A couple of days ago, Imogen logged into her Open Universities account to check some details she needed for her youth allowance application. She checked her mail while online and received a nice surprise.
“Hey! I got a Distinction for that last university unit I did.”
“But you finished that unit ages ago. Why didn’t you look at the results sooner?” I asked.
Imogen shrugged her shoulders. Then she smiled, “I didn’t expect a Distinction.”
Last year, 17 year old Imogen moved from unschooling to university learning. She completed 3 university units through Open Universities: Introduction to Tertiary Learning, Critical Thinking and Introduction to Writing. And she achieved a High Distinction and 2 Distinctions. Imogen felt she had a great advantage: She was used to directing her own learning in contrast to her fellow students who came from a school background.
I really do hate shouting out about my children’s achievements. I don’t want to become an unbearably proud mother. Then why am I writing a post about Imogen? I did debate the worth of such a post but then I thought.. perhaps an unschooling success story might encourage someone who wonders… Will unschooling prepare my child for tertiary learning?
Now Imogen is all set to continue university work. She wants to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Professional Writing and Publishing. But she doesn’t want to give up her music. So in her spare time, she’ll also continue her piano and singing lessons and exams. Writing and music… Imogen’s two big passions. What could be better than studying what you enjoy most? It looks like being a very good year.
Does unschooling prepare a child for university learning? It sure does.
