If you are homeschooling or a utilizing a hybrid part-time school schedule, or considering transitioning into that world, I offer consulting services guided by business coaching models and the unschooling* philosophy of student-directed life-based education.
Unschooling is a specific type of homeschooling. Its goal is to help children develop their passions and values by living in the “real world” as much as possible, taking on responsibilities and exploring knowledge in the organic, self-directed way that most people don’t have the chance to experience until adulthood.
The principle behind unschooling is that young people who have the opportunity to educate themselves and seek out meaningful roles in their communities — instead of spending their developing years locked into an externally-imposed curriculum and schedule, whether in a school or at home — will grow into creative, conscientious, independent, fulfilled adults.
For the most part, adults unschool themselves. Sometimes it takes many years before they allow themselves to pursue their interests, because the habit of associating education with coercion is a hard one to break. The earlier in life this process can start, the more likely a person will be to grow into someone with the capacity to create a livelihood doing what they love.
I unschooled for most of my childhood (see the Bio page), and I’m working on building a consulting practice for sharing information and resources with families who would like some guidance in living out (or incorporating) this alternative to traditionally structured education. Unschooling is a great choice for the following people:
– teenagers
– families who travel often
– “dropouts”
– creative thinkers (“gifted” children, or children diagnosed with “learning disabilities” in a traditional school setting)
– families who are frustrated with the academic limitations and negative influences in public or private schools
– homeschooling families who struggle with following a predetermined curriculum, and/or are concerned about the way it restricts kids
– anyone who believes that education should prioritize freedom, self-determination, and community involvement
Unschooling/hackschooling on its own is great in theory, but in practice the world is complicated and full of distractions, and the skills that kids will need to have meaningful, successful lives are constantly shifting. That’s why my approach also involves goal-setting and accountability practices that come from the business world. I believe that learning how to manage one’s time, energy, and attention is crucial for every person, no matter what their educational and career goals are, and kids and adults of every age can benefit from mentoring in these skills. Like a good therapist or medical professional, I hope to work myself out of a job with each family or student by empowering them with tools, habits, and systems that they can adjust as needed throughout their educational journeys and beyond.
My consulting services are currently available at a discounted rate ($150/hr) as I gain experience implementing and fine-tuning the approach I’ve created. Please contact me if you’re interested in being part of the early stages of this work!
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*”Unschooling” is the traditional term, which I’ll use, but another emerging term for the same basic concept is “hackschooling” (see this excellent TED talk). In a nutshell, it consists of building one’s education using a variety of resources, from books and classes to jobs and travel.
meredithorf 