I just ran into a Gary North article M.I.T. Calls Academia’s Bluff  on Lew Rockwell’s site.  Anything concerning the esteemed Massachusetts Institute of Technology could sound a bit intimidating.  But then again, if parents and kids take a look, they might find subjects of interest to them.  MIT makes it available for viewing:

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has begun the most revolutionary experiment in the history of education, stretching all the way back to the pharaohs. It now gives away its curriculum to anyone smart enough to learn it. It has posted its curriculum on-line for free. These days, this means a staggering 1900 courses. This number will grow.

Many innovative homeschoolers have already found readily available learning materials (often free or at low cost).  Judy Aron recently posted a site offering free video courses:
Homeschoolers! - Free Video Courses On The Internet!

North believes that MIT has "upended" the traditional notions of ‘higher education’, along with increasing competiveness by offering a "test drive" to all.  He went into a historical timeline explaining how more specialized knowledge started becoming closed and elitist.  One example was given in the Hippocratic Oath.  From North’s article:

In most cases, the information was secret. The student was bound by an oath of secrecy.  Here are the opening words of the original Hippocratic Oath.

I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art – if they desire to learn it – without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.

 Interesting that the open avenues created by MIT’s education offering have nothing to do with the classroom.  Even as the federal Dept of Education head, Arne Duncan, stipulates that for little ones entering schools; "socialization skills" ("school readiness", as in lining up and such) are equal in importance to  "literacy skills". (That is an odd (and creepy) state of affairs, but if proponents’ "socialization" sound bite keeps its drumbeat, it does have an effect eventually.)

Here’s Gary North’s take of MIT (and others) opening the gate to create accessible learning opportunities.

1. The fee to obtain the training
2. The cost of journeying to a training center
3. The pre-requisite system
4. The cost of quitting your job

This has de-mystified the entire guild procedure. It says this: "If you are smart enough, you can master the initial content."

That is a freeing notion.  You only need to have the natural smarts.  No financial requirements or class degradations are necessary to learn.  Find a library and use the free access to the internet.  Below are some more offerings that have been widely noticed and used in the homeschool community.

Free Internet Investigations from Hoagies

These curriculum materials will allow students to study standard curriculum topics including math, science, English, and history while they wait for their schools to reopen or until they relocate. While the decision whether or not to grant credit for independent work always rests with the receiving school, this online coursework permits students to immediately access the major content of standard high school courses, so that they will not be behind in their studies when they re-enter school.

 Ambleside Online

This is a free, complete, user-friendly curriculum plan for homeschooling families who need support, encouragement and alternatives to the curriculum they’ve lost in a disaster, and also for churches and other groups needing to set up temporary schools for children who may not have been homeschooled. All texts and teaching materials needed to implement this plan are free online. The only things you need are access to a computer and printer, paper and pencil. Please print out and share this information freely with anyone who might need it.

Here’s what North wrote in his conclusion:

The end of the high-priced university training system is in sight. It may take a generation. These schools are licensed agencies of the state. They will not surrender without a fight. But when the best science university in the world says "Come and get it . . . free!" the other schools have a major problem for justifying secrecy. This response – "We offer a better program than MIT does" – is not likely to be widely believed.

If the interest is there,  learning resources are becoming increasingly available via the World Wide Web.  All families will hopefully discover those opportunities and learn how to fly (or create, build, grow, and discover).