Unschoolers - Softcover

Sayigh, Sophia; McDonald, Milva

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0998589403 ISBN 13: 9780998589404

Publisher: Sophia Sayigh, 2017

Synopsis

What do homeschoolers do all day? Unschoolers, a fictionalized portrayal of the lives of families educating their kids outside of school, answers that question with the power of story. Through day-in-the-life vignettes featuring mothers, fathers, children, and teens, readers are introduced to members of Home Learning Together, the support group that serves as the glue for a motley crew boldly opting out of the education system. Solid as a rock Teresa, outspoken Pina, and busybody Carmen grease the wheels and put out fires, all the while welcoming newbies into the fold. Jewel practices yoga but can’t get herself to unwind, Priscilla yearns for a solution to her son’s struggles in school, Alice gives her dog and her kids free rein. Meanwhile, children play, teens percolate, and the group gears up for the biggest potluck of the year. The connected stories reveal scenes from a typical homeschooling day for a variety of families, offering illuminating examples of self-directed and child-led learning, and bringing to life the human dynamics that arise when a diverse bunch of people come together on an unconventional path. Readers will encounter social standoffs, the vagaries of email, the headiness of adolescence, and the ups and downs of life with kids. While the book depicts children learning to read and digging into math and other subjects, and addresses the age-old question of socialization, it transcends the practical aspects covered by most books about homeschooling. Unschoolers delivers a charming volume unique in the canon of pages about homeschooling, unschooling, self-directed learning, and alternative education.

About this title

About the Author:

Milva McDonald is the mother of four amazing adult children, all of whom homeschooled for all or most of their child and teen-age years. She started homeschooling in 1991, after reading an essay by John Taylor Gatto and realizing school and the PTA weren’t for her. For three decades she worked for The Boston Globe and boston.com writing and reporting about arts and cultural events in Boston. Other pursuits over the years included running a folk music coffeehouse, organizing countless field trips, facilitating creative writing groups for kids, passing hors d’oeuvres at fancy parties on weekends, and performing in several editions of The Christmas Revels. She sings in The Halalisa Singers and blogs at www.apotlucklife.com. SOPHIA SAYIGH is a librarian and the mother of two adult children, neither of whom went to school until college. She is forever grateful for the time she was able to spend with them unschooling, and she continues to learn more from each of them than she ever taught them. She stumbled upon John Holt’s Teach Your Own at the library in 1991, and it struck a deep chord, resonating with her own school experience as a “good” student, as well as her then life with a toddler. She is the ultimate homebody, and has supported families through volunteer work as a breastfeeding counselor, contributing homeschool support group member, and family death care/green burial outreach. A perfect moment would be spent outside in lively conversation with family and friends, a cup of coffee, book, and dog within reach.

Review:

“...a dynamic, upbeat novel... vivid characters... In addition to being a fun read, it is also a wonderful portrait of how a community can self-organize and grow through mutual and individual efforts.”~Patrick Farenga, writer and education activist

About this edition

• Publisher: Sophia Sayigh
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0998589403
• ISBN 13: 9780998589404
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 170
• Illustrator: Sayigh Julie Nathon