Gifted, twice-exceptional, autistic, ADD, dyslexic: each of these labels falls under the umbrella of “neurodivergence”, and each has served to inspire thousands of families to consider self-directed learning options. Today I speak with Jade Rivera (jadeannrivera.com), the founder of Sunnyside Micro-School, a place she built to serve neurodivergent young people who don't thrive in school. We discuss Jade’s background as a chemist, how schools typically deal (or don’t deal) with neurodivergent stu...
Jun 22, 2018•57 min
Many dream of combining the principles of unschooling with the resources of public school — and Gabe Cooper is one of those few who has actually done it. In this episode Gabe discusses “Unschool” (sanjuan.edu/unschool), the program he founded in the San Juan Unified School District of Sacramento, California. We talk about his disillusionment as a public school teacher and administrator, what inspired him to start Unschool, his victories and challenges so far, his commitment to equity via public ...
Jun 07, 2018•43 min
How much of school is about skill-building and how much is about signaling, i.e., proving to employers that you’re intelligent, diligent, and can conform to societal norms? In this episode, economist Bryan Caplan (bcaplan.com) discusses his new book, The Case Against Education. Caplan argues that diplomas remain powerful marketplace signals, despite the fact that schools don't teach much. We discuss the implications of his findings for self-directed and nonconventional learners, how he homeschoo...
May 19, 2018•49 min
Jim Wiltens is a modern-day Indiana Jones, an incredibly powerful teacher, and a huge figure in my life since age 11. I’m honored to finally get him on the podcast. As the founder and director of Deer Crossing Camp (deercrossingcamp.com), an off-grid wilderness summer camp in California, Jim helps kids develop serious outdoor skills and resilient attitudes. We discuss Deer Crossing's intensive teen leadership program, how Jim teaches attitude and "meta-skills", why he chose not to pay for his so...
Apr 23, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Frustrated as a public high school teacher in Santa Cruz, California, Wes Beach started his own one-man high school, Beach High School (http://beachhigh.education). Over 25 years Wes has freed more than 1500 teenagers from compulsory schooling by rapidly graduating them and creating transcripts that allow them to immediately dive into college, career, or further self-directed learning. Wes and I recorded our interview in his home office (i.e., Beach High School headquarters) and discussed how he...
Mar 31, 2018•58 min
Lisa Betts-LaCroix, a homeschooling mother of two and co-founder of Bay Area Gifted Homeschoolers (sfbaghs.org), talks with Blake about the huge number of a la carte classes and activities now available to homeschoolers in the bay area. We discuss how micro-schooling differs from unschooling, the incredible opportunities that independent teachers have to sell their services, how much it all costs, and what’s still missing (answer: teen drop-in centers). Support my mission of spreading self-direc...
Mar 16, 2018•56 min
On this special episode, I read from my new long-form article published by the Alliance for Self-Directed Learning (https://www.self-directed.org/tp/what-does-it-mean-to-be-educated/). In it I share my definition of "education", comment on the state of the self-directed learning movement, and tackle issues of privilege and school reform. Enjoy.
May 16, 2017•35 min
On this special episode, young adult participants on the Unschool Adventures Argentina Semester 2017 talk about the challenges of living and learning in Buenos Aires for 12 weeks: group apartments, language barriers, the blessings (and curses)of freedom, memorable moments, and Argentine comfort foods. Guests include Abby, Zane, Spencer, Leif, Grace, Erik, Sierra, Kay, Tucker, Karen, and Tom. More about the Argentina Semester: http://www.unschooladventures.com/trip/argentina-semester-2017/
Mar 30, 2017•53 min
Tam Pham (tampham.co) is a 21-year-old college dropout, marketer in Silicon Valley, and author of How to Network and How to Land Your Dream Internship. We discuss why reaching out to strangers is important for self-directed learners, how to do it, and Tam's own story of leaving the conventional path.
Mar 09, 2017•42 min
Victor Saad (victorsaad.com) talks with host Blake Boles about the 12 apprenticeships that he did in 12 months instead of pursuing an MBA, the education company that he subsequently founded called Experience Institute (expinstitute.com), his thoughts on promoting innovation in the K-12 realm, and the magical $100,000/year school that he and I are going to start some day. Don’t miss this one. * * * Love the podcast? Show it by contributing as little as $1 per episode: www.offtraillearning.com/sup...
Feb 07, 2017•56 min
Catherine Gobron, co-director of Lighthouse Holyoke (lighthouseholyoke.org), a self-directed learning center for teenagers in western Massachusetts, talks about serving an economically and racially diverse community that’s hungry for educational alternatives. Catherine describes her time working at North Star (which served as a model for Lighthouse), her decision to start her own center, and the “bridge” approach that Lighthouse takes to facilitating self-directed learning by beginning with more...
Jan 24, 2017•45 min
Nathen Lester, a long-time advisor at Not Back to School Camp and soon-to-be-licensed Couples and Family Therapist, discusses the challenges that people face when given large amounts of freedom at a young age. How do unschoolers and other liberated young people deal with perceived gaps in their knowledge? How do they motivate themselves? How do they tackle the unspoken obligation to “be amazing”? And what mental health concerns are unique to this group? Join us for a fascinating conversation abo...
Jan 10, 2017•1 hr 5 min
Mikala Streeter, founder and principal of The LIFE School (thelifeschool.co) in Atlanta, Georgia, talks about her ambitious new progressive school and the challenges of exposing teenagers to new areas of knowledge while also promoting interest-led learning. We focus on math specifically as an area that teenagers resist when taught directly, but they become receptive to when related to their interests. For anyone wondering how to balance self-directed learning, educator-facilitated learning, and ...
Dec 27, 2016•59 min
23-year-old Kevin Snavely (skyping in from Bangkok) talks with Blake about being raised unschooled in Alaska, going back to public high school, the question of college, and traveling the world. * * * Love the podcast? Help it exist with a per-episode contribution: www.offtraillearning.com/support Provide feedback or suggest new topics/guests by emailing [email protected].
Dec 17, 2016•48 min
15-year-old Caitlyn Scheel talks with Blake about being bored in middle school, wanting to homeschool, and the summer she spent convincing her parents to let her do it. * * * Love the podcast? Show it by contributing as little as $1 per episode: www.offtraillearning.com/support Provide feedback or suggest new topics/guests anytime by emailing [email protected].
Dec 01, 2016•32 min
29-year-old grown unschooler Sean Ritchey talks about his discussion to skip college in favor of starting his own design/build company. We discuss the challenges of building community and exposing yourself to new areas of knowledge, working to learn, and what a young person needs to successfully skip college. * * * Love the podcast? Show it by contributing as little as $1 per episode: www.offtraillearning.com/support Provide feedback or suggest new topics/guests anytime by emailing yourstruly@bl...
Nov 15, 2016•50 min
18-year-old Milla Von Tauber talks with Blake about explaining yourself as a teenage unschooler, missing high school rites of passage, defining your own version of success, and fitting into the so-called “normal world.” * * * Love the podcast? Show it by contributing as little as $1 per episode: www.offtraillearning.com/support Provide feedback or suggest new topics/guests anytime by emailing [email protected].
Nov 02, 2016•39 min
Xander Macswan, a 19-year-old grown unschooler, talks about growing up with unrestricted video game access. When do games hurt us, and when do they serve us? Are parents right to restrict gaming time? How does someone who looks like a gaming “addict” on the outside transform, without coercion, into someone with a wide variety of interests and skills beyond gaming? Do violent games make us more violent? We dive into all these subjects with someone with deep first-hand experience. * * * Love the p...
Oct 22, 2016•1 hr 5 min
Nikiah Childs grew up in elementary school, unschooled for 6 years, went back to a performance arts charter school, and then left school again to unschool her senior year. Now 23 and graduating from college, Nikiah and I discuss: - the motivations behind her transitions - pursuing her passion for dance - her fear of having fallen behind in math due to unschooling - the pros and cons of high school - how adults treat unschoolers versus high schoolers - the surprising awesomeness of community coll...
Oct 16, 2016•40 min
22-year-old Steve Krouse, co-founder of The Coding Space in New York City (thecodingspace.com), talks about his decision to leave his Computer Science major at the University of Pennsylvania to enter the world of tech and startups. We discuss why this path worked for Steve, whether it works for other young people, the role of privilege in quitting school, and practical advice for convincing parents to support your decision. * * * Want to help more young adults choose self-directed learning? Supp...
Oct 09, 2016•1 hr 10 min
Lifelong unschooler Liam Nilsen talks with Blake about the habits and mindset required for successful unschooling in the teenage years. And Liam asks Blake whether he wishes he were unschooled!
Sep 24, 2016•49 min
23-year-old grown unschooler Emma McCann talks about making the decision to attend Buxton School, a progressive boarding school, instead of continuing her lifelong unschooling career.
Sep 06, 2016•44 min
Grace Llewellyn, author of The Teenage Liberation Handbook and executive director of Not Back to School Camp (nbtsc.org), talks with Blake about her camp for teenage unschoolers, why she started it, and how it has evolved over two decades. We recorded the episode live at Not Back to School Camp 2016, Oregon Session 1.
Aug 25, 2016•36 min
To be an effective self-directed learner, you have to be really good at setting goals...right? Maybe. Maybe not. In episode 21 of the Off-Trail Learning podcast, Dev Carey (devcarey.com) talks with Blake about the dangers and unexpected benefits of goal-setting. In Dev's own words: "Most of us don't know what we really want, or aren't willing to admit it to ourselves or others, and when we're asked about our goals, often we say things that sound good but that then can trap us into feeling like w...
Aug 03, 2016•1 hr 17 min
Grown unschooler and recent college graduate Seraphina talks with Blake about deciding what to focus on after college, balancing money and meaning, getting out of your comfort zone, and not losing sight of what’s important—a conversation relevant to self-directed learners of all ages. Also: Blake talks about his new website, Off-Trail Learning (offtraillearning.com), and the relaunching of the podcast.
Jul 28, 2016•1 hr 29 min
Patrick Farenga, president of HoltGWS (johnholtgws.com), talks with host Blake Boles about homeschooling vs. unschooling vs. self-directed learning, how he got involved with John Holt, why self-directed learning is relevant to the modern working world, and how those with non-traditional paths can prove their worth to institutions and employers.
Aug 26, 2015•48 min
Tomis Parker and Nancy Tilton talk with host Blake Boles about the Agile Learning Center framework (agilelearningcenters.org), Nancy’s school in Charlotte, NC (alcmosaic.org), the ups and downs of democratic free schools, what “agile” means, Kanban boards, creating a culture of respect and trust, and their vision for building a “teacher’s college for self-directed learners.”
Aug 11, 2015•49 min
Liam Nilsen, founder of the Endor Initiative (endorinitiative.com), talks with host Blake Boles about his innovative program for self-directed teenagers in Asheville, North Carolina, how it’s different from a “school”, how the program has evolved with input from participants, the politics of video games in group spaces, and the mysterious origin of the name.
Jul 28, 2015•50 min
Japhy Dhungana, program director at Where There Be Dragons (wheretherebedragons.com), talks with host Blake Boles about international semester programs and what young people gain from them, his own path from growing up in Nepal to becoming a climbing bum in Yosemite to biking across the Americas, and how to gain a global perspective even if you’re not able to travel.
Jul 14, 2015•47 min
Amy and Maya Milstein, mother and 14-year-old daughter of a New York City unschooling family, and Maddy Platt, their 16-year-old friend from Canada, talk with host Blake Boles about their day-to-day lives as unschoolers, the advantages and disadvantages of unschooling in New York City, and Maya’s and Maddy’s transformative experiences attending Not Back to School Camp.
Jun 30, 2015•47 min
