Do kids need formal lessons to learn?

Or do formal lessons stop kids from learning what is important to them?

Perhaps to excel in anything, the choice of what to study needs to be entirely up to the child, teen, and young adult.

Education is important to my family. My mom Jaci was a 5th-grade public school teacher for 19 years, before retiring in June.

My sister Jen chose to homeschool her children in a “free-range” parenting style. Ironically, she was valedictorian of her public high school class. She got an academic scholarship to Providence College.

In contrast, my dad Harry never learned a thing in school. He taught himself how to rebuild cars as a teen. He dropped out of college. He got a job machining metal parts and eventually became self-employed in the same field.

When he wants to learn something, he reads about it. This is even easier now with the internet. He has recently built himself an off-grid cabin with no hired help. This includes an entire solar system, rainwater plumbing with a three-stage filter, and a composting toilet.