How to synergize Homeschool families?

We went independent this year, no parent homeschool with curriculum. We are also embracing the dialectic constructivist model i.e. Unschooling.

What I've noticed is: most homeschoolers are filling out the same worksheets that public school kids are and rejoicing that they get to race through them and end their days early... so sad. It's the same thing. Real educations don't need repetitious worksheets to be remembered. Did you fill out endless diagrams and charts to remember how to tie your shoes? Nope. Why would we need to? If it is worth knowing, we remember.

What I see as more valuable would be the leveraging of people power, connecting all the homeschool families in a region and opening a democratic school where parents and students can all participate and utilize a library-style open format (tool library with its Guides, farm library with its farmers, etc).

Many families have weekly play dates where kids meet up and play, but we need a lot more than that if we are to free ourselves from wage slavery and political impotence. We need to leverage our strengths.

I'm planning on creating a LibrarySchool (or SustainableSchool or PermaSchool) model that is exportable. I'm also planning on creating LibrarySchool intentional communities (based around the library as the locus).


Anyone else have ideas? Am I missing something?

This would be easier to achieve in an area with many like-minded people. The community and living life become (part of) the education. I think this type of thinking will increase in popularity as more and more people move away from industrialized test learning.

I was surprised by the support for homeschool families in Alberta but there are many that choose this route for education here. Because of the numbers, we have a lot of co-ops that share time, resources and knowledge as well as support from the public libraries (we can borrow books from almost any library in the province through our local branch) and other institutions.

I'd like to see more models like the sudbury schools. I think this is a great middle ground for people not ready to take the plunge into unschooling or who don't feel homeschooling is for them.

I'd want to adapt the Sudbury model with a Library School model (taken in part from Gatto).

Sounds great up there!!!

Hi, I just posted something under the Homeschool Roll call that might be similar to what you are exploring. If you read it, I'd love to hear your input.