I think unschooling as an adult is so important..... I've ventured on a journey to become a DJ. At the age of 50 I have hired an online DJ tutor who is teaching me about the software and music production. While my friends are all supporting me on the outside, most of them don't quite "get it". Several have asked me why I'm just not content with what I have and am doing. But for me it is about the learning - I want to learn continuously and I LOVE music. I love that my kids are not seeing me as the mom who sits on the couch at night and binge watches Netflix. They see that learning doesn't have to stop as an adult. Thanks for this article!
Starting my own business and learning as I went, piece by piece as I needed each one, was one of the things that solidified unschooling as the path for our family!
As an unschooler and mother of a grown unschooler I tend to have an aversion to labeling and categorizing, but I must say I feel very seen by what you've offered here as a description of an adult unschooler. Thank you for being yourself, Blake, and for sharing your unconventional self with us through your writing!
I appreciate that you shine a light on the diversity of what adult unschoolers' values and visions often are. I think it is worth noting that some are diametrically opposed, and not all are truly anti-oppressive or even in support of youth autonomy. Certainly not a monolith.
I used to refer to myself as an unschooling parent and then eventually dropped the parent bit because it really is a lifelong journey, right? We're all unschoolers learning together.
Thank you Blake!! Now I’ve read this string twice, just to make sure it’s really in my head 😀.
I’ve been struggling with my life direction recently, and this helps out things in perspective. I’ve been unschooled my whole life, and now I’m an adult. I got a job in February and I have a couple other local obligations, but my dream is to explore the world nomadically. Being tied to my hometown is weighing on me. It makes me feel like maybe I’ll never leave, that I’ll never amount to anything, that I’ll never find the full happiness I’ve experienced in bite-sized increments while hiking, traveling and adventuring.
I got a job for money and getting a check is cool, but I won’t deny I fantasize about running into the mountains with only a backpack full of tools and never coming back. Someday I hope to do that…without having to run AWAY from things that upset me, instead to run TOWARDS a wide open world full of beauty and adventure.
As an unschooler, it’s important for me to remember that I necessarily live an unconventional life, and all the people around me who go to college are on different paths than I am. I am not obligated to follow them. My desire to one day hike the CDT is as valid as their desires for higher education.
Thanks for the inspiration and the reminder that being different is good!
I think unschooling as an adult is so important..... I've ventured on a journey to become a DJ. At the age of 50 I have hired an online DJ tutor who is teaching me about the software and music production. While my friends are all supporting me on the outside, most of them don't quite "get it". Several have asked me why I'm just not content with what I have and am doing. But for me it is about the learning - I want to learn continuously and I LOVE music. I love that my kids are not seeing me as the mom who sits on the couch at night and binge watches Netflix. They see that learning doesn't have to stop as an adult. Thanks for this article!
Starting my own business and learning as I went, piece by piece as I needed each one, was one of the things that solidified unschooling as the path for our family!
As an unschooler and mother of a grown unschooler I tend to have an aversion to labeling and categorizing, but I must say I feel very seen by what you've offered here as a description of an adult unschooler. Thank you for being yourself, Blake, and for sharing your unconventional self with us through your writing!
I appreciate that you shine a light on the diversity of what adult unschoolers' values and visions often are. I think it is worth noting that some are diametrically opposed, and not all are truly anti-oppressive or even in support of youth autonomy. Certainly not a monolith.
For me most of these different views are closely related to my definition of a self-directed adult person. And that's how I perceive myself :)
Thanks for the post, Blake!
I used to refer to myself as an unschooling parent and then eventually dropped the parent bit because it really is a lifelong journey, right? We're all unschoolers learning together.
Thank you Blake!! Now I’ve read this string twice, just to make sure it’s really in my head 😀.
I’ve been struggling with my life direction recently, and this helps out things in perspective. I’ve been unschooled my whole life, and now I’m an adult. I got a job in February and I have a couple other local obligations, but my dream is to explore the world nomadically. Being tied to my hometown is weighing on me. It makes me feel like maybe I’ll never leave, that I’ll never amount to anything, that I’ll never find the full happiness I’ve experienced in bite-sized increments while hiking, traveling and adventuring.
I got a job for money and getting a check is cool, but I won’t deny I fantasize about running into the mountains with only a backpack full of tools and never coming back. Someday I hope to do that…without having to run AWAY from things that upset me, instead to run TOWARDS a wide open world full of beauty and adventure.
As an unschooler, it’s important for me to remember that I necessarily live an unconventional life, and all the people around me who go to college are on different paths than I am. I am not obligated to follow them. My desire to one day hike the CDT is as valid as their desires for higher education.
Thanks for the inspiration and the reminder that being different is good!