Perhaps we worry that if we let our kids follow their interests, they won’t gain all the knowledge they will need if they decide to do some kind of tertiary study in the future. How will they get on when the time comes to study at a university or other higher education institution?
I have five children who have studied at university level without a problem. Being interested in a subject and seeing its relevance gave them knowledge which was more than adequate for tertiary learning.
Now it’s my daughter Sophie’s turn to do a course. But she has chosen a different pathway to that of her siblings. She’s not applying to do a degree course. Instead, she has chosen to study a certificate course. Her full-time work gave her the money to pay for the course upfront so she’s not getting herself into debt. But avoiding debt isn’t the only reason she is bypassing university. Sophie also believes this course is a better way to get to the career she wants, one that will allow her to use all her passions of fitness and health, photography, videography, writing and cooking.
Sophie has started the course. So how is she getting on? Is she coping with the work?
Here are a video and transcript of a short excerpt from this week’s podcast, episode 142: An Unschooler Talks About Life, Work and Dreams, that will give you the answers to those questions:
Sue: When we put biology under the heading of ‘biology’, it’s a subject you’ve got to study at school, it sounds…
Sophie: … boring.
Sue: Yes, you get a textbook out and you have to learn all the facts. But when you’re listening to podcasts about health and fitness, for example, when you’re telling me about the latest research to do with allergies or food intolerances or foods for stamina or for muscle building, you are absorbing a lot of science along the way, aren’t you?
Sophie: Oh yes. My knowledge of anatomy is a lot greater than it sometimes feels like it should be.
Sue: So I think that you probably picked up a lot of biology, human biology, all the different sciences… you picked up the same knowledge that I would have picked up at school except it was relevant to you and interesting to you because you wanted to learn it. You went out and found out about it whereas I learnt it from a textbook, and I was examined on it, and I memorized it…
Sophie: And then you couldn’t remember any of it…
Sue: … later on.
Sophie: But because it’s relevant to me, and the reason I learnt it was because it was connected to something I was truly interested in, it sticks with me. Whereas the people who learn it from a textbook, it doesn’t really stick. They memorize it for an exam. A week after the exam, they can’t remember what they wrote.
Sue: I agree with you totally there, but what I’m also saying is that you’re doing this course, and you’re doing anatomy, and you’re learning about the body… It’s quite involved really. You’re learning a lot.
Sophie: Oh yes.
Sue: It’s not a university degree, but…
Sophie: It’s quite in depth and the things they go over is fascinating. I’ve only just begun, but it’s fascinating to do it. I’m looking forward to study after work. Sometimes if it’s a hard day at work, it’s the thought of going home and studying which gets me through. And I’m, like, is this what study is like? Your idea of study is you’re supposed to hate it and it’s supposed to be that job you do to get to an end, but I’m excited to do it. And life is amazing.
In this week’s podcast, episode 142: An Unschooler Talks About Life, Work and Dreams, Sophie and I talk about a lot of things:
- How she balances her busy unschooling life with work
- Why it’s important to trust kids and not squash their ambitions
- Why she is choosing not to go to university
- Sophie’s dream to be self-employed and how she plans to achieve it
- How a lot of people react when they hear Sophie is working full time in a cafe
- NaNoWriMo events and making friends
- How we need to believe in our kids and cheer them on
It’s a longer podcast than usual, but it’s packed with lots of unschooling thoughts, stories and news. We hope you will listen!
Show Notes
Podcasts
Episode 133, A Balanced and Productive Unschool Life
Episode 139, Unschool Socialisation: Making Friends, Being Different
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you enjoy my podcast, please consider sharing the link so we can spread the word about unschooling. A quick review or rating would help too!
Please feel welcome to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Perhaps you have a question for Sophie. Or maybe you’d just like to stop by and say hello!
