These are some of my favourite books that relate to Home Education. They’re not all about the subject directly, and with some (Hey, Dr Seuss!) it might be hard to see the connection. But all of these books have wisdom for those on the journey to thinking more freely about learning, life and education. Please tell me about any books you think I’ve missed. Seriously – I’m always looking for an excuse to buy new books! Oh, and beware of Number 3. I don’t actually recommend that one, except as a paperweight maybe….

(Ivan Illich, I formally invite you to my fantasy dinner party. Gandhi is coming too. And Zac De La Rocha, I reckon you’d like him. Hope you can make it. JO x)

1 Weapons of Mass Instruction – John Taylor Gatto

There are two of John Taylor Gatto’s books on my list. This one looks at the history of the American Education system, and some of the motives that underpin curriculum choices, textbook purchases, etc.

Totally relevant to us in the UK, Taylor Gatto exposes the reality of modern schooling. Children are taught that only ‘experts’ can possibly have the answers, and that what a lot of children conclude through direct experience is wrong. For example, our children are repeatedly told that if they work hard they will ‘succeed’. Success in this case means the well-paying job, fancy house and shiny car. In reality many children can already see that they were not fortunate enough to be born into the type of family that really succeeds, yet they will still be shamed as examples of what will happen to you if you don’t do as you are told and conform. 

In this way the school system helps control the population, so do yourself, your children and the future a favour. Read this book and don’t send your kids to school!

2 The Big Book of Unschooling – Sandra Dodd

I’ve actually lent out my copy of Sandra Dodd’s book and not got it back – I must buy another. This is a fantastic book, full of wisdom, by another Mum who has been there and done unschooling. It’s actually a collection of blog posts, which some people have had a little grump about, but it worked for me. I kept this book by my favourite chair to read when I sat down with a cup of tea, and it’s easy to dip into.

You’ll find inspiration about most things that come up when you’re trying to live an unschooling life: dealing with naysayers, the dreaded ‘screen time’, what to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed, and so many more. To me they’re a great way of promoting your own deeper thinking about the way you’ve been approaching things and why. I love it!

3 **The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home – Susan Wise Bauer** – Warning! I HATE this one! 

This brick of a book is a bit different to all the others here – it’s on here because I CAN NO LONGER STAND IT. I must confess! It makes me feel a bit queasy knowing that I once read this and thought it sounded like a good idea. Once upon a time, I declared, ‘Yes, we will learn Latin, and be rigorously educated in this house!’. But then I started to think. And I wondered why we can only cover ancient history with very young children and move forward through time chronologically as the children age? Life and learning doesn’t work like that! And Latin? Really? Why? Why not Ancient Greek, too? Fair enough if you want to be a historian or a linguist, but for me, I reckon you can learn most of what you’d gain from years of this type of hellish, forced, classical education by reading enjoyable novels. Bonus!

The title of this book makes me feel a bit sick, too. To ‘train’ a child implies you have some goal for them, but in my opinion, I shouldn’t impose goals on my kids. They’ve got plenty of their own. I’m just here to help them on their way. This book has been a big fat stepping stone on my journey – as a reminder of what not to do!

*Disclaimer. I understand the why of learning Latin, but I just think the logic is shaky. Feel free to comment if I need to be educated! 😉

4 Project Based Homeschooling – Lori McWilliam Pickert

This book actually started the real de-schooling in my head. I found it when we were trying ‘school at home’ and failing. There is plenty of sage advice in here. What struck me most at the time was to make sure my actions were backing up my words. I realised that I thought I was encouraging creativity by having lots of lovely pens and craft materials within easy reach. In reality, I was stifling it by saying ‘don’t make a mess!’ and ‘tidy up after yourself’ whenever the kids started something. Lesson learned.

5 How Children Learn at Home – Alan Thomas and Harriet Pattison

If you’ve got any niggling worries about not ‘doing enough work’ or spending ‘too much time playing’, this book is for you.

The authors (who are real academics, from real universities!) have thoroughly researched how children in autonomous or unschooling families actually learn. They discovered that most learning happens when parents and children discuss things in informal conversations. In reality, it’s the kind of learning that children do before we send them to school, but we’ve built up a belief that after a certain age, children need to sit down at a desk with a pen and paper to make more progress. It’s just not true, and this book tells it like it is. It will have you chucking out the textbooks and declaring every day an unschooling day!

