Who Would We Be Without Unschooling?

As we drive along the road leading out of our village, we see a stationary ute ahead. It’s blocking the narrow road. A car travelling in the opposite direction has also come to a halt. Both cars put on their hazard lights as we wonder what’s happening.

We’re not far from the duck warning sign. Are we waiting for a line of ducks and ducklings to complete their crossing? They have the right of way on all our local roads.

The man in the ute ahead of us opens his door and gets out. This isn’t a duck problem.

Around the corner from the duck sign is a solar-powered board with the words: Watch out, Koalas about!

At the lake in town is a new sign: Caution, Turtles Crossing, October – March.

Somehow, I don’t think a turtle or a koala is holding up the traffic today. It won’t be a kangaroo either because they always bound uncontrollably away from any vehicle they hit. And wombats usually cross roads at night, often crumpling cars and losing their lives because they refuse to deviate from their chosen pathway to get to the opposite side.

A moment later, as a black calf with liquid eyes appears, we realise we have a cow problem. The ute driver urges the calf forward, and it stumbles into the bushes that separate the road from the paddocks. As we resume our journey towards town, we hope it finds its way home.

Driving on our local roads and encountering something unexpected is a bit like life. Sometimes, things happen that stop us in our tracks or at least slow us down. We might feel paralysed by an accident or a crisis. We hover in place while we make decisions and gather our strength to move forward and navigate a difficult situation. Other times, we skid to a halt and stare with wonder and awe at the sight of an escaped calf, a duck family or a turtle out for a stroll, or a spiky echidna that’s surfaced on the side of the road.

The other day, as Cecilie Conrad, Sandra Dodd and I were recording an episode of Da Ladies Fixing the World podcast, we discussed the effects unschooling has on parents. I shared a story about my family’s early homeschooling days when I regarded education as something my kids had to acquire. I’d done my time at school. I’d completed my learning. Now it was my kids’ turn. When we started to battle over the work I expected my children to do, I held firm, believing it was my duty to override their reluctance to learn the things I thought important. It didn’t matter they were unhappy. It was their turn to suffer. I thought that was what getting an education required. But we all ended up suffering. Our days were miserable. That wasn’t in my plan.

I knew life wasn’t meant to be lived this way, so we gradually changed our approach to homeschooling. Amongst other things, I realised that learning is for everyone, including me, not just school-aged kids. This realisation turned out to be very exciting. I had a second chance to get a proper education.

We ended up unschooling, living a life full of surprises. Around every bend in the road, we’ve made unexpected discoveries.

I told Cecilie and Sandra, “I’m amazed at all the things I’ve done as an unschooling parent.” I talked about the things I’ve learnt, the opportunities that have come my way, and the growth I’ve experienced.

I look back at the person I used to be and who I am now. They are two very different people. I am grateful for unschooling.

I’m also grateful I live where I’m likely to meet some unexpected wildlife, including a calf, while driving to town.

More Stories

You can find the story about our early homeschooling days, the one I told Cecilie and Sandra, in this post:

How to Get Children to Do Their ‘School Work’

I often hear parents chatting together about how they can’t get their kids to do their school work. What do they do? Keep pushing their kids because that’s what parents are expected to do? Is this part of their duty? Or maybe they could change their ideas about how kids learn. I’m at a dinner party.  A woman sitting next to me says, “I’m Irene,” and then she asks, “What do you do?” “I homeschool my children,” I answer. Irene’s eyebrows rise as she says, “Oh! Sounds interesting, but how do you make your children do their work?” Over the

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Perhaps you’d like to meander the unschooling way:

Meander the Unschooling Way

There are two routes to our local town. The first one is the efficient way. Once we’ve left the road that leads out of our village, we drive along the highway, through multiple sets of traffic lights before we arrive in town. The other route is the meandering one, the one that winds its way through bush and paddocks, round bends, and up hills and down. If I’m not in a hurry, I like to avoid the traffic and go the back way, the slower way. I drive past munching cows, and lean cyclists treading pedals up the hills, and

Read More

Podcast

The first episode of season 2 of Da Ladies Fixing the World will be published on February 2. Why not subscribe to the podcast so you hear when our episodes go live?

Image of Cow

Imagine driving around a bend in the road and meeting this Scottish Highlander.

Photo by Zoë Gayah Jonker, Unsplash.

So, I’m wondering

How is unschooling changing you? What are you learning? What unexpected opportunities have come your way? And what wildlife do you see as you’re travelling along your local roads?