Self Directed

Susan Yao | From Teacher to Unschooler

Susan Yao is an educator, school founder, and advocate of self-directed learning. She previously served as Middle School Head at Friends Academy in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, following more than a decade of teaching. She co-founded the Vermont Village School, a community-based microschool emphasising student-led learning, autonomy, and community engagement. The episode connects her parents’ years in China’s school closures with her own path through American schooling and into the early stages of unschooling. The conversation outlines her family’s approach to dyslexia, late reading, and open learning rhythms. 🗓️ Recorded November 6, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links 1. https://susyao.substack.com/ [https://susyao.substack.com/]  2. https://www.vermontvillageschool.org/ [https://www.vermontvillageschool.org/]  3. https://www.lionsroar.com/author/susan-yao/ [https://www.lionsroar.com/author/susan-yao/] 4. The Math Myth by Andrew Hacker: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1620970686/ [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1620970686/]  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2103333/support] PODCAST INFO Podcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast [http://theconrad.family/podcast] YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365 [https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365] Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple [https://www.theconrad.family/apple] Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify [https://theconrad.family/spotify] RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss [https://theconrad.family/rss] SUPPORT & CONNECT Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily [https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily] Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast [https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family [https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily [https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily] Twitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily [https://twitter.com/theconradfamily]

Missy Willis | From Unschooling To Exams

What happens when unschooled teens meet college systems, exams, and external expectations? Jesper and Cecilie Conrad speak with Missy Willis about how adolescents raised with freedom step into formal learning without losing curiosity or confidence. The conversation follows family transitions, changing homes, and the moment when rigor and motivation finally align. 🗓️ Recorded November 4, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links * https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com [https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/ ] * https://letemgobarefoot.com [https://letemgobarefoot.com] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2103333/support] PODCAST INFO Podcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast [http://theconrad.family/podcast] YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365 [https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365] Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple [https://www.theconrad.family/apple] Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify [https://theconrad.family/spotify] RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss [https://theconrad.family/rss] SUPPORT & CONNECT Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily [https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily] Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast [https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family [https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily [https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily] Twitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily [https://twitter.com/theconradfamily]

Kate McAllister | Nervous System Regulation: From Reaction to Response

Kate McAllister describes how nervous system regulation shifts behavior from reaction to response. The conversation maps how stress patterns shape daily life, from parenting and school to refugee camps and co-regulation through rhythm and presence. Breath, movement, and sensory grounding become practical tools for returning the thinking brain online when fight, flight, or freeze take over. 🗓️ Recorded October 23, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗  Relevant links * https://www.thehiveadventure.com [https://www.thehiveadventure.com/] * https://www.facebook.com/thehiveadventure [https://www.facebook.com/thehiveadventure]  * https://www.instagram.com/thehiveadventure [https://www.instagram.com/thehiveadventure/] * https://www.tiktok.com/@thehiveadventure [https://www.tiktok.com/@thehiveadventure]  * https://www.youtube.com/@thehiveadventure [https://www.youtube.com/@thehiveadventure]  * https://www.linkedin.com/in/misskatemcallister [https://www.linkedin.com/in/misskatemcallister/] 🔗 Books mentioned in this episode * Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté https://www.amazon.com/Hold-Your-Kids-Parents-Matter-ebook/dp/B001LOEFZU [https://www.amazon.com/Hold-Your-Kids-Parents-Matter-ebook/dp/B001LOEFZU] * The Chimp Paradox: The Chimp Paradox: The Mind Management Programme for Confidence, Success and Happines by Steve Peters https://www.amazon.com/Chimp-Paradox-Acclaimed-Management-Confidence-ebook/dp/B006K26BEQ [https://www.amazon.com/Chimp-Paradox-Acclaimed-Management-Confidence-ebook/dp/B006K26BEQ]  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2103333/support] PODCAST INFO Podcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast [http://theconrad.family/podcast] YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365 [https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365] Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple [https://www.theconrad.family/apple] Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify [https://theconrad.family/spotify] RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss [https://theconrad.family/rss] SUPPORT & CONNECT Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily [https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily] Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast [https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family [https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily [https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily] Twitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily [https://twitter.com/theconradfamily]

Summer Jean | Unschooling - Living Without the Need to Prove Yourself

Summer Jean describes how growing up unschooled shaped her ideas of work, freedom, and value. She explains how her mother’s focus on connection over control helped her develop confidence in her own sense of rightness. The episode contrasts inner conviction with productivity as a measure of worth. 🗓️ Recorded October 16, 2025. 📍 Tarragona, Spain 🔗 Relevant links * https://www.facebook.com/mermaidartglass/ [https://www.instagram.com/andanzasanpancho/] * https://www.instagram.com/summerisafairy/ [https://www.instagram.com/andanzasanpancho/] * https://www.instagram.com/andanzasanpancho/ [https://www.instagram.com/andanzasanpancho/] * https://www.instagram.com/mermaidartglass/ [https://www.instagram.com/mermaidartglass/] * https://www.etsy.com/shop/mermaidartglass [https://www.etsy.com/shop/mermaidartglass]  🔗 Books by John Taylor Gatto * https://www.amazon.com/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling-ebook/dp/B072F9VRZP [https://www.amazon.com/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling-ebook/dp/B072F9VRZP]  * https://www.amazon.com/Weapons-Mass-Instruction-Schoolteachers-Compulsory-ebook/dp/B0097DE6XI [https://www.amazon.com/Weapons-Mass-Instruction-Schoolteachers-Compulsory-ebook/dp/B0097DE6XI]  * https://www.amazon.com/Underground-History-American-Education-Investigation/dp/0998919101/ [https://www.amazon.com/Underground-History-American-Education-Investigation/dp/0998919101/]  * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_Gatto [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_Gatto]  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2103333/support] PODCAST INFO Podcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast [http://theconrad.family/podcast] YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365 [https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365] Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple [https://www.theconrad.family/apple] Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify [https://theconrad.family/spotify] RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss [https://theconrad.family/rss] SUPPORT & CONNECT Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily [https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily] Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast [https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family [https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily [https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily] Twitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily [https://twitter.com/theconradfamily]

Timmy Eaton | Choosing a Life with Golden Hours

Cecilie and Jesper Conrad describe how illness, travel, and questioning convention led their family from a more or less traditional path in Denmark—through a Freinet-inspired free school—to a fully unschooled, nomadic life. They explain how unschooling developed through practical choices, legal frameworks, and value-based reflection rather than ideology. 🗓️ Recorded September 20, 2025. 📍 Åmarken, Solrød, Denmark 🔗 Relevant links * https://www.thisgoldenhour.org/podcast [https://www.thisgoldenhour.org/podcast]  * https://www.instagram.com/this.goldenhour [https://www.instagram.com/this.goldenhour]  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2103333/support] PODCAST INFO Podcast website: http://theconrad.family/podcast [http://theconrad.family/podcast] YouTube Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365 [https://www.youtube.com/theconradfamily365] Apple Podcasts: https://www.theconrad.family/apple [https://www.theconrad.family/apple] Spotify: https://theconrad.family/spotify [https://theconrad.family/spotify] RSS: https://theconrad.family/rss [https://theconrad.family/rss] SUPPORT & CONNECT Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily [https://www.patreon.com/Theconradfamily] Share a review: https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast [https://www.theconrad.family/review-our-podcast] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family [https://www.instagram.com/theconrad.family/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily [https://www.facebook.com/theconradfamily] Twitter: https://twitter.com/theconradfamily [https://twitter.com/theconradfamily]