Grown Unschoolers
Curious whether unschooling actually works?
Discover the research findings, personal stories, and firsthand experiences from grown unschoolers.
Unschoolers thrive in college, careers, and life — success doesn’t have to follow a traditional path.
Grown Unschoolers' Success Stories
First, we should say that we know "success" has to be defined on a personal level. For some it's money, for others it's prestige, and for others it's about their own happiness or living the life they want to live. The older we all get, we realize that our definition of success can change over time too. But, everyone should know that unschoolers can make the choices they want to make about their own lives.
As parents, we sometimes worry that our choices are going to close doors for our kids. And I suppose that's true - we move to certain parts of the country, we have incomes that may cause some financial limits. But unschooling per se does not close doors. Grown unschoolers are able to get into college, do well, and get careers.
Other unschooled "grads" skip the college route and dive into careers.
Some take a couple of years to travel and then reevaluate the plan.
But if you have concerns that grown unschoolers are not doing well, let these resources allay
your fears.
Are You a Parent of a Teen?
My Creating Confidence Membership group, is full of parents of teens and pre-teens. We have SO much to talk about in there!
Maybe you're worried about transcripts, or how they'll make friends.
Maybe the concern is more THEIRS... and they're wondering if they're really prepared for Life!
You can bring your questions to these recorded coaching calls (twice/week!)
But most importantly, you can connect with other parents who are on this path!
Sometimes, it's hard to find each other out there in the real world. This membership makes it easier.
You really are NOT alone!
Writings & Books
As time moves on, we have more and more grown unschoolers to read about! Hooray!
Grown Homeschoolers
...share about their lives
In my book, Homeschooled Teens, I posed questions to 75 young people
(from ages 15-39) about what their teen lives were like without going to school.
Most of us want to know...
- How did you make friends?
- How did you learn?
- What kinds of hobbies did you enjoy?
- Did you work, do sports, travel?
- Did you get into college? How was that experience for you?
- Do you think you'll homeschool your own kids?
- What's your relationship with your family like now?
If you’ve worried that unschooling might limit your child's future, this book will give you the insights and reassurance you’re looking for.
Grown Unschoolers Share About Their Lives
Here at the website:
- Heroes-In-Training by Michael Patterson
- Unschooling: It's Personal by RebeccaTaberski
- Landscape Designer: Hannah Levy
- Learning from the Teens
- From Harry Potter to Living the Dream: Lissy Laricchia (@HSC website)
Life Learning Magazine
Wendy Presnietz published over 50 articles about grown unschoolers. If you search "Peter Kowalke" on this page, you will see his interviews with several grown unschoolers
Growing Up Unschooling
Pam Laricchia has interview many grown unschoolers on her Exploring Unschooling Podcast.
A Collection of Grown Unschoolers
Individual unschoolers share stories about their lives.
This website is down now, but you can read archives of each of these grown unschoolers here.
(Nothing ever REALLY leaves the internet!)
Grown Unschoolers Collection
Dr. Peter Gray has a collection of articles at Psychology Today about Grown Unschoolers.