Unschooling...for a friend...

[Wendy in WI]

:)

Really! A friend of a friend is considering taking their son who is a 10th grader out of school to start homeschooling as he is struggling academically. They have read about unschooling somewhere and think it is for them but want more information and a bit of guidance.

Any suggestions on good websites and/or books for them to check out? I have never even looked at anything about unschooling so I am of no help at all. Thanks!

Wendy

[Sue G in PA]

I have one called TEach Your Own. Not sure of the other titles. It's not for us, but he has some good points.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Here is a link to tons of links: http://www.gracellewellyn.com/links.htm

For books, I'd try Grace Llewellyn's Teenage Liberation Handbook and her Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers who Don't Go to School.

I think there are some great things about unschooling. There can be some real drawbacks. It depends on the teen :)

[JennifersLost]

LOL. Actually, I just pulled my ninth grade son out to unschool because he's doing too WELL.

I'm not sure how unschooling will play out for us. Mostly it's going to be student-led schooling. I'm trying to back way off and let him make more choices about how and where and on what to spend his time. We talk a lot about colleges, the SAT, what to expect and what's required, and now I'm going to let him figure out how to go from here to there.

It's going to be hard to hold back, but I'm going to try.

There's another book, called "Field Day" which is more about a teacher's experience going from teaching at public school to running a center for teens that caters to their academic wants.