2026 THE GREAT STATE OF MAINE HOMESCHOOL CONFERENCE
Augusta, Maine May 1 & 2, 2026
Join us for the largest homeschool event ever held in Maine!
Patrick Farenga
Writer, Publisher, and Education Activist
Saturday, May 2nd at 11:00 am
Saturday’s Keynote speaker Patrick Farenga “Learning is Natural, Schooling is Optional.”
Patrick is a writer, publisher, and education activist who co-authored Teach Your Own: The Indispensable Guide to Living and Learning with Children at Home (2021) and was the publisher of Growing Without Schooling magazine (1977–2001). Pat’s Keynote talk on Saturday will address the history, philosophy, and practices of learning with and without schooling.
For centuries humans learned and grew without compulsory schooling, which only came about in the last 200 years. This talk explores how people learn without conventional schooling and how parents or other interested adults can help children learn and grow at home and in their communities using school and curriculum on an “as needed” basis.
Pat who worked closely with the late author and teacher John Holt and continues his work today at www.johnholtgws.com and on his Substack blog, substack.patrickfarenga.com. Holt founded Growing Without Schooling magazine (GWS) in 1977, the nation’s first periodical about homeschooling, unschooling, and learning outside of school. Pat continued publishing it from Holt’s death in 1985 until it ceased publication in 2001.
Pat speaks as a homeschooling expert at education conferences around the world, as well as on commercial radio and television talk shows. He has three adult daughters who were unschooled.
Pat is the author of many books, articles, and videos about homeschooling and unschooling (Holt’s preferred term for learning without school curricula). Pat wrote the entries about homeschooling for the International Encyclopedia of Education, 3rd Edition (Elsevier, 2010) and the online edition of Encyclopedia Britannica (2012). As a publisher, Pat’s work includes reprinting Holt’s Escape From Children: The Needs and Rights of Children (HoltGWS, 2013) and as co-editor, contributor, and publisher of an original title, The Legacy of John Holt: A Man Who Genuinely Understood, Trusted, and Respected Children (HoltGWS, 2013). His most recent books are Teach Your Own (Hachette, 2021) and Growing Without Schooling, Vol. 6 (HoltGWS, 2026).
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