I really want to be unschooled but my parents won't let me... Any suggestions on how to convince them? =)?

Question

They're not really clear on the whole concept. They think it's just dropping out of school and doing nothing. I need some links or something for ways to make them understand! They also say I won't socialize enough D: I get good marks and I think I could teach myself /important/ things easily but they don't understand that. :(

Answer 1

I'm 14 and unschooled; one of 9 siblings all of whom were, are or will be unschooled.

You could try getting a copy of Grace Llewellyn's book: 'The Teenage Liberation Handbook:how to quit school and get a real life and education'. That might help your parents to understand what unschooling is all about and what it can offer you.

I think some parents are just naturally anxious about their kids becoming unschoolers especially if their kids will need to get a job etc to survive when they're older (rather than being the heir to a family empire!). If that's you, you might have to introduce them to the idea very gradually maybe by showing them that you are able to find your own resources, organise yourself and teach yourself something useful while still going to school: slowly, slowly...catchee piggie, lol!

Answer 2

I hope you mean home schooled.

Answer 3

Why waste time learning, when ignorance is instantaneous?

~ Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

Answer 4

I pretty  much side with your parents, but... Why don't you write up a plan for learning something they would consider important. Show how you plan to learn it and what evidence you could show them that you had learned it. Give yourself some deadlines for accomplishing the task.

You may not like deadlines, but some people, you know like the IRS, have them and they get awfully unreasonable about those who ignore them.

Answer 5

I would try to sell it to your parents as "homeschooling" first and show them the way you can organize some kind of schedule for your education. If they are skeptical, schedule landmark dates for reaching a certain goal or accomplishing the finish of a project. Also find others in your area doing the same kind of thing and try to get involved with kids your age. If they see the initiative these things take, they should trust you more that you are able to take charge of your own education.

Take a look at this website: http://www.sudval.org/

There are other schools like this in the US in addition to organizations that can act as "schools" even though you are not actually attending. They take care of testing, etc. because in some states in the US you must submit yearly progress. If you are worried about having documentation about your graduation these organizations can handle that too. But I wouldn't worry too much about that. In my experience there are many liberal arts colleges that accept students who have experienced alternative education. There are people who won't understand this and think that you dropped out of school but there are honestly so many experiences that you can have in your life that will more than make up for time spent in school.

Answer 6

I recommend you understand what NOT having n education means for your future.  Average jobs, like Walmart are about all you have in store for work.  No one wants to hire a 'High School Dropout'.

At this stage of the game, Teaching yourself 'things" is not what you need.  To prepare for a fruitful future, a good job and stable income, you NEED that one piece of paper.  High School Diploma.  If you REALLY want to prove it to your parents, check into "TEsting Out" of your classes, or taking a GED Exam.  Many areas allow an Early GED exam to get you  out of High School early - AND you end up with the GED Certificate.  Not as good as a real High School Diploma, but it's better than nothing.

Another possibility is being Home Schooled.  In order to do that, you need a parent who can get qualified to be your "teacher".  If they are willing, you then have to find a curriculum to follow in order to get the degree that way.  Remember, Home School is not easy.  It's just a way to get the HSD without going to classes.  You still have to do the work and "learn things".

I homeschooled my daughter for two years.  If you would like some information on it, please email me directly.

Answer 7

I think I understand. You are bored with school and don't feel like you are getting any where. I'm not sure how old you are, but you talk like you are in high school. If that is true, lay out a set of things you need to know to get a degree. Then ask them to let you do it and give them a way to measure your progress. Make sure it is heavy in something you are instred in and includes things you don't like as well. Do a short version of it while keeping up your other studies and maybe if you show them you are a slf starter and are willing to stick with it, they will be more willing to listen. Oh, one more thing go to the libary get a book on un-schooling and leave it where they can find it and read it. They might just get the idea themselves.

Answer 8

Okay first of all asking to be homeschooled is asking one of your parents to quit their jobs. You're asking them to take away from your families income to allow you to be comfortable in a learning environment.

Have you thought maybe one of them doesn't want to do that? That takes a heck of a lot of effort, it's not so easy. They have to buy supplies, do research, be certified.

