Unqualified Education is our new book, the follow up to One-to-One.  It is for older children, 11-18 (and beyond), and is full of detailed sections on the most fascinating subjects. This book is about taking one's own education into one's own hands, and giving oneself the power to explore the vast and varied world of learning.  Although I say it myself, and I must be biased, it is the most fun, most exciting, most exhilarating, interesting, fascinating book I have ever seen, and I think every young person deserves to have a copy.

How it came about Even before One-to-One was begun we were looking forward to writing Unqualified Education, I suppose because that was what we were doing at the time.  We also noticed such a glaring gap in the market, and such a need for a book that discussed the practical aspects of school and university alternatives.  It took us a year and a half to do, even though we were working on it pretty solidly for all that time.  The reason for this, I think, is because there is such an exceptional amount in it, as you can see from the list below

The Contents
 Besides the main text about education etc., there are several sections:

• Literature   This is the first section of the book, about 35 pages long.  Full of quotes, biographies, and plot summaries, it recommends the classic works of English literature, and the world.  The brilliance of Charles Dickens, the wittiness of Jane Austen, and the magic of Shakespeare and his unparalleled plays, are all covered here in detail.  They are followed by world scriptures, which have remained outstandingly famous over hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years.  Homer, with his heart-rending Iliad, and unmatched Odyssey; the Ramayana from India, one of the most beautiful stories ever to be told; the Bible, which has played such a large part in our history; and Beowulf, the oldest work in Anglo-Saxon literature, the epic poem of 'the strongest of all men ever to have seen the light of life on earth'.
  This section gives one a perfect grounding in many of those books which have been the pillars of civilizations for centuries:  the books which come as near to being timeless as any books can be, and which all other books quote from and refer to.  Nearly all of them, I know, have been ruined for people by school, or have earned a false reputation given to them by people who went to school, but it must be remembered that the only reason they are, or were, studied there is because they are simply and undisputedly some of the best books ever to have been recorded.  Don't let bad teachers put you off, many were written for the sole purpose of the reader's entertainment, and were never meant to be 'studied' in a classroom; others are accounts of those exceptional times in the history of the world when a truly wise person has changed the face of the earth.  It would be a sad thing indeed, if somebody didn't read these books simply because of the reputation school has given them.
  
  
• History   This is another pretty massive section, and is perfect for someone who doesn't know anything about history - and also for those people who do.  My father knows a lot about the subject, and in this section he has condensed his knowledge into a lucid, easy-to-understand,  unbiased account of the history of the world, beginning from the ancient myths of different countries.  Without the prejudices of so many history books, or the surfeit of boring dates and useless facts so common to them, he leads the reader on a journey through the wisdom and excitement of ancient Greece, Rome, India, China, Egypt, and Northern Europe, through to modern-day America and the rest of the world.  This section is interspersed with quotes from all the famous people of these times and it leaves one with a very clear understanding of why the world is the way it is today.
  
  
• Gardening   As far as education goes, gardening is the ultimate.  What can not be learnt from a garden?  This section is so clear and inspiring, it will make you want to get yourself a vegetable plot right away, and if you already have one (like me) you will probably put down the book, and run outside to do some work on it.  "If you would be happy your whole life long, become a gardener" the Chinese proverb says;  if this is true, then this book will set you on the right path for lifelong happiness!

Cooking   Nothing, in my opinion, is so useful and enjoyable as cooking.  It is one of those skills which will always come in handy, no matter what you do, and which you can practise every day; it is something all the family can enjoy, and it is the one thing that won't clutter the house after you have finished it! This section is a complete guide to cooking for older children and young people.  The recipes are all classics from around the world, which we have cooked and enjoyed many times over.  There are few people, I think, who could resist the temptation of cooking, or eating, the mouth-watering Italian olive oil buns, or the chunky, chewy chocolate chip cookies, or the flavourful  Moroccan aubergine salad.  You can see a sample of this section on Bethan's Online Cookbook.

Art and Crafts   This is a large section about drawing, painting, calligraphy, written work, and publishing, as well as craft projects such as many paper-folding instructions, and how to make a kite, tie knots, sew simple things and make yourself an apron.  There are also instructions for a hand-hooked rag-rug wall-hanging, repairing and mending things, and a bit about building, although I have to admit there are no complete instructions for building a house!

• Academic Subjects   Geography, languages, science, technology, music and mathematics are all covered in this last section.  With fun quotes, many pictures, and my father's dynamic text, you will probably find yourself inspired to learn Greek, Japanese, higher mathematics and the latest technology after reading this section.  I particularly recommend the bit about maths!

This brings the book to its uplifting conclusion, and if one has read it all the way through from the beginning, one will definitely feel a lot more knowledgeable by the end!   But this is not actually the aim of this book, as no one book could really teach anyone anything in detail. It rather hopes to rekindle that passion for learning which everyone is born with, and practically show the route where the things to be learnt can be found and explored.
Maybe all that that learning will teach you, is to say "I don't know" but if so, this is a good thing.  People pretend to know things out of ignorance, and one doesn't dare to challenge them because of one's own ignorance on the subject; in this way one often feels intimidated and powerless to change things.  

But the more one studies something the more one realizes how little is really understood by mankind, and if somebody asks you a question, such as how do the planets move around the sun, you can say "I don't know" not because you have never studied the subject, but because you have studied the subject in such depth, that you know that nobody knows.  All the facts they tell children in schools and books, are really theories - nobody really knows anything, they are just guessing.  If this alone is understood, intimidation and powerlessness go.  The strength of humility gives one an incredible confidence, and with this confidence we can take charge of our own destiny, and leave the planet a better place than we found it. 

I would say this is the essence of Unqualified Education, and this is what makes it such an unusual and interesting book.  It is learning, in the old-fashioned, tried-and-tested way, that brings the learner entertainment, enjoyment, wisdom, and a clearer understanding, which will hopefully last them their whole lives through.

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