I home-educate my four kids,AMA

[wiziliz]

Used to be a primary school teacher, now I home-educate my kids . Ages 12,8,6&3 (no special needs)Ask Me Anything.

Really interesting thread. Thanks for starting it op and I hope you come back.

I don't have a horse in the race at the moment - Dd is too young for school.

But I wonder if some of the disagreement here stems from whether you think that education is something which is "done to" someone, or whether you think it's something they do for themselves, with appropriate support.

Schools definitely follow the first model, and unschoolers would follow the second I think. There's probably a middle ground which op and other homeschoolers are trying to hit.

I certainly think there's a place for both types - children need to learn some things - spag rules, times tables etc, but actually, being independently motivated and curious about the world (which I think some schools unfortunately stamp out) are hugely valuable both to individuals, and to employers looking for good staff.

I am not surprised the OP has stopped answering questions, this is AMA and some posters aren’t asking questions merely using this post to be pretty nasty. I can’t take someones opinions on home ed seriously who didn’t even know it was legal, they clearly haven’t bothered to look into it very much.

I know a midwife who was home educated and she has managed fine. I imagine if someone can’t cope it would become clear during training.

Home ed is so diverse. I know people who are school at home types like OP, people who radically unschool and the majority including myself fall somewhere In the middle. I feel it is difficult for one person to represent all home educators.

I think it’s odd how people are quick to point out all the negatives of home educating yet ignore all the negatives of schooling.

Sitting at home with your younger siblings doing a workbook with even having a phone and going on long walks are not sufficient in my opinon

That’s one example of home education, and very narrow thinking to think that represents all. There are plenty of ex home educated who are ‘medics’ i.e doctors. I’ve visited the national groups.
In percentage terms there are very few home educators, a figure much lower than the number of children who are privately educated. Many people won’t have met a home educated person/family.

Schools are generally one way which works for the majority. But not the only way, and home schooling can be the best in some circumstances. I don’t get the hate.

Schools definitely follow the first model

Actually not all do. Ds3’s (state) School does a lot of PBL. It’s approach is very progressive and is all about the kids doing stuff themselves. It broadly follows this philosopy www.mltsfilm.org Even academic subjects are hands on. So for example as part of their biology lessons on ecosystems they will be doing snorkelling to see ecosystems up close.

Admittedly ds2’s grammar is very much talking at the kids, but not all are.

if she’s never socialised with her peers

That’s a safeguarding issue. It wouldn’t be ‘allowed’ to happen. Home educators taker socialisation as seriously as academic subjects. Any LA ‘inspection’ will include checking socialisation.

take*

Although OP isn’t involved with a LA (& isn’t in U.K. at the moment).

Agree, and I would not return if I were the OP. A number of these ‘questions’ are just criticism, narrow thinkers with pre conceived, stereotypical, immovable ideas of what they think home education is. Not the sign of a well educated person (and I’m not a home educator so that isn’t aimed at school system children).

Generally speaking I mean, devilish.

Oh yeah - true.

Why would a home education be insular? My kids are out and about every day. We very rarely have a day at home.

It may not be for everyone, but the OP sounds like they have thought through what they're doing and takes on tutors when they're not comfortable.

A lot of schools are below par, education in this country is at breaking point. They are not the fulfilling, inspiring utopia described by a few on here in many cases.

Picking on the OP's language is hugely childish. She isn't in the UK so chances are isn't English.

Hello everyone, this is wiziliz(OP)
I am Spanish, English is not my first language. I am surprised at how all these "educated" people are judging me through my English writing. English is only a language it's not a qualification. I wonder what you people think of all the educated people around the world ,who don't know English/having poor English.

And for those who asked whether we use tutors. Yes ,we hire the best tutors in the city.

A home education doesn’t have to be insular, but it can be (look st American religious home ed sites for an example).

I’m not anti home ed, I think it can be excellent, terrible and everything inbetween. Schools similar range, although there should be more protection against an entire school being terrible (doesn’t stop there being terrible experiences for individuals in a wide range of schools).

However, I think the risk of an education being insular is higher for those who are home eded - particularly teens - because that is a time when development away from the family is needed and a time when independence away from the family ideally needs to develop.

And when I mean tutors, they don't just visit once a week,we have tutors for all the subjects who visit everyday.

My question is regarding socialisation, apologies if it has already been answered.
I understand that you go out and do meet ups etc but I genuinely don't see how that replaces the social skills gained from school. DS is at a school with (at a guess) 600 children aged between 11 & 18. He chooses his own friends with no input from me. He has lessons with people he doesn't necessarily consider friends but he still interacts and works with these people. He has teachers he doesn't like, but he is polite and respectful to them. He learns that there are many different types of people and how to 'get on' with them.
I'm not against HE, we seriously considered it back in primary school, but I felt that socialisation was too important.

Home educated kids have to do a lot of that too, on a smaller scale. They go to subjects, groups, lessons, activities etc and won't get on with everyone. In HE all ages mix together normally, no segregation by age. It isn't perfect, but then nor is a school setting.

That's really interesting @Devilishpyjamas. I admit my knowledge about schools is largely pretty outdated personal experience so I'm pleased to be corrected.

I'm not sure what we're going to do about schooling - as I said, Dd is too young at the moment anyway, but watching her and her peers at the moment, they are learning machines, and a lot of people seem to lose that love of learning and drive for discovery at some point. I think that's a real shame and I'm interested in the reasons why it happens.

I agree that the love of learning is often lost. Ds3’s School seems to be an exception (he’s about to start year 9 and the kids are still enthusiastic). The school isn’t perfect and I will be keeping an eye to make sure the gcse tick boxes are ticked, but I cannot fault the education - in it’s broadest sense - that he is getting.

If you get a chance to was most likely to succeed @GinAfterBedtime I really recommend it.

Tutors for all the subjects who visit every day? Eight subjects - eight hours of tutoring? Bloody hell. Your dd will be shattered!

The law states that parents are legally responsible for the child being educated whether they are educated in school or otherwise. That's why parents whose kids have little choice but to go to failing schools have no legal remit to challenge the state on the provisions provided or when it is not provided like when there has been the equivalent to weeks of strikes as happened recently.

I mean, my local secondary's has only 10% of students getting 5 or better in English and Maths. Next closest one: 19%. Without what many consider a basic standard for employment, their options are very limited. They can use the local college to use the GCSE Plus programme to retry. The college tends to get better results but the options are limited to 5 GCSEs from a very small list. That's what we live with in an educational black hole that has been steadily getting worse with continuous cuts to school funding, to teaching assistants, to extracurriculars in schools and even lunch time for more classroom time when there is little evidence that will help.

I'm the first to say there are pros and cons to home educating just as there are with everything. I am very open that some home educators who use the HE ~lifestyle~ approach and it's not enough for most kids (which is an educational welfare situation, not a social services ones so please do not waste SS time with this. Many councils have an education welfare officer or team to deal with that though how attentive they are varies wildly). However, this idea that many of us are picking between lovely schools with a range of options and growing experiences and keeping our kids locked away from everyone and they never have to deal with others is bullshit.

My kids still deal with assholes - that's life - the bullies at school tend to go be bullies at the local parks and other public places. I've had the lovely experience of explaining to my then-7 year old why the older boys would threaten to shove objects up her vagina and why the girls think it's funny to call her a 'spotty rat face' because of her skin condition, but sure - go tell her she's never had to deal with challenging behaviour, my teenager has the great experience of having adults tell him he's too tall to be bullied even when their kids gang up on him, beat him up, chase him out of the park because he doesn't want to hurt anyone. My kids live with 3 disabled adults and have all watched a parent be taken out of their home by ambulance entirely unable to respond to them. My kids are currently dealing with the 6th close relative to get a terminal diagnosis in 5 years. Everyone has different experiences but don't for a moment think because kids are home educated that they don't know how horrible people can be or the challenges of life. I'm the first to admit I'm not the best teacher and others might do better by them - I'm a depressed realist like that - but this idea that home educators are in some happy go lucky bubble - even the ones who do the HE lifestyle stuff that I disagree with - is insulting horseshit foolishness that I'm not sure even the most thorough critical thinking curriculum could sort out.

So you're not really H S ing

Just sounds like a little hot house of visiting tutors