Rose

This is from another list I'm on. I really enjoyed it, thought you would too!
Rose

I just want to give a plug to the website that my kids just published,
http://www.whyunschool.info

As they've grown up (they're 24 and 21) they appreciate unschooling
more and more and they want to try to quell the fears of those who may
be just on the verge of choosing this path. So, they've tried to
explain how it can actually work and showcase some stories of their
unschooled friends. They got frustrated by the spate of confused media
coverage a while back and wanted to provide their viewpoint for those
who are interested enough to google unschooling.

They're looking for feedback, so send your ideas if you would, either
through the links on their site or through me if you'd rather. They
would also like to expand the "unschooling voices" section with
perspectives from older teen and grown unschoolers. If your know
someone who could contribute, please contact them.

JJ

Our always unschooled daughter started a wordpress blog when she was 16, I think, and kept it up through age 19, almost 20. (Her last post was "Let's Talk About Sex" in November 2009.)
http://misedjj.wordpress.com/

Her introduction invited any passing visitors to: "Read all about it because then you'll know everything you need to know to understand [about] the always-unschooled young lady standing boldly at the helm of this omnivorous blog!"

She wrote completely for herself, as she was learning about the wider world apart from her family: dance studio and community theatre learning; her first job; politics, art and music including musical theatre; planning an independent trip to Europe, loving most (and hating one) of her chosen community college courses; discovering she had a very basic-level "math coding disorder" that threatened her dreams of university and graduate school.

For example:
"The meaning of Flunkey"
http://misedjj.wordpress.com/2007/02/09/28/

"The Mane of an Adult Lion"
http://misedjj.wordpress.com/2007/04/22/the-mane-of-an-adult-lion/

She blogged under pen names online because it made her feel safe but she's "out" online now, although not noted on her old blog. unschoolers are welcome to link any of her essays with credit under her real name: Meredith Ross.

In a few weeks she's graduating from FSU as a creative writing major (dual major in religious studies, also the subject of some of her blogging) and beginning to submit work for publication, so the credit for her writing matters particularly. She has applied for graduate school in library and information sciences.

JJ

p.s. Another teen-unschooler story I can offer is about her, although I wrote it up when she was only 14. Maybe Rose's kids wqould like it too; Sandra Dodd did. :)

http://sandradodd.com/s/backstage
"As DD tells it, someone mentioned what a brat one of the youngest dancers was, what a pain, why didn't her parents make her behave better, be quieter and less of a prima donna. DD helps work with the younger ones and knows them pretty well, so she said oh, no, really they're all great kids.

Several of the others turned on her and said not this one, this one needs lots more discipline, her parents spank her but apparently not hard enough or often enough (shocking the few who it seems, like DD, had never been spanked or slapped or even given a 'time-out'). . . "


--- In [email protected], "Rose" <rosefurney1111@...> wrote:
>
> This is from another list I'm on. I really enjoyed it, thought you would too!
> Rose
>
> I just want to give a plug to the website that my kids just published,
> http://www.whyunschool.info
>
> As they've grown up (they're 24 and 21) they appreciate unschooling
> more and more and they want to try to quell the fears of those who may
> be just on the verge of choosing this path. So, they've tried to
> explain how it can actually work and showcase some stories of their
> unschooled friends. They got frustrated by the spate of confused media
> coverage a while back and wanted to provide their viewpoint for those
> who are interested enough to google unschooling.
>
> They're looking for feedback, so send your ideas if you would, either
> through the links on their site or through me if you'd rather. They
> would also like to expand the "unschooling voices" section with
> perspectives from older teen and grown unschoolers. If your know
> someone who could contribute, please contact them.
>