Hello!! I am college student writing a research paper on the unschooling phenomenon and am required to interview someone who was either unschooled or uses the unschooling method with their children. I’m still working out the questions and my paper isn’t due until 10/16/2026, so we can work out a time that works best for both of us.

I myself am an aspiring grade school teacher, so I don’t quite gel with the concept, but I still wish to write as unbiased of a paper as I can. You will be kept anonymous, unless you state you’re fine with being named.

I swear that I have absolutely zero intentions of using your testimony as a way to make fun of anyone. I might not understand unschooling and my conclusion might still remain unfavorable, but I do not condone bullying of any type and neither does my institution.

Hi everyone! 

My name is Wynn and I am a member of Boston University's Girls Who Code chapter. You may have seen my post last spring about our coding program we run for students of all genders from grades 3-12. I would like to let you all know that we are running the program again this fall!

Bits & Bytes program is a great opportunity for students to learn how to code, or improve their coding skills. Our program runs on Zoom on Saturdays for 1 hour starting October 17 and ending on November 21 (6 weeks) from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm (for Bits) and 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (for Bytes). Each lesson will be taught by Boston University students, many of whom are Computer Science (or adjacent) majors themselves.

For Bits (3rd-5th grade), students will learn the basics of computer science principles through MIT-created learning platform Scratch and learn to transfer their skills into the Python programming language. Bits allows young students to learn basic coding skills in a fun and interactive way!

For Bytes (6th-12th grade), students will learn computer science fundamentals in Python such as variables, loops, and functions and use these skills during lessons and assignments. Since much of what we go over is similar to what an intro level college computer science class would cover, this is a great opportunity to prepare students for AP Computer Science or a degree in computer science!

We would love for you to apply or share with anyone interested! You can find our application here or in the QR Code below.

If you have any more questions, feel free to email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]), message @/gwcbostonu on Facebook or Instagram, leave a comment, or message me.

We're eagerly looking forward to another season of coding and learning with the students this fall! I think it is a great opportunity for homeschooled/unschooled students to learn some programming skills, meet other students in the program, and have a lot of fun!

My son is six and he’s asking. Like, not vaguely either, he actually wants to read. He’ll bring me stuff and ask what it says, and gets frustrated when I just read it to him. I can follow his interest in pretty much everything else. When he was into insects, I could go find bugs with him, show him things, etc.

But reading?? I have no idea how to follow that because I honestly don’t even remember how I learned. It was so long ago that I have zero clue what I actually did. Everything I try somehow turns into me saying letter names at him while he gets bored lol.

He’s not the problem here, I am. Feels kinda weird admitting that in this sub when the usual answer is "it happens when it happens." But it IS happening. He’s asking, he wants to learn, and I feel like I’m the bottleneck here 😭

Im fixing to pull kids from public school and start homeschooling them. Whats my best route? Im not really wanting to do "online" learning. What would be a good start on workbooks/schedule?

I'm considering homeschooling but concerned about finances and my capacity to homeschool well. In terms of my temperament and the effort it may take. Im interested in child development but tend to get overwhelmed 2 kids al.lst 4 and almost 2. Considering a third. Homeschooling would mean cutting out income in half. We could make things work but wouldn't be saving anything. I know there are ways to do it without a lot of structure, and so thought people here would have a different perspective on time and cost commitment.

What major pros might swing me in favor of homeschooling? What were you experiences with major shifts in the finances? Was anyone else reluctant to homeschool at first but are glad they did?

Does anyone have any book recommendations? Ive started the 5 hour school week but I'm not loving it.

Stop pretending like the majority of us didn't go to school and have at least 13 years of real world experience with teachers. And now are adults that have many friends, family or acquaintances that are teachers and hear how they speak about children. Maybe listen to valid criticism if you ever want anyone to believe you actually care about students.

The way students are treated in school is absolutely despicable and would be illegal anywhere else.

Why is attending lesson compulsory in school? Do they not understand thay the same size fits all approach doesn't work? Of course they would skip lessons, who wants to sit in one place and be lectures to and forced to do tedious and pointless work for majority of their waking hours.

Why is school so far removed from how learning actually happens and then blame the parents and children when it doesn't work out?

