The Great Family Tree:

The Global Reach of Self-Directed Education and its relationship to movements for social and environmental justice

Among the many misconceptions about unschooling, two that are particularly relevant for this section are the following:

  • Many people believe unschooling is only about children;

  • Many people believe unschooling is only about the individual freedom of children.

It is true that a great deal of unschooling focuses on allowing children to reclaim the autonomy, respect, and trust that many are missing in a world that constricts, prescribes, and monitors most of their choices around learning. 

It also might often be the case that some home schoolers are focused primarily on the freedom of their own children. 

But for an important group of SDE proponents, unschooling is intimately linked to social and environmental change. 

My own approach is influenced by this strand of the movement, and that is reflected in these pages and the resources shared.

The Great Family Tree offers an introduction to:

  • The basic ideas and practices around unschooling and SDE;

  • Information about the many places and people doing this work around the globe;

  • The connection between unschooling and social change;

  • Articles about children and schooling that are relevant to hot issues like technology, mental health, nutrition, and the environment; 

  • Places and practices that engage children in fun, impactful, and meaningful work in their communities or globally.

  • The Elephant in the room: how or whether unschooling can be an option for working families and in a society that doesn’t offer support for families learning outside school.

This page is a work in progress….Feel free to share ideas, people, and spaces you find inspiring! 

TOP BOOK PICK!

There are so many books I would recommend on SDE and related topics. But one that I think is most extraordinary is not explicitly a book about unschooling or SDE, and yet its relevant to every part of the journey. It’s by Jay Griffiths and is called, Kith: The Riddle of the Childscape

Kith is a deep exploration into how boundaries of all kinds – physical, emotional, social, political – narrowed the spaces in which we learn, explore and relate to each other and the natural world.

Griffiths covers ideas from around the world, in the past and the present, from many different angles. It’s not explicitly a book about unschooling or SDE, and yet its relevant to every part of the journey.

Kith takes time to read: I managed only one or two chapters each night. But I think one of the most important books any parent, educator or human being can read about how and when we lost childhood and with it many aspects of our freedom, autonomy, creativity and imagination. 

Evidence for the Value and Effectiveness of SDE

Moving beyond the philosophy and practice of SDE here is a list full of ideas, explanations and links to evidence-based views on the value and effectiveness of self-directed education.

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THE BASICS: WHAT IS SDE? 

A list of introductory videos, TED talks, and podcasts from around the globe by inspired trailblazers in the movement for liberated learning

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A few great films about SDE and the impact of schooling on children.

THE LINKS BETWEEN UNSCHOOLING, ANTI-RACISM, ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS, DECOLONIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Many SDE proponents believe that unschooling is intimately linked to the global movement for social and environmental justice. This vision poses a great challenge to activists over time who have aspired to transform or disrupt various institutions and yet have overlooked one of the most entrenched and influential institutions of all – the school.

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TECHNOLOGY AND THE MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN

Unschoolers are a diverse group, and do not subscribe to one way of learning. Many identify as tech-positive and believe children should self-regulate when it comes to screens; others believe that screens should be limited and feel strongly that tech is having a negative impact on children and childhood.

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SDE SPACES

SDE centers worldwide, online and on the ground

THIS ISN’T NEW! The History of Radical Pedagogy

Critiques of schooling are as old as school itself, with educational thinkers in almost every century pointing to the fundamental conflict between learning institutions and the bodies, minds and spirits of young people.

PROJECTS THAT ALLOW YOUNG PEOPLE TO DESIGN THEIR OWN LEARNING OR CONTRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY PROJECTS

SDE, HUNTER GATHERER SOCIETIES AND INDIGENOUS CULTURES:

What our roots tell us about how we learn…

People often think SDE is radical and new: but across a wide variety of cultures and historical time periods self-directed learning practices have been central to the way that children gained knowledge, developed skills, built social relations, earned a living and made their way in the world. SDE is a timeless form of learning that is now being revived and re-celebrated around the globe.

PLAY, AUTONOMY and the MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN

Many SDE scholars and educators have postulated direct links between the lack of autonomy, play and risk taking in childhood and the pandemics of stress, anxiety, depression, and suicide affecting youth today. They have also noted that the one-size-fits-all model of school has led to an ever-increasing number of children punished, diagnosed, or medicated because they cannot fit a narrow school-based model of behavior.

RECENT ARTICLES ABOUT SCHOOLING

We are witnessing an explosion of debates about education, with unprecedented challenges being posed to conventional schooling and business-as-usual when it comes to learning.

NATURE, THE ENVIRONMENT AND CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH

UNSCHOOLING ADJACENT

Some of the many organizations doing work around liberated learning practices share some of the values and practices of unschooling. 

Many SDE spaces center ecological consciousness as a key form of literacy and a vital path on the journey toward social change as well as individual mental health.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: 

As supporters of SDE we need to take a hard look at the often overlooked questions and challenges around SDE and unschooling.

Like who can afford unschooling anyway?

How can you create a sustainable community while unschooling?

Is unschooling anti-teacher or an attack on all the dedicated work that teachers do every day?

And more…