Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School

For most of us who grew up inside a public educational institution, it is difficult to imagine alternatives. Indeed, it may difficult to imagine anything at all. After twelve (in my case 19) years of absract inundation, most of us have lost the trees in a forest of abstractions. We inhabit a vacuous matrix of unispired, cynical defeatism, where teachers can't level with us as human beings and test questions bear no resemblance to reality. Until graduation day, that is. Then the world opens up before us, free for the plunder of active, self-interested engagement. What if we had never left that world from start? What if from birth to grave our lives were naturally interesting and piquant? What if we didn't educate ourselves for the test, but instead focused on the context of our life and followed our natural curiosities? Einstein (a college drop-out) certainly thought this was the right approach to education: "It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet strangle the holy curiosity of inquiry." This book a refreshing, imaginative, and likewise extremely practical guide to context-driven education. All my life I had been vexed with the notion that contemporary education is utterly wrongheaded and thwarting, but until now I had never had the language or facts to back up my intuitive, gut feeling. Whether you are thinking of making the great experimental leap and homeschooling your kids, or whether you simply want to better understand how to get the most out of your local educational institution, this book is essential. Although you cannot relive the wasted years, it will send you in the right direction for future learning, and help you give your children an education that will truly unlock their deepest potential. Isn't that what education is supposed to be about: unlocking our native potential and stimulating genuine growth? With this book the relationship between information and the world becomes transparent again, as it should have been from the very beginning.

A must read for any parent raising a child in today's society! Whether you are for or against your child being in the public school system, you owe to not only yourself but to your children to make an informed decision. This book really opened my eyes to an entire new world of possibilities about education, and that school and education are not one in the same. It really re-invigorates a passion for learning and exploring your children's interests in life, as well as making me excited again as not only a parent but a person with unlimited possibilities as well!! No more being forced to see school as an institutionalized bureaucracy that defines your only worth, but that the entire world and nature is our teacher.

Great for those parents like myself who really believe in unschooling but are not brave enough or do not have the support to go all the way. This helps me find a middle ground from which we(our family) can move in any direction ( to school or not to school) while keeping the joy of learning alive for our children.

This book provides a good, practical view of children's education and learning, regardless of where this takes place. The authors prompt readers to think about their values regarding education, along with their history, biases, and goals. They are balanced in not advocating for traditional schooling or homeschooling, while speaking plainly about each. They give examples from families who have chosen each option, or have gone back and forth between the two to meet kids' needs at different ages. So good to read something that is not trying to push a particular program or agenda.

I'm new to homeschooling and this book was recommended by my daughter's enrichment program. It is definitely addressing my questions and doubts. I'm feeling very supported by the authors while entering this brave new world of unschooling. It is also full of reference books that I'm sure I will invest in.

Good for home schooling, or just enriching your student or child. I would reccomend this book. There is too much to know about this world, and learning should be fun.

I purchased the Kindle version, and the paragraphs/pages were all mixed up. Sentences/paragraphs would start on one page and end a couple of pages later! I'm hoping it's just the Kindle version, as I've returned the digital version and am going to purchase the physical product.

Good solid pedagogy.

Great reference to have for parents of kids of all ages -- wish there was an expanded version! All the content still applies now. New ideas to get kids involved in loving learning, and for them to take responsibility for their education in a supportive way.

insightful, a great book overall.