But what if they want to be a doctor? Or a vet? Or a lawyer? This is by far the most common question I get asked when I tell people that I unschool my kids. It seems that the assumption by many people is that in order to be a doctor, vet or lawyer, you need to be introduced to these subjects in school, then study in school for many years, then move from school into higher education to become qualified. Not true. Children who are unschooled get the opportunity every day to experience and learn from real life in the real world. (By real life in the real world I mean life that happens naturally, in a cause and effect environment and is self directed.) They then get to go deep into a subject they are interested in, filling themselves up with everything to do with it, without being pulled away and forced to learn something which, they actually have no interest in learning, because science is over and its now time for maths. My daughter Maya is showing an aptitude for and interest in anatomy and physiology. Possibly, she may decide to be a doctor or vet one day. So in support of this interest we read books on anatomy, watch videos on YouTube of operations and babies being born. I also take her as many places as I can that involve this kind of interest. Like today. Today we took Pippa to the vet as she has been vomiting. Maya got to watch the vet examining her, discussing her condition with me and prescribing medication. She also got to explore, pick up and play with all of the anatomical models in the surgery. The vet welcomed her questions and answered them clearly and simply for her. She learned about the profession of dog walking from picking up leaflets and asking questions. She learned what carbohydrates are and why too many of them are present in most dog foods. She learned what insurance is and why it might be necessary to buy some to cover your vets, or other bills. She also learned my chip and pin number as I let her key it in to pay for the treatment! If Maya does want to be a doctor or a vet, she doesnt need to go to school to get there. She can take online or distance learning courses. Or she may decide to go to high school to take the exams. Or she may study to take an entrance exam to go to college or University. Or she may get work in a veterinary practice and gain her qualifications from there. And my guess is that her self directed learning will be joyful and filled with passion. It will be no hardship for her to do the work required because that is the only thing she will every have known... joyful, self-motivated, non coerced learning. But most importantly, whatever she decides, as her learning facilitator I will do everything within my power to make sure that she gets it. Thats part of my job as her mother and unschooling facilitator.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 11:13:50 +0000
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