Unschooling Book Advice and Tips?

[AndyTheAnarchist]

So I am contemplating on possible upcoming projects that I will launch to have some income and promote myself in the market and liberty movement. I want to do something productive while I still have youth and complete freedom... (I'm a 16 year old unschooler) ... A big passion I have is writing, and I have been pondering the possibility of writing - and in hopes eventually publishing - my own book on a topic relevant to my daily life.

We live in an age of uncertainty, but one thing is for sure and that is freedom related philosophies like anarchism/voluntarynism and unschooling are blossoming in astonishing feats that have no yet been recorded. What a joy it is to live in this time. After hours of past research and more to come, I have a very vague conceptualization and a foggy idea of what I might want to write about that would possibly empower the freedom movement in education. 

I figured it would be great if I wrote a book on unschooling one day soon, if I focus on what i'm doing right now, read more on it, gathered lots of facts, and finally package it all into a book. But I of course want it to be more philosophical and not like a guidebook or something. Though those are very practical, I want something more in-depth and brain stimulating and enriching for couch sitters like myself who have the willingness to sit down and for a moment live inside there mind, before snapping back into physical reality to find that they had their regular dose of brain food for the day.

An idea of what the book might be entitled is "The Anatomy of Unschooling: a philosophical approach to education." ... But I have a problem, and that is a general shortage of ideas enlisted in the book. My question to my fellow Freedomain Radio philosophers alike is what would you like to see come out of this book? What questions should I answer, and what are some ideas that should be listed alongside this book? What should absolutely be included if I really want to make a philosophically related book?

 

Thanks for the answers if you happen to leave a comments below!

 

[dsayers]

Are you saying that you are 16 years old and have been unschooled your whole life? If so, have your parents also been active parents? In other words, is it true that while unschooled, you were not unparented as well? If it is true that you have been unschooled your whole life while not also being unparented, I think the book would be of incredible value as well as a way for you to earn some money by sharing your experience and exploring the topic in general.

 

I'm no author, so the ideas I'm about to share aren't from some proven system or anything like that. I think leading with your experience would be a good way to hook the audience. If you're happy, say so. If you spend lots of time exploring any aspect of the world you live in (learning), say so. If you are proficiently functional in the real world, show it. I think this would welcome people who already accept unschooling and those who would reject it.

 

From there, maybe delve a bit into the (developmental) psychology that substantiates why this isn't actually an unexpected outcome. Something to let those who are skeptical understand that your example is not exceptional, but would be the norm. While I would never credit Larken Rose as being a source for scientific research, he recently made a fantastic layman's argument for unschooling by pointing out that people learn to communicate without having somebody actually inflict it upon them, which is actually impossible since you need a language to teach most anything.

 

Then I would go on to contrast your experience and the data that establishes it as the norm to current schooling systems. How they're inflicted. That they're not at all synonymous with education. That they in fact can break people rather than build them up. Certainly that they do not produce people of any real value. This part wouldn't have to be too science-y, but should include a little so as to discourage being discarded as subjective observation.

 

Make a fun section that heralds the internet. Not only for its wide open access to any and all information available, but also as a tool for people to interact with one another to come up with better ways of educating people. If you can find any play centers for example that are open to the public and offer internet access for free will learning. Or programs that are set up to help people voluntarily learn about this or that that is available to young people, even ones that aren't in schools. Any sort of innovations that has bridged the gap between market needs and people who don't have pieces of paper saying that they're ready and qualified to provide.

 

I'd include a section talking about the difference between unschooling and unparenting. There are a LOT of people out there that blame unruly young folks for not having been hit enough or otherwise left to act like animals. These same people hear unschooling and think exactly the same thing. Make the case for a parent's role in terms of teaching the child how to reason, how to defer gratification, and make long term goals.

 

Then finally, you could offer a section for parents. Something to help them understand what somebody in your position would need. Internet access for example. Free play time, especially outdoors, with other children. While learning how to negotiate with parents who treat their children as equals is plenty of socialization, spending time with others in an unstructured environment is very important to the development of empathy. And of course the parents simply being present, available, and engaged with their child.

 

I hope that was helpful. I really hope you're able to see this through because this is something that would be very valuable to mankind in general and in ushering in the transition to a free and peaceful society.

[LanceD]

First off, I'm very impressed by your post. You seem to be very intelligent and obviously have a bright future ahead of you.

 

As far as your book I think I may have a decent idea. Maybe you could try talking to other unschoolers and tell their story? Maybe you could go to the unschool convention or make contacts online and interview the parents and kids.

 

You could devote chapters to different families and discuss why they decided to unschool and specifics on their unschool philosophy. Combine that with conversations with the child they are schooling or adult that is done with it on onto tackling life.

 

I bet after a few of these interviews/conversations you could find your theme to really tie all the stories together!

[LovePrevails]

as an experienced writer I suggest you don't worry about "not having enough ideas"  unless you run out of ideas!

 

Write about all the ideas you have already, you will find your imagination starts kicking in and going "oh yeah what about this, oh yeah what about that"

and you will write down those headings then work on those

 

another thing you can do is watch, listen to and read all the material available in your topic and don't do it inactively

write notes while you do it on anything you think is important to allude to in your book, avoid being a carbon copy by mixing what you learn with your own experience, expand on it and add something extra, use examples from your own experience to illustrate the point

 

you can post up sections of the work in progress on here and get feedback, plus ask if there is anything you have missed

that will also stimulate and expand your thinking

[cab21]

I want to do something productive while I still have youth and complete freedom...

 

what have you been doing in your unschooling, and how have you been doing it?

why/how do you have complete freedom now?

 

in hopes eventually publishing

 

how has your unschooling helped you learn about and form goals about publishing?

 

 

But I of course want it to be more philosophical and not like a guidebook or something.

 

so here you can compare different school philosophies. looks like you just have expirence in unschooling, so interviews with others who have done other types can get real experence from people for the comparison and contrasting.

 

what is already out there about the philosophy of unschooling, and how can you use your life and stories to show the philosophies in practice, and the stories of others?

 

that is a general shortage of ideas enlisted in the book.

 

what ideas do you currently have for your book? what is the outline?

 

What questions should I answer, and what are some ideas that should be listed alongside this book?

 

a few questions thought of to start with

how do you communicate?

how do you get the resources you want to learn from?

how do you think about how you use your time and other resources?

what is the philosophy about your relationship with yourself and others?

What is your relationship with nature and your place in the world?

[Josh F]

Personally, I am very curious about the perspective from a peacefully parented, unschooled kid of society at large.  And specifically, what impression you've come away with about your public school counterparts.  What do you think their households are like?  What qualities in their character do you notice that you don't see when you hang out with peacefully raised children?

 

I actually have a few more questions too, I just wanted to add.  I am under the impression that unschooling kids are in communication through a pretty large network that includes websites and meetups and conferences.  Are any of the kids bullys?  Is there much drug use?  Are the kids sexually active?

 

For me as a public school kid, I remember going to Jr High (11 to 13 years old) and there were pregnant girls and people doing drugs in my school.  Some kids were gang affiliated and would fight other kids.  I was personally in a "highly gifted" program that ran inside a public school, and kids in my own program were not pregnant and drug use didn't really begin until high school.

[LovePrevails]

yes get lots of people to ask you questions so you know areas of interest to cover