Even my handicapped child seems to learn best when he’s allowed some freedom to make mistakes, to learn his own capabilities. He learned to walk just short of two, but required more “support” than most kids — a fisher-price walker was worth its weight in gold in providing him with security in his first steps!

But providing this environment for a child at a higher level does seem to take plenty of thought and planning. Most kids learn to walk one way or another, that seems to be built into the normal system of development and they see it modelled all around them, universally; but not all people through history learn how to read, any more than we today “naturally” learn how to use a broadsword or dance a madrigal. We learn what’s important by what we see around us as useful and important.

So again, often “necessity” plays a role in our education — schools provide a certain form of “necessity” even if it’s a bit artificial, in the form of grades and required schoolwork; and unschoolers have to provide a form of necessity as well, but hopefully in a more real-world, relationship-oriented manner. That’s how I see it, anyway.

From my perspective, there are already many people of power who create laws that are crippling our public education system. Why declare yourselves loyal to a school-of-thought (pun intended) that includes a negative prefix?

I’m a math-idiot, but my eldest daughter wanted to be a veterinarian so much, that she worked, and worked to get the experience necessary to qualify for the pre-vet track at university, a track that is math-heavy. _She_ worked at acquiring the talents _she_ needed, and she did what needed doing. I didn’t have to be the expert, she became her own expert. She also chose not to get an undergrad degree, but completed the vet-school-necessary courses, took the VCAT and applied to vet school.

I’m a writer.
She’s (almost) a vet — graduates in 4 months.
Her twin is a computer programmer. (BS)
Her oldest brother is a programmer. (he’s our public schooler) (BS)
Her younger sister is an actress. (BFA)

What each one ‘unschooled’ is what each one (including the public schooler) chose as a college major. The “accountability” energy comes from within, not from somewhere else.

The school kids will have 10th grade health class and maybe a high school chemistry class. Woo Hoo.

I suppose when I asked the question at EdWonks, I was thinking more in terms of the education of older children and keeping options open for them. What if ten years from now your child decides that she would like to become a doctor? Will you be able to adequately prepare her to meet the requirements of medical school admission? We can’t all be experts in everything.

I guess if no one in school is taught, the unschooled child isn’t at any particular disadvantage. Most unschoolers teach their children as they’re going through life, so the unschooled child may even be at an advantage in this example.

Taxes are a really good example. When I started my business, I went to see an accountant. They were going to charge me more than the profit the company made for the year to file the tax returns (assuming I provided them with all the figures). It was then that I looked into the possibility of doing them myself (which I have done every year since then).

It illustrates a point that I hadn’t included in the post. A child will also learn to catch itself when he or she loses their balance. But, at that instance they don’t learn so much because they other people doing it as from the necessity of the moment.

I’ve been taught very little of what I do professionally today. I’ve learned most of what I do professionally in the course of ‘getting things done’.