It's not as simple as you may think. You're coming off selfish. The honest to God truth is.....School is effin boring and everyone in America has to go through it.

Your parents have enough to worry about.

Answer 9

I have exactly the same problem. I am already homeschooled, but I really want to be unschooled. My mom has gone back and forth, agreeing to unschool me ( I took her to meet other unschoolers at a picnic) and then changing her mind once the initial excitement for the idea wore off... I have finally decided to just make a show out of every academic thing I do that isn't assigned in the hope that she will see that I will l can learn without being taught. You could try that, or else explain to your parents about the things you are interested in and how those things can lead to learning about other things. Also, make sure that they know you will need a "Deschooling" vacation before you start. You could suggest a trial period, but that would mean either doing independent work on top of you school work, or waiting for summer vacation to have your trial period, which you probably don't want to do cause the school year just started... You could have it over winter break...

About socialization, tell your parents that you can stay in touch with your school friends and make new friends in the homeschooling community and in your neighborhood, and through jobs, apprenticeships, etc. Let them know that kids make friends in spite of school, not because of it. In fact, by uncle was worried about socialization when we started homeschooling, but when he came to visit he was happily surprised that I had transformed for the shy 10 year old I had been two years earlier (when I went to public school) to a happy, talkative 12 year old. Also, we meet with one of our homeschooled friends ever Wednesday.

Also, have you read The Teenage Liberation Handbook, by Grace Llewellyn? There is a whole chapter on convincing your parents...

Sorry, my answer is kind long and unclear, but I hope I helped at least a little!

Answer 10

Give them a copy of the Teenage Liberation Handbook plus get a list of activities from local homeschool support groups, not to mention adding things you would like to do but can't do because you're in school. Also, make sure to unschool during your own time, until such time that they may let you. Your example can work wonders.

Answer 11

Unschooled means someone without a school education and that is exactly what your parents are thinking. Perhaps you should be more clear in your meaning since it certainly does sound like you want to drop out of school.

Answer 12

Yu really have to be a motived self-starter and avid researcher for unschooling and pick things that will broaden you and take them to their limits.

I took observational astronomy to the point of getting published in Sky and Telescope at age 16 and taking pictures of the moon with a $5 box camera and TriX Pan and doing my own processing and enlgaring.

I had to build my own enlarger initially with a toilet paper tube and a magnifying glass.

Now there's you unschooling.  Getting a small telescope a small camera, some film a Yankee processing kit some Tri Chem and Microdol X printing paper and learning how to do the process.

I went on to color work and built my own color head for my Durst J33 englarger by going to the hobbie shop, getting some opaque plastic and ethelyine dicholoride and a small cutting saw.

I designed an enclosure, made a tray for the filters, make clips to deal the enclosure to the enlarger and light source.

Now you have that kind of gumshum and resources.

I taught myself programming in BASIC on 6 platforms including CP/M, DOS, Windows, Mac, Amiga, Atari.

I'd decide to try and learn how to program like the big guys, but without copying their code.  I made spread sheet programs, word processing programs with justification, word wrap, cut and paste, I made data bases I made paint and draw programs.

I finally made a few commerical programs including the worlds first no code web page maker.

I, as far as I know, was the first to make a NO CODE web page maker in 1993.  Long before there was a Front PAge or Dream Weaver

My software was being used by teachers, 10 year old students, ministers to make their own web pages in an era when there was no Tripod, Free Yellow, You Tube, 360 and no templates.

I was making money from this then I design a CD cover maker that also indexed your CD directories so you would know what was on your data disks and music disks.

That made me a fair slug of money from 1997 until about 2003 when the competitioni killed me.

Now, you ready to do that.

You ready to go into competition with Microsoft by the 10th grade.

I put a data base together for a private library that let you research titles, directors, actors and parsed through 5,000 titles showing you rentals and sales and video offering.

In filmmakign I taught my self how to do in camera lap dissolves, fades, split screen, superimposed titles, beat to beat sound adding (ADR), anamorphics all on 8mm and then I switched to 16mm and started doing documentaries and TV commercials for people.

