Education---Game Changer

The insights from this book, Learning All the Time by John Holt are a game changer for this former public school teacher.  John Holt is a father of the homeschooling/unschooling movement for which he has written several books.

Background:  I have ALWAYS been interested in the education field, not always my education but how education works in general.  I thought this meant I should teach.  So I went to college, received a bachelor's degree and the a master's degree in education, then went on to teach public school in Texas for 10 years.  Moving to Idaho afforded me the opportunity to stay home.  Being dissatisfied with public school opened the doors to homeschooling for me.  I must say I felt Jesus putting homeschooling info in my path at every turn as well.

So for five years, my vocation has been homeschooling our two children.  I will spare you the details but quickly into our homeschooling adventure I realized that curriculum was not necessary.  A relaxed, fun, playful approach to our day brought more smiles, laughs, and happy memories.  To my astonishment, I discovered I was unschooling!  Since then we have maintained the course, waving between a relaxed, unit study homeschooling approach and unschooling.  Teacher training, workshops, and years of teaching die hard, so when I see myself becoming overwhelmed I pick up a book like this one.

Ready?  Here is the GAME CHANGER information.

"Real learning is a process of discovery, and if we want it to happen, we must create the kinds of conditions in which discoveries are made.  We know what these are.  They include time, leisure, freedom, and lack of pressure." (John Holt)

Yes! Think of a time when you truly learned something of significance.  It could be sewing, computer programming, knitting, coding, cooking, auto repair.  You name it.  The conditions you needed to cement this skill were definitely time, leisure, freedom, and lack of pressure.  These conditions are rarely abundant in the lives of children and young adults today.   Think on that today...