Lori S Your Answer: Your Answer:
The steps for starting unschooling is to begin taking responsibility for your own education NOW. Whether you are still enrolled in a public or private school or a home school, you can unschool yourself in your own free time. No one, and I mean no one, can stop you from learning about anything and everything you want to know.
You can file for homeschooling in the state of California and then continue to educate yourself the way you and your family agree upon. There is no law against unschooling as it is a legitimate form of home schooling.and is recognized by many educators to be equal to or superior to a conventional education. You and your parents have the constitutional right to learn/teach how you want.
What are you interested in? What kinds of things do you enjoy? Are there any family or friends who can help you with these interests? When I was a teen (way back in the "old" days of the 1970's), I quit school as I got married and had a baby. I continued to read all the time, to study what interested me. At the time it was Switzerland, paleontology, medieval culture, and learning to enhance my baking skills such as bread making and all foods from scratch, to read biographies, autobiographies, and fiction. I learned from others older than myself for all the things I wished to learn about. From my mother-in-law I learned to make old-fashioned cooked fudge without a recipe. From my grandma I learned to can foods and do laundry in a wringer washer (I learned this when I was very young). From my dad I learned how to parent and how to be kind and compassionate. From an aunt I learned how to knit. From all of these people and more I learned to do many things and to value my education, but not school. School and education are not the same! They are very different. An education is whatever you want it to be. It is not what others, specifically strangers (school) want it to be for you. Do not allow others to dictate your path in life.
When I was 17 I was reading "Stalking The Wild Asparagus", by Euell Gibbons, and learned to forage for wild foods. I wildcrafted hickory nuts, black rasoberries, cattail tubers, day lilies blooms, and arrowroot. I baked, cooked, boiled, and stuffed these foods and ate them. I also began a life long study of "weeds" for medicinal and food value and continue to wildcraft to this day~33 years later. In October of 2008, I held a seminar at my church on Home Remedies. I also held a seminar on "green" cleaning materials and how to get away from using harsh and potentially dangerous chemicals. All of this self-taught. And now, I am teaching others what I know and passing the torch.
I am a homeschool mom, a home birth mom, a breadmaker (everything from quick breads and muffins to yeast breads, sour doughs, tortillas and bagels), a soap maker (from fats/oils, lye, liquids, and all kind so of cool things like oatlmeal and lavender); a good cook who feeds many. I can foods from our large garden. I also freeze them and dehydrate them for future use and as gifts for family and friends. I make almost all of my own lotions, facials, and bath items. We practice home remedies, use herbs, and essential oils for medicine and well-being, and I have extensively studied nutrition and the vital role of minerals for good health. All self-taught.
I am a free-lance writer and have been published in several magazines. I have been a regular contributor to the food section of the local paper for over 25 years, and I have won several awards for my own original recipes in magazines and papers. I volunteer at a community meal once a month by providing nourishing foods. I hold two meetings a month in my home for women who need lifeskills for the home (everything from how to clean to how to cook), and I have raised 8 kids, have 11 grandkids, and have held several different jobs over the years. I am also in the process of starting my own home-business this spring.
I am not telling you these things to brag or to sound my own horn. I am sharing these things with you to show how you can achieve success in your life by taking responsibility for your own education. I took my education seriously as I have an innate need to learn and I am always enhancing what I know by immersing myself in these subjects. School would never have given me these opportunities to learn the things I wanted to learn and needed to learn~ for me. Each person is unique and has their own talents and skills. Schools treat everyone like a cog in a machine and gives everyone the same standardized drivel. Uniqueness is not appreciated nor honored or respected. My education did not come from school.
Be unique. Be yourself. Find your niche by learning about anything and everything that sounds interesting. Learn to do all you can for yourself so that you become your own expert. Self-sufficiency is what made this nation great. Self-sufficiency will help make you great. Those who are capable, do. Those who rely on others for everything never truly succeed. Succeed. Be all that God created you to be.
