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Original poster

Why does home schooling appeal ?

456 replies

SeptemberFlowers · 26/01/2014 09:36

I myself would be far to scared to do it with my dc's as I'd be needing to reach for the Wine most weekends of having to teach them curricular that I was shit at at school.

Why does it appeal to so many people ? There are a few children in the next village (live in a rural location) who are HE but only because their mother doesn't trust other adults with her children. I know this an extreme case but the only one I know personally.

How would you know your child is learning all the correct syllabus for different subjects ?

OP posts:
Iamavapernow · 26/01/2014 09:39

How would you know your child is learning all the correct syllabus for different subjects?

Well if you're going to HE, you do your research and find out, simple as that.

Homeschooling can be a lot more flexible. You can follow your individual children's interests and expand on what really gets them enjoying learning rather than some 'one size fits all' which can be seriously lacking for some children.

Iamavapernow · 26/01/2014 09:41

www.collective-evolution.com/2014/01/07/this-is-what-happens-when-a-kid-leaves-traditional-education/

Great example of a homeschooled child.

lougle · 26/01/2014 09:43

I don't HE, but my understanding is:

  • there is no curriculum imposed on HE'ers. It might be with considering that from September there will only be a National Curriculum for mathematics, English, science and history in state school anyway...

-children get to learn in a way that suits them, at a pace that suits them, at a time that suits them.

-they can meet their social needs in a natural way, instead of being forced to spend 6 hours a day with children who happened to be born at the same time.

If I was home educating DD2, perhaps she wouldn't need to see a bunch of professionals to sort out why she isn't coping in school, and I wouldn't have spent 32 minutes cajoling her to write two sentences with correct punctuation and formation.

pictish · 26/01/2014 09:43

God knows. I have two good friends atm who HE, and have known others in the past...although not quite so well as these two.
As far as I can tell with the people I've known (certainly couldn't speak for anyone else though), it's about putting two fingers up to convention, while ensuring their children are not as well educated as everyone else's, with poorer social skills.
THEY have problems with society, and for some reason are compelled to have their kids pay for it.

Of course, I say nothing. To each their own after all...the children are loved and looked after well...there's nothing to complain about as such. But yeah...their education certainly isn't what it should be.

Sirzy · 26/01/2014 09:43

Who says the syllabuses taught in schools are the 'correct' ones though?

Education isn't a one sized fits all thing and for some families they feel that their child can be best educated out of the normal schooling system.

As long as the child is developing at the right pace for them does it matter where that happens?

pictish · 26/01/2014 09:45

Oh and by the way - I realise that school isn't right for every child. Some certainly do not thrive within a school environment, and fare better at home.
It just happens that I do not know any children who are benefitting from being HE personally.

I know lots do.

Tailtwister · 26/01/2014 09:46

I think it's appealing to more people now there's so much pressure to find decent school places.

Personally, I don't feel I have the expertise to teach my children. I'm well educated and can understand the work, but that's not the same as being able to teach it well.

I would only HE if I felt I had no other choice than to remove my DC from school. I know a few people whose children had an awful time with bullying and felt they had to take them out. I'm sure I would do the same in their shoes.

Iamavapernow · 26/01/2014 09:46

pictish

You need to watch that link.

InvaderZim · 26/01/2014 09:47

Do you realise there's a home ed topic on MN?

I am planning to home ed for various reasons. It boils down to that I think both my kid and I will be happier in the long run. I have worked as a TA in a primary school, I got dismayed by how much time was taken up by telling children off, lining up, waiting for someone else to finish their work, not being able to follow their interests, being forced to work faster or slower than their ability, not enough time to play...

pictish · 26/01/2014 09:48

I wouldn't do it. I could not trust myself to give my kids a decent education.
I can imagine my motivation being low, being a natural procastinator...and I truly do not believe that I have it in me to offer what they need to get on in life in such a way as to be able to apply for uni or what have you.
I would be a disaster.

SomethingkindaOod · 26/01/2014 09:51

I looked into it for DS last year, it's a bit of an ongoing debate ATM.
You can download the syllabus for each subject if you want to follow a more traditional approach, the child can sit iGCSE's over a longer period of time and return to Ft education at sixth form level if that's the path that's agreed, some 'unschool' which is totally child led, there's loads of different ways to homeschool.
It appeals because it's more personal to the child and is led by their ability rather than hitting targets. DS works much better on a one to one basis than in a group although he is improving dramatically. HEing also means that a child can concentrate on fewer subjects in depth.
It also takes up an awful lot of time and can apparently be very intense, which is why it's being debated rather than done in this house!

ilovesooty · 26/01/2014 09:53

I imagine it appeals to those who are unhappy with the schools in their area, who want to go on holiday when they like, who don't want to follow the rules and expectations of state schools and those who have both the time and money to do it.

