A River Between

Unschooling is basically “the freedom to learn in one’s own way.” Unschoolers learn what they want, when they want, and how they want. More recently, unschooling has become a movement for those who homeschool their children. It is learning without a set curriculum, without “teaching”, and without “school” as we define it in our culture. Unschoolers are still “learners” - yet they are free to learn in their own way, deriving meaning and synthesis from life experience. More and more, I am “unschooling my life” to reveal my true learning, and to reclaim my own experience and synthesis within this learning.

Village School Tribute
The Village School of Northfield was a k-12 charter school focusing on principles of Democratic Education. The students learn what they want, when they want, and how they want - every day of the school year. As part of a practicum with The Village School, I assisted faculty and students with video and internet projects. This is a slideshow set to the spoken word piece “The Language of my Reality” by Colin Mulcher and Hepepe. The music and spoken word are licensed under creative commons. Photos courtesy of Chris Barron.

Starwalkers and The Village Learning Community
After the Northfield School Board voted to end their sponsorship of the Village School charter in 2007, two former teachers and I helped to form Starwalkers. Starwalkers is an intentional learning community in rural Northfield. We host workshops and retreats, operate a local CSA farm (community supported agriculture), and have transformed The Village School into “The Village” - an unschooling learning community for children, teens, and adults.

Starwalkers: How do we do what we do? (PDF)
A document outlining the Starwalkers philosophy. We are conscious learners within a conscious community. Transformation occurs deeply - from the inside out. By reaching inward to reflect on and grow our passions, we become living examples of transformation that we may take into the world.

Unschooling and Educational Transformation - Course Reflection (PDF)
Within this learning experience, I had wanted to dive deeper into the literature surrounding “unschooling” - parents who didn’t send their children to school, teens who unplugged from the public school system to create their own unique educational experiences, and the resources available to “unschoolers.” What actually happened in this course was a beautiful unfolding transformation, which allowed me to not only study these concepts, but to participate in and actively create something new from within this learning.

A Local Learning Commons - Vision (PDF)
What could learning and civic engagement look like if everyone were treated as an equal? All could be leaders and all could be learners. Within a local learning commons, friends and neighbors could critically examine questions that mattered to them, set their own agendas for grassroots change and transformation, and share resources and learning with one another. The ideas expressed in this document are a synthesis of Open Space learning initiatives and the programs and ideals of Shikshantar: The People’s Institute for Re-thinking Education and Development in Udaipur, India. Ideas from this vision have helped to shape the Northfield Commons Cafe project of The Center for Sustainable Living.

Resource: Healing Ourselves from the Diploma Disease (PDF)
While not one of my writings, I have found this collection of writings and essays to be incredibly valuable to me as I continue my own journey of “walking out” of academic education systems that no longer serve me. Credentialism, Meritocracy, and Specialization have not served to unite a world community in sustaining or preserving cultures, ecosystems, languages, or traditional learning. This resource is courtesy of Shikshantar: The People’s Institute for Re-thinking Education and Development.

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