Guerrilla Learning

How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School

by Grace Llewellyn

Number of pages: 224

Publisher: Trade Paper Press

BBB Library: Education, Parenting

ISBN: 978-0471349600



About the Author

Grace Llewellyn is one of the pioneers of the teenage unschooling movement. As a middle school English teacher, she felt torn between her desire to help students learn and the repressive tendencies of institutional schooling. Llewellyn wrote several books about helping teens take responsibility for their own education. She also directs the Not Back to School Camp, an annual event for unschoolers. Although much of her work is aimed at teenagers, readers of every age can rekindle their love of learning by studying Llewellyn’s writings.

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Editorial Review

Let your daughter read her library books instead of finishing her homework. Ask your eleven-year-old's beloved third-grade teacher to comment on his poetry. Invite a massage therapist to dinner because your daughter wants to go to massage school instead of college. Give your child the freedom to pursue his interests, develop her strengths, cultivate self-discipline, and discover the joy of learning throughout life.   If you've ever felt that your child wasn't flourishing in school or simply needs something the professionals aren't supplying, you're ready to become a guerrilla educator. Revolutionary and inspiring, Guerrilla Learning explains what's wrong (and what's useful) about our traditional schools and shows you how to take charge of your family's education to raise thinking, creative young people despite the constraints of traditional schooling. Filled with fun and exciting exercises and projects to do with children of all ages, this remarkable approach to childhood, education, and life will help you release your child's innate abilities and empower him or her in the wider world that awaits beyond the school walls.

Book Reviews

“First of all I need to confess the struggle Ihavewith non-fiction. I get into the book and my mind wonders... sometimes I can't finish it or take months to read it. This book I bought months ago and now that I am on bed rest for a broken foot I am making myself finish it. It's fantastic!! so many amazing ideas and I underlined so many cool quotes and creative ways to bring my kid's interests into our home.” -Elisabeth Ensor

“A refreshing reminder aboutnot pushing your children academically, trusting their development, and supporting their interests! Highly readable if a bit dated. I'd recommend it if you're developing or rethinking your philosophy of education.” -Abby

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Wisdom to Share

The guerrilla learning approach means that young learners are responsible for their learning, and need to set achievable clear goals; and for parents, it means supporting your kid in doing so even if that equates to giving your kid a kind of freedom that might seem risky.

Parents need to actively provide opportunity and support from their side while leaving the freedom of choice, timing, and interest to the learner to bring to the table.

Literacy begins long before kids start reading; when you provide the kids with story books or when you read them their bedtime stories, this is the first stage in learning to read, known as Emergent literacy.

Allow your kids to explore different forms of art such as painting, dancing, and acting by taking them to museums, galleries, theatres, concerts, etc.

Purchase inexpensive encyclopedias and photography books about insects, flowers, birds, animals, etc. so that kids will have a reference to look up things they observe and explore.

There is no standard timing for children to demonstrate particular cognitive, psychological, or physical skills; maybe an average range of age but there is no fixed innate timetable for all kids.

Parents need to provide different stimuli for the brains of their kids to nurture and grow, but not to push them into learning or acquiring a certain skill they are not ready for.

Hurrying children and pushing them to learn while they’re not ready or pushing them to be independent might actually jeopardize their growth into strong interdependent adults.

For us to be able to respect the learning rhythm of our kids, first we need to address our fears and anxieties.

If kids learn something they’re not interested in, are we able to call this learning? Parents can provide opportunities, respect their kids’ timing, and grant them adequate freedom as well as support; but if they’re not interested, they will not learn.