Future Proofing and Unschooling

by Beverley Paine

Today a worried mum posted on one of the forums I regularly visit concerned about how her children will obtain the necessary qualifications to enter university or the workplace if they unschool. She finds herself lying myself awake at night wondering about how it will all work out.

Most of us who have been unschooling (or homeschooling) for a while have a different way of thinking about our children's futures: watching our children learn, discovering how they learn, helping them develop their interests, abilities and talents grows in us the confidence we need to feel reassured about their future.

At the heart of our 'future worries' is often a fear that we, as parents, might 'fail' our children. In myself I know that this fear was driven by my worry about what others will or do think of me. My wounded self-esteem lay at the centre of my wakeful nights. I would wake up looking for 'better' resources that would allay my concerns, sure that if only I had the right approach, right curriculum, right program, right resources my children's education would be successful and I'd be an okay parent.

The truth is - and was - I was already an okay parent. My children were doing fine. Sure, we had up days and down days and days where it seemed that the children were doing nothing and learning nothing. But taken as a whole I am amazed.

If you add all the 'school work' my youngest did between the ages of 5 and 17 and compressed it, it would amount to less than a year's worth of 'work'. There is no way that at age 24 anyone can tell he only had one year of 'education'. Playing all day, every day, doing his own thing, helping his parents do their own thing, learning taking care of himself, his environment and others has not harmed him at all. He's currently working his way through a Certificate IV in Information Technology, Networking. I've met other unschooled young people who at his age have already one or two university degrees, or who are running their own businesses.

Unschooling is a valid and successful pathway to adult life.