Growing Without Schooling

Book excerpt: After years of working to change schools from within-testifying before Congress and addressing audiences around the world about how to make schools better places for children-John Holt founded Growing Without Schooling magazine in 1977 to support self-directed education and learning outside of school. Each issue is a lively exchange among readers and Holt, packed with useful advice, resource recommendations, and all sorts of legal, pedagogical, and parenting ideas from people who pioneered what we now call homeschooling. John Holt (1983-1985) is the author of How Children Learn and How Children Fail, which together have sold over a million and a half copies, and eight other books about children and learning. His work has been translated into more than 40 languages. Once a leading figure in school reform, John Holt became increasingly interested in how children learn outside of school. The magazine he founded, Growing Without Schooling (GWS), reflects his philosophy, which he called unschooling. GWS was published from 1977 to 2001 and is the first magazine devoted to homeschooling and self-directed education.