Free Republic

It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of a revolutionary educator, John Taylor Gatto. Gatto spent nearly 30 years as a teacher in the infamously rough New York City public school system. He was awarded New York City Teacher of the Year three consecutive years while also being recognized as New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991. Gatto understood that his students were not mere underlings, but individuals with unique skills and talents. Over the course of his career, Gatto was recognized by other educators for the rapport he had built with his...

'Unschoolers' Opt Out Of Formal Classes For Children By HANNAH WOLFSON   Ivy Borden, 6, and brother Kai, 5, play in the yard of their Birmingham, Ala., home. Ivy and Kai learn through 'unschooling,' a form of home schooling with no set schedule, curriculum or testing. (Photo by Michelle Williams)     BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Sometimes, when 6-year-old Ivy Borden is in the middle of picking flowers in the back yard, or grocery shopping, or hiking in the woods, she'll ask her mom, "Is this school?"Her mother will answer: Yes, it's school. And no, it isn't.Beth Borden is unschooling Ivy...

It's a child's dream. Wake up whenever you want, with nobody telling you what to do and when to do it. And here's the kicker: No school to rush off to. Welcome to the world of "unschooling" -- an educational movement where kids, not parents, not teachers, decide what they will learn that day. "I don't want to sound pompous, but I think I am learning a little bit more, because I can just do everything at my own pace," said Nailah Ellis, a 10-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, who has been unschooled for most of her life. Nailah's day starts...

I was surprised to read that the National Education Association passed a resolution at its recent Los Angeles convention to exclude home-schoolers from participation in extracurricular activities in public schools. The article I read went on to say that the NEA opposes parents home schooling their children unless they are state-licensed teachers and use a state-approved curriculum. Naturally, I found this quite unbelievable. Considering the high scores posted by home-schoolers on nationwide tests, the stellar achievements of home-schoolers on nationwide academic competitions, and the accomplishments of home-schoolers in college and the work force, I would have assumed that those interested...

My oldest son, Seth, was homeschooled the entire time he lived at home. This past summer, as he and I were discussing his upbringing, I had a realization about this movement we all call "homeschooling," and I said to Seth, "When you have kids, they will not be public schooled. They won't be private schooled. They won't be Christian schooled." "And," I concluded, "your kids won't be home schooled, either." The realization I had while talking with Seth is that God had begun something twenty years ago that came to be called “homeschooling,” but which really wasn’t about schooling at...