To wonder how people who homeschool acquire the knowledge to do so?

You have made a very big assumption. You have a very school-centric idea of what education is which is shown by your questions about identifying gaps and matching learning.

My experience, research and passion for learning is based on co-construction of learning, sustained shared thinking and the value of first hand experience. This, however does not negate a hierarchy of skills based on prior learning.

This thread is excellent as it is really showing how skilled and committed home educators need to be. It is not a fanciful ‘trip to IKEA to talk about money and measure furniture’ - a recent experience of mine!

spend all day every day observing and assessing your child, actually talking to them, and you can address gaps and tailor learning there and then. Not all parents expect this level of commitment even.

Interesting how people who are anti-home education always accept that loads of children will just naturally fail after 12 years of school and that's not the fault of the education they receive.
However if home educated children (who are also more likely to have SEN) don't get 7-10 good GCSEs it's an indication that they've been massively failed by their parents.

Some people do better through home Ed. Some will start degrees courses early, some will go to oxford.

Some pupils who are home educated wouldn't pass the GCSE in school, but by home education they aren't left feeling worthless. They can focus on alternatives or focus on the GCSEs they need for the progression route.

Very few home Ed young people aren't progressing in their own way, in their own time and reaching their potential.
Those who aren't usually have other factors involved such as recovery from illness or burnout but they cant learn effectively until well.

How do you know the children that fail at school wouldn't have passed if home educated?

A 3rd of kids don't even pass English and maths, surely that is the definition of failure?
12 years of school and the system can't even get them through the minimum standard it has set itself.

The problem is you have no idea how that young person would have fared if they had started school at 4 and never been home educated. So many families end up with no option but home Ed when their child is burnt out from school.

School just isn't working for some people.
While it's possible he may have been fine if never home Ed it is also possible he may have burnt out and been damaged from the school system either way.

@Leftrightmiddle
There will always be students who won’t get the grades, I’m talking about actively disadvantaging a child who would other be capable of passing.

So all pupils are passing their GCSE despite the whole concept of GCSE is that some many need to fail in order for grade boundaries to be maintained

There’s a child who joined my eldest son’s secondary in year 7 - parents had home schooled him up until this point and then felt for secondary he’d benefit. The poor boy has really struggled with the routine and the volume of people. It’s been really difficult.

He has 2 younger siblings and the parents decided to stop home schooling and put them into school so they don’t find secondary as traumatic as their elder brother.

Ultimately it works for some people and not for others I guess. We couldn’t do it as we both work it’s not an option! But I’d never choose to anyway unless one of my kids had a specific need and then we’d have to work out how to do it.

What is the correct way to teach reading - it seems to change every few years - even going round in circles and sometimes sticking to the dogma (ie phonics testing in year 1 when a child has been reading fluently since mid reception). Same with some maths methods (have been through chunking, carrying, borrowing and pay back) again circling.
Parents ability to parent and teachers ability to teach are very wide reaching. A parents desire to home school should be more assessed and monitored more regularly (and perhaps disallowed in some circumstances).

You can continue trying to convince yourself this as much as you want but data and facts say otherwise. The vast majority of kids attend school and do achieve a better standard of education as well as a higher number of qualifications.

In theory differentiation has been a key part of teaching but in reality it is not working.
I say this as a teacher and as a parent.
Too many young people are being failed by a curriculum which is not working anymore.a curriculum that is causing distress particularly to ND pupils and SEN pupils.
It is causing high workload for teachers and not meeting the needs of pupils - with teachers leaving the profession in high numbers.

Did you know that many teachers and experts in development actually opt to home Ed their own children because the know the system isn't working?

So many more children are failed and damaged by schools than by home education - so many home educating parents are being left to try to fix the mess schools make.
We should really be targetting our efforts at improving the school system since it impacts such a huge number of children.

@Leftrightmiddle

‘In a class of 30 the teacher has to teach to the middle. They should adapt and have work for different abilities but in reality this is still only near the average pupil.’

This comment clearly shows you have no idea about teaching. This may have been the case 30/40 years ago but differentiation has been a key part of teaching for at least the last 25 years. This is one of the main reasons teachers workload has increased so dramatically.

Many pupils in school don't achieve at the end of school..30 % of pupils will fail their GCSEs as this is the way exams are graded.

Some children will walk confidently at 9 months some not till 18 Months. Most will be around a year. Those who walk early don't have superior parents and those who walk later don't have crap parents. It is well known that development can vary even without additional factors.

In reception September born pupils are almost a year older than August born. But all expected to learn the same curriculum, in the same way at the same time. Even without additional factors such as SEN, health problems etc the ability and need will vary greatly. In 4/5 year olds.

