The following is a lightly edited transcript from Pam Laricchia’s interview of my wife and I on her podcast, “Exploring Unschooling” in the Winter of 2016. PAM: Hi everyone! I’m Pam Laricchia from livingjoyfully.ca and today I am here with Roberto and Emily Lujano how are you guys? ROBERTO: We…
Education in The 21st Century
Originally written in September 2011, when we first began our unschooling journey. Updated a few points and links. A study published in July showed that people have become less likely to remember things that they know are only a click away on the Internet. In other words, our selective memory has expanded…
The Wisdom of Hunter-Gatherers
Originally published on PsychologyToday.com at my blog, “Freedom to Learn“. For hundreds of thousands of years, up until the time when agriculture was invented (a mere 10,000 years ago), we were all hunter-gatherers. Our human instincts, including all of the instinctive means by which we learn, came about in the…
Interview of Jamie Maltman by Pam Laricchia
The following is a lightly edited transcript from Pam Laricchia’s interview of me on her podcast, “Exploring Unschooling” in the Fall of 2016. PAM: Hi everyone I am Pam Laricchia from livingjoyfully.ca and today I am here with Jamie Maltman. Hi Jamie! JAMIE: Hi. PAM: I am super excited to…
Learning to Drive Informally
My son, who was unschooled from the age of seven until he was 16, turned 20 earlier this month (2015). A week later, he passed his driving test at the first attempt. About a year ago, when my son was approaching the end of Year 12, as it’s called here…
Unsolicited Evaluation Is the Enemy of Creativity
Originally published on PsychologyToday.com at my blog, “Freedom to Learn“. In my last post I wrote of evidence that children’s creativity has declined over the past two or three decades, a period during which children’s lives, both in and out of school, have become increasingly controlled and regulated by adult authorities. Here, now, is…
Interview of Rocco Laricchia by Pam Laricchia
The following is a lightly edited transcript from Pam Laricchia’s interview of me on her podcast, “Exploring Unschooling” in the Winter of 2017. PAM: Hi everyone. I’m Pam Laricchia from livingjoyfully.ca, and today I’m here with my husband Rocco. Hi, honey! ROCCO: Hello. PAM: It’s very cool—and weird—to have you…
Phil Biegler – A View from The Corporate Office
I had the honor and privilege to speak at the Northeast Unschooling Conference (NEUC) in Wakefield, MA, last weekend (2010). Below is a segment of the talk (it was 45 minutes, so it seems a little long to blog the whole talk). The talk was targeted at unschooling Dads; however,…
Why Young Children Protest Bedtime: Evolutionary Mismatch
Originally published on PsychologyToday.com at my blog, “Freedom to Learn“. Infants and young children in our culture regularly protest going to bed. They make all sorts of excuses. They say they are not tired, when in fact they obviously are tired. They say they are hungry, or thirsty, or need…
Interview of Daniel Cadzow by Pam Laricchia
The following is a lightly edited transcript from Pam Laricchia’s interview of me on her podcast, “Exploring Unschooling” in the Summer of 2017. PAM: Hi everyone, I’m Pam Laricchia from livingjoyfully.ca and I’m here with Dan Cadzow. Hi Dan! DAN: Hello. PAM: Hello, hello. Dan is a stay-at-home, unschooling dad…