What would we all have given to have our parents ask us this question when we were kids? To ask it, and MEAN it??

Well, that’s pretty much what we did this week.

See there is this kooky, crazy idea going on about “unschooling” or what I’d describe more accurately as an intuitive, self-driven, passion-centered learning environment (doesn’t crap like this show up on resumes in the “objective” section?).  Basically, the idea is to let your children be the compass for what inspires them to learn and retain information about the world around them. This way as they grow into adults, they are already on a “real-world” path to achieving their goals, rather than fitting into a standardized mold of what constitutes a valuable education.

This idea really rings true for me as I reflect on my experience with school and learning.  I was always really good at retaining information, it was just the way that information was delivered to me that made me want to shoot myself in the face.  I didn’t meld with a classroom environment. I couldn’t take notes, I couldn’t study, I couldn’t translate written directions into coherent representations of what I was learning. Science fairs stressed me out so bad I wanted to run away from home.

On the other hand, animated discussion and flows of thought, interactive participation and tactile experience was amazing for me, saying or showing or moving was DO-ing and it stuck like glue.  Those opportunities were so rare and far between though.  I spent a lot of time being disruptive in class trying to ignite these types of scenarios, which of course never worked, but I remember many of them more vividly than I ever would remember how to say “Can you direct me to the cheese?” in French.

Ive been playing around with the idea of homeschooling for a long time.  I liked the individualized attention my boys would receive, and the freedom to allow more self-paced learning…..but my fears regarding my own performance in this educational utopia have always brought me up short of taking the plunge.  How would I succeed in maintaining an equivalent curriculum and pace for their age groups? What if I couldn’t spend 6 hours a day drilling them in facts and figures? Who will they play with and will they become wilderness wolf-children from lack of social interaction?? HOW THE HELL WILL I TEACH THEM MATH??

Ugggghh…..

So as it turns out….there is a not-so-new take on this process of saving your children from the clutches of the Public School-Man.  Its called unschooling, which can be as radical OR as closely representative of regular teaching and learning as you want it to be.  The kids immerse themselves in their interests, and in turn the application of basic educational concepts arrive naturally into the environment.  Cooking teaches measurements and timing. Video games introduce research, statistics and story telling. Gardening teaches chemistry, biology and organization.

That’s RIGHT! Cooking is MATH, yo!

The difference is, that we as parents are not necessarily teachers…so much as guides, or Gatekeepers to the World (I love that title!).  We are available to support them in their pursuits, expose them to new paths and ideas and act as a networking vehicle to the world where new things can be discovered.  You like that crazy hippie shit?? I LOVE IT!!!

Timing isn’t as critical, you can spend a whole year learning division and the next year learning archery and so on and forth…..so long as its centered and integrated with what your kids are truly passionate about.  Its a commitment, but its not one that’s asking me to be at home, the very thing that I cant stand in the public school…..or any school.  And any subject that presents as too much of a challenge for me to support them in, can be supplemented by a WHOLE WORLD of resources.   That’s right folks, MATH TUTORS.

I reached out via Yahoo groups to my fellow community unschooling nut-jobs, and to my great surprise and relief there are HUNDREDS of families in my area who are either ready to jump, or who are cruising in style along this path with their kids.  As of today, Deegan and Dylan are still enrolled in school, but I decided to create this blog as an outlet for myself as we get closer to this new undertaking. I want to share our detailed experience from the start so that maybe someday, someone like me will find it and be comforted by the idea that there are indeed LOTS of weirdo’s out here ruining their children’s future!!;)