The Teenage Liberation Handbook
The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education Grace Llewellyn,
Publisher: Lowry House Pub
ISBN: 0962959170
Edition: Paperback; 1998-09-01
Summary:
You won't find this book on a school library shelf--it's pure teenage
anarchy. While many homeschooling authors hem and haw that learning
at home isn't for everyone, this manifesto practically tells kids
they're losers if they do otherwise. With the exception of a
forwarding note to parents, this book is written entirely for
teenagers, and the first 75 pages explain why school is a waste of
time. Grace Llewellyn insists that people learn better when they are
self-motivated and not confined by school walls. Instead of
homeschooling, which connotes setting up a school at home, Llewellyn
prefers "unschooling," a learning method with no structure or formal
curriculum. There are tips here you won't hear from a school guidance
counselor. Llewellyn urges kids to take a vacation--at least for a
week--after quitting school to purge its influence. "Throw darts at a
picture of your school" or "Make a bonfire of old worksheets," she
advises. She spends an entire chapter on the gentle art of persuading
parents that this is a good idea. Then she gets serious. Llewellyn
urges teens to turn off the TV, get outside, and turn to their local
libraries, museums, the Internet, and other resources for
information. She devotes many chapters to books and suggestions for
teaching yourself science, math, social sciences, English, foreign
languages, and the arts. She also includes advice on jobs and getting
into college, assuring teens that, contrary to what they've been told
in school, they won't be flipping burgers for the rest of their days
if they drop out. Llewellyn is a former middle-school English
teacher, and she knows her audience well. Her formula for making the
transition from traditional school to unschooling is accompanied by
quotes on freedom and free thought from radical thinkers such as
Steve Biko and Ralph Waldo Emerson. And Llewellyn is not above using
slang. She capitalizes words to add emphasis, as in the "Mainstream
American Suburbia-Think" she blames most schools for perpetuating.
Some of her attempts to appeal to young minds ring a bit corny. She
weaves through several chapters an allegory about a baby whose
enthusiasm is squashed by a sterile, unnatural environment, and tells
readers to "learn to be a human bean and not a mashed potato." But
her underlying theme--think for yourself--should appeal to many
teenagers. --Jodi Mailander Farrell
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