How often do you hear a student begrudge having to go to school, having to do homework, having to learn a specific topic, having to study for a test, or having to go to school at all?  Is a student more likely to learn a topic when they don’t want to or when they want to?  Is a student more or less likely to remember a topic when they are not interested? 

In a free school, when a student comes to a certain topic, they are learning out of their own choice, out of their own interest and curiosity.  When that happens, they eat it up; they take it in usually at a much faster pace.  It has many times happened that, for instance, a student might learn two years of math in two weeks.  Now, if you spend a day at a free school, you might find one student spending their whole day on a couch chatting with friends.  It might look like they are spending no time on the academic subjects at first glance.  They probably are spending much less time on academic subjects than their friends at the local public school.  However, it takes them less time to learn those subjects.  Homeschooling families know this.  A homeschooler does not spend their day from 8 am to 2:30 pm reading books and studying.  Even in compulsory homeschooling, they might spend two or three hours a day on their studies.  They don’t have to slow down or keep pace with a classroom full of students, and the teacher’s time is not split up among 40 students all at once.  In learner-led education, besides the additional attention students receive, add on that the student WANTS to learn . . . no feet dragging . . . just full-force learning.

People want to learn.  Everyone has that inner guidance system.  Everyone has goals in life that they set for themselves.  Students at free schools come to such subjects as Math, Reading, History, and Science wanting to learn them.  Some they just have a natural curiosity for.  Some they want to learn, because they know that, if they want to reach their goals in life, there are steps they have to take, like learning to read and do math effectively.

Playtime is very much underestimated in our society.  Most of what a student learns they learn on the playground or talking with their friends.  Social skills are learned by playing with friends.  Kids work out identity issues through role playing.  By trying to follow what makes them happy, by exploring their feelings, students develop “emotional intelligence”.

Staff at free schools are there as support for the students.  Their role is not hierarchical, which makes it a lot easier to relate to students as peers.  Students, hopefully, do not have the same fear of staff, as is typical of a compulsory school teacher.  Staff can be there as emotional support for students, when they need it.  Students are also free to seek out the emotional support of fellow students at any time.  Staff is there in support of the student’s life search, not just there for one subject.