Question: There are other education platforms out there! There is also a lot of free material. There is also AI that can provide many educational solutions. Why then should one sign up to The Barking Bandicoot Academy?

Answer: Yes, this is true! There are some resources and platforms that are Open Source, some that are proprietary, some that provide free material and some that are paid.

There are some that simply provide material to explore and others that are heavily structured in a more traditional sense.

It all depends on your goals and educational needs. As a homeschooler one of your reasons for choosing this option is no doubt it to exercise freedom - which is to say choice.

nb. A traditional school will offer some choices, but these options are narrowly focused and charged with political ideology - be that officially or through more pernicious methods.

In choosing a homeschooled education you have more flexibility to choose appropriated material and use approaches that will work for the students learning- not ones that imposed upon the student through a centralised, one mold fits all approach.

Question: Ok, so becoming a student of The Barking Bandicoot Academy is a choice, one of many - but that still does not give me a thorough answer.

Yes, of course! In choosing -then what to choose?

All real learning is based on interest. Learning needs to be self-motivated in order to be internalised, have salience and be utilised in meaningful ways. Simply memorising facts and figures is a chore and does not contribute to a purposeful existence.

What does the student like? They may have interests. They may be open to a variety of ideas. In most cases however the parent who knows their child is going to curate an educational experience for them. Having more experience they will also know what is important to learn. The students as they develop will also want to add areas of study to their 'curriculum'.

It may be a more traditional, conservative and structured school experience best suits the student. It may be a focused religious one that is best. There are platforms that exist for these approaches. Others will want a variety of sources. Having choice means one can pick and choose from many different options. Variety can help keep things fresh. One can explore different subjects and approaches to learning.

Question: You mentioned that there are free materials on the internet. The student loves to read and explore various material so why sign up to a course?

Answer: Great! Yes, there is a wealth of material to explore. All learning should be self-motivated! I taught in schools for over 16 years. It ways sad to see younger students who were eager and asked a lot of questions, slowly turn off and tune out as they grew older, as the mechanisms of traditional schooling demanded conformity and obedience above all else.

If the student is highly disciplined, analytic and self-motivated then exploring random material may a good approach. For many students, even those who are highly motivated, there is the danger of being distracted and going down rabbit holes. This can be an enjoyable journey but also be ultimately unsatisfying. "A rolling stone gathers no moss" A lack of focus on one thing may result in no substantial and solid knowledge. One can easily get lost in the weeds, be overwhelmed with too much information, fail to revise and solidify concepts and lose sight of goals.

For many who do love freedom and choice having structured material is still desirable or necessary to build knowledge, give a sense of firm accomplishment and attain goals. This is the purpose of The Barking Bandicoot Academy. It provides a range of different courses, many of which have a 'gamification' aspect to build a sense of attainment and the courses are also structured with goals that are to be met.

The Barking Bandicoot Academy however in taking a more structured approach tries to avoid the dry academic approach of more serious online learning platforms but still expects the student to apply critical thinking and strive for excellence.

Furthermore it hosts most of its material on a personal server and utilises FLOSS (Free Libre Open Source Software).

The Barking Bandicoot Academy is not a one stop shop for all the students educational needs. As mentioned before, in choosing homeschooling you are most likely doing so for curatorial control - so as to choose the best and most appropriate educational options for the student. You are quite wisely not leaving it up to just one group of strangers with perhaps a biased and limited approach. It may be more time consuming and difficult, but taking an active involvement in the students learning is the responsible course of action. It is a proper investment in their future.

Question: Ok, if The Barking Bandicoot Academy is not a one stop shop for all the students educational needs, then what is it?

Answer: The Barking Bandicoot Academy simply aims to provide a range of courses that are of high quality! Rather than doing everything, being a 'Jack of all trades and master of none', it is about deep diving into a selection of topics to provide comprehensive and structured learning.

The Barking Bandicoot Academy courses take a liberty first focused method when investigating issues.

Aside from the English learning's, The Barking Bandicoot Academy's premier course 'Animal Farm' for instance, is the most comprehensive investigation available into the novel from a liberty based perspective!

A student of The Barking Bandicoot Academy can choose from some free/donation based courses but also more comprehensive courses that come with teacher contact. There are chat forums available for those seeking clarification and assistance. Teachers can provide feedback and direction. Students and their parents can communicate and work through concepts together. Not everyone is an expert in all things and having an external mentor can help fill gaps and provide expanded learning.

The Barking Bandicoot Academy is for parents and students who want liberty focused courses that deep dive into core topics that challenge and assist the student to think critically.