Missing something?

Last night another parent told me that if she homeschooled her kids she'd be worried they might "miss something". From her tone and the context I took that to mean she was afraid that without school there would be topics and skills that her kids would need, but not have. Here's why I don't have that perspective.

First I think that those who view school as the only, or best way, to learn make some assumptions that I don't. Here are some of the unspoken presumptions I've seen.
There is a set body of knowledge that all people/children must know.
This knowledge must be acquired at a certain rate and by a certain age.
If knowledge/skills are not attained by a certain age it is no longer possible to get them.
People (or at least children) can't/won't learn unless someone "teaches" them.

These assumptions do not match my experience, nor those of the people who have taken the time to explore this topic with me. It's just sort of a cultural assumption. You know; girls can't do math, boys don't cry, everyone has to go to school to learn. These cultural assumptions are false, but only when they are challenged to people come to realize that.

There is a set body of knowledge that all people/children must know.
Um, no not really. Plenty of good stuff out there, for sure. My husband finds machine language useful in his line of work. Not a lot of call for that in most circles, eh? What about diagramming a sentence? Know anyone who needs that one everyday? Right. 'Nuff said.

This knowledge must be acquired at a certain rate and by a certain age.
Says who? This is just something that comes from the school model, making it easier for teachers to figure out what to do with kids of x age. Outside the institution of school we learn what we need to when we need to. When something is learned it might be much later (or earlier) than the institutional model, which causes no end of troubles within an institutional situation. Doesn't matter a whit otherwise.

If knowledge/skills are not attained by a certain age it is no longer possible to get them.
Not in my experience. I went from knowing Sesame Street level Spanish to ordering a pizza in Mexico, over the phone, for delivery. When a person is self-motivated there's practically nothing that can stand in her way. John Holt's book "Never Too Late" addresses this if you're interested in further reading.


People (or at least children) can't/won't learn unless someone "teaches" them.
I will grant that a good teacher can help. I won't grant that any teacher, even a bad one, is better than none. I've taught myself plenty of things; cooking, gardening, mandolin. (I did my share of burning, killing, and mangling - food, plants, and music, respectively, but that was learning too!) Getting back to the self-motivated thing, if a person needs a teacher to learn what they want, they will find one. It doesn't need to be thrust upon them.

I'm sure my lack of eloquence doesn't do justice to this topic. Many have done more and better, I'm sure. But, maybe, if enough of us talk about it, we will challenge these cultural assumptions enough to change them.