Resources
At Natural Creativity, we are all about young people and families designing their own lives according to their specific needs and motivations. We question the idea that someone outside of us knows what's meaningful to us or has all the answers...
And yet, it can be isolating and lonely to figure this out all by yourself. That's why we are a community! Below are resources we find ourselves regularly recommending to families looking for some new perspectives. Just as we encourage parents to offer educational opportunities with an open palm, we do the same to our families. Take what you want and leave the rest.
Self-Directed Education (Basics)
If you only do two things as a result of seeing this page...
1. Watch this video:
2. Then read this essay:
"A Thousand Rivers" by Carol Black (or, "What the modern world has forgotten about children and learning.")
Philadelphia/Pennsylvania Homeschooling Links/Logistics
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Home Education and Private Tutoring in Pennsylvania (including sample affidavits/declarations)
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Age Requirements: Effective with the 2020-21 school year, a child must comply with compulsory attendance requirements from age six (6) to age eighteen (18). Specifically, a child who has attained the age of six (6) on or before September 1 must enroll and attend school or begin a home education program that year. A home education program must be documented and evaluated to account for all schooling during that time. Kindergarten is not required in Pennsylvania. Parents may choose to submit an affidavit for homeschooling their kindergarten child, but it is not required.
Standardized Testing
The law requires that homeschooled students take the statewide tests or other authorized tests in grades 3, 5, and 8. The results must be reported in the portfolio; they are not reported to the school district.
Special Education/Testing Services for Young People with Disabilities
More information from the School District of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Dept of Education
Important Dates:
August 1: Deadline for declaring intention to homeschool
June 30: Homeschool portfolio & evaluation due to your school district
Books
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Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School? (2020) by Blake Boles
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Raising Free People (2020) by Akilah S. Richards
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Changing Our Minds: How children can take control of their own learning (2021) by Dr. Naomi Fisher
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Anything by John Holt, especially How Children Fail (1967) and Teach Your Own (1981/2021)
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Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (2019) by Kerry McDonald
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Free To Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life (2018) by Dr. Peter Gray, PhD
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The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education (2021, 3rd ed) by Grace Llewellyn
Blogs/Websites/Thinkers
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Alfie Kohn, author of many books, articles, and blogs
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Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn and many scholarly articles and blogs
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I'm Unschooled. Yes, I Can Write by Idzie Desmarais, grown unschooler
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Carol Black, essayist (including the best essay on SDE ever written, "A Thousand Rivers" and the terrific "Children, Learning, and the 'Evaluative Gaze' of School“ )
Videos from the Alliance for Self-Directed Education
Podcasts
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Fare of the Free Child by Akilah S. Richards. "A podcast that focuses on Black people, Native Indigenous people, and People of Color (BIPOC) families who practice unschooling and other forms of Self-directed, decolonized living and learning. Each weekly episode examines a particular way that we've accepted coercive, emotionally and physically damaging habits as a normal part of adult-child relationships..."
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Off-Trail Learning by Blake Boles. "Interviews with innovative educators, self-directed young people, and others who think differently about learning, teaching, and schooling."
Life after Unschooling
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College Without High School (2009) by Blake Boles
Research about the Outcomes of SDE
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Gray, Peter, and David Chanoff. (1986). Democratic Schooling: What Happens to Young People Who Have Charge of Their Own Education? American Journal of Education, vol. 94, no. 2, pp. 182–213. JSTOR.
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Gray, Peter & Riley, Gina. (2013). The Challenges and Benefits of Unschooling, According to 232 Families Who Have Chosen that Route. Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning, vol. 7, no. 14, pp. 1-27.
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Summary of this article here.
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Gray, Peter & Riley, Gina. (2015). Grown Unschoolers Evaluations of Their Unschooling Experiences: Report I on a Survey of 75 Unschooled Adults. Other Education. The Journal of Educational Alternatives. 4. 8 - 32.
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"Homeschool Worries: Erased With Research & Experience" — A compilation of homeschooling research
Philadelphia-Area Allies & Organizations in the Self-Directed Education Movement
These organizations vary in their approach and models, but share a passion for making youth-focused education available to Philadelphia-area families. This work can change quickly, so please check out the sites yourself to see current status.
Looking for more?
Read More Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)