When Homeschooling Means Choosing a Different Path: Our Next Chapter at Wild & Unstructured Learning

Why recent changes at Outschool have us asking important questions about educational freedom, parental choice, and the future of our learning community.

At Wild & Unstructured Learning, we’ve always believed that education doesn’t have to fit

inside a traditional classroom to be meaningful, rigorous, or successful.

We believe children learn best when they’re engaged, encouraged to ask questions, and given opportunities to explore the world around them. We believe teachers bring more to the classroom than a list of credentials. And above all, we believe parents deserve the freedom to choose an education that fits their children.

Recently, that commitment has been put to the test.

What’s Happening at Outschool?

Outschool, the platform where we’ve offered many of our online classes, has recently made decisions that resulted in numerous Wild & Unstructured Learning high school classes being unpublished.

These decisions came without advance notice or an opportunity for us to address the concerns before our classes were removed from public listings.

And we are concerned that additional classes could be affected.

For us, these aren’t simply listings on a website.

They’re carefully developed courses, dedicated educators, relationships built between teachers and learners, and educational opportunities families have intentionally chosen.

And frankly, we’re frustrated.

Outschool has increasingly expanded its involvement with public education funding programs and traditional school partnerships. Its qualification requirements for certain high school academic classes have also raised questions about how educators are evaluated.

We cannot say that its involvement with publicly funded education directly caused our

classes to be unpublished. However, these developments have prompted us to ask a much bigger question:

As online educational platforms grow and their priorities evolve, will they continue to protect the flexibility and educational freedom that drew homeschool families to them in the first place?

Homeschooling Was Never Meant to Be One-Size-Fits-All

As a homeschool mom and educator, this is personal.

Families choose homeschooling for countless reasons. Some want greater flexibility. Others want to follow their children’s interests, provide individualized instruction, accommodate unique learning needs, or simply approach education differently.

But underneath those different motivations is something many of us share: the belief that we should have meaningful choices about our children’s education.

Homeschooling was never supposed to be about recreating a public school classroom inside our homes.

It was about having the freedom to choose another way.

That doesn’t mean we don’t value traditional education, academic standards, or qualified teachers. We absolutely do.

But we also believe that qualifications, experience, and excellent teaching don’t always fit into one narrowly defined box.

What We Look for in Our Teachers

Every educator who joins Wild & Unstructured Learning goes through an interview process.

We take our responsibility to the families who trust us seriously, and we consider far more than what’s listed on a résumé.

Professional qualifications and subject knowledge matter to us. So do real-world experience, personal expertise, creativity, and a genuine passion for education.

But at the heart of our hiring process is something we believe is just as important: how an educator connects with children.

Can they make a learner feel seen, heard, and valued? Can they recognize when a child needs a different explanation or a new approach? Can they encourage curiosity, build confidence, create a welcoming environment, and make learning something children genuinely look forward to?

Can they take what they know and turn it into something meaningful for the child sitting in front of them?

Because knowing a subject and knowing how to teach that subject to children are not always the same thing.

Some of the most valuable knowledge an educator brings to the classroom comes from experiences that can’t be neatly summarized by a degree or certification. Those experiences don’t replace professional qualifications, but they can absolutely strengthen them.

We aren’t interested in choosing between qualified educators and passionate, engaging teachers. We want both, and we believe there are many paths to becoming an exceptional educator.

We believe families deserve to have those different educational backgrounds and teaching approaches available to them.

We aren’t against public schools.

We’re against homeschool families losing educational choices in the name of standardization.

Wild & Unstructured Learning Is Building Something New

Here’s the part we’re genuinely excited to share.

We are actively working toward moving our classes to our very own Wild & Unstructured Learning website!

While the circumstances prompting this transition have been frustrating, the opportunity ahead of us is exciting.

Building our own home for our classes means working toward greater independence, more flexibility for our teachers, and the ability to make educational decisions based on the needs of our learners and families.

We want to offer engaging, thoughtfully designed classes without constantly wondering whether another platform’s changing priorities will affect the opportunities available to our students.

We want our educators to feel supported and valued.

We want our families to feel confident that the learning communities they’ve built can continue to grow.

And we want Wild & Unstructured Learning to remain exactly what its name promises: a place where education can be creative, engaging, flexible, and intentionally different.

This transition won’t happen overnight. There are still details to work through, and we will continue sharing updates as our plans develop.

But one thing is certain.

Wild & Unstructured Learning isn’t going anywhere. We’re working to build something even better.

Our Commitment Hasn’t Changed

We started Wild & Unstructured Learning because we believe education can be different.

Different doesn’t mean less rigorous.

Flexible doesn’t mean lacking direction.

And unstructured doesn’t mean children are left to figure everything out on their own.

Our classrooms are filled with purposeful lessons, meaningful conversations, hands-on experiences, and teachers who genuinely care about the children they teach.

That is the kind of learning we believe in.

This is the kind of learning we intend to continue providing.

Our loyalty is to our learners and families, not to a platform.

To every family who has trusted us with a part of your child’s education, thank you.

We see you. We value the choices you’ve made for your children. And we intend to keep advocating for your ability to make those choices.

Because our children deserve an education that fits them, not one that simply fits someone else’s requirements.

Come Be Part of What’s Next

We’re building the next chapter of Wild & Unstructured Learning, and we’d love for you to be part of it!

Whether you’re a longtime family, a homeschool parent looking for something different, or an educator who shares our philosophy, we invite you to stay connected.

Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on our website transition, upcoming classes, and new learning opportunities.Join the Wild & Unstructured Learning Newsletter

And we’d love to hear from you: What classes or learning opportunities would you love to see us offer?

This next chapter is about more than building a website.

It’s about building a place where learning can continue to be wonderfully, intentionally different.

The Wild & Unstructured Learning Team