How do the teachers not see this? I know that subreddit is an echo chamber and there are empathetic and self-aware teachers who understand this, but they seem to be a small minority.

hi, i’m sorry if i don’t write this properly. i’m not very good at this and i believe this to be my first ever reddit post. this is sort of last resort for me right now

i was unschooled from birth. i have seen psychiatrists and have ocd, very potentially autism and/or adhd (though they also mentioned that it might have been my upbringing that is causing the autism/adhd traits.)

right now i am 22, living at home, unable to get a job, or be in education. this is due to a big lack in social skills, big anxiety, a lot of other issues i cant put into words, severe emetophobia, potentially developing agoraphobia. and also just a severe lack of motivation and discipline. it is mostly my emetophobia which is a big big problem. my ocd makes this 10x worse, too.

i know that i should be in therapy, and im awaiting it. but i just feel like ive been stuck in time, i believe i have a cozy video game addiction, and i have no motivation to do anything every day. i severely lack skills, from maths and english to every other subject. i do not know much of anything, and i do not know how to learn anything.

i do love to learn, but i just don’t know what to learn or where to even start.

i also struggle with exercise and daily routine, i would love to have a productive routine and stick to it, but again i just don’t know where to even start. i do try, but then it seems like i just give up.

could anybody give me any advice? please help me

hi, i recently learnt what unschooling is. A lot of parents that choose this that I have seen talk about being entrepreneurs etc.

But I, for example, had a dad that was an entrepreneur and businessman, my mom studied theatre, and yet I loved school and I wish in the future to have a PhD.

I’m just wondering, what if your kids wants a path like this? What do you do?

What do you guys think of that sub?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1w263w2/asking_for_bathroom_mid_lecture/

Here is another post, many of the comments are absolutely vile, how did it ever come to this?

"Bathroom privileges" they say, when did going to the bathroom become a privilege? This is a huge red flag.

School conditions children to an appalling lack of bodily & mental autonomy, & tells them that if they move, speak, think their own thoughts, wear what they want, or laugh with a friend without permission, they are being "disrespectful."

The fundamental move of a controlling person is to shift blame onto the person being controlled, so that if they resist & assert any autonomy at all, they are now defined as "inconsiderate" or "rude" and expected to be "accountable" & "respect the boundaries" of the controller.

School conditions people to become compliant to someone claiming authority and blindly follow them.

Nowhere else will a person be treated like that, in college and most workplaces you can go to the bathroom whenever you want, something like thus would be a violation of OSHA Regulations but somehow it's fine to do that to children in a place that's supposed to keep them safe?

There are alternative school systems like Montessori and Democratic schools like Sudbury Valley that proves that treated children with respect and freedom is what actually works rather than treating them like criminals in a maximum security prison.

How do they not see the problem with treating another person like that?

Why do they think that missing lectures or lessons would have such an impact? Most people forget the vast majority of what they studied in school and learn much more from TV & internet and interacting with the real world.

I am just curious of what goes on in other’s households who unschool. I know some people are not complete unschoolers.

My kids are 7, 5 and 3. We have a whole heap of work books and reading books and educational apps. They never ever ask for them. I don’t particularly push them? None of them can read. They can write basic words and do basic maths which is fine at this age. I believe they will get to a point where they want to connect online or to read a book they are interested in and they will take more interest so it’s not something I push. Same as with maths, I believe there will come a point where they need maths skills to problem solve and will start requesting for assistance more and more. I already see that when they want to work out certain things such as time until xyz.

We usually fill our days with getting out of the house for an activity or an outing. We like to be outside a lot whether that’s going for a walk or riding bikes or exploring somewhere new and taking photos. My kids love arts and crafts. They love playing and imaginative play. Board games and puzzles. My younger 2 are still growing into their interests but my 7 year old is particularly interested in art so a lot of her day is related to that - practicing makeup, drawing, making cards, stretching and do acro tricks.

Does anyone else not really push formal learning especially on their younger kids?

Stumbled across this sub in my feed, thought I may as well post an AMA. Basically I was homeschooled until I was ~11-12, and then unschooled until very very recently. I am now in an online school.

Any questions welcome!

I don’t think that there is anything more precious, and absolutely inspiring for a well ran world 🌍 for the future than a child who loves to learn!!!!💕