to help you in.  I'd like to be an evangelical philosopher.

Great idea.

Education

http://vforvoluntary.com/education

The Sudbury Files

http://www.vforvoluntary.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=101

How Can Education Be Changed? (with John Holt)

'Learn Free' (an unschooling documentary)

Love the yellow billboard! Great website, Ctrl - D' ed

Nash:

Recently I've been reading books about unschooling, including The Teenage Liberation Handbook.

I have been struck by the number of such books which were published all the way back in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The information has been around for a long time, but somehow I didn't hear about it until just a couple of years ago--even though I would've been a perfect candidate. If you had come to me on the first day of high school and told me that “homeschool” did not necessarily mean that your mom is your teacher and she assigns you homework and busywork just like school--but that instead I could drop out and learn whatever I wanted at my own pace, and get my friends to drop out so we could start a business and travel together--I would have been out of school within a month. And, with access to the right information, my parents would have let me do that. We just didn't know.

And nobody else who I talk to (outside of the freedom movement) has ever heard about it either. Something is seriously up with that.

Well, what's up with that is the current educational system. It's hard to be heard above that roar. I'm glad you found that book, it's great. My kids were homeschooled/unschooled and after my daugher read it, she wanted me to get more copies so she could give it out to friends in the hopes they'd get out too. None of them did, but my son had a friend who did, after his dad came over to talk to us about it. But there have been people out here trying to spread the word!

I think for the most part, the conversation has indeed focused on the parents because they of course do have to be involved in the decision. I do like that people like you are starting to push the focus to teens. As you have experienced though, it's only going to be the teens who haven't been so brainwashed by the system by then who will be open to the message. So don't get discouraged, right now the teen "market" is just smaller until all of this continues to spread further.

Nash:

It seems to me that people who know about alternatives to school really haven't been working that hard to reach people who are outside their immediate sphere of influence.

Hey, some people are trying their best! I just returned from giving a talk on unschooling at Libertopia and what was really cool is that there was a group of teens in the front. Not sure if they already unschool or not but hopefully if they came to learn more about it, they will now spread the word among others of their age group.  I like your website and what you are trying to do. Perhaps something like billboards will help to at least get the attention of those open to the message. I will definitely go and "like" your facebook page. Keep us posted on other things we can do to help.

Nice work Nash.  Let me know how I can help.

My wife and I are unschooling 2.  At Libertopia with a few of their friends the set up and sold the crafts they made there.  Today's unschooling was to go over the possible products for next year, create P&Ls and a course of action.