Afternoon.

You make some compelling arguments, and the links you provided offer some additional insights. My oldest, who is in French immersion came home with an odd assignment. Simply, the instruction was to “Write a page on cometsâ€.

We found all kinds of information on the web, and then went through the process of translating it to French for her submission.

With some degree of frustration I found myself wondering what the purpose of the exercise was. Was it for a French class in order to look up new vocabulary, and the scientific aspects were of secondary concern. Or was it for a Science class and detailed knowledge of the mechanics and facts of the comets were of primary interest, with the translation to French of a lesser concern.

Eventually we completed the assignment, and hated every moment of it due to the frustration of the event. As opposed to discovery of new facts we were trapped in this mundane exercise with no visible value.

I get your frustrations, I agree with your points and I’ll no doubt look into unschooling further.

But two things stand out in my mind in the readings. Yes a number of them point out a select list of innovators and geniuses who were of benefit to society, but who were marginalized by the schooling system in North America. While Einstein may be a prime example of this, how many more leaders, scientists and inventors were produced by the system you lament?

Secondly, having a look at you ‘about’ page. I cant help but notice your background:

• Master of Education (Adult Education), University of New Brunswick
(Thesis: Learning in the New Brunswick Information Technology Workplace)
• Bachelor of Arts (Honours History) Royal Military College of Canada
Isn’t the vision of the education you propose based on the very education you received in a system you say is a “dictatorshipâ€ where “students are completely disempoweredâ€ and based on an “irrelevant curriculumâ€?