How Children Learn the Humanity of Trade

How Children Learn the Humanity of Trade
The idea of peaceful, voluntary cooperation through trade is something humans have gravitated towards for millennia. Shutterstock
Kerry McDonald
Updated:
My older children attend a self-directed learning center for unschoolers a couple of days a week. I love to hear the stories they share about what they do during the day. Classes are offered and are generated based on the young people’s interests, but they are entirely voluntary. Kids can attend classes or do their own projects, either independently or collaboratively, during what is known as “open hangout.” No one directs the hangout. Adults are present to facilitate and help if needed, but they don’t orchestrate the children’s work and play. The kids are free to create at will.
One creation that has been ongoing for months during open hangout is the development of a marketplace and its associated currency, known as myafo.
Kerry McDonald
Kerry McDonald
Author
Kerry McDonald is a senior education fellow at FEE and host of the weekly LiberatED podcast. She is also the author of “Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom” (2019) and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. She lives in Cambridge, Mass., with her husband and four children.
twitter
Related Topics