Fears and concerns part three involves post-secondary training. After having negotiated parts one and two, this set of fears is largely based on monsters created by both parents and students regarding which post-secondary options exist and how they can be attained. These fears are rooted in the false assumption that parents must find the child’s place in the world. Not so, and to do so is likely going to set the child up for a life of misery. Have you ever been with a teacher, doctor, dentist, lawyer or other professional who obviously hates their job? This is usually due to parents pushing children to pursue higher education without regard for who the child is and what they are interested in.

The world desires success which it measures by wealth, beauty and status. The school capitalizes on that by making itself the only avenue to worldly success. If this kind of success is your desire, your unschooling program is on shaky ground. What we should be desiring for our children is that they be happy with themselves and what they are doing. This can only be accomplished if our children are doing what is in keeping with the gifts, talents and interests placed in them by God. To try to make a musician of someone who has no musical ability is both hard on the child and on parents’ ears! Your job has never been to develop something of your children but to present opportunities for them to develop what God has given them. This allows children to be comfortable in their own skins and able to find their place. Remember, this may take several steps and some time, but I believe everyone eventually finds their place in this world. Unschooling minimizes the need for a child to first find themselves, as is common with public school graduates.

Regarding post-secondary options, please know that everyone eventually transitions to post-secondary, which is anything beyond the secondary level of education. Unschoolers often transition in their early teens by finding part-time work and growing from there. Many are working before they’re old enough to have a driver’s license.

Some post-secondary careers require attendance at a post-secondary institution. Parents should be warned that most of these places have become bastions of wickedness we do not want our children exposed to. Wait until children are mature enough to withstand the onslaught of secularism before allowing them to go, and definitely don’t let them go before they are fully cognizant of their end goal and are solid in their faith. In other words, send young adults to college only if they have to go and only when they are fully ready. And remember, it has to be their choice. That is what unschooling is about.