In 2012, on Just Add Light, I quoted the intro to a talk I had given in 2009.  I think it was the advance "teaser" description, on a conference blog that's long gone.  

When my firstborn son was four and we decided not to enroll him in kindergarten that fall, I thought I could foresee the future. I knew unschoolers. I knew alternative education. I knew it could be really fun, and good. What happened over the next nineteen years surprised me. Because of unschooling, I changed. My husband changed. The way we interacted with the world and other people changed, all for the better. Our relationships with all three of our children surpassed any of our imaginings.

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Cathy Koetsier commented:

I couldn't agree more!  When people ask me about the educational value of the way we have chosen to raise our children, I tell them that I have certainly received a great education. :-)

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Today when I was in there, I had an update for the page.  There was not then, but is now, an online sound file of a talk given the same year, partly from the same notes. :-)  I don't say those words up above, but lots of the ideas are in there.  So I've added this to that post:

The text was the written introduction to a talk I gave in 2009.  There is no recording of that day, but this one, later the same same year, is similar:   Transformations (sound file, photo, and notes there).

While I was poking around looking for that, though, I found a Q&A follow-up page from the conference I quoted from/about, and I thought I could put those in here, over a few days, for potential discussion!  

I'm willing to seed the clouds here.  It's fine with me if there are people who read and don't respond.  

Learn Nothing Day is in 12 or 13 days (depending where on the globe you are); just a reminder. :-)

Sandra

I forgot to leave the link:  https://justaddlightandstir.blogspot.com/2012/03/surprising-changes.html

There are some other things on my site related to the way unschooling affects more than the children.

Now that I went to look for what to bring... sheesh, there's a lot.  No one page has it all. :-)

Something else to listen to—Pam Laricchia interviewed me about changes in the parents:

https://sandradodd.com/parentschange.html

Both of these have a fair number of links at the bottom:

https://sandradodd.com/change/

https://sandradodd.com/change.html

I know, I know.  My file-naming practices are abominable.  Sorry. :-)  If that disturbs you, I hope you'll find soothing ideas on the pages to make you feel much better!

Sandra