I had a complete editing rig with old stuff I accumualted at good prices.  A view scope, rewinds, split reels.  I rented my synchronizer and amplifier.

I also rented the moviolas and flat beds.

I did not own negative conforming and checkerboarded for invisible edits.

My works been on TV more times than I can count and my work taught me more about TV and video operations.

I learned video linear editing by watching two guys from Lockheed do it on a production I did the sound mixing for.

With one day experience I started editing U-Matics for musical acts.

I got myself a Pinnacle Capture Card and Studio software and swtiched to non-linear in 2001 and I also experiemneted with Video Vegas and PRemier.

My current stuff has been around the world with music videos.

My work in audio started when I was 8 years old and moved to stereo tube equipment when I was 10 and to 4 track at age 20 and then straight to 16 and 24 track.

I was one of the first few people in 1986 mixing to Sony PCM 16 bit digital on video tape from analog multi-track.

The records I produced sell on E-bay for $30 each

All of this was unschooling and it took years.

You ready for the commitement.

My unschooling included English, Grammar, Vocbulary, History, Science, Technology, Geometry, Trig, journalism, video, film, television, audio, music (I play bass, guitar and keyboards, all unschooled or homeschool with my mother who was conservatory trained).

I'm published in a variety of magazines and have been working on breaking into the book market for 15 years now.

My reference libary included every College Abstract Barnes and Nobel published and I read them all, about 20 books on Psychology and Psychiatry, 40 books on Programming and I can program in BASIC, C, C++, Modual2 and PAscal, plus I dabbled a little with both 86 and 6800 Assembler.

I had the complete set of HArvard Classics

I did comparative studies of the Bible with 7 different texts.

Most of what I am professionally came EXCLUSIVELY from UNSCHOOLING

I was private institute trained in Electronics but I never put it much work, but I can open up a device and understand how it flows, so long as it's descrete (I actually learned Tube electronics, specialising in Color Televsion theory).

I graduated electronics school at 12.

Now, what's your game plan.

In unschooling you have to have a game plan.  The concept is to learn something and then look at all the adjuncts.

I have several unrelaized projects including a History of Women Filmmakers in which I interviewed several women and read just about everything I could find at UCLA, Cal State, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and at one of the most complete private libraries in Los Angeles.

I am a foremost expert on Women Filmmakers from 1895 to present.

Including Animation.

My readings lead me into strange directions.  By accident I read a translation of a 300 BC Greek Astrology text.  I was into astrology for a while and had all the emphermerises, table of houses, time changes in America.  I had about 30 books on Astrology and I am one of the few people to have read this Doctorial Dissertation on a translating, with maps of the sky, from a 300 BC Greek Astrologer.

That's what unschooling can lead you to.

You take a turn, strike gold in a SEGUE and go after it because it means something to you, even though you're out reasearching women filmmakers.

Unschool means that MANY things mean something to you and when doing one thing you find a totally unrelated item but it strikes your fancy so you take a 3 hours break, read it and then xerox a copy of it for your own use.

This is what unschooling is.

I was out reaserachig women in medine for a period piece fiction book I was planning in the period between the dark ages and rennseance and I ran into two more modern ones, including one about a woman who is basically the prototype for Dr. Quinn Medicine woman.

And 1800s woman who was not very pretty, not very shapely and it took her 12 years to get enough education to be a doctor for NO man would train her for more than a year.

She even did 1 year stint with a Dentist.

She eventually settled in the plains states as was their only Medical person for 1,000 miles.

I just put down my reasearch on Mid-evile times and read this biography of the first American Medicine Woman from the 1800s.

See that's history and I jumped from Rennesaunce history to American Post Civil War history

The common theme was Women MEdical pratitioner.

I read about a French woman who trained with sevearl male doctors and she was good at what she did.  She was homeopathic and hollistic and the Paris School of Medicine refused her credentials.

You want to unschool, go to the College or Universtity (state run ones, they are open to everyone) and just start going through the computer data base and you will be amazed at the esoteric things you will find.

Answer 13

Well you might be able to convence them by showing them how you can learn on your own. Proving that.