Laricchia - Free to Learn

Free to Learn

Five Ideas for a Joyful Unschooling Life

PAM LARICCHIA

Copyright 2012 Pam Laricchia

All rights reserved.

Published by

Living Joyfully Enterprises

Erin, Ontario, Canada

ISBN-13: 978-0-9877333-0-6

Edited by Alexandra Peace

Cover design by Jane Dixon-Smith

Cover photo by Lissy Laricchia

I have been learning from my kids, Joseph, Lissy, and Michael, since they were born. We have been living together joyfully through laughter and tears, consternation and celebration, Harry Potter and Zelda. Each day is new and exciting, even if we stay in our pyjamas, and our conversations are always interesting and thought-provoking! They are shining examples to me of staying true to yourself, especially through the challenging times, and for that I dedicate this book to them.

I LOVE YOU!

Introduction

Hi, I'm Pam Laricchia. Our family is a wonderful web of three teenage children (Joseph, Lissy, and Michael), me, and my husband, Rocco. We've been happily unschooling in Ontario, Canada since 2002. Nice to meet you.

As background, I thought I'd share a bit about my life before, and my journey to, unschooling. Having earned an Engineering and Management degree through a unique five-year university program, I was firmly entrenched in the public and post-secondary education system, as were all my family and friends. Soon after, I was happily married and had children. But even as my parenting began veering from the mainstream, it didn't occur to me to question the system when my eldest reached school age. I do remember thinking it would be an interesting ride when we walked out of Joseph's junior kindergarten teacher interview, during which he didn't say a word to answer her questions. He smiled and explained to me that he didn't feel like talking to her today, but that he'd speak to her once he started school. I laughed and tousled his hair.

In those first years some teachers were more flexible, while others were quite determined to shave off his uniqueness. I researched, I left my career to stay home full-time, and I worked with his teachers and principals to try to help them better understand him. I even gave a presentation about spirited kids at a teacher's meeting and donated books to the library for other parents. Most of the teachers understood what I was talking about, but their feedback was that they don't have the time to work with kids outside the personalities and learning styles that mesh with the classroom setting. The kids have to fit the surroundings, not the other way around. It became clear to me that he would not thrive in public school. In my continued quest to find a learning environment that worked well for him, I found a specialized private school. The environment was betterthe teachers and staff are being paid to work outside the typical linesbut still not great.

Then, through still more research, I came across the concept of homeschooling and was thrilled to discover it was legal where we lived. Rocco and I discussed it at length over the next couple of weeks and realized that there seemed no downside to trying it out for a year; if it didn't work out they could return to school. It was March Break and none of the kids went back. They were ecstatic with their newly-found playtime and I was now happily researching homeschooling. I soon discovered the notion of unschooling and after a couple weeks of trying to entice them to do some workbooks, I realized I was hindering, not helping, their learning. We spent the next months deschooling and living and having a great time. We still are!

There were five ideas along the way that really helped me to shift my mindset and to understand the potential of unschooling. Of course I didn't know that these would turn out to be such influential ideas for me. At the time I was just deeply immersed in learning all I could about unschooling and living joyfully with my children.

And I loved learning about unschooling! I still do. As I began to more fully understand the common issues surrounding unschooling, I was inspired to help others learn about it as well. I began by developing a website, and named it livingjoyfully.ca because even at that point I understood that that is what it all boils down to for methat living joyfully, living fully with joy, leads to an immense amount of real learning. For both myself and for my kids.

Eventually my joy in helping others learn about unschooling (along with inspiration from Kelly Lovejoy's Live and Learn conferences based in the US) led me to host an annual unschooling conference in the Toronto area. With six years of the conference under my belt, my goal remained firm: to bring unschooling families together face to face in a relaxed and supportive environment that is conducive to learning more about unschooling, not only from the speakers but also from each other.

I've had the idea for this book in my head for a few years, but I wasn't comfortable taking the next step. I wanted to share my learning journey, but I didn't feel like I was experienced enough to speak with conviction; I didn't feel it in my bones. Every year or so when I read over the outline, I liked it more and more. But when I took a look at it again in the fall of 2009, I felt absolutely and wonderfully overwhelmed with all that I had to say about these ideas. It was finally time to write and I dove in.

So here's what I've learned.

What Is Unschooling?

When I first became a parent I was woefully unaware of my options when it came to my children's education. School is mandatory, right? That's why there are attendance laws and truant officers. I didn't know anybody who had questioned that. Public schooling was the one and only way for children to learn, (except for private school, but that was an expensive and out-of-reach option). The kids went to public school and I worked hard to make the best of it for them.

Then I came across the concept of homeschooling-kids learning outside of school (usually based out of their home, though sometimes out of the family's RV or boat). I was thrilled to discover that the school system was not the only legal option available in Canada (or in many other countries). We had a choice! This was a profound realization for me, and has been for many parents. You have a choice.

As parents, whether you choose public, private, or alternative school, homeschooling or unschooling, the act of making a conscious, well-informed choice regarding your child's learning environment is a crucial step. It is part of your journey as their supportive partner in life.

And remember, any choice you make now is not cast in stone. You can change your mind as your experience grows and/or your circumstances change. That's what happened in our household, and our children left the school system when they were nine, seven, and four.

The purpose of this book is to help you understand some of the basic principles behind unschoolinga style of homeschooling. Homeschooling generally encompasses methods of educating children in lieu of school. Often it means the children's education is dictated by the parents instead of by teachers, typically using purchased curricula or parent-designed unit studies. Then what is unschooling? Unschooling is, at its most basic, about learning without a curriculum, without a teacher-centred environment, but sometimes the concept is easier to define by what it's not. It's not school-at-home, a re-creation of the school environment with a low student-teacher ratio around the kitchen table. And it's not about leaving your kids to fend for themselves, far from it. It is about creating a different kind of learning environment for your children. An environment based on the understanding that humans learn best when they are interested and engaged, and when they are personally involved and motivated. Creating an environment conducive to real learning is very difficult if someone elseparent, teacher, or curriculum developeris dictating what a person should be learning at any given time. But drop that outside control over the child and learning truly comes naturally. As the late John Holt (1983, 293), educator and unschooling advocate, notes so succinctly, "Fish swim, birds fly; man thinks and learns."