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I spent a month in a co-living community in some village in Austria. They were a diverse group of professionals from a variety of backgrounds (programmers, arch
by cko 2y ago
I spent a month in a co-living community in some village in Austria. They were a diverse group of professionals from a variety of backgrounds (programmers, architect, doctor). They often ate meals together in the community kitchen and we would work in the garden together. I thought before arriving it was a hippy commune but it definitely wasn't. I had a lovely time.
Anyways one family with three children were doing this unschooling thing and the kids seemed well-socialized and explored their own interests. The oldest daughter went to Vienna a lot to take acting classes or something.
I thought it was a fine idea but that it took a lot of resources - one parent was always home and because of the community it was like the kids were being raised by the whole village. There were other kids to hang out with and plenty of space to do stuff. It seemed like you'd need a certain degree of wealth and structure to make it work.
In suburban America, I think it'd be a lot more challenging. The only American homeschoolers I've met were well-off Christians (again, wealth + community).
- moshun 2y agoI’m not impressed (or even tolerant) of unschooling without seeing how their uneducation is practically stacking up with their traditional peers. I was homeschooled for part of my education, and even with wealth, it’s easy to miss critical foundations and unschooled kids sound ripe for it. I had to work very hard in some areas to catch up with or surpass my peers, and I think many wouldn’t have the patience to do it. Especially in areas known for permanently losing students like mathematics.