My homeschooling odyssey began shortly after my children were born. as I watched my joyfully learning children discover their world, I began to question, and finally to discard, many notions I had held about learning.
Distrust in certain traditional educational ideas had gnawed at the back of my mind even earlier as I taught in public and private schools. now I discovered why: those ideas interfered with the true and natural process of learning that I daily observed with my children and with their friends. I made a one hundred eighty-degree shift in my thinking about how children learn.
I delved into the scarce homeschooling information that was available, beginning with John Holt's Growing Without Schooling Newsletter, in 1979. relieved to find that I was not alone in my transition from teacher-centered schooling to interest-initiated learning, I began to "unschool" myself. I immersed myself in this new way of thinking and eagerly learned from the experiences of that first wave of pioneer homeschooling families and from my children.
My children's learning followed no calendar or clock. our lives were rich with the explorations and discoveries of two busy and happy little girls.
They learned what they needed to know through experience, books, games, conversations, classes, extensive play and life itself. they had ready access to their mom, and were supported by a dad who believed in what we were doing and cheerfully provided the means.
Through homeschooling, my children and I gained a precious opportunity to learn and grow together that cannot be approached in other educational models. alice and erin continue to learn independently and enthusiastically as adults. I am still learning, too.
-- ALF --
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