Some children are not ready to read in reception yr and some will start already reading. Some children will learn to read naturally and others will need more support.

The concept that all children are the same and learn the same way and the same time is not backed up in any way. It is well known that children are different and will develop at different rates in different ways. It is well known that play is vital for early years and yet the school system is moving away from this with more testing, less movement, less free play.
We have a curriculum which doesn't reflect the needs of children

💯! 👏

At primary level, no planning needed really. Just lived life and learned while doing it.
Taught them to read and write and love learning.
More or less followed the maths curriculum but spent as long as needed on each concept rather than rushing on when they hadn't grasped it or lingering so long that it was boring - this is what puts so many schooled children off maths.
You have a very school-centric idea of what education is which is shown by your questions about identifying gaps and matching learning. The child isn't just an object for you to educate, they are a partner in it - you spend all day every day observing and assessing your child, actually talking to them, and you can address gaps and tailor learning there and then.

Exactly! Especially when the vast majority of HS parents I’ve met had a negative experience of school themselves and therefore few qualifications! There are also a growing number of virtual schools and tuition centres for kids who struggle with mainstream school. Why wouldn’t you engage with the alternative options available?

YouTube certainly has its place for those purposes as a supplementary measure, not as a substitute for a qualified teacher.

@Whyhaveibeencutoutofmamsnot
‘Home ed is a bit different - don't forget that parents are normally the child's first teachers until they are approaching five.’

This sort of comment proves exactly why so many of us have concerns about the standard of ‘education’ HS kids receive. There’s a huge difference in toilet training, learning to talk etc than academic education. To think otherwise is completely delusional! Many parents don’t even successfully manage the basics before their child starts school!
Teachers are trained to teach based on current well research learning methods. I’ve seen parents hinder their child’s reading and numeracy development by teaching them incorrectly. I’ve encountered tears from students who have had help to complete homework from their parents which has been incorrect. There’s no getting away from the fact that most parents who home school do not have the skills to do so.
At least those who use tutors etc have the self awareness to accept their limitations!

My daughter is currently doing her GCSEs and has always been at school, but she uses YouTube videos to teach herself topics that teachers didn't explain properly. She says YouTube is brilliant for this.

A lot of people do that and go to Dr Google or go to strange places that offer drips or go to the "qualified" person in the local health food store.

Home ed is a bit different - don't forget that parents are normally the child's first teachers until they are approaching five.
I home educated my DC's for some of primary age (they went to school but mainly for the social aspects and for areas such as art and pe). I made sure that I did the English, maths and science. It depended on which teacher they were with - a couple of the teachers had no science knowledge and were telling them things that were wrong and other teachers just bored them silly with maths - not allowed to progress unless getting 10/10 for everything.

yes knowledge is knowledge, yes youtube is not suitable for all subjects.

In schools they have to move on regardless if all the children have grasped a concept.
This is why some children end up not being able to progress because they didn't grasp the prior knowledge and the teacher has to move on to the next section so that they can cover all aspects they need

With home Ed - you work at the child's pace
For example child A has a natural aptitude for maths learns quickly and deeply. At school they are bored as the topic is counting one more and on less and they are doing division and multiplication in their free time. In school they have to do maths that is too easy so they are fed up
Child B is really struggling they didn't grasp one more and one less but no the teacher has moved on to adding but adding needs the pupil to understand more and less first. So now they are struggling more. By the time multiplication is introduced child B hasn't learnt the skills they need to grasp this but they have learnt they are stupid and can't do maths.

In a home Ed situation both children can be taught to their ability. Child A isn't bored and can follow their maths level - when they are doing fractions at 6 they can go much deeper and spend longer if they are really enjoying and grasping
Child B isn't feeling stupid or developing a belief that they can't do it. Instead time is spent on the basics and games around numbers. The child gets all the time they need before harder concepts are introduced. They don't feel ashamed or stupid. Parents can change tactics if something isn't working and give breaks when needed. They may not get to division until much later but they will be ready to comprehend when they do.

In a class of 30 the teacher has to teach to the middle. They should adapt and have work for different abilities but in reality this is still only near the average pupil. In mainstream we have pupils at far end of the spectrum and it just isn't effective

@CharleneElizabethBaltimore
Are you seriously suggesting that watching a YouTube video is a suitable substitute for a qualified teacher?
Maybe we should all stop going to the GP, it’s difficult to get an appointment anyway. We can all just google our symptoms, diagnose ourselves and watch a YouTube video on how to treat it.🙄