Unschooling: Learning by living and living by learning.
This is Elisheva’s definition of unschooling. Elisheva is a 16-year-old Praxis Participant, musician, entrepreneur, freelancer, and artist. She never went to traditional public school, and when you talk to her you’d be surprised to hear that she’s 16 years old.
Like Elisheva, I believe that most kids would be better off not going to school. I work with tons of young professionals and there tends to be a clear difference between traditional public schoolers and unschoolers.
The ones who never went to school act like adults. They’re naturally independent, driven, creative, curious, and impressive. Many young people who have been to school are impressive too, but it’s not because of their time in school–it’s despite their time in school.
There is a necessary de-schooling process for entrepreneurial-minded individuals who spent most of their lives in public school. I went through this. There are bad habits that become ingrained in your psychology when most of your life consists of following the rules of authority figures in a manufactured learning environment that’s totally separate from the real world. School stifles creativity and fosters obedience. There are certainly benefits of having a structured education system in the right context, but not for people who value creativity, freedom, and entrepreneurship.
I talked with Elisheva this week about what it was like not going to school and why she believes public school is harmful to the development of young people. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.
Contact Elisheva:
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/elishevacaless
Website: http://www.elishevahinkle.com/
Email: elishevablog@gmail.com