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An estimated 700,000 American children are now taught at home. This book tells teens how to take control of their lives and get a "real life." Young people can reclaim their natural ability to teach themselves and design a personalized education program. Grace Llewellyn explains the entire process, from making the decision to quit school, to discovering the learning opportunities available.
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By Alan Morse (Maine)
I'm a former teacher in both public and private schools, the doting father of a teenager, a multi-term school board member, and a graduate of an "excellent" urban high school who went on to what some consider the top college in the country and two masters programs after that...so don't accuse me of bearing some grudge against the system for past failures or toying with the future of others' kids. If anything, I know just a tad too much about schools---even "good" schools---from continuing personal experience, and I would buy this book in a second out of my own pocket for any teen in my district who promised to read it. I've read most of it more than once myself, kept returning to it as a reference, given away copies, and recommended it publicly just yesterday to a roomful of juniors at my high school...thus my return here to check again its availability and price.
If you are a kid who can't think for yourself, don't waste your money. Stay where you are. You and your school deserve each other, and I wish you a happy life.
If you are a parent who thinks it risky giving this to your child, I would suspect you have a short, selective memory and a fear of conflict. Maybe you won't agree with everything in here, but what the hell do you risk to lose opening up an honest discussion with your kid? It might be a life changing event for both of you. Buy two of them so you can both read it at the same time and mark up your own copies. Maybe both of you will agree it's not for you, but you'll be much closer for opening the door, and school will then be more positive for being a considered choice rather than a forced obligation.
By T. Arnold (Pennsylvania)
I am a middle school English teacher, and I use this book to teach the importance of thinking for yourself--but probably not in the way it was intended. When teaching a unit on non-fiction, I always address the importance of being able to determine fact vs. opinion--and this book is rife with examples of the latter. It is clear that the author had a very, very bad experience with school. It is also true that school is not for everyone--as a teacher I can say that with confidence. It is also true that many people would benefit from being self-taught or home-taught. But there are books about those things that do not do what this book does--make one feel like an idiot for doing anything other than dropping out immediately. I hate to use the word brain-washing--because ironically, this is just what Llewellyn is claiming schools do--but to base a major life decision such as dropping out of school on such an extremist book is to succumb to the same kind of crazy coercion that schools supposedly are using to `keep kids down'. If you go to far to the end of any spectrum, oddly, you wind up at the same place--to blindly accept everything about the public school system is just as stupid as blindly accepting the half-truths and poorly written opinions of this woman.
In addition, I feel that the examples given by Llewellyn are rather extreme--in fact, feel free to read this book, but then I urge you--think long and hard about whether or not your particular school functions in the same way. If your school and school life honestly resembles what Llewellyn describes, then go for it and drop out. I probably would--and I'd certainly take my own child out of such an environment. As a teacher, I can promise that my school and my classroom resemble the nightmare experience not at all--kids are treated with respect and in turn show respect back to their classmates and their teachers--amazing but true--and in a middle school!
By K. J. Wagner (St. Louis, MO United States)
I love this book. Would have been The Best Thing back in the day, but alas, it was published the same year I graduated high school, and I never heard of it until now.
This book is full of wild and vibrant ideas, I read it and I checked it out last week from the library for my own mom. While I may have gotten out of school 17 years ago, I have two little kids who are just at the right age to start school, and I find myself very reluctant to put them into that situation.
We all carry scars around from our school years, everyone has horror stories of what school was like. What if we could have stepped out of that? For so many people, they don't even realize that there could be a different option. The idea that this exists is beyond them.
This also opens a whole new world of what it means to homeschool. I always thought of it as a (yes, ultra-religious) kid sitting at the kitchen table while mom lectures and hands out worksheets. Ew! This book instead focuses on living in the world, not the school.
If this author is too flighty, so be it! After having bicycled across six different European countries, earned a college degree (graduating cum laude from a private, four-year university) and founding my own business, I think the author is truly onto something here. I think the criticisms of being too flighty probably translate into the criticism of "not knowing your place." Thank goodness so many people in the world have the fire to go after what their passions dictate, and not what everyone else dictates.
By T. Johnson (U.S.)
I thought the author was a bit immature. I found the author's lack of seriousness to be a serious conflict to my real interest in accomplishing something in the world via educating myself. The author is a wanderer who wants to follow ever passion that comes her way.
The real issue with quitting school is discipline and purpose. If you don't have a lot of both then it seems foolish and could easily end up in vain. The author does not advise caution nor does she provide a voice of reason and wisdom.
By A. Willson
Read this book with the idea that whether or not you agree with everything, it will provide many opportunities for reflection. The author seems out-of-touch, a bit, with the current generation. Her ideals and opinions about "school" sometimes come off as flaky. For example, she's disappointed that someone would leave public school for another way to meet school requirements. Even though that person is just fine with that, her disappointment is over not choosing her definition of "unschooling"--as if they still don't get how brain washed they are.
Bottom line, if one has reservations about the public/traditional education offered, this book might be just the needed inspiration to seek an alternative. The second part is especially useful. Use it as a resource, but don't overlook others. If you are seeking validation to challenging the institution of school, there are other better written books.
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