Happy studying!

“I’ve always thought anyone can make money. Making a life worth living, that’s the real test.”
–Robert Fulghum, author of “Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”

If children are given the support and freedom to continue to explore their worlds as they grow (with their parents as their guides and facilitators) they will learn everything they need to know to live successful, happy, and fulfilling lives. Why? Because they will WANT to!

This does not mean that they will never open a text book or earn a diploma. For some, their passions may take them into careers that require lots of traditional schooling. But they will choose for themselves when, where, and how they want to receive that schooling. They will have felt empowered about their learning for their entire lives and will be in the classroom because they want to be there, which of course greatly increases their chances of success.

Or they may never set foot in a classroom and be just as happy and successful, all the while retaining their love of learning.

That’s just the crux of why I love unschooling. Then there’s the fact that we get to be together every day, that my kids are not subjected to the horrible social environment of school, that parks, museums, civic centers, libraries, local businesses, mountains, rivers, and our farm are the places where they learn instead of a chemically sterilized, artificially illuminated room, and that we can travel at any time of the year even on a whim if we feel like it.

Trust birth. Trust learning!

Jenny

How many of the best job opportunities require an advanced degree? Nearly all of them. You yourself wouldn’t be in the position that you are in without a formal piece of paper stating that you completed your college education. It may be nothing more than society’s official stamp of approval, essentially nothing more than an E-ticket purchased at Disneyland; allowing the bearer onto the best rides…but still, that resource serves it’s purpose well.

When it comes to off-roading anything, as Nietzsche said, “The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”

So - do you wish an easy life for your child, or a meaningful one?

I think I know the answer already.

Well, by that criteria, will school work?

There is no guaranteed system. Although it is comforting to know that many kids have come out of unschooling very happy and bright, many kids come out of public school that way, and school-at-home that way. That critera isn’t enough to determine an answer either way. No matter what we do, we can’t know for sure if our approach or our lives will produce that in the end.

But what we can know is whether an approach fulfills that criteria NOW. For example, today, our kids are happy, well-rounded, centered, intelligent and able to attain goals they have set for themselves. And until that changes, we’ll keep plugging along doing what works for us. Not only does it work for us, but we like it. Can’t predict the future, but you sure can bet on future results based on today’s data.

Good luck in your decision. This is a life-long thing - not just a one-timer. Just like deciding how to parent is not a one-time decision.

It is such a beautiful thing to watch. Even as my teens chose to attend high school, they are still unschoolers b/c they still dive deeper deeper into whatever they are interested in until there is nothing left to learn. All on their own, above and beyond anything “assigned” and often about things that have just appealed to them.
They Love to Learn and most importantly they know how to find information about everything and anything.

“Schooling does not intelligence create, nor does age delete it.

But if to choose twixt book and life, I choose the rocky back road of experience over the smooth interstate of processed academia.

You may not cover as much ground, but the miles count triple.”

-Bubba