I have found the internet to be invaluable in our unschooling and parenting adventure. When making choices out of the mainstream, the ability to connect with and draw from like minds across the world is such an amazing gift.

I personally have found a number of egroups to be essential in keeping on track and even getting opinions on challenges or problems. Obviously you should explore them yourself to establish what “works for you” but i hope that this rough, incomplete, impressionistic guide might help.

My favourite unschooling groups are Always Unschooled followed by Unschooling Basics. My favourite broader parenting group is Consensual Learning. My favourite Australian group is Joyous Learning… I dont read them all,  it basically depends on my needs at the time.

DISCLAIMER – the nature of egroups is that they vary depending on who is posting, lists grow and subside and change all the time. This is just my experience, consider this as a very subjective snap shot. Again find out for yourself by visiting them!

UNSCHOOLING LISTS

• ALWAYS UNSCHOOLED –
  In their words:
  “in which Radical Unschooling can be seriously discussed as a lifestyle that begins at birth”.
  Who would it suit?
  People interested in Radical Unschooling in general and especially of younger children
  More info:
  The largest RU list around with over 2000 members and counting. It is very active. It is one of my favourite lists with some very wise & experienced participants who I owe a lot to. I like the tone and the culture of the list which is generally compassionate and respectful. It is just hard to keep up with the posts and it moves so fast that it seems too hard to respond to anything. Still its a great one to lurk (just read). It is not restricted to younger children but there are many participants who have younger ones and that is often a point of discussion.

• UNSCHOOLING BASICS –
  In their words:
  “A list designed for those new to the philosophy of unschooling”.
  Who would it suit?
  People who are starting their journey or (like me) feel the need to get in touch with the “basics” of unschooling
  More info:
  A great beginners area for people exploring radical unschooling and wanting to ask those basic questions. There are occasionally heated debates initiated by people seemingly not interested in unschooling at all posting all sorts of stuff, it is designed to help people “get” unschooling not defend unschooling. A really good range of very experienced and interesting unschoolers on this list, so it is a regular haunt for my lurking and I think has great benefits for those who have been unschooling for sometime.

• ALWAYS LEARNING –
  In their words:
  “It’s an idea group and is intended to lean more toward pure unschooling than neutral, general homeschooling discussion“
  Who would it suit?
  Reasonably experienced unschoolers or people who enjoy getting right to the point with no fluff and do not tend to take things personally
  More info:
  I have a love hate relationship with this egroup. I love the way it cuts to the chase and gets to the point so fast. BUT I also hate the way often this is done at the expense of some poor shmuck who goes and posts to them what was an innocent question. The answers are often reasonable but the tone can be quite unforgiving. It clearly states that the list is for more experienced unschoolers so not the place for “basic” questions and certainly not the place to debate the merits of unschooling. A lot can be learnt from this list and its more experienced members (most notably Sandra Dodd) but best for those with a thickish skin. In summary Id have to say its not my style but I do often value the content…

• SHINE WITH UNSCHOOLING –
  In their words:
  “This *Shine* community honors, respects and celebrates ALL children for being exactly Who They Are.“
  Who would it suit?
  Unschooling parents who aim to really embrace who their child is rather than correct/ change/ fix them.
  More info:
  I am only just getting into this list which some dismissed as a “special needs” list. It is much broader although the inspiring tone is set by moderator Anne O who wrote the moving article, “I am what I am“.

• CRUNCHY UNSCHOOLERS –
  In their words:
  “A list for unschoolers who are interested in moving towards a sustainable lifestyle.“
  Who would it suit?
  Unschoolers who are green, hippies, crunchy and so on.
  More info:
  I was so happy to find this list as it seemed to combine two quite disparate interests of unschooling and living green. It has a lot of potential but at this stage is still growing and has relatively low traffic.

• UNSCHOOLD –
  In their words:
  “a place for unschoolers to meet, play, inspire and be inspired. It’s a place for unschoolers to be themselves, with no explanations or debates.“
  Who would it suit?
  Unschoolers who are interested in setting up a blog, creating specific sub groups and networking with others in a more dynamic way
  More info:
  A great initiative by Arp, an unschooling Dad which combines a social networking approach (think myspace, facebookish kind of things) for the unschooling community. It is really early days yet but this is an ambitious initiative that has a lot of potential, check it out and stay tuned.

• RADICAL UNSCHOOLING WITH LOA –
  In their words:
  “unique in that we will have a focus on using the Law of Attraction in our Unschooling lives“
  Who would it suit?
  Unschoolers who enjoyed the ideas put forward in videos like “the Secret”
  More info:
  Initiated by Danya Martin who does Unschooling America and some great intro YouTube videos, this incorporates more “spiritual” ideas including laws of attraction. If you are into that then you will be into this list.

• UNSCHOOLING DOT COM –
  In their words:
  “There is no one way to unschool. On this list, in this forum, we’ll explore what that means and help you find answers to your own unschooling questions. “
  Who would it suit?
  Unschoolers who want an alternative, for whatever reason, to some of the above lists
  More info:
  Tries to be more pluralist in its approach, I suspect in reaction to some of the tone of other RU lists.

• FREE THINKING UNSCHOOLERS –
  In their words:
  “This is a place for people who are living life both without school AND without religion to talk openly in an uncensored forum “
  Who would it suit?
  Unschoolers who like to chat on a broad range of topics (not so much parenting/ unschooling)
  More info:
  Interesting idea although I have rarely seen a post on this group on unschooling, or even parenting. If you are into off topic stuff, then this is the place to be.

