There are loads of unschooling questions we could ask about learning:
How do we know unschooling kids are learning?
Should they be learning particular things?
Is there knowledge that all kids need?
Are our unschooled kids learning enough?
Can they get behind?
Should we just trust our kids are learning? But what if we have doubts?
Or what if we need to prove our kids are learning for homeschool registration purposes? How can we provide evidence of learning without compromising an unschooling way of life?
What are the conditions that lead to learning?
Do our kids need to prove they’re learning? Should we test them? Should we question them?
Are there valuable skills that schools don’t recognise? Do parents not value certain skills?
Are some things that kids learn a waste of time?
What if kids aren’t involved with visible maybe impressive passions? Are they still learning?
Why do we need to learn?
Why are we afraid of learning?
Should learning be the reason we do something?
If homeschooling parents are accountable, should schools be accountable, too?
Are there things more fundamental than academics that we’d like to impart to our kids while they are at home with us?
Are questions important?
Is it okay if we don’t have the answers to all our questions?
Cecile Conrad, Sandra Dodd and I pondered all those questions and more in S2E9 of The Ladies Fixing the World podcast. Did our conversation reveal all the answers? Perhaps you’d like to listen or watch to find out!
The Video Version
The Audio Version
Also available on all other podcast platforms – find the links here.
Shownotes
What if we abandoned the question “How do we know they’re learning?” and trusted that they are? In this conversation, Cecilie Conrad, Sandra Dodd, and Sue Elvis look closely at the fears that drive many unschooling parents to seek proof of learning—and why those fears may come from old conditioning rather than real concerns.
They explore how learning in an unschooling context doesn’t always look like progress, mastery, or academic benchmarks. Instead, it often appears as play, conversation, curiosity, or even stillness.
The episode also addresses the “big mix-up in the mind of the parent” who must navigate between their children’s authentic learning experiences and the official education system’s expectations, the pressure parents feel to produce results, the danger of clinging to school-based frameworks, and the importance of stepping back and observing life as the curriculum.
Sandra, Sue and Cecilie invite parents to shift their perspective away from questioning if their children are learning enough, toward cultivating environments rich in trust, conversation, and genuine curiosity.
🗓️ Recorded March 20, 2025. 📍 Barcelona, Spain
🔗 Links & Resources
Images
I learnt a lot on a recent weekend trip to Sydney with my daughter, Gemma-Rose. I learnt it’s possible to walk from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour, but if you go via the shoreline, in and out of all the wharves, your feet will be sore when you arrive, especially if you’re wearing new Doc Marten boots. Next time I do this walk, I shall make use of that bit of knowledge and wear my worn-in sneakers.
I also learnt that St Patrick’s Church in the Rocks is the oldest surviving Catholic Church in Sydney. Although I know some of the names of the saints whose statues border each side of the interior of the church, I don’t know them all. But I’d like to, so I will do some research.
I learnt that it only takes 12 minutes to walk from Darling Harbour to our favourite hotel. This piece of information will be useful when we’re planning our next weekend in Sydney.
There’s a lot more I learnt. If anyone in my family is planning a Sydney trip, they know who to come to for some helpful tips. How do they know what I know? They listened. When Gemma-Rose and I got home, everyone was eager to hear about our trip. We all enjoyed some wonderful conversations.
In the same way, conversations are a way we can learn what our kids know. They can reassure us that our unschool kids are learning.
