Where the rubber hits the road & I put my money where my mouth is.

Over the past number of years I have changed my whole philosophy on education, learning and schooling. A long while back when my kids were much younger I wanted to home school them but felt grossly inadequate to do so; thinking that I needed to have some sort of curriculum in place, complete with lesson plans and learning benchmarks they all had to reach. I did dabble in homeschooling for a while, using a distance education based curriculum that was provided through a Christian resource, however we only did that for six months and it was a very half-hearted venture...mainly because I was working part time and was the sole income earner for the family. By the time I got home I was too tired to check on what the kids had done for the day and on my days off schooling the kids was the last thing I felt like. After six months the kids went back to their private Christian school...but none of us were wholehearted about it.

And honestly, the education they received at that school was less than second rate, nor were they nurtured in the way we were promised....but that's a story for another day...

This year Georgia, my youngest, was in her final year of High School - it's known as the VCE here in Victoria - the Victorian Certificate of Education. I say she was in VCE because today she left school. I signed her out.

She just didn't want to be there. She couldn't see the point on her classes, didn't agree with the pressure the teachers put on her to churn out work and started not to be able to see a pathway in front of her. In spite of all this I was expecting her to stay, to attend classes, get her VCE before she left...and honestly, I was beginning to feel like a bully, making her do something she clearly did not want to be doing...and this was reflected by her results.

It all came to a head for her this week and it was clear to all concerned that something needed to change. 

So, we talked about what she was really interested in....and what she's really interested in is learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language) and writing, neither of which really relies upon the attainment of VCE. Both can be done through other avenues. 

Today we both went up to the school and had a meeting with her Year Level Co-ordinator, Student Welfare & Pathways Team. It was such a positive and fruitful discussion where Georgia was able to talk about her own future and take up the reins of her own life. Together we all helped her find her own pathways, all of which are filled with possibility. She will even be able to dabble in "taster" courses for both Auslan and Professional Writing before she decides which to pursue. She may even decide to do both! Or neither!

Point is, she's now empowered to steer her own course. And that feels good.

Does it matter that she won't have that official piece of paper that says she has reached a certain level of acceptable education? No, no...and again NO! I don't believe it's ever too late to start learning, or to finish something. One day she might go to TAFE and get her VCE...but the choice will be hers...not because her parents have expected her to get it. 

Of course we're nervous. It's a whole new world for her now. She's not bound by the familiar routine of classes and schedules...but that new world is also filled with endless possibilities. 

So I guess this is where she starts her unschooling. I guess this is where we all start our unschooling...when we leave formal learning and start learning about what you really need to do life. School never taught me how to lodge a tax return, how to vote, how to do a household budget, how to cook, knit, sew, crochet, tend a vegetable garden, set up an Excel spreadsheet, format a document, apply for a job, manage people...and yet these are skills I've needed. I taught myself...and I got by through trial and error. Not only did I get by, but I'm doing alright....and I don't think I've ever really had to use the Pythagorean Theorem I was taught in school.

And I'm sure Georgia's going to do alright too.