Free Childhood
This article on the BBC News web-site about a Dutch girl who wants to skip school to sail around the world caught my attention this morning. It isn’t really much to do with politics, but it provoked an instant reaction in my mind, so it must be good blogging material.
Surely, if she’s capable of looking after herself and there is good back-up support for if things should go wrong, then the amount she will learn from the experience of a round the world voyage will outweigh what she loses from missing school? Just think how much it will teach her of looking after herself and of skills such as navigation.
The Dutch do seem to be a little freer with bringing up their children than we are in Britain (I saw two young boys, about 7 or so, rowing along a canal the other day; alone, no parents in sight), but as long as she is well supported on the trip, it sounds like a fantastic idea!
A fantastic idea for the rich.