• CRAZY LIFE UNSCHOOLERS –
  In their words:
  “This is a support/idea group for those striving to radically unschool and parent respectfully within a less traditional family: singles, grandparents, foster families, adopted, divorced, nannies, more than two parents, one or more kids in school, etc. “
  Who would it suit?
  Unschooling families who are trying to cobble together support from other friends/ family members/ community beyond the stereotypical “nuclear family”
  More info:
  A smaller group but one that is no doubt valued by those that must get creative about how to unschool with financial and other pressures of being “outside the norm” when it comes to family situations.

• PEACEFUL PARTNERSHIPS –
  In their words:
  “Our focus is on how the actions and shifting of perspective of just one of the adults in the partnership may bring more joy to their own lives and, hopefully, bring more joy into the relationship with their partner “
  Who would it suit?
  Unschooling parents who are committed to unschooling their children and want a supportive space to discuss how to improve relations with their spouses
  More info:
  A relatively young and small list involving many familiar faces from Always Unschooled and Unschooling Basics but with a clear focus on the partner/ adult relationships in the family. The list seems to have a compassionate and understanding tone and could be quite empowering and supportive for those with challenging spouse issues.

UNSCHOOLING RESOURCE LIST

• UNSCHOOLING RESOURCES –
  In their words:
  “if your child suddenly develops a passion for dinosaurs, astronomy, 1950s musicals, calculus, interior decorating, King Tut, Kiwi birds, dragons, or the Union army, this is the place to ask for resource suggestions!”
  Who would it suit?
  Unschoolers who want access to info and resources as they support their kids/ their own learning journey
  More info:
  A very focussed list rather than broader unschooling discussion… if you want some inspiration around topics or interests go here. Over 1000 people on the list so enough to get some broad feedback.

• UNSCHOOLING AROUND THE WORLD –
  In their words:
  “Would members of your unschooling family get a kick out of sending and receiving postcards from other unschooling families around the world? ”
  Who would it suit?
  Unschooling families who want to do the postcard/ penpal thing
  More info:
  Not so much a discussion list more an opportunity to do the post card thing with unschoolers internationally. Cool idea

AUSTRALIAN UNSCHOOLING SITES

• JOYOUS LEARNING –
  In their words:
  “A wonderful mix of homeschoolers, natural learners, unschoolers and everything in between”
  Who would it suit?
  Australian based unschoolers & homeschoolers
  More info:
  If you are Australian, homeschooling / unschooling and want a supportive online community then join up to this message board. My top recommendations for Australian unschoolers/ homeschoolers. Many people also prefer the message board format rather than the egroup thing
• AUSTRALIAN UNSCHOOLERS –
  In their words:
  “This group welcomes all ‘home’ educators but focuses in particular on ‘natural’ - child controlled - learning and help with government ‘requirements’ for those living in N.S.W., Australia. “.Perhaps a little misleading to call this list ”
  Who would it suit?
  Australian based unschoolers & homeschoolers
  More info:
  A little misleading to call it “unschoolers” as it is quite broad with most participants having elements of natural learning but perhaps fitting more under a broader “homeschooling” banner. That said it is a lovely community of people and a place for Australian homeschoolers to network and discuss all sorts of issues.

PARENTING

• Consensual Living – “Consensual living is a process, a philosophy, a mindset by which we seek to live in harmony with our families and community.”I love the mission statement and tone of this list. It is not an unschooling list at all but has much value to anyone trying to live in a non coercive relationship with their children.
• Mothering Discussion Board – “serve an online community of parents considering, learning and practicing attachment parenting and natural family living. Our discussions on the boards are about the real world of mothering and are first and foremost, for support and information. “Based around Mothering Magazine so it generally involves conscious mums but from a very, very broad perspective. My favourite sub categories are “learning at home” which has unschooling stuff which is less ‘purist’ than other lists and “gentle discipline”. There is a dad section but it does not get much discussion… so i mainly lurk here
• Unconditional Parenting – “a list about sharing how the book Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn has inspired us.”Based on Alfie Kohn’s work it is quite proscriptive about what the list is not. At the time of posting had quite low traffic.

======

also for you egroup junkies… this was posted to one of the lists and i just had to reproduce it here (it refers to motorcyclists because that was the egroup it was originally posted too, but substitute for any topic and it still works):

How many motorcyclists does it take to change a light bulb? 1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has beenchanged14 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how thelight bulb could have been changed differently7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs6 to argue over whether it’s “lightbulb” or “light bulb” …another 6 to condemn those 6 as stupid2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper termis “lamp”15 know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that “lightbulb” is perfectly correct19 to post that this forum is not about light bulbs and to pleasetake this discussion to a light bulb forum11 to defend the posting to this forum saying that we all use lightbulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this forum36 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, whereto buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best forthis technique and what brands are faulty5 People to post pics of their own light bulbs15 People to post “I can’t see S$%^!” and their own light bulbs7 to post URL’s where one can see examples of different light bulbs4 to post that the URL’s were posted incorrectly and then post thecorrected URL’s13 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety includingall headers and signatures, and add “Me too”5 to post to the group that they will no longer post because theycannot handle the light bulb controversy4 to say “didn’t we go through this already a short time ago?”13 to say “do a search on light bulbs before posting questions aboutlight bulbs”1 to bring politics into the discussion by adding that George W.isn’t the brightest bulb.4 more to get into personal attacks over their political views.1 moderator to lock the light bulb thread.1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now andstart it all over again.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS