UnCollege: Self-directed higher education

I was unschooled from 6th until 12th grade and am currently matriculated at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. I’ve been frustrated with some aspects of my college experience and spent much of my first semester thinking and writing about what could be done to address my concerns.

Over winter break, some unschooled friends at I were conversing about our frustrations with higher education.  We found that we had precisely the same frustrations about college, even though we attend different institutions (Dartmouth, Pacific Luther).  We threw around some ideas via email, with my friend suggesting “we should just start our own college a la the movie ‘Accepted.’”

I loved the idea, but thought it to be a long-term goal rather than an actionable plan.  After pondering the concept for a bit, I came to the conclusion that our frustrations with higher education stem not from the specific institutions we attend but rather from what we had in common: unschooling.

Unschooling provided an excellent (and in some ways) superior education.  As unschoolers, we were free to learn whenever and wherever we pleased — which meant constantly.  We took our knowledge from theory to practice, starting organizations and creating internships.  We learned for learning’s sake — not to pass a test.  We found innovative ways to apply what we learned.  We were forced to think independently and analytically.  We learned how to interact with our peers and function in a classroom setting by auditing college courses.  By serving as both teacher (planning our courses) and student (doing the coursework) we created the ultimate leadership experience.

Last week, I decided that the 'homeschooler college' was not unthinkable and registered http://uncollege.org. I launched the site last week and have been soliciting feedback since.

UnCollege is a self-directed learning experience for driven individuals to complement traditional higher education, offering a community of like-minded peers and mentors to support your self-directed journey of learning and introspection.

I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, criticisms, and suggestions. The idea is still in its infancy--the concept is evolving.

Thanks!