The following article expands on highlights and insights from one of our Expert Series events, which are exclusive for Young Scholars and their parents.
Authored by: Blake Boles
Summary
Adventure is timeless. We dream of it as children, and it continues to motivate us as adults. Whether the adventure is travel, outdoors, cross-cultural, interpersonal, entrepreneurial, academic, or introspective, adventure brings out the best in humans: courage, responsibility, creativity, optimism, diligence, and joy. When a young person is driven by the spirit of adventure, it’s a beautiful thing to watch and encourage.
While certain parts of modern life—such as a culture of safetyism, a fearful media environment, and perceived legal liability—complicate the pursuit of adventure, there are still so many opportunities that remain.
In this presentation I share stories of the many young people and families I’ve met, worked with, and interviewed over two decades: stories that illustrate the power of adventure to build independence, foster resilience, and encourage healthy risk-taking.
Whether your own child (and family) dreams of bigger and bolder adventures or smaller and quieter ones, you’ll find inspiration for getting your kids out the door, into the world, and challenging themselves in ways that may seem impossible.
This is the promise of adventure: rapid growth and transformation, fueled by intrinsic motivation, leading to newfound joy, pride, and the visceral knowledge that most seemingly insurmountable barriers can, in fact, be overcome.
General Tips
- Think of adventure as you might think of unschooling: “allowing your children as much freedom to explore the world around them in their own ways as you can comfortably bear” (as defined by Pat Farenga / John Holt)
- The different flavors of adventure include travel, outdoor, cross-cultural, interpersonal, entrepreneurial, academic, and introspective. The best adventures combine many of these.
- Inspire adventure in young people by starting early and starting small. Develop a bias toward action and experimentation.
- Go online to go offline: use the internet to find compelling ideas for real-life adventures.
- Lead the way, then get out of the way: through your language, attitude, and visible joy. Adventure is for parents, too!
Resources
Deer Crossing Camp: https://www.deercrossingcamp.com/
A Peculiarly Dutch Summer Rite: Children Let Loose in the Night Woods: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/world/europe/netherlands-dropping-children.html
Richard Branson thanks his mom for his adventurous spirit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaAl36OWGp8
Not Back to School Camp: https://nbtsc.org/
Unschool Adventures (Blake’s adventure programs for teenagers and young adults): https://www.unschooladventures.com/
The definition of “unschooling”: https://www.johnholtgws.com/resources/what-is-unschooling
Adventures with Emilie (single mom hiking for 6 months with her 7-year-old daughter): https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/adventures-with-emilie-9781776950478
How a 16-Year-Old Homeschooler Got Into a Yale Class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30oMNZphTQM
Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School? (2020 book by Blake): https://www.blakeboles.com/y/
Lilli and Elena on cycling through Europe at age 19: https://rss.com/podcasts/off-trail-learning/1730692/
81 Adventure Challenges for Young People: https://www.blakeboles.com/2023/11/81-adventure-challenges-for-young-people/
Mark Rober’s backyard squirrel course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg)
The Alameda Bike Bus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNOb377piC8
Summary of The Idle Parent by Tom Hodgkinson: https://www.blakeboles.com/2018/10/how-to-quit-parenting/
Blake’s personal adventures: https://www.blakeboles.com/adventures/
Speaker Bio:
Blake Boles is the founder and director of Unschool Adventures and the author of Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School?, The Art of Self-Directed Learning, Better Than College, and College Without High School. He has delivered over 80 presentations for education conferences, alternative schools, and parent groups. Blake and his work have appeared on The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, BBC Travel, Psychology Today, Fox Business, TEDx, The Huffington Post, USA Today, NPR affiliate radio, and the blogs of Wired and The Wall Street Journal. From 2015-2022 he hosted the Off-Trail Learning podcast.
In 2003 Blake was studying astrophysics at UC Berkeley when he stumbled upon the works of John Taylor Gatto, Grace Llewellyn, and other alternative education pioneers. Deeply inspired by the philosophy of unschooling, Blake custom-designed his final two years of college to focus exclusively on education theory. After graduating he joined the Not Back to School Camp community and began writing and speaking widely on the subject of self-directed learning.
In his previous lives, Blake worked as a high-volume cook, delivery truck driver, summer camp director, Aurora Borealis research assistant, math tutor, outdoor science teacher, camp medic, ski resort market researcher, web designer, and windsurfing instructor. His biggest passion is sharing his enthusiasm and experience with young adults who are blazing their own trails through life. He was born in 1982.
Learn more about Blake’s project, adventures, and travels by visiting: blakeboles.com
Permission Statement
This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.
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