Freeschool: The Road to Freedom

Stephen King once said that the road to hell is paved with adverbs. I have since discovered that the road to freedom is lined with towering Klapotetz and countless rows of Riesling. I’ve never been such a fan of Stephen King, but here in Austria, freedom and adverbs are something to be taken very seriously.

This is the home of Sigmund Freud and the Pleasure Principle, Frederick Hayek and “The Road to Serfdom”, Wolfgang Mozart and the Jupiter Symphony. Of course, California has an intimate understanding of the Austrian sensibilities; it was not so long ago we had ourselves an Austrian governor.

This is a land of superlatives and superheroes. It is without irony that I say we are just 10 minutes away from the Guinness Book of World Records’ largest Klapotetz (a metal structure endemic to this region that looks like a windmill but works like a viticultural scarecrow, always going klickety-klack) and the Guinness Book of World Records’ largest grape, a 30-foot tall glass sculpture standing on a hilltop overlooking the well-known Wine Strasse.

Maybe a coincidence, possibly a bellwether, but the property in this enchanted valley is filled with custom artwork and one-of-a-kind glass sculptures, for it was formerly owned and occupied by the prolific sculptor of that record sized grape. (May he rest in peace.) From doorways to table tops, wall lamps to handrails, the home and its surroundings sparkle with colorful silica. And here is where the Hornadays discovered the House of Freedom, a sanctuary for freeschool enthusiasts from around the world.

Who could imagine a more auspicious environment in which to reconnect with the land and raise a family? Some call it controversial, others call it paradise, but six children live here, and here they spend their days. They aren’t driving to school every morning, they aren’t sitting at desks in classrooms with 30 other students their same age every day, and they aren’t hunched over a text book with their homework every night. The board of education, distraught and dismayed, has no idea what to do.

Classroom education is compulsory in Austria, as in most of Europe, but this family has decided against it. They cannot accept the idea that someone would force them to send their children out of the house and into an institution for six or eight hours a day. They are not convinced that any organization trying to educate every child in the country according to one standardized method could do a better job teaching their children than they do, by letting them learn for themselves, right here on their own very active homestead.

Indeed, it is unheard of in nature and in human history for a species to remove their young from their daily lives and send them instead to a separate facility where they are processed like commodities on a 13-year-long assembly line. And how many of these carefully conformed units stand up from their tidy desks after 13 years only to discover that they have no real, useful or practical life skills, and furthermore, no idea where their passion lies or what they want to do when they ‘grow up’?

This an all too common fate that will not befall the children here, at the House of Freedom. Not to be confused with homeschooling, in which parents and children more-or-less work their way through the standard curriculum independently, the method at play here is more often referred to as free-schooling. This real life setting includes livestock, vegetable gardens, and ongoing construction and renovation, as well as all manner of chores and tasks, from mowing lawns to jarring tomatoes to pickling cucumbers, and everywhere children are learning how to live.

Take the oldest son, age 11, for example. He’s in charge of the animals, which currently include about a dozen chickens and a pair of sheep. Not only does he feed them and put them in and out of their stables at night, he also collects the eggs and sells them, using the proceeds to purchase hay and other supplies, all of which has required him to learn a little arithmetic, as he works his way up to elementary bookkeeping. He’s also responsible for maintaining the fencing around the animals, including an electric fence for the sheep. This too involves some practical skills, involving basic carpentry and electricity, which his father is all too eager to teach him. The internet also proves a useful resource, believe it or not.

This is not to say that free-schooling is the best method for everyone. For kids whose parents sit in front of computers all day, or spend their days away at work, it’s not a very practical option. And perhaps that applies to most of the children out there. But for parents with different routines, or parents who make it a point to adjust their schedules in order to be at home with their school aged children, it seems like homeschooling and free-schooling approaches should be valid and permissible.

But all too many parents succumb to the intimidation, and for fear of their worst nightmare, having their children taken away from them by the police, they rule out any such alternative. Others take on the school board bureaucracy and hire lawyers and spend countless hours and euros in search of legal loopholes. The best approach, however, according to those in the know, is to simply live and let live, and be civil. Do what you want and know that no one can take away your children when you are doing what’s right. Do not hide from the authorities, and do not pick fights with them. Instead, invite them over for tea and let them see that your children are thriving in a safe, healthy and stimulating environment.

Sometimes I wonder, how well could I teach my kids the academic fundamentals and essential life skills? I am a product of suburbia and the public school system, well-versed in literature, philosophy, and imaginary numbers, but less skilled in how to build a house, milk a goat, or make a block of cheese. No amount of Melville can restore your hard drive or get you through an Alaskan winter in the outback. Or can it?

The fact is, we do enjoy the occasional book learnin. Lately we’ve been reaching for Brothers Grimm or “The Thousand And One Nights”. Einstein said, “If you want smart kids, read to them. If you want brilliant kids, read them fairy tales.” Truly, some of these stories are packed with meaning. And even if we don’t get around to discussing every allegorical angle and morally ambiguous tidbit, we can always find some morsel to chew on. They may never learn from me how to shoot a stag or skin a bear, but at least I’ll see that they don’t abuse their adverbs or violate the categorical imperative.

For more informative and entertaining stories about our WorkAway experience, be sure to check out our articles on WWOOFing with Children and New Education: A year without a principal.