Have you ever wondered what unschooling teenagers are like? What kind of people are they? What do they think? What do they do?
Have you ever googled the words ‘unschooling teenager’ to find out more?
If you have done a search using those words, you might have ended up here on my blog. Two of my unschooling teenager posts show up high in the search results.
An Unschooling Teenager Blog Post
The first post is A Day in the Life of an Unschooling Teenager. This is a guest post written by teenager Miles Brack. It’s a wonderfully lively read which I’m sure has been enjoyed by many people. If you haven’t read it, please do!
An Unschooling Teenager Interview Video
The other popular teenager post is a video interview I did with my daughter Sophie when she was 13. That was 4 years ago. 4 years? Oh my, doesn’t time pass quickly?
This afternoon, I watched Sophie’s video: An Interview with an Unschooling Teenager. It’s been a very long time since I last watched it. So what did I think? I thought that Sophie has changed a lot since we made that video. But then again, she hasn’t changed at all. She’s still sharing the same opinions. Yes, Sophie hasn’t changed her mind about how kids learn and what they need and how parents can support them.
So what did we talk about? I asked Sophie some questions.
Questions I Asked My Unschooling Teenager
Should unschooling kids be made to do difficult things? Is it good for them to get into the habit of doing things they don’t like because no one can get through life without doing such things?
Are unschooling children lazy? Do they do chores? And if they do, what motivates them to do them when they’re not forced to?
Is it okay to introduce unschooling kids to new experiences?
Do parents have to be good examples of learning? Do they have to be excited about learning?
Should kids be forced to learn certain things? If not, how will they ever learn such basic skills as spelling?
We talked about other things as well, but I won’t list everything. Perhaps you’d like to watch the video and find out more!
Changes in the Life of my Unschooler
I said that Sophie has changed a lot since I interviewed her. I meant that she’s grown a lot. Here’s a recent photo so you can see what I mean:
I took this photo of Sophie (and Imogen) a few weeks ago just before she left for work. When I interviewed Sophie when she was 13, work was something that seemed far in the distance. But the years have passed and now I have a teenage daughter who is still following her interests but working as well. Sophie’s work supports her passions. It’s also giving her new and valuable skills.
Unschooling Teenager Podcast
I haven’t made any video interviews with Sophie recently, but she has joined me for a few podcast episodes. The latest one is episode 133, A Balanced and Productive Unschool Life. If you’d like to know more about what Sophie is doing and what she’s thinking, please listen!
“Hey, Sophie, shall we make another podcast together?”
“When?”
“Very soon!”
Stay tuned (or subscribed) if you’d like to know more!
So I’m wondering…
Do you have teenage unschoolers? Does time seem to pass far too quickly for you too? When you look at old photos and videos, are you amazed at how much your kids have changed? There’s something wonderful about revisiting old times (even when we’re enjoying the present), isn’t there?