Unschooling will help you do this.
Recap:
1) Have your parents sign you up for homeschooling so you will be legal. If they are not sure of the laws, have them contact a local homeschool support group. Your local library can often give you contact information. You can also find information on-line. I have left several sites for you to use and share with your parents. These sites give you the information you need to find groups and to comply with state law.
2) Don't surround yourself with a lot of dry textbooks. Find real, living books on all the subjects you want to learn about. Not sure what interests you? Then randomly find books on varying subjects at the library and immerse yourself in them. You'll know real quick whether they are something you wish to learn or not.If not, then find something else that sounds interesting. What state or country would you like to visit? then learn all you can about that place. Learn their topography, their culture, their customs, make their foods, and even learn the language, if you wish (the library has all kinds of self-teaching language CD's), write the ambassador of that country and ask for maps, and try to get a p*****l from that country. Learn about the history of Ancient Egypt or Rome, about the Dutch or the Reformation or the Crusades. Learn about Asian Art, or the Conquistadors or explorers. Learn about the Vikings, the Goths and Visigoths and Franks, or the Celts and Picts. What about the Zulus or the Boers or the Ethiopians? Island peoples and aborigines? How about geology or meterology or astronomy? Physics, metallurgy or alchemy? Or how about gardening (in containers or by the acre, organic or non-organic, farmer's markets or retail)? Or perhaps you'd like to make artisan breads, premium candies, chiffon cakes or gourmet foods? Maybe you'd like to own a diner or run a health food store or work as a Park Ranger. Find what interests you and strive to immerse yourself in this interest~whether for a few days, a few months, or a lifetime. You will know what makes you tick.
3) Find interesting people such as family or friends (or even strangers!) who have the skills/talents/knowledge you want and need to learn. Interested in rock climbing? Join a club of rock climbers. Want to learn CPR? Sign up at the Y for classes. Want to learn to cook? Get grandma to help you. Want to learn how to wire electricity? Watch programs on TV, ask those who know, and learn from the ground up. (I have a daughter-in-law who taught herself electricity, plumbing, and how to work on cars from watching TV programs and by working with others who possess these skills). Want to spend the next three months reading novels? Then do it. You learn from reading. But don't just sit around vegetating watching major meaningless hours of TV and doing nothing. Get out into the community and experience and do, but stay away from negative forces that will drag you down such as those involved in drugs/alcohol/gangs/criminal activity, etc. Get involved in a church, in a community action group, volunteer at a soup kitchen, tutor children in grade school, or be a candy striper at the hospital.
4) Get a job if you don't already have one. Jobs teach you skills you cannot gain otherwise. A job will give you skills, enhance the ones you already have, bring out ones you didn't know you had, and teaches you new things. It also gives you money to start doing things you would like to do~like save up for college or a car or helping the needy, or padding your bank account for future needs. Live frugal, be sensible, and make a future.
5) Never underestimate the value of family. Your family is your back bone and your life preserver. Your parents also love you more than anyone else. Your extended family values who you are. Learn about genealogy and dig into your roots. Its fun. It can also help you get closer to family, and they in turn will be passing on their life past to you. Does grandma make a special food at all the holidays? Learn to make it with her by having her teach you so you can pass on this tradition. Does your aunt make wonderful curtains? Then have her teach you to make some for your room (and learn valuable sewing skills). Does mom knit/crochet/spin? Then have her teach you. Does a neighbor do excellent wood work? Ask to apprentice. Find others who have the skills and arts you wish to learn to do.
6) Never give up. Be all you can be. Make learning a life-long endeavor that you never stop doing or ever take for granted. Learning is fun. It is addictive. It is enhancing. It is power. Learning is what education is all about. You are never too young or too old to learn new things. Those who are not learning are stagnating. The ability to learn and grow is a gift from God. Appreciate this gift.
7) Be responsible. Be ma
Answered By: Lori S - 1/4/2009 |