To think a lot of children won't be going back to school?

[DearLiza]

Most people I know, with some exceptions, have been saying how much their primary-school aged children are enjoying being off. I gather they're doing a limited amount of academic work though. It got me thinking, if there is at least one SAHP in the household, maybe some people won't send their children back in when the time comes. What do you think?

We’re coping fine with homeschooling, but my children are young primary, keen to learn and were already ahead or their peers so there’s not a huge amount of pressure. The hardest part is keeping the toddler amused at the same time, otherwise it’s quite enjoyable.
I have no desire to do it long term though. They're happy at home at the moment, but they also love school. They’re both very sociable and miss their friends and teachers a lot.

Mine are going back when schools open. I am not cut out to be a teacher and I pay my taxes so that the experts can do the job way better than I can.

Also my kids need to be out of the house, with their friends and away from the apron strings. Homeschooling might be fine for a short period in a sunny April when parents are still swept along with the novelty of it all and doing things like building dens in the garden and looking at leaves. Totally different kettle of fish on a lashing wet November morning when Lucifer doesn't want to do his sums.

And besides, most of us have jobs to do either inside or outside the home to pay the bills.

The thing is they ARE at school at the moment if not actually physically a classroom.

This isnt home schooling - each day my childrens class teacher send them through the work and they go through it with me helping and guiding as needed. I am not finding the resources looking at them or working to find the curriculum. I am delivering material that teachers have found and they are receiving feedback from. They are working at home as part of the school community

What I should have said was this isnt home schooling this is schooling at home.

We aren’t being sent any resources (they’re year 1 and reception), we’re just being sent vague ideas of things to look at (E.g. look at measurements this week, or look at telling the time), so I am finding my own resources at the moment.

I think there will be a number of children who don't go back.

But it won't be the "oh, it's so lovely to homeschool bunch."

It'll be the already disengaged year 10s who have little support at home for education and have got used to not having to go and parents decided "not worth forcing them, it's only one more year".

It's be the neglected child whose parent has found it's lovely not to have to do the school runs, and they can shove the child away and tell them not to bother them or they'll get "what for".

It'll be the quiet compliable child whose parents have found they can get to do all the things they don't want to do, and leave them more time to do what they do want to do.

It worries me that the children who can least do with losing education are the ones who are going to miss out most.

My child is happy at home but I can see shes bored stiff at times. Usually when I need to spend a few hours on the house when she's destroyed it. Then the sighing and moaning starts. I'm enjoying having more quality time with her. But it doesn't work for us really. I can't be a good mum to my toddler. A home schooler to my five year old. A fun entertaining mum. Keep up with all the extra housework from my naturally messy five year old. Be a partner. Cook and find time for myself. It's horrible in that sense. I'm juggling too much.

It's much healthier for kids to be on a fun learning atmosphere with no distractions. Whilst I understand some people will be organised and have a structured day home schooling, driving to museums and meeting up with groups of other home schooled children, I would be useless at it. I do my best but my kids are the wrong age at the moment (2+5) and I'm in that chaotic stage of life. It's all supervising the toddler.. keeping an eye on both of them and I can't even go for a wee in peace.

I can't think of anything worse than life being like this forever. I love half terms. I love Christmas. Weekends are a treat. At the moment it's one big slog.

If I wanted to home school I would already be doing it instead of paying thousands to get someone else to educate my children.

I've got 2 secondary aged year 8 (ASD) and year 9. Mine have both been doing equivalent amount of learning as at school and are happy at home. DD's year was sent home a week early and I got sources for all the subjects, DS is ASD so also uses lots of alternative sources I've found. I would consider having them home for longer though am nervous about them doing GCSEs from home - not the content but how do you do science practicals etc? So would probably send DD back in September as start of year 10, if ones back may as well send the other. Though will just keep reviewing situation at the time.

Both my children are really enjoying this time and neither want to rush back to school.

I used to be a teacher and feel like they are getting a decent level of education. I had considered homeschooling before and really appreciate having this time to try it out.

HOWEVER. I wouldn't want to homeschool full time. I appreciate the connection and feedback that Google Classrooms has given us. Eventually we'd miss people and the structure (although there are homeschooling groups).

Ultimately I usually work from home but my business is currently dead. I'm filing all that stress away in a box marked "do not open yet". I can't continue like this forever.

"Schools won’t continue to offer distance learning once they’re back open or keep children on roll who are permanently removed"

If the pupil is shielded, they may have to

but that is different nether that is a pupil still on the school roll who is at school just not IN school

Mine are both school lovers (reception and year 2) and I'm glad.

There is no way I'd be able to offer a proper home education to them both. I work 3 days per week and I also have a disabled 2yo.

School isn't childcare, it is so much more and we are all a bit lost without it.

I know some people who are faring better than others in terms of having their kids off (it's not too bad with us. We've found a routine but it's not sustainable forever) but I don't know anyone who isn't going to send their kids back.

I think mine will want to get back and it is important years for them both ( year 10 and 12). However dh is shielding and if that ends up being longer term I'm not sure what we will do. I think a lot of families will find one of the parents being made redundant after furlough ends so maybe will home school until the job situation improves if they can mange financially.

It’s made me realise that mine was possibly a bit too young for school and I’m so glad he’s had this period to just revert back. No school run, no rushing, it’s good for him I think. He’ll go back when they open but it’s been a nice reprieve.

If school wasn’t the right option for him - because of SN, bullying, whatever - I will take him out in the future.

Home schooling is great. I wish that I had been home schooled.

"School" is not normal - making children sitting in a classroom all day. Children should have course not be spending all day learning, they are children!

How children learn - should definitely be reviewed and developed.

We advance all the time. The "school" system was there for a while. Now we are on to the next stage.

The same with work for adults. This will now develop and advance to the next stage

No, my teenage dd is really looking forward to getting back to school. She doesn't mind learning at home, but misses the social aspect of learning alongside her peers, the casual daily interaction with her teachers etc. There is so much enrichment that happens in school that could never be replicated at home, even if extra-curricular activities were back up and running.

I can see how it might work from an academic perspective, but not for everything else!

Some parents who are high risk or have high risk children may decide to keep their DC off until a vaccine is found. Some may choose to homeschool.

I'll be sending my DS back as soon as school opens. I'm not educated enough myself to do a good enough job as a teacher, I need to work out of the home, DS is an only child so I want him to get an education in a classroom with peers his own age, and his concentration is awful right now with so many distractions at home.

@PineappleDanish you couldn't have summed my thoughts up better if you tried.

PS I really hope you or someone you know has a son named Lucifer

It's really not that difficult to find out information about how home educators manage various things if you are really curious.

You don't need to be a teacher to home educate, nor recreate an entire secondary school complete with lab, football pitch, assembly hall and so on in your kitchen. Groups and so on can offer things like science, many children/teens if they are motivated to do so will go on to study GCSEs, A Levels, BTEