Unschooling is more about self-directed learning, finding out what you’re interested in, and going really deep into something.

In this episode of Nat Chat, I’m joined by Blake Boles. While in college, Blake stumbled upon a book that really opened his eyes to the world of unschooling, alternative education, and how students could be learning better outside of the traditional systems. Shortly after graduating, he worked in California doing outdoor education and then ran off to South America for three months, where he decided he wanted to work within the alternative education field while also traveling. He then started Unschool Adventures, where he takes students on two-month trips to interesting places around the world.

Blake is an excellent guy to follow if you’re into the alternative education and unschooling movement, as well as the digital nomad space.

We covered a wide range of topics, including:

• Alternative educational systems
• The unschooling movement and its goals
• Finding the motivation to leave the traditional school system
• Fixing the existing school systems
• The importance of self-directed learning
• Turning your passions into a career

And much more. Please enjoy, and reach out to Blake on his website!

If you enjoyed this episode and the bits on turning your passion into a career, you’ll like my episode with Tasha Meys, where we talk about that and more. If you want more on the schooling system, be sure to listen to my episode with William Deresiewicz, where we discuss that in-depth.

Find Blake Online:

• Website
• Unschool Adventures
• How to Live Nowhere

Mentioned in the show:

• Unschool Adventures [0:55 ]
• Lonely Planet [3:27 ]
• Summerhill School [9:05 ]
• Astro Camp [9:41 ]
• Not Back to School Camp [13:41 ]
• Couchsurfing [34:16 ]
• Minerva [34:37 ] (Nat Chat episode with the founder)
• Liberated Learners [36:49 ]
• North Star [36:54 ]
• Lord of the Flies [37:53 ]
• Arthur Morgan school [40:20 ]
• Mooc [43:12 ]
• Blakes website [51:44 ]
• Blake’s newsletter [51:44 ]
• How to Live Nowhere [52:47 ]

Books mentioned:

• Dumbing Us Down [11:11 ]
• A Different Kind of Teacher [11:13 ]
• Excellent Sheep [30:15 ] (Nat’s Notes) (Nat Chat episode)
• The Art of Self-directed Learning [51:44 ] (Blake’s other books)

People mentioned:

• John Taylor Gatto [8:04 ]
• William Deresiewicz [30:15 ] (Nat Chat episode)

1:50 - Intro to Blake, some background on what he does, and some information on his business Unschool Adventures, where he takes unschooled teenagers on international trips. Also, how he figures out which places to take his students and some details on what they learn.

5:50 - Why Blake chose to do these trips for a younger crowd and who these students are.

7:06 - How Blake got involved in the unschooling movement, some of his experiences growing up with it, and his education.

11:23 - What Blake did before he started getting into the unschool movement and his transformational travel experience to South America. Also, how he started his lifestyle business and its beginnings.

16:32 - What made Blake choose to get into unschooling compared to other alternative schooling methods and him discussing some of the homeschooling laws in Germany and in the US.

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