Learning is Natural, School is Optional.: The North Star approach to offering teens a head start on life

For as long as there has been compulsory schooling, students have asked, “Do I really have to go to school through 12th grade? Isn’t there some other way?”

The conventional answer, “No, there is no other way. You just have to make the best of it,” didn’t satisfy Kenneth Danford and Joshua Hornick. In 1996, they left their public school teaching jobs to help students live, learn, and grow in a different environment. The method is simple, powerful, and relatively easily accessible, but most teens and families need some support to choose this path.

Here is the story of North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens, which has provided this support to hundreds of students over the past two decades. In this combination memoir/how-to, you will learn that this “other way” is actually an opportunity for young people to get a tremendous head start on adulthood. Not only do these young people generally start college early, gain meaningful work experience, and travel or pursue interesting passions, they also have the time and space for self-exploration. They develop intrinsic motivation, self-awareness, and maturity beyond their years.

This other way to live and learn is not a trick. There is no catch. There is no secret trap. One simply has to want more out of life than settling for traditional school, and have enough immediate support in their family and community to take on this challenge.

It’s one thing to know there’s another way. It’s something far more moving and profound to make this other way possible for any interested family. As Danford shares his experience facilitating young people and their families in this pursuit of “unschooling,” you may be surprised and inspired by the information and stories in this book. Empowered by this knowledge, you, too, may even find yourself telling teens in your life, “Hey, there’s another way! I’d like to help you!”

More than ever, students and parents need to know that there are viable —and often superior—alternatives for them, when a traditional school setting isn’t working. I am so deeply impressed with what the North Star team has been able to provide to its community, and it is a model well worth emulating. This book will open eyes.
– Lou Aronica, New York Times bestselling coauthor of ”The Element“