Unschool Yourself First: A Parents Gateway to Self Directed Learning
Mark Beaumont is a professional educator that is passionate about self directed learning. He is a middle school principal at an international school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Mark is an artist, husband and father. His daughter attends the school he works at. And even though she attends school, Mark raises her with the principles of self directed learning. He “finds it nothing less than fascinating and challenging.” With his professional background and experience as well the story of his personal struggles in school Mark offers great perspective.
He reminds us it is important to unschool yourself first.
In this episode we discussed:
- Where his belief in self directed learning came from
- Why Mark and his friends started a small unschooling centre in Chiang Mai for their own children
- Unschooling and attending school. Mark explains why this is not a contradiction and how he is able to continue to unschool his daughter while she attends school
- How he has found his way in the struggle between the two worlds of traditional education and self directed learning
- Why he wrote his book Unschool Yourself First: A Parents Gateway to Self Directed Learning and the 3 main themes he lays out for readers.
- The fundamentals that took him from progressive educator to unschooler
- The educational research that explains why unschooling works so well
- The personal learners profile that helps parents to empathize, understand and support their child
Questions Unschoolers Face
I also asked Mark to answer some key questions that many unschoolers hear. Questions like;
Does unschooling start with the parent or with the child?
Is unschooling or self directed learning for everyone or only the select few?
Self Directed Kids-will they really be productive?
Mark is an excellent advocate for self directed learning. Through his work as an educator and parent consultant he has worked with countless families on both sides of the coin. And yes, Mark says it starts with us, the parents. Unschool yourself first.
Mark’s Advice To Parents
Mark offers advice to parents that may be struggling to understand self directed learning. He says trust your child to know what is best for them in their life and learning. Support them in their learning. Have conversations. Figure out how to help them go deeper into what resonates with them and what they are interested in. Support your child. While Mark shared his childhood schooling experience (which he describes as nothing less than traumatic) I noticed that he had a lot of support in his life. Whether it was his parents, an aunt, or his grandparents, they all played a part in offering choice and freedom to Mark. He didn’t have to stay confined to the school structure that was not serving him at all.
Mark leaves us with his top 2 book recommendations for entering self directed learning. You can find the recommendations at the bottom of this page or you can tune into the episode to listen and learn more.
You can connect with Mark through his email standupandunschool@gmail.com where he offers free consultations to parents. You can also look for him on FaceBook.
My episode with Kerry McDonald and Peter Gray were brought up in this interview. You can check out both interviews here.
Mark’s Resources
Mark’s Book~Unschool Yourself First: A Parents Gateway to Self Directed Learning
Dan Pink- The Puzzle of Motivation
Understanding By Design Curriculum
