Thinking about your experience, it seems to me to be fine to be grateful that it happened to you. But what if you acknowledged that it could have happened in a different and more positive way?

In unschooling households, parents have a very different role. It’s not a matter of sitting back and waiting until your child happens to find something he/she likes. It’s a matter of really spending time with your child (not just 2 hours at night) and getting to know what *might* interest them. I sometimes bring home books of many different topics from the library, for instance, and my child often decides which ones are of interest to him. I trust that he can make that decision himself, that he knows what is best for him. We are continually bringing home ideas for activities and things to learn about. Again, some are pursued and some are not.

I’m also not sure what you are getting at when you say that some parents don’t know enough to make informed decisions. If a parent takes the time to really get to know their child, and is willing to be proactive and help that child get what she/he wants in life, unschooling works. When you say, “People don’t know enough…”, what do you mean? If a parent is unwilling to spend time with their children, having real communication, or unwilling to help their child get what they want, I’d agree that unschooling might not work. But then, there would be more problems with that situation than just education going on.