Quinn, Holly and Cameron
Photo by Cris Trainor, Quinn's mom, L&L conference 2005

Teens and Unschooling

This isn't an exhaustive FAQ, it's a collection of bits and links to help parents of unschooled teens feel confident and calm about how kids interact with the world inside and outside their families.

"When I was ten, my mother told me that she was going to take me out of school. At the time, I was apalled. Now, I credit that moment as the biggest turning point of my life. Not because of what we did instead of going to school, but because of the power my mother gave to me when she showed me that she did not have to abide by anyone's standards - not when she knew she could do better. She gave me to myself, for ever."—Roya Sorooshian

Roya is one of those quoted in an April 2006 article here.
The quote above is lifted from something she posted on MySpace. November 2005:

Just to let you all know there is an Ensign (junior officer for those who aren't familiar the terminology) on my husband's ship who was totally unschooled until she set the goal of becoming a naval officer. Even then when she chose to go to highschool for one year and on to college and naval academy it was still her choice to follow her dream and her parents just helped her to support her along the way.

She is an intelligent and sweet girl who has a whole amazing career in front of her because her parents supported who she wanted to be and stepped out of the way and let her go for it. So I do know of "one" person, and I am very encouraged by her success and hope that my children will feel free like she did to follow their dreams regardless of what those dreams may be. Success to me is measured by my happiness and satisfaction with my life and the relationships within it as well. I hope my children will feel the same.

Geri took this photo. It's one of Holly's favorites. Holly notes that for a photo with that many people in it, it's remarkable that no one is looking at the camera.

Below is a 2006 photo by Gail Higgins, of kids at the dance at the Live and Learn Unschooling Conference

Dana

"I'm not good at anything"

Understanding angst: encouragement for the mother of a fifteen year old.

"How will they function?"

How will they know how to write essays in college classes? Cool stories of success at writing without formal training.

Will they get JOBS!?

How are they as people? Problems some unschooled teens have had with tests

Read how 14-yr-old Brenna's life changed drastically after an unschooling conference.

click to enlarge

Maybe not unschooled, but a good story either way: The saga of Benjamin, the backwoods, homeschool boy who wanted to get a job

YOUNG ADULTS/LATE TEENS

QUO VADIS
"Quo Vadis is a weeklong gathering for people interested in creating strong, supportive community for adult unschoolers and self-educators. We work to empower those dedicated to lifelong learning by facilitating an event that cultivates, sustains, and unites individual self-educators and their allies..." http://www.quovadis-gathering.org

RESPONSES TO CONCERNS POSTED BY NERVOUS PARENTS:

Not having a high school diploma didn't keep my always unschooled daughter out of college, AND she got her first paid job BECAUSE she was unschooled - her dance studio needed someone to cover the afternoon classes of a teacher going on maternity leave, none of the regular teachers were available for that time and the older assistants were in school. She's been employed by them ever since.

It's an interesting twist. :)

Deborah in IL

Marty has worked "during school hours" since he turned fifteen, and was offered a fulltime job just before turning 17. None of this keeps him from learning, from doing lots of things with other people, nor will it keep him from the option of college. He's working 6:30 to 3:00 M-F. Kinda like school hours, for the first time in his life.

Sandra in NM

Kudos to Kirby, on his job, from a surprising source
here

HOMESCHOOLER'S WEBPAGES

Here are some sites by homeschoolers, on projects, arts, writing, and sometimes just their lives. If you have sites to add, e-mail [email protected] Note that they can make much nicer webpages than I can, so click and see some GREAT pages by teens:

Heather Martin talks about unschooling college and other unschooling topics.
"I am The Unprocessed Child" Laurie Chancey's mother has published a book about Laurie's life thusfar and how she learned without school. Read Laurie's own words.
Christy, in Alberta, writes about her own learning and has advice for parents of new homeschoolers.
Stirling is a movie being made by homeschooled teens, and has at least one unschooler acting. They have a website.
Gina Trujillo's Sonic Fan Site, "Flipside Element," has some biographical information, and lots of Gina's art and writing. Gina is the #1 child of the three discussed in the short article "Public School on Your Own Terms," which has been published in a couple of homeschooling newsletters and in Linda Dobson's book The Homeschool Book of Answers. Gina wrote in March '06: "Here's a better example of my work these days. http://resuki.deviantart.com."
Laurie's Page. She's doing weddings, for one thing. Laurie's a young adult who was unschooled throughout. "Bedtime??? HA! When I get tired, my friend!"

Beach High School, "Freedom for self-direction"
Wes Beach runs a distance (or in person) program for teens who want help with a resume or a high school diploma or academic advisement and ideas. Here's a link to stories about some of his students.

contributions and suggestions are welcome!
Homeschooling Teens High School, College, Career Planning--High School and Beyond, NHEN's page
Ideas about college, and obscure information such as Western States Undergraduate Exchange.
More on Unschoolers and College

More on this site about
TEENS