What Distinguishes Education Unlimited from the Rest?
If you would like to contribute to this listing, please submit your answer to the question of what distinguishes Education Unlimited from the rest to leo@educationunlimited.ca
Mike’s Perspective
Education Unlimited’s Unique Role
Education Unlimited is different from other home education providers in at least two important ways. First of all, Education Unlimited unreservedly advocates for Christian unschooling. That is, we do not believe that any of the methods or processes that were developed to facilitate factory-style education can help families educating their children.
Modern schooling, which is what most people have experienced, was established in the wake of the industrial revolution to provide standardized education for all children. Children were the raw materials that the school/factory would turn into a similar kind of product. This does not leave any room for the unique personality, aptitudes, or skills of the individual child.
Homeschoolers teach their children at home, which is an important first step away from schooling. But if they bring school methods home (which were specifically created for a school environment), they will still be trying to conform those children to an external standard.
Home education, on the other hand, places the individual learning needs of the child at the centre of the educational experience and is therefore very different from schooling at home. Unschooling is the most consistent form of home education because the schooling mindset is consciously rejected, and any school-based methods are deliberately avoided as counter-productive.
For Education Unlimited, unschooling in this sense is the best form of education and one that we encourage parents to follow. It’s best for both the children and the parents because the children are free to pursue their interests and aptitudes while the parents are not stressed and made to feel guilty for failing to “live up to” school-based expectations.
Education Unlimited has never supported the use of government curriculum, has never been involved in blended programming, and has never issued credits or high school diplomas. Those things were all developed for schools and don’t fit our vision of individualized education.
The other way in which Education Unlimited is unique is the leadership it provides in the wider home education movement. Over nearly three decades, Education Unlimited’s founder, Léo Gaumont, has been involved in research and advocacy on behalf of the entire home education movement. In 2000, he initiated and led the first major Canadian study of post-secondary institutions’ admissions policies for unaccredited home educated students. Subsequently, a website was developed to make current admissions policies easily accessible to home educators. Education Unlimited is still the leader in this field.
Other materials freely available to all home educators have also been developed, including numerous YouTube videos designed to enable, equip, and encourage parents in the education of their children. More such materials will appear in the near future.
Education Unlimited’s vision is driven by Léo Gaumont, whose twenty-five years of classroom teaching experience convinced him that schooling is not what’s best for children. His goal of freeing parents from the burden of educational dogma and bureaucratic red-tape allows Education Unlimited’s families to enjoy their home education experience, rather than feeling stressed and burdened by external requirements.
Furthermore, the digital management system designed and developed by Education Unlimited contributes to the goal of freedom for home educating parents by making mandated record-keeping and receipt-submission, quick and simple. In short, Education Unlimited releases families from the constraints that hinder parents and children in their pursuit of the best educational experience available.
Ian’s Perspective
I think the key difference that sets Education Unlimited apart is empowerment. Our philosophy of parental authority empowers parents to direct their children’s education with confidence, and the many tools and resources we make available through our website empower the parents, facilitators, and school to all work together effectively without getting bogged down in paperwork and bureaucratic procedures, which allows everyone to focus on what really matters – the students!
Pam’s Perspective
How does EU differ from others? In my books, they stand out because of their integrity! They also stand out because they put the authority of parents in the education of children, above their own authority. They partner with parents in the education process, offering themselves as servants to the parents, not asking the parents to be the assistants. This difference alone, gave me confidence as a parent that I could do this!
Crystal’s Perspective
There are two main reasons why Education Unlimited is different from other home education providers, the first one being functional and the second ideological.
Functionally, Education Unlimited is a digital management system, rather than simply a home education provider. All records, communications, finances, and queries are taken care of digitally and efficiently, giving the home educator express and easy access to any information they may need.
Ideologically, a critical difference can be found in our very name, our identity, Education UNlimited. Our greatest strength is our vision, guidance, and backing for UNschooling. Other providers may offer some support for unschooling, but they divide their energies between blended, aligned, and traditional homeschooling as well. Only Education Unlimited focuses primarily on unschooling.
Unschooling is about freedom. It takes the limits off creativity, independence, curiosity, stimulation, potential, flexibility, opportunity, and ownership, without the constraints of answering to a system of school.
Free your family. Unschool with Education Unlimited.
Nadia’s Perspective
Education Unlimited stands out for me for a number of reasons:
EU equally supports families of all nationalities and religious affiliations. It’s main focus being on freedom, support of the families and community building. Facilitators at EU are experienced in successfully unschooling their own children through high school, postsecondary and beyond.
EU staff volunteer their time and energy to provide the explanation of the process of home education and the collection of available resources. That includes ongoing communication with post-secondary institutions on behalf of the home educating community. That means Ongoing Support not in how to navigate the system in the least taxing way, but in how to reach one's goals while not being driven back into the system and not jumping through extra hoops. All of this information is provided to the greater community, not only to those registered with EU.
Ila’s Perspective
Education Unlimited is not just a home education provider, a school to notify of our intentions to home educate. EU is broader and more encompassing than just a box to check and a facilitator visit. Education Unlimited provides current updates about what is going on in our province regarding education and our government’s perspective and intentions around education.
Big picture, EU is focused on the future of home education in this province. Yes, we care about today and your specific needs to get through your challenges this year, but we also focus on the upcoming generations and how education will look for them and what their hurdles will be. We believe that home education is the very best for children and families and we want our future families to have the freedom to train up their children at home as well.
Education Unlimited facilitators have all been in the parent’s seat of home educating their own children, so with insight and empathy they will journey with you as you take on this magnanimous role.
