Unschoolers Learning to Read (w/ Gina Riley)

Listeners know today’s guest well. She’s Gina Riley, the co-host of this podcast. Gina is an educational psychologist, a Clinical Professor in the Adolescent Special Education Program at CUNY – Hunter College and, of course, she has a big interest in unschooling, even having written a book called Unschooling: Learning Beyond the Classroom. Today, we’re talking about a 2018 study she did, appropriately titled Exploring Unschoolers Experiences Learning to Read, where she analyzes the experiences of 28 unschoolers. What were the similarities and differences, and what can teachers and parents learn from these experiences? Stay tuned for a really informative discussion.


6:32 - Learning to read in a very ‘schooled’ world: “I think there is a lot of pressure from the outside world regarding learning to read.”
11:31 - Is there a critical period by which kids should start learning to read? “It was a really interesting finding that I’m always surprised at.”
17:19 - Intrinsic motivation and learning to read: “I have my books and I can read any of those that I want.”
24;27 - Isn’t reading too complex to learn without instruction?: ”I love these programs for kids who need them, but it’s not all knowing what a consonant and a vowel is.”
29:00 - What can conventional school teachers (and parents) learn from how unschoolers learn to read?: “We don’t need kids to always learn grade or age-based books.”
34:22 - What can parents and families learn from unschoolers’ experience learning to read?: “The more other people see things are enjoyable, the more apt they are to do them themselves.”