Unschooling in the News

Spunky did a post a little while ago about the "unschooling conspiracy" in the media. With homeschooling growing in acceptance and popularity, the new target seems to be unschooling, which is often portrayed as a method that lends itself to a lack of structure and education.

I thought I would share this story that I read this morning in a Massachusetts paper, The Patriot Ledger.

Anna Finklestein left Sharon High School after the ninth grade because she was bored and felt she could put her time to better use. She started a professional theater company for young adults, interned at Boston’s Huntington Theater and took college courses at the Harvard Extension School.

This year, she got a part-time job at Ward’s Berry Farm.

At 16, she spends her spare time thinking up future projects and how to accomplish them - like starting a coffee shop, a homeless shelter or a baby-sitting service.

‘‘I’m unschooled. I basically control what I do,’’ said Finklestein, whose second theater production, ‘‘The Laramie Project,’’ closes this weekend.

It's nice to see unschooling in a positive light; one that portrays it for the benefits that it brings to unschooled children.

But after a year, they saw her blossom. She became more articulate and started reading voraciously, rather than watching television

The article also reminded me why we will never move down to Massachusetts, which is where my husband's family lives.

State law requires children to attend school until the age of 16, or to have a home study plan approved by their local school committee.

No, thank you!