to ask if you would consider home education?

[SundayBea]

Have read a lot of articles recently on how the numbers in home education have 'exploded' and it's on the rise by 80% a year apparently. I know of three families I think quite highly of, two of whom are ex-teachers whose children have never been to school and their children seem to be having an exceptional upbringing and education with so many fantastic experiences and opportunities. Also know of two other families who have withdrawn their children from school because of problems with their respective schools and I'm less certain of how successful it is going to be for them. Also know of several colleagues and DH's cousin who have DC under 5 who are debating not registering them when the time comes. Is this a big thing now or is it just coincidence I know of so many families like this? I was just wondering what the general consensus was.. when I mentioned socialisation one of my ex-teacher friends showed me the Facebook group she is in for her local home education community and I was amazed at the plethora of groups, classes, meet ups and outings with hundreds of members.. just for her local county! Have been debating with DP what to do about schooling at private school is unfortunately out of the question on our current salaries.. I'm now feeling like I've discovered a whole new option I hadn't considered? Sorry if this is rambling, only getting a 5 minute lunch break today!

Languages tuition are on of the easiest things to source for an HE child. Not necessarily at any great expense (e.g. I know an HE child who taught themselves an obscure language to intermediate standard from a combination of a second-hand linguaphone set and online resources and then joined a group weekend class. Obviously a tutor or a weekly group lesson is more common.

TBH though, I don't see a varied education that didlack an MFL as catastrophically narrow. Even UCL offer an ab initio MFL route for applicants lacking that entrance criteria.

ONE of the easiest...

That's why it was a question to check

Sorry that happened to her. But that's not what I see in all the HE families I know. I know there are always exceptions though.

I can see I'm a bit late to this conversation, but yes, I would absolutely HE under the right set of circumstances.

If you want a truly elite education for your child, and you don't have access to outstanding state or private education, then HE is the way to go. By 'elite' I refer to a diverse set of mind-expanding experiences that are self-guided to a certain extent, that ultimately deliver an intellectually curious, skeptical adult.

My oldest starts secondary in the fall so I doubt I'll ever do it, sadly, but I have not been impressed with quite a lot of his allegedly outstanding primary experience.

One of the great things about HE is that you can use something like a child's interest in something like cars as a kind of stealth portal into other subjects, as has been nicely covered upthread a bit.

Potentially, Seoul. Is it not the same in school? Dd left school with no history or geography and couldn't speak a sillable of the MFL she had been taught.
Ds, who is a maths and science person at heart, on the other hand loves reading, is passionate about history, enjoys geography, is incredibly good at Latin, which is making German and Italian easier to learn.

"That's why it was a question to check hmm

I did say in my post!

Sorry that happened to her. But that's not what I see in all the HE families I know. I know there are always exceptions.

What I see a lot in HE families is the attitude that it doesn't matter about exams- you can always do them later and often you don't need them anyway. While this is obviously broadly true- it so much more complicated than that.

Same philosophy here - to raise happy confident independent children. I've found school to be a really good resource.

Not all children are naturally inquisitive though, I've one that isn't much.

I do think you need to be made to do the things you don't like doing though, not just let learning go where you are interested in.

Many jobs have aspects of them which aren't interesting, dull even. I think it would be hard to get a couple of mine to do the dull bits without a fight. Whereas in school they are quite compliant!

You didn't say she was autonomously home educated in your initial post, unless it was way back on the thread and I missed it

It is perfectly possible to leave school with little to no MFL: dh and his brothers, my daughter and her cousins are a few examples. (It does not fare much better in Italy)
I was brought up abroad and like you I was shocked by the gaps in the education system my dd went through.

sometimes being forced to learn something introduces you to other whole realms. I never had to force ds to learn anything, he was and is introduced to all other realms because he is, always has been, curious and I research/ed and provide/d materials, books, excursions, answers, discussions; I expose to new ideas, concepts, topics, activities... I didn't have to force music either, ds asked to learn guitar, I found a suitable teacher. (dd had little music exposure at school but enjoyed the piano lessons she asked for and we paid for)

Also with Maths, I would never have had the patience to plough through trigonometry or sequences alone. I needed the help that teaching brings
He would be the same, that's where I come in. I explain to him, I show him a couple of examples, I guide him through a couple more and I'm still there until he's fully confident. He also has access to mutiple resources, internet included (such as conquermaths and learnerscloud)

