"Homeschooling," "deschooling," and "unschooling" are commonly used terms in the alternative-education world, but each lacks specificity. In this article, the author describes what he discovered during several visits to North Star. Known officially as North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens, it is not as structured as a so-called "free" school. Nor does it cater to every stripe of homeschooler, of which there are many. What it is designed to do is serve a specific kind of kid--the kind eager to become an independent-minded adult. There's no attendance taken. Nor are there bells, grade levels, or evaluations. Students are absolutely in charge of their own educational fates. North Star is perhaps the only center of its kind in the country operated not by parents, but as a nonprofit coordinated by independent adults.