Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Hackschooling

I recently came across this video from Ted Talks. It features 13-year-old Logan LaPlante discussing "hackschooling."



So what is hackschooling?

It's roughly equivalent to the "unschooling" movement in homeschooling. Instead of a strict curriculum in the basics, Logan is given access to varied learning experiences centered around his interests. Logan loves skiing, and interned with a skiing equipment manufacturer, for example. Logan's hackschooling is pretty interesting.

No doubt, given how articulate and mature he is, his parents have done a terrific job. But just how practical is it? That is, how many parents could afford to fund this sort of education, let alone devote the time to it that it would require?

How many of you do a bit of "hackschooling"? Do you have examples of doing so affordably, in a way that doesn't cost a fortune paying for trips out of state?