VikingVagine · 26/01/2014 09:56

This picture sums it up nicely IMO

VikingVagine · 26/01/2014 09:57

The text reads: in order to it to be a fair selection, you must all sit the same exam. Please climb the tree.

pictish · 26/01/2014 09:57

I'm listening to the link now....

VikingVagine · 26/01/2014 10:00

Hang on, found the English version here

VikingVagine · 26/01/2014 10:01

I think I'm going to print it out and put it up in my classroom.

Minifingers · 26/01/2014 10:01

Some of the most brilliant women in history were educated at home by their mothers and fathers. Some people are just natural teachers and some children can't be stopped from learning.

Formal schooling is a pretty inefficient way to educate. Committed HE will tell you that they can get everything they need to cover (maths, literacy, science) done in about a quarter the amount of time one to one, leaving plenty of time for supported self-directed learning.

pictish · 26/01/2014 10:02

That lad is very bright. He also has very motivated and wealthy parents who are able to facilitate this for him.
I would not say he was remotely typical of an average HE child.

loopylouu · 26/01/2014 10:03

I homeschooled ds until he was 9. We both loved it.

He went to school in year 4 (not my choice, his father and I divorced and his father said he'd never wanted to homeschool, used it against me as my 'lazy parenting' Hmm and I was basically forced to put ds in school).

He's doing great,
now in year 6 and is far beyond his peers academically but he misses home ed. he used to do more work, socialise more, do far more activities and hobbies than he could ever do now he's in school, had more friends of the same and different ages. It's the opposite of what people expect from home ed when he tells them all the things he feels he misses out from now he's at school.

What pisses him off is when he gets people saying to him 'at least you get to mix with other children now though'.

The misconceptions are crazy, I'd home ed again in a heartbeat. He likes school now he's there, but does miss home ed.

pigsDOfly · 26/01/2014 10:03

I know a few children who were home educated around the same time as my children were growing up and, assuming it hasn't changed over the last 15 years or so, HE children do have to follow a curriculum. They have to study for at least 3 hours a day and their learning and the parents' teaching is supervised and inspected to ensure that the children are covering everything and being properly educated. If they aren't, the LEA can rule that they have to be educated in a school environment. Although, it's questionable if this is all carried out nowadays with all the financial cuts.

3 hours a day doesn't sound a lot but if you remove all the faffing that goes on at school and take in the fact that it's one to one teaching it probably comes out at about the same amount of actual learning time.

I do think HE children can become isolated, although the children I knew did a great many other activities and they had a lot of contact with other HE children.

However, unfortunately they have all grown into rather arrogant adults who have not fulfilled their potential but that probably applies to a great percentage of the population so could have nothing to do with the fact that they were HE.

BanjoPlayingTiger · 26/01/2014 10:04

Well when I home educated I got the best of my children and not just the bits at the beginning and end of the day where they are either rushing to get out or tired and grumpy from school all day.
We did the school stuff in a couple of hours each day and then went out and experienced life and did fun stuff. My ds has recently started secondary school, a year early, and is top of his year group in most subjects. He has made friends, though he finds school kids weird compared to home ed kids. He sat SATS tests before starting school, and got 5's across the board. I have never looked up what is on the national curriculum. I just gave him a broad education and helped him examine the world.
For me home education was a fantastic way of schooling the children. They are now intelligent, inquisitive, friendly children who can thrive in the world outside my 4 walls.

BanjoPlayingTiger · 26/01/2014 10:06

pigs what you've written is entirely incorrect. You do not have to follow a curriculum and there is no minimum hours you beed to spend. At least not in the UK

BanjoPlayingTiger · 26/01/2014 10:06

Need, not beed - typo!

SomethingkindaOod · 26/01/2014 10:08

pigs I don't think it's inspected as such now, from the research I've done I think when a child is withdrawn from school the EWO visits the family to get an idea of what the parents intend to do. It may be followed up but as you say, how much of it is actually done is anyone's guess.