PODCAST
FROM TEACHER TO UNSCHOOLING PARENT IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, WITH MARTA OBIOLS
My guest today is Marta Obiols. Marta is originally from Spain, but has lived in the US for 21 years. She now lives with her husband and three children in Atlanta, Georgia. Marta was a teacher when her children were small, but became interested in unschooling after taking her children out of school and coming across the works of John Holt. She quickly let go of being 'the dictator in the living room' and fully embraced unschooling.
Marta's eldest son recently turned 18, and Marta was inspired to write a book about her family's experiences, entitled 18: An unschooling experience. Today, among other things, we talk about facilitating the different needs of our children, trusting our children even when society around us says otherwise, and finding the unschooler in ourselves.
MARTA OBIOLS (@UNSCHOOLING1) - AUTHOR TALKS: 18, AN UNSCHOOLING EXPERIENCE
On this episode, I zoom inĀ Marta Obiols as we chat about her book, 18, an unschooling experience.
SheĀ is a Catalan immigrant, former public school teacher, and current unschooling mother. With a dual degree in Elementary and Special Education from Blanquerna Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, she's spent the past nine years homeschooling and then unschooling her children.
PODCAST
Marta is a trained teacher who believed in the school system. She didnāt think she would homeschool her children, but the school system ābroke her heartā. In this episode we discuss the how and why of her transition to homeschooling with her three children and talk about her very first book, 18: An Unschooling Experience. Marta never thought she would write a book, but the experience of her oldest son turning 18 created a lot of emotions and she had a gut feeling she needed to put her experiences into words so that she could help other parents.
We talk about why she kept unschooling a secret for a little while from her husband, the way her three children pursued their interests and how she supported them on their unique journeys, and how Marta learned to trust the process and to respect her childrenās choices and decisions, and how to get out of their way.
We dig into the variety of emotions that come up as homeschooling parents and we discuss what it has meant for her to live in the U.S. and raise her kids here although her heart is in Spain. We touch on the amazing experiences her children had in her home country when they spent five months there.
We also talk about ābeing in bedā with John Holt (HA!) and how his books changed her life.
Marta is passionate, deep, and an absolute pleasure to talk to. She has finished her second book which is available now: A Successful Education: How to tailor an education to fit your unique childās needs.
I know you will enjoy this conversation as much as I did!
