Daniel - Mornington Peninsula, VIC / Bunurong Country
Rounding out the first season of Australian Homeschool Stories is my partner in life, homeschooling and podcasting, Daniel. Together we are raising our two wildlings, aged 5 and 2, amidst the natural splendours of the Mornington Peninsula.
SUMMARY
Dan recalls his journey through public, international and private schooling and how gaining early acceptance into his preferred tertiary course meant year 12 was a write off and his ENTER score proved irrelevant a second time when he returned to university as a mature aged student later in life
Music is his greatest passion but he became burnt out by the industry in his twenties, only to rediscover his love for it after becoming a parent and seeing the joy music brought to our children
Reflecting back on how this podcast came about and how we have combined our talents to make it possible
Dan’s initial reaction to my want to homeschool, in contrast to having placed our daughter on two private high school waiting lists from birth
His de-schooling process was a long, slow journey which he believes largely stems from his own school baggage
How homeschool naturally aligned with our family values, and felt like the final piece of the puzzle in achieving the home based lifestyle we were seeking
Creativity is what we want to instil in our children and carve out time for
Curiosity is the foundation of all knowledge, the bedrock for a lifetime of learning
Dan is completely self taught as a musician and this gives him immense confidence that homeschooling is the right path to pursue
Retrospectively imagining if you took school out of the picture for kids that it didn’t serve
Dan’s advice to skeptical parents - be open minded, take your time, everyone has the same concerns
INSPIRATION
Peter Gray - Free to Learn
John Taylor Gatto - Dumbing us Down
Stark Raving Dad
CONNECT
Daddy Dan The Music Man Spotify
Daddy Dan The Music Man YouTube
Daniel Garrood Spotify
@garroodcomposer Instagram
Have you got a story to tell?
Connect with us on instagram @australianhomeschoolstories or email australianhomeschoolstories@gmail.com
This podcast is recorded on the land of the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. This always was, always will be aboriginal land.
Original music - Hazel by Daniel Garrood @garroodcomposer
Listen on Spotify here