Home Schooling: Let’s Talk about Truth
"We have been taught that the truth comes from authority. In fact, truth is discovered by the individual through his own powers of reasoning and observation."
— John Taylor Gatto
When I first read that line, I was floored.
Because it struck me just how much of modern schooling does, in fact, imply that truth is something delivered from the top down — from a syllabus, a teacher, a textbook, or an institution. We often forget that behind every authority — every curriculum designer, every teacher — is a fallible person, with their own influences, blind spots, and inherited assumptions from the very systems they themselves were educated in.
This doesn’t mean truth is relative. It doesn’t mean anything goes, or that we should toss out structure, scholarship or trusted sources. But Gatto's insight reminds us that the process of discovering truth should never be passive.
Truth Requires Active Engagement
Truth is not something that can be poured into the mind of a child like water into a jug.
Instead, it must be sought, tested, and personally engaged with. Children, like adults, are thinking beings. They observe, they question, they reason and they reflect. A meaningful education does not suppress those traits — it cultivates them.
This is especially critical in our current world, where children are bombarded daily with conflicting opinions, clickbait headlines, algorithmically selected videos, and persuasive but often shallow media. To survive — and thrive — in this climate, they must be equipped not just with knowledge, but with discernment.
That’s why, at Coach House, we believe one of the most essential tasks in education is to help students become seekers of truth — with care, integrity and humility.
How We Build Truth-Seekers
Our educational philosophy is grounded in helping students ask better questions, evaluate information critically, and make thoughtful, evidence-based conclusions.
We do this by:
Embedding logic and reasoning skills into every unit
Using primary sources in history and literature, so children learn to evaluate texts, not just absorb interpretations
Designing self-teaching tasks that ask students to reflect, create and defend their ideas
Encouraging dialogue over dictation, and exploration over memorisation
Teaching students how to distinguish fact from opinion, and how to weigh competing perspectives
Reinforcing that it’s okay not to know — and that truth is often uncovered through careful effort and honest doubt
Whether it’s understanding the science behind climate patterns, interpreting a historical document, or wrestling with the moral choices of a novel’s protagonist, we want children to know: truth isn’t something you inherit. It’s something you pursue.
Truth in an Age of Noise
We live in an age of noise — soundbites, slogans, viral opinions, and groupthink. It’s tempting for institutions to become echo chambers, rewarding compliance and punishing dissent.
But that’s not education. That’s programming.
And our world doesn’t need more programmed children. It needs more principled, thoughtful, truth-hungry young people — students who can sort through the noise, sit with hard questions, and articulate what they believe and why.
We believe children are capable of that.
We believe you, as a parent, can nurture that.
And we believe that Coach House can help.
Want to raise a truth-seeker?
At Coach House, we craft customised programs that foster independence, discernment and curiosity — all while aligning with NSW syllabus outcomes.
📘 Explore our programs
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📥 Try one of our free learning resources