We walk with you in the day to day and year to year. Keeping focused on the big picture—why we home educate, what is an education, what is the most important aspect of training up our children, pushing back against the outside forces that have the potential to derail us—we encourage parents to run the race.
Our unschooling values give parents and children the ability to emphasize what is most important without being bogged down in ‘school’. We are family and home education centred making the learning potential and possibilities unlimited!
Tamara’s Perspective
There is power in being different, being set apart.
EU celebrates diversity, individuality, and freedom of choice.
EU encourages children to be themselves, in a world that is constantly trying to make them something else.
EU empowers children to participate in the process of discovering, developing, and deploying the gift of themselves.
EU reminds us all to be individuals, to honour our journey and not compare.
EU promotes individualized education methods, meeting each child’s needs.
EU addresses the fears and concerns that arise from not following the masses.
EU challenges or confirms what we believe true education is and how to train children for the future.
EU strives to provide parents with the resources they need and current information in order to home educate successfully.
EU provides guidance and support from experienced and compassionate team members.
EU advocates for parental rights, while operating in compliance of government legislation.
The advancement of family unity, individual child success, parental resources, community support, information sessions, data management services, government legislation awareness and post secondary admissions are a few key components of the leadership and integrity that sets Education Unlimited apart.
Faye’s Perspective
How is Education Unlimited Different?
Education Unlimited is different in many ways but the most important factor would have to be the leadership provided by Léo Gaumont. His experience in the field of education in general is unparalleled over forty years, twenty five of those in the public, separate and private school settings and thirty years in the field of home education, qualifying him to fully understand the disadvantages of school and the many advantages of home education. This has led Léo to direct Education Unlimited to move away from the school model, to a relaxed unschooling approach where families can enjoy learning together with minimum restrictions.
Leadership should be visionary, but this is not always the case. Léo has a vision for home education, always studying the latest events and looking ahead to the long term consequences and benefits of actions involving home education.
All facilitators employed through Education Unlimited have home education experience, thus qualifying them to help families in their unique journey. Wherever possible, husband and wife facilitator teams work together.
Education Unlimited believes in keeping things simple and so have developed a state of the art digital management system to fulfill all aspect of involvement with educating at home.
Adèle’s Perspective
Education Unlimited stands for freedom, such as:
Freedom to be able to use whatever teaching modalities without interference from the board that is supposed to be supporting them. Education Unlimited encourages families to use what works best for their children’s needs, abilities and interests.
Freedom from onerous paperwork. Education Unlimited has the only fully digital management system for registration/notification as well as for funding including digital claim submission and EFTs.
Freedom from having a class room within the home. Education Unlimited believes in home education and not home schooling. Bringing the school home does not work but having the freedom to learn at home is what Education Unlimited encourages. In other words, freedom to un-school.
Freedom from government interference. Education Unlimited is a champion for the home education community. Education Unlimited does not offer any blended programming as this greatly reduces and even eliminates parental freedom.
Freedom to be a family. Education Unlimited believes in God’s design for the family.
Gary’s Perspective
Education Unlimited is Unique
Our values are FAITH, FAMILY and FREEDOM!
All the home education providers may provide access to registration and a channel for the school funding, but
Education Unlimited makes the process EASY. We help you understand what needs to be done and once we have your consent we take care of the rest. You have 24-7 internet access to any of the records and reports regarding your family. You have the information you need to be in control.
Education Unlimited is distinctly Christian. We believe in the triune God as the supreme creator and that His word is authoritative. It is through Jesus Christ that we experience the forgiveness, joy and peace that our souls crave. We are glad to serve any and all families with the realization that God has given parents the responsibility to direct the training of their children.
Education Unlimited has leadership with conviction. Léo Gaumont’s long term commitment and now with Brian Coldwell and their teams, have stood unwavering against the pressures of the humanistic government that would remove the triune God from the education arena and strip parents of their authority. Much of this work is behind the scenes.
You see the government accommodations and the compromises of other leadership teams in their willingness to bow to government control and humanistic philosophy, often without much of a fight. Few providers have been willing to stand and resist the pressures of compromise. Some hide and hope the storm will pass. Education Unlimited has stood and continues to stand in the storm. They are worthy of your trust and support.
Education Unlimited has a state of the art digital management system. This system not only services the families but has the capability to be quickly adapted to the changing climate created by the government. We can create reports in a matter of minutes to show the integrity of our operations both fiscally and managerially. Through many intensive probes the government has tried to find fault and they have gone away empty handed.
Education Unlimited does not play school. We believe students should be able to succeed on their own merit. As they pursue their dreams and goals they can provide documentation and demonstration of their proficiency. Through the digital management system we provide a process by which they can create a transcript of their studies. We encourage them to begin taking college level course in the area of their interests early. This provides them with advanced standing in the pursuit of their goals as well as a demonstration of their proficiency. We do not encourage the use of the high school credit system. It undermines the authority of the parents and gives it back to the education minister. It reduces the freedom of the students to follow their interests and individual course of studies. It comes with additional funding which has caused some providers to misrepresent the need for credits to parents and students. (Students DO NOT need credits to pursue post secondary training. Education Unlimited has proven this over and over again.) The additional funding that accompanies the credit system has also caused some providers to compromise their reports through mislabelling courses that don't meet the requirements to access the additional funds. The integrity of Education Unlimited does not allow us to play this game.
Education Unlimited prays for the families that register with them. You are special and we desire to see God's best worked out in the lives of the next generation for God's glory.