I do think you need to be made to do the things you don't like doing though, not just let learning go where you are interested in.
He does! He still has to do homework: how would he pass his exams without practice?! He is also responsable for cleaning his room, putting his own clothes away, tidying after himself, helping with the dishes and cooking, helping with feeding the dog, chickens and fish; being on desk, drill and clean-ship at cadets and various other 'boring and dull bits'. I almost forgot the most diificult part for a teenager: he still has to set an alarm, get up, feed himself some breakfast, have a wash and be 9 o'clock sharp at the table and have a hair cut.

I think the requirement for an MFL GCSE to be taken has been removed again now too. So some UK schooled DC will stop all language lessons at 14.

I have been reading the online research into outcomes of HE children The summary is that those children who have a structured HE, do better academically on average than those at school. Those are unschooled, do worse academically than those at school.
This makes sense to me. I am sure, especially at primary, I would have learned more being taught at home.

No al my kids have attended or do attend school.

My point is though, you aren't doing much different to what a lot of us do, so there is no mystery about HE, nor is it something to be suspicious of. Mine just get school on top!

Learning doesn't happen at school, or home. It something that happens in the students own head, which hopefully they have at all times.

Nadia Sawalha is home edding! www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/nadia-sawalhas-kids-havent-been-7196545

I don't HE but might consider it in a couple of years if DS misses out on a school place at the school we want.

Can I ask those of you who do it, how do you deal with age gaps? DS will be going into Yr 5 when (if) we take him out. DD will be just starting reception at the same time. If we wanted to HE her too, either from the start or further down the line, how feasible would that be with a 5.5 year age gap?

If you're going to do structured tutoring claire, you'll find that 1 to 1 is much more efficient than teaching 30 children of varying abilities and motivation levels at once. So, IME, 1.5 to 2 hrs per day of focussed academic work each is plenty (supplemented by sports, trips, projects, art, classes, games, reading etc). It's easier than you think to alternate between them while they do different things at one table. Or, for eg, let one do craft while you do maths with the other then switch.

You can make huge progress one on one, it is so much more efficient. You are watching to see when they are going wrong and correct at that point rather than wait until they have done three lessons work say in maths then you find they have got them all wrong.
You do the same thing but accept different levels back. We did a time line once, DD1 was more detailed than DD2 time line.

Thanks fidel1ne. And in terms of groups, workshops, activities etc, I guess it's a mixture of finding things to suit them both, and ferrying them to and from other groups that only one of them would go to? Which is the same as the after school club thing anyway. It does sound appealing I have to say.

Lots of dedicated HE groups are all-age, with maybe different rooms for different classes or activities and outside space and parents usually stay for those. So like big, educational mother and toddler groups with all ages.

And then non-HE things like Brownies, dance lessons, French club, music tuition etc on top, too yes (if you want) so you'll still get to be chauffeur

Well it wouldn't be right if I wasn't spending half my life in the car, one way or another!

I do think it dangerous that some home educators can give the impression that children can do nothing much, apart from play computer games, and then eventually decide to work and go off to Cambridge. I have know one boy who actually did that, but it isn't the norm. I know another family where they never got around to doing anything constructive and seem to be unemployable- they are late teens/early 20s and still not doing anything.

I agree with that fresh. When I was a 6th form tutor I had kids through who were really not ready for A level study and also seen a teen boy who was on the computer most of the time. I've got other friends who really do it brilliantly though.

I don't think 2 hours matches what's in school either (although sufficient, but to say its equivalent isn't quite true). 20mins of writing is 20mins writing whether on your own or in a larger group. When I've set mock exams they take an hour and a half regardless. I learnt brilliantly being taught at the front by experts (grammar school admittedly) and learnt much quicker through that and focussed activity than reading myself did. I love learning and read tons but in my case it sunk in better when I was in a group. I do realise tgisnt isn't the same for all.

I'm quite pro homeschool as I'd considered it and would of my children developed any special needs or difficulties with school. I don't like the v anti school rhetoric often posted or that you can do school in 2 hours etc. I think you miss out on some things but gain in others - freedom to lie in and avoid the school run being one!