Free resources and events for homeschoolers and unschoolers

Here are several resources, events, and videos I learned about over the past few weeks that I hope will be of interest to you too.

I’ll be featured in these two free webinars:

Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM EST. Dr. Carlo Ricci of The Schulich School of Education, Graduate Studies at Nipissing University has asked me to speak about John Holt’s work. My topic will be how can teachers negotiate the tension between using John Holt’s ideas about individualized teaching and learning while at the same time working in the field of standardized education? Can unschooling be reconciled with working in school? If grades and tests must be used in your classes, is it still possible to reduce fear and cheating, encourage Socratic dialog, and form meaningful mentoring relationships with your students? What did Holt do himself in this situation? What did he recommend others to do in that situation? Reserve your Webinar seat now.

Thursday, Jan 27, 7 – 8 PM EST. “Understanding Unschooling.” This will be an interview I do with Diane Flynn Keith, follwed by questions and answers with the audience. To register: http://www.homefires.com/

Learning Resources:

If you’re interested in scholarly writing about unschooling, you can read all the issues of the Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning (JUAL) for free.

I’ve been a fan of the TED videos for some time, enjoying them as a smorgasbord. However, a non-profit site “designed to promote the study of the sciences among students considering obtaining a bachelor degree” has compiled an interesting list of TED talks that are focused on topics of interest for homeschoolers and other independent learners:

50 Awesome & Inspiring TED Talks for Homeschoolers

One of my favorite TED speakers, Sir Ken Robinson, receives an animated commentary in this neat video, Changing Education Paradigms.

I’m intrigued by this website and concept, the Slow Thought Movement. “Slow Thought embodies a conscious renunciation of borrowed ideas” which, among other concepts presented on the site, meshes well with homeschooling and unschooling practices.