What is Unschooling? Quotes

“in school, teachers need children to be able to read and write early because that is the easiest way to disseminate information (reading worksheets and textbooks) and test comprehension (writing) in an environment where there may be over thirty students in the classroom. And children whose brains aren't wired to pick up these skills early are often labelled as learning disabled or unmotivated. They are judged as broken”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School

“Just make sure you've taken a moment or two to ask yourself if it's really a need, and to reflect on the potential benefits of following your children's wishes. It's a choice.”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School

“And, especially if they hear your voice in their head as a guilty conscience, they have the additional struggle of determining if their choices are being made as an (over)reaction to years of control, or”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School

“One thing to remember is that the vast majority of decisions are not lifelong ones. They may seem pressing in the moment, but in the grand scheme of things, most are just that: a moment.”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School

“Instead of trying to teach them what choices to make, it's better to help them learn how to make informed choices. Experience in evaluating choices and making decisions is a key life skill. Do”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School

“Take some time to write down what you see your children enjoying, what you see them learning and so on. However,”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School

“What matters is learning something when there is a need or interest, because that is when it will connect to what they’re doing and make sense to them.”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School

“The next time you find yourself reaching for the word teach, substitute the word learn. It”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School

“As the late John Holt, educator and unschooling advocate, notes so succinctly, "Fish swim, birds fly; man thinks and learns." In”
― Pam Laricchia, What is Unschooling?: Living and Learning without School