6 Deschooling Society – Ivan Illich

Ivan Illich is such a dude! Many of his books are relevant to the unschooling lifestyle, but in this one, he speaks directly about the education system. He speaks so much sense – to me, anyway. Written back in 1971, this book sets out Illich’s view on how education could work in the future, and how it has the power to change the world into a fairer and better place. 

The internet wasn’t a thing back then, so Illich talks about huge telephone directories listing people with various skills they were willing to share. We would just phone someone up and say, ‘Hey, I’d love to learn guitar from you – would you like to learn Spanish from me in return?’. This is a lot like unschooling looks today, only unschooling is super-powered by the internet. We can learn ANYTHING, while building relationships, empowering each other, becoming unique, and finding our strengths. All without any direction from ‘The Man’ *adjusts tinfoil hat*. If you like this book, check out ‘Disabling Professions’, too. The ideas in these two books are completely intertwined. After that, you might fancy reading ‘Medical Nemesis’ too, but watch out – I reckon if you buy all three of these, an alarm goes off in the FBI’s head office.

(Ivan Illich, I formally invite you to my fantasy dinner party. Gandhi is coming too. And Zac De La Rocha, I reckon you’d like him. Hope you can make it. JO x)

7 Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing – A.S. Neill

Way back in 1921, before we were twinkles in our Grand-parent’s eyes, A.S. Neill had realised that conventional education was headed down the wrong path. He didn’t have Facebook to complain on, so instead, this pioneering gentleman got off his backside and opened his very own alternative school. 

That school is still running, and is the only school I would consider sending my kids to. At Summerhill, children are treated equally to adults. Each person, whether they are 5 or 55, gets to vote on the running of the school at regular meetings, and they are free to go to lessons, or not, as they please.

Neill believed that unhappiness is the root of all wars and violence. He believed that by giving children choices, you would produce happy, well-rounded adults with compassionate natures. The English government doesn’t seem to agree, and Summerhill has had its fair share of controversy. This book goes into detail about the ideas and systems behind this pioneering, successful and inspiring democratic school.

8 Oh The Places You’ll Go – Dr. Seuss

I absolutely love this book. Such a lot of wisdom packed into a tiny, weirdly-illustrated paperback. Dr Seuss reminds us that we are in charge of ourselves. There’ll be good times and bad times, but if we don’t get out there and experience life, we’ll regret it. 

Parts like this –

“You have brains in your head.

 You have feet in your shoes.

 You can steer yourself

 any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

seem to me to be the complete opposite of the debilitating messages we give our kids so often. There’s no ‘do as you’re told’, ‘because I said so’, or ‘should’ here. It’s all about doing what YOU think is right. Whoop!

9 Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling – John Taylor Gatto

If you have any lingering doubts that school might still be the best place for your kids, please read this book. John Taylor Gatto reminds us of the insidious messages that school children hear all day every day. From ignoring their bodies’ needs when denied the right to use the bathroom, to being told over and over again that only those who conform survive, schooled children are handing over their sovereignty to the state, and in my opinion, that’s not going to lead anywhere good. 

All the doubts I had about school are confirmed here, and this book made me realise that I wasn’t crazy, after all.

10 The ABCs of Anarchy – Brian Heagney

I believe I’m raising young anarchists. Not in the looting shops and setting fire to cars sense most people think of when they hear the word ‘anarchy’, but in a way that sees my children answer first and foremost to themselves. It’s my hope that by raising compassionate kids who won’t act without questioning, we can start to sort out some of the problems humans have created. 

This book is fantastic, and my youngest was very struck with the page that shows school as a prison with all the kids locked inside. Now, who’s up for helping me to sneak thousands of copies of this into school libraries?

What’s in Your Book Collection?

So there’s my list of the books that have jumped out and grabbed me by the rebelliousness so hard I could never look back. Each and every one (except number three) will have you running the other way every time you see a school bus, and you can be sure that you’ll feel vindicated and supported. What books have been a turning point in your life? Let me know what I need to get my maverick little hands on next.

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