EU187: Time and the Wild Landscape of Unschooling

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I originally wrote this essay for Rosemary Magazine, for their winter issue, which had the theme, “wildschool.” I loved playing with that idea!

There’s the outer wildness of living outside the structure of compulsory school. In the world, rather than in the classroom. Kids in the grocery store in the middle of the day. Running around the local park in the middle of the week. In most places, that’s decidedly outside the box.

And then there’s the inner wildness. Learning on their own timetable. Following their curiosity and interests rather than a curriculum. Cultivating their creativity rather than encouraging conformity. The time to daydream. To ask themselves questions and contemplate possibilities. To choose what to do. To explore the edges of their comfort zones. To discover how they tick.

This way of living—of welcoming children into our lives with warmth and grace—flies counter to much of the current conventional wisdom around parent-child relationships which urges us to control their wildness so they fit neatly and quietly into our adult-centred culture. Into the box. Tamed. And many of us deeply absorbed those cultural messages growing up. They feel like truth. So, when we lift the lid and peek out, the wild world of unschooling seems almost unfathomable.

And the wildest, most subversive thing of all? Giving our children an abundance of free time.

In this essay, Time and the Wild Landscape of Unschooling, I dive into some of the beautiful ways that free time weaves through our unschooling lives and helps our children stay in touch with their wildness.

Things mentioned in the episode

Check out Rosemary Magazine

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ‘s book, Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life

Milva McDonald’s podcast episode, The Gift of Time

Carol Black’s essay, On the Wildness of Children

Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind, written by Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire

Isaac Asimov’s essay on creativity, Isaac Asimov Asks, “How Do People Get New Ideas?”

Rachel Rainbolt’s podcast episode, The Value of Relationships

Adrian Peace-William’s podcast episode, Growing Up Unschooling

{ picture credit: Michael Laricchia, taken in Norway in 2018. }

Episode transcript

You can read the essay here.