“We’ll never force the boys to go to school or take an exam. We don’t believe in government interference in education.”
The King family are taking a wildly different approach to educating their two little boys, Winston and Henry.
Paul and Caroline King, who are rug importers, sold their home and took to the road to give their six-year-old and four-year-old an off-grid education on a round-the-world trip of ‘global unschooling’.
After deciding that the school system in Sweden, where they lived, was too confining for the boys, they decided on the unorthodox approach.
“We didn’t think it was ethical for our children to be forced to go to school when they didn’t want to and they were forced to learn things that they already knew or didn’t want to learn,” Caroline told The Sunday Mirror.
Their nomadic way of life ties in with their textiles importing business and the boys have, to date, travelled to 26 countries and experienced exotic landmarks such as the lost city of Pompeii and the ancient pyramids – things other children would largely be discovering in the pages of a book. Mum, Caroline looks after the basics of the boys’ education like reading and writing with lots of emphasis on exploring different cultures.
“Our children get to see lots of different cultures and how people live. They learn about different religions and why people live like this – they get to meet so many people,” she added.
Dad, Paul says: ‘This year has been amazing – we stayed in Bali for three months, two weeks in Borneo, six weeks in Egypt. Italy about a month, and other places for less time.”
The intrepid family has no immediate plans to curtail their travelling though they are happy for the boys to return to school eventually if they want to.
Would YOU opt for ‘global unschooling’ or do you think school offers a valuable learning and social experience for our kids? Tell us in the comments…
Images via Mogaz News
