Episode #53: Blake Boles - Unschool Adventures

MICROCOLLEGE: The Thoreau College Podcast

Blake Boles is one of the leading voices in the world of unschooling and a passionate advocate for alternative approaches to education of all kinds. He is the founder and director of Unschool Adventures, a travel program for self-directed learners, and is the author of Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School?, The Art of Self-Directed Learning, Better Than College, and College Without High School. Blake and his work have appeared on The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, BBC Travel, Psychology Today, Fox Business, TEDx, The Huffington Post, USA Today, NPR, and the blogs of Wired and The Wall Street Journal.

In 2003 Blake was studying astrophysics at UC Berkeley when he stumbled upon the works of John Taylor Gatto, Grace Llewellyn, and other alternative education pioneers. Deeply inspired by the philosophy of unschooling, Blake custom-designed his final two years of college to focus exclusively on education theory. After graduating he joined the Not Back to School Camp community and began writing and speaking widely on the subject of self-directed learning.

In his previous lives, Blake worked as a high-volume cook, delivery truck driver, summer camp director, Aurora Borealis research assistant, math tutor, outdoor science teacher, camp medic, ski resort market researcher, web designer, and windsurfing instructor. His biggest passion is sharing his enthusiasm and experience with young adults who are blazing their own trails through life. He was born in 1982.

Blake's Website: https://www.blakeboles.com/

Unschool Adventures: https://www.unschooladventures.com/

Not Back to School Camp: https://www.nbtsc.org/

Thoreau College: www.thoreaucollege.org

Driftless Folk School: www.driftlessfolkschool.org