When Our Unschooler Tried School

What actually happens when an unschooler decides they want to try school? In this episode, I’m sharing the story of our 9-year-old daughter choosing to go to school. Before that day, she had never once stepped into a classroom. I talk about why we agreed to it. How we prepared. What the transition into a classroom was actually like. How she went socially. What happened academically. What sort of overall impact it had on her. And whether, in the end, it lasted. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering whether school might be “worth a try”, or you have a child asking about it and no real sense of how that would play out, this episode will give you a grounded, objective, lived perspective from the inside. For regular encouragement and support just like this, including weekly research-backed episodes to help you design and live your best possible life outside school, sign up to my full Life Without School Collection right here :

You can listen to When Our Unschooler Tried School online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

When Our Unschooler Tried School is an episode from The Life Without School Podcast by Stark Raving Dad.

This episode is 40:39 long.

This episode was published on Jan 15, 2026.

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