Ben Lovejoy, a long-time unschooling dad, joins me this week. I met Ben and his family at the first unschooling conference we ever attended. His boys are grown now and we have a lovely chat reflecting on his family’s journey, including the influence of his military background, the idea of rules versus principles, the value of parents having passions, the benefits of unschooling conferences for dads and lots more.

Questions for Ben

Can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What’s everybody up to?

How did you guys discover unschooling and what did your family’s move to unschooling look like?

How about your own journey to understanding the unschooling lifestyle? Coming from a military background, I imagine it was a big shift!

The dichotomy between rules and principles is something that is near and dear to your heart and I’d love to dive into that. How do rules get in the way of learning? And how does the shift to principles help open things up?

After spending a lot of time helping my kids pursue their passions, it eventually dawned on me that it was good for me to have interests and passions as well. It’s not just for kids. Has that been your experience as well?

What surprised you most about how unschooling unfolded in your lives?

Your wife, Kelly, hosted the wonderful Live and Learn unschooling conference for a number of years. I imagine you were involved behind the scenes, but you were also involved in supporting the dads. What were some of the benefits of attending an unschooling conference that you saw for dads over the years?

As an unschooling dad, what piece of advice would you like to share with dads who are considering or just starting out on this journey?

Episode Transcript

Read the transcript here