Beth's Library - Book List
Let me introduce you to some of my best friends…
Sometimes I can't wait to read a much-coveted book (books are like chocolate that way) and I just have to buy it! I thought it would be cool to provide you with instant gratification by becoming an Amazon.com affiliate and installing direct links to Amazon for all of our library's book titles.
Alas, not all cravings can be satiated quickly (Amazon ships in 24 hours!), so for all out-of-print books Amazon will try to find it for you through their many affiliates that deal in rare books. Don't despair; someone out there has it for sale!
And, last but certainly not least, is the autodidact's true ace, inter-library loan! If you don't mind a wait, order the book through your library's inter-library loan program. If you don't know how to order an ILL, read my succinct (ha!) explanation on this same page under inter-library loan.
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you are helping support Smart Kid at Home.
COLLEGE-OR NOT!
The Independent Scholar's Handbook, Ronald Gross
This book is the natural culmination to the homeschooled child's time spent learning to do what they love. The whole thing is chock full of validation for independent thinkers who do not feel compelled to look to institutions for their seals of approval. Gross starts by singing the "amateur authority's" praises and provides many stories of real-life innovators who were not professionals in the field of their accomplishment. The chapter on resources such as mentorships, using interns, conferences, organizations, and correspondence with colleagues helps you to further your knowledge base on the subject of your interest. He continues the momentum by outlining all the ways to share your hard-earned knowledge and expertise. Through publishing, grants for research, activism and even turning your hobby into a real job, Gross explores all the ways to bring to fruition the hours you spent lost in an intellectual pursuit that was a labor of love.
Bears' Guide To Earning College Degrees Non-Traditionally, John Bear
The absolute tome for all who know they know but don't want to jump through conventional hoops to prove it! A massive directory of all the accredited colleges in the country offering unconventional degrees makes it especially easy to order a course catalogue for your child, or yourself! Own this if you have more than one child who will be going to college. I do.
Your Hidden Credentials: The Value of Learning Outside of College, Peter Smith
This book is really designed to encourage the adult learner to value his/her own life's learning but can be used to encourage the homeschooled child as well. It may help open your family's eyes to all the ways that you learn "real" information every day!
How To Earn A College Degree Without Going To College, James Duffy
Very similar to Bear's Guide, this book lists all the colleges that award credits for learning outside the institution. Regent's College doesn't have an age requirement and actually awards credit through such means as portfolio assessment, interview with a panel of experts or special testing. Unschoolers everywhere will be able to acquire college degrees without ever going to school, not even college!
The Free University,Bill Draves
While these universities don't award credit, they provide communities with classes of all kinds and usually have no age requirements. Popularized in the sixties, these schools often charge nominal fees or nothing for classes.
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