Ever look back on your school days and wonder if there was a way it could have been done better?

I sure do.

I was a chronic underachiever in school until I began to excel in music in the 9th grade. That gave me a bit of motivation to do well in the other subjects, but still, looking back I feel like those years, well, could have been put to better use.

So when I heard Judy Arnall talking about this thing called Unschooling on Ben Greenfield's podcast while I was Ben's podcast editor a few years ago, it piqued my curiosity.

Judy hasn't written THE book on unschooling, but she has written A book on unschooling - and that will suit our purposes just fine for this podcast. The book is titled, Unschooling to University and will give you a broad overview of what unschooling is, as well as many real-life examples of its efficacy in educating children outside the "traditional" school model.

What's funny is that what we consider the "traditional" model is a fairly new concept, at least here in the West. It wasn't that long ago that children learned the ways of the world at home, or apprenticing with their fathers or others in the community. Then the Industrial Revolution occurred, which created a lot of job. Good thing, right? Sure, but what to do with all those kids who can't be left home alone?

I'll leave it at that, and let Judy fill in the gaps with how all that unfolded - as well as a lot of terrific information about unschooling, and how you can get involved with it yourself if you think it might suit your children!

In this discussion with Judy, you'll learn:

-Judy's background with unschooling...02:00

-How to contrast punishment with discipline, and how schools "bribe" children to learn...04:00

-A basic history of home education, and how modern schools came into being around the time of the Industrial Revolution...05:30

-Why the modern school systems are failing our children...07:00

-Common objections from parents when hearing about unschooling...09:30

-Public schools can't possibly keep up with how technology is changing society...12:00

-Why public schools will never recommend anything other than what they're able to provide when their methods prove to be futile...14:15

-The value of video games in educating unschooled (and schooled) children...15:30

-"Deschooling": What to expect when a family makes the decision to unschool...18:45

-How public schools (and even homeschooling) sucks the joy of learning out of children...22:20

-Do families ever go back to public schools after giving unschooling a try?...25:00

-When to engage in more formal education in preparation for university...29:45

-Tension between unschooling families and government-funded schools...33:30

-And much more...

Resources mentioned:

Judy's personal website

Unschooling to University by Judy Arnall

Parenting Courses Website

Khan Academy

Social Media Links

Facebook Page

Facebook Group