John Holt: “I have met some fine teachers who have told me that for as long as twenty years or more they have been working in this or that school or system to bring about some of the kinds of changes I am urging, and with no success at all. I can admire their courage but not their tactical judgment. Not only have they wasted their time, skill, and devotion; they have given them to an institu­tion that has made bad use of them.”

Most educators would not recommend learning how to care for farm animals, raise food, mend fences, and so on as a well-rounded education. Nonetheless, this is not an uncommon theme in the pages of Growing Without Schooling magazine.