Unschooling Rules: 55 Ways to Unlearn What We Know About Schools and Rediscover Education [Paperback]

Clark Aldrich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2011

The most powerful new ideas in education are coming from the families that have given up on schools. From his experience with homeschoolers and unschoolers, education guru Clark Aldrich distills a revolutionary manifesto of 55 core ''rules'' that reboots our vision of childhood education and the role of schools.  The include:

● Learn to be; learn to do; learn to know.
● Tests don't work. Get over it. Move on.
● What a person learns in a classroom is how to be a person in a classroom.
● Animals are better than books about animals.
● Internships, apprenticeships, and interesting jobs beat term papers, textbooks, and tests.
● The only sustainable answer to the global education challenge is a diversity of approaches.

This accessible book provides you with a path forward, whether you're a parent or teacher, a school administrator, or a national policy decision maker.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Clark Aldrich is a global education thought leader, labeled a guru by Fortune Magazine. He works with corporate, military, government, and academic organizations at both the board level and as a hands-on implementer. His projects have been patent winning and earned millions globally. He is the author of four earlier books and scores of articles; is the recipient of numerous industry awards; created dozens of educational simulations (including the most popular leadership simulation in the world); was the founder of Gartner's eLearning coverage; and has a degree in Cognitive Science from Brown University. His work has been featured in hundreds of sources, including CBS, ABC, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, CNET, Business 2.0, BusinessWeek, and U.S. News and World Reports.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group (February 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1608321169
• ISBN-13: 978-1608321162
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clark Aldrich is a global education thought leader, labeled a guru by Fortune Magazine. His experience ranges from spending years working with children at a leading environmental education foundation to serving on boards of universities, of companies, and in the intelligence community.

As well as being an award-winning analyst, speaker, and writer, Clark Aldrich is one of the top five active educational game designers in the world. His educational games have been patent winning, generated millions in revenues, are market leaders in their categories, have been rigorously proven to drive long term desired changes in behavior, and have been translated and deployed in dozens of countries and languages.

Aldrich is also the author of five books, Simulations and the Future of Learning, Learning By Doing, The Complete Guide to Simulations and Serious Games, Learning Online with Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds, and Unschooling Rules.

Aldrich's work has been featured in hundreds of sources, including CBS, ABC, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, CNN, NPR, CNET, Business 2.0, BusinessWeek, U.S. News and World Reports.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Some people might be surprised to learn that "unschooling" is not just for hippies February 2, 2011

By Bob Collier

Format:Paperback

This expansive and intelligent look at the concept of "unschooling" is not only as penetrating an exposition of "what's wrong with schools" as I've seen but also gives the reader what I think is a very useful insight into the appeal of unschooling, why it's booming and why, to borrow an opinion from elsewhere, "it's not just for hippies".

Whatever our 'love affair' with the school classroom might have been in the past (I have a grown up daughter who was very successful in school throughout the 1990s), I live now in a culture of unprecedented educational opportunity, a reality where every self-motivated individual with an internet connection is free to learn whatever they choose to learn whenever and wherever it suits them. It's the age of the "digital revolution" - and that has made schools the laggards of the education world and in need of the kinds of fundamental changes that Clark Aldrich explores through his ideas, often with the help of some wry and perceptive humour.

I do like this little book very much (which is why it features on my website!) and consider it recommended reading for anybody interested in the future of education, whatever form that might ultimately take. For those who are unschooling, I think it's a gift for biting back at the critics. For parents with children in school who just want schools to be better than they've become it may however be a provocative read - there are many things to think about in this book that you might find yourself thinking about for the very first time.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST read! August 22, 2010

By Marilyn Olowe

Format:Paperback

I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book and it is such a great read! What a wonderfully insightful piece of work by Mr. Aldrich that will enlighten and challenge even the seasoned unschooler/homeschooler! But this is not just a book about unschooling FOR unschoolers, this book speaks to and endeavors to engage society as whole in a new conversation and perspective about education. This should be required reading for all learners and educators (and we ALL are learners and educators) who don't believe that schools and true education are necessarily mutually inclusive. If you value true education and are ready for something different, Unschooling Rules is for you.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Unschooling Does Rule.... July 17, 2011

By T. Ross

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been convinced by others in the unschooling movement that this method or train of thought does work. I have seen it work in our family with my three sons, one of whom is autistic. I have basically unschooled for the better part of 8 years of homeschooling and my son just took the Iowa Based Assessment Test (just to see where he was at and what he needed to concentrate on to get into college this next semester)and he scored 2nd year college level in everything except Math which was age appropriate. My son just turned 16 in March and will be going to college in the fall. He has never taken a test except the one I mentioned above, and he still has learned through experience, doing things he is interested in, and following his own path through this world. I think that Mr. Aldrich backs this up through his examples in the book about the way a lot of people view the electronics of our time (yes - children can play electronics and still learn!) He also follows the unschooling path by the way his whole book is laid out - wandering from one thought or fact to the next. This book is an easy read (I read it in a couple of hours)and it is uncomplicated and clearly thought out, provoking the reader to rethink their opinions about public school and that there is clearly another way for children to learn without the stress of government intervention.