Competence Over Credentials: Home Schooling & True Capability

Let’s talk about competence — and why it matters far more than credentials.

In today's education system, there’s an overwhelming emphasis on institutional qualifications. From degrees and certificates to ATAR scores and NAPLAN results, credentials are used as the main measure of a person’s intelligence, worth and future potential.

But do these pieces of paper really reflect someone's ability to contribute meaningfully to society? Rarely.

In home education, we get to reset that narrative. We get to restore a focus on actual competence — on wisdom, usefulness, capability and moral strength. These are the qualities that make a person valuable to their community and fulfilled in their own purpose. Not standardised checklists. Not ranking against peers. And certainly not bureaucratic validations that often have little bearing on real-world usefulness.

Competence Leads to Confidence — and Confidence to Merit

Competence builds confidence. When a child sees that they can do something — build, fix, explain, design, understand — that sense of accomplishment encourages growth. With repeated small wins, they refine their skills, deepen their learning and become better equipped to contribute.

This is the true foundation of merit.

As Jordan Peterson often argues, merit — the earned recognition of an individual's skill or strength — should be the key sorting mechanism in society. Not race. Not gender. Not whether someone ticks a box on a quota form. Not even which school they went to.

Just… whether they can do the task.

Home schooling lets families focus on cultivating this kind of competence from the ground up. Instead of telling a child, "You’re only as good as the grade you got," we can say, "Let’s keep building your ability, because that’s what really counts."

The Coach House Difference

At Coach House, our entire philosophy is built around the idea that education should produce capable young people — not just credentialed ones. Our programs are designed to nurture curiosity, competence and character. These traits don’t come from ticking boxes. They come from real engagement, meaningful work and the freedom to pursue mastery at a child’s own pace.

Credentials have their place. But they should follow competence — not try to substitute for it.

Let’s raise a generation that knows how to do the work, rise to a challenge and stand tall in their own hard-earned merit.