In the year 2001, I made the decision, as a twenty-five-year-old single mother, to unschool my child. It was not a decision I made lightly. Everyoneâmy parents, my sister, our extended family, the neighbors, expected that my son would, like all the other children in our town, go to school. But he didnât, and no one knew what to do. The choice to homeschool my child, while attending college myself, was a unique one at bestâŠa dangerous one at worst. In other peopleâs eyes, I was conducting a big educational experiment that might not turn out well. In my eyes, I was following my heart and the needs of the beautiful five-year-old boy in front of me.
I needed this book in the year 2001, and I needed a college professor at a traditional school of education to write it. I longed for scientific research on the outcomes of those who had been unschooled. I needed someone who could somehow reassure my family (and myself) that all would be okay, and even better than okay. I wanted assurance that my son would thrive. However, at that time, the research didnât exist.
I did have the support of some friends from La Leche League, and parents from our tiny homeschooling community. I had Growing Without Schooling, all of John Holtâs books, and later, Life Learning Magazine. I remember opening our mailbox and taking out Growing Without Schooling once per month and finally feeling like I could breathe. It was nice to know that there were others out there doing the same thing my son and I were doingâliving, playing, and learning together, making things work.
During the same time I was homeschooling my son, I was also writing my Masterâs thesis. Research on homeschooling was just beginning to grow, and it was an exciting time. I wanted to support that research, and also contribute to it myself. My Masterâs thesis was entitled An Ethnographic Study on Intrinsic Motivation in Homeschoolers. I wish I still had a copy. At the time I couldnât afford a computer, so my thesis was typed on a typewriter and given to my thesis committee. It didnât matter. I had a graduate degree, and could finally write Gina Riley, M.S. on my sonâs quarterly home education reports to the state. Somehow, I thought they would be impressed by this or at least not call Child Protective Services on me for educational neglect, as I now had the same level of education as teachers at our local school. As you can probably tell, the fear around unschooling in the early 2000s was real.
Things got better, both for my son and me, and for the realm of homeschooling. I worked as an adjunct professor at multiple schools, trying to make ends meet. I got married to someone who loved my son (but really didnât understand why he didnât go to school). I started my Ph.D., hoping I could continue to contribute to the research on intrinsic motivation, Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985), homeschooling, and unschooling. Because of my passion and experience in online education, which was fairly new at the time, I got a job teaching a fully asynchronous online course in Special Education at Hunter College in New York City. I was working, going to school, and homeschooling (really, unschooling) my son.
At Hunter College, I became deeply entrenched in the world of traditional education. My job was to teach teachers. At first, I taught based on what I knew as a psychologist. I focused on the definitions and manifestations of disability. Later on, I would teach classes in testing and assessment. I didnât deeply understand the work of teachers or the challenges they faced in their urban schools, but I tried to teach them all I knew, believing that through our discussions, we would learn and grow together. However, despite really positive evaluations from students, there was an element missing. I did not have experience within New York City schools. As an example, in an evaluation, one of my students wrote:
I really appreciated Professor Rileyâs energy and enthusiasm about the topics covered in this course. It seems she is genuinely interested in our experiences as teachers and encouraged us to share our daily experiences in the classroom with our peers. However, Professor Riley does seem, to some extent, out of touch with the types of environments and communities that we are working in. She seemed surprised by the types of situations we are dealing with and had few suggestions for how to cope with challenging administrative or familial contexts that our cohort is dealing with on a regular basis. For these reasons, her advice was obviously sound and correct, but not necessarily applicable, and therefore ultimately not as helpful as weâd hoped.
This evaluation was written in 2010 and was absolutely spot on. I loved my teachers but had no idea whatsoever what they were dealing with at their schools. I made a promise to myself to change that, as fast as possible. To be an effective teacher educator, I needed to spend a significant amount of time in traditional schools.
That September, I got a job teaching a sixth and seventh grade math as a leave replacement, continuing my work as an adjunct as well. I spent my weekends attempting to write engaging, differentiated lesson plans. I attended school meetings with colleagues and administration. I saw, firsthand, how the structure of school worked, all while I was also unschooling my child. I loved my math students! They were so patient and kind with me, and seemed to really enjoy the content we were working on (content I had literally learned the day before). However, it was frustrating when we got really into a lesson, and then the bell would ring. It was hard having to follow a strict and rigorous curriculum, when some students really needed time to review the basics of math. It was difficult watching a few students try and fit in with their peers, and seeing peers reject them. Middle school is tough, and we expect pre-teens to just bow to fate and move forward. I knew there was another way to learn and grow, but couldnât obviously share that way with my students. I left the school after a few months. My students wrote me the sweetest cards, saying goodbye.
I still wanted to experience what my teacher candidates went through every day and agreed to take on field supervisory work at middle and high schools in the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan. I was a field supervisor for years. I got to know different urban schools and their administrators. I loved interacting with the students. I also began to deeply understand the challenges my teacher candidates faced within the average school day, challenges that sometimes felt insurmountable. Some teacher candidates would cry during our post-observation sessions, wanting to help their students but not knowing exactly how. Other teacher candidates understood the system and how it worked, and performed within that structure well.
All this time, I was working on my dissertation, and unschooling my son, who would stay with my parents during the time I was working. My life has always been this odd dichotomy. In the mornings, I would be unschooling alongside my son, learning and experiencing life together. In the afternoons and evenings, I would be observing classrooms and teaching New York City school teachers. I did, and still do, have great respect for both arenas. There are strengths and weaknesses inherent in both the traditional classroom structure and within the unschooling realm. They are both educational choices that need to be supported.
Two years after I received my Ph.D., I received a full-time job as a Clinical Professor of Adolescent Special Education at CUNY Hunter College. Iâve always wanted to be a full-time academic, and this position was literally a dream come true. I now coordinate the Adolescent Special Education Program at Hunter, and offer traditional and fully online graduate degrees leading to teacher certification in New York State. I love my job, I love my graduate students, and I will do anything and everything to support their work both within their graduate classes and at the schools they teach in. Teaching is the hardest and most valuable work in the world.
I also write, research, and speak on topics related to intrinsic motivation, Self Determination and Cognitive Evaluation Theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985), homeschooling, unschooling, and other alternative learning environments. I have a personal as well as professional motivation to help unschooling become a legitimate educational choice, among a myriad of choices available. This is why it was my dream to write this book.
When I speak, I often get the question: âDonât you think you have some research bias considering your personal positive experience with unschooling?â To that, I answer: âName me an academic who doesnât have a love for and a personal investment in the topic they studyâ. I find both unschooling and traditional schooling deeply interesting, and honor and support both realms. The satisfaction I get from my work is truly intrinsic.
Thus, I present to you Unschooling: Exploring Learning Beyond the Classroom. It is, in many ways, my love letter to the unschooling community. It is also full of critical research about unschooling and self-directed learning. It is the first academic book on unschooling ever written. It is the book I needed and wished for almost twenty years ago.
Chapter 2 contains a description of the history of the unschooling movement, including elements of Rousseau, Dewey, and A. S. Neillâs work. A large part of the chapter is dedicated to exploring the work of Ivan Illich and John Holt, and the enormous impact they had on the unschooling movement. Chapter 3 discusses the educational and psychological theories that support the enhancement and utilization of self-directed, intrinsically motivated, multifaceted learning, and reinforce ideas inherent within the philosophy of unschooling. The specific theories discussed in this chapter include Edward Deci and Richard Ryanâs Self-Determination and Cognitive Evaluation Theory (1985), John Bowlbyâs Theory of Attachment (1979), and Howard Gardnerâs Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983). Chapter 4 explores the growth of homeschooling, and thus, unschooling.
The second part of the book delves deep into the topic of unschooling. Chapter 5 discusses the basic definition and core philosophy of unschooling and reviews basic demographic data on those who unschool. The spectrum of unschooling is also introduced, and an overview of the three major forms of unschooling is presented. Within Chapter 6, research related to why families choose unschooling is considered. It is clear that in some cases, families choose unschooling after a period of formal schooling, wanting a break from the rigidity and schedule of a traditional school. Other parents move from a period of homeschooling to a more casual unschooling style. Some choose unschooling from the beginning, having been influenced by a particular parenting philosophy, book, or person within the movement.
One of the most common questions asked of unschooling families is âHow do children learn if there is no set curriculum?â In Chapter 7, subject-based learning in unschooling is reviewed, including how unschoolers learn to read, do math, gain knowledge of history and science, and acquire proficiency in a second language. Chapter 8 explores the challenges and benefits of unschooling according to the existing research. Challenges examined include feelings of social pressure regarding the decision to unschool, the perceived socialization issue, effects on a parentsâ time, career, and income, and legal concerns associated with unschooling. Specific benefits discussed include increases in childrenâs learning and intrinsic motivation, increased family closeness, and increased family freedom of schedule.
The last part of the book examines the outcomes of unschooling, different branches of unschooling, and how unschooling has and may continue to influence traditional school structure. Chapter 9 examines grown unschooling outcomes, and includes stories and vignettes from those who have unschooled for all or part of their kindergarten through 12th grade years. Specific outcomes regarding higher education, careers, and financial independence are analyzed and explored. Chapter 10 focuses on different branches of unschooling that have evolved as unschooling has grown in popularity. These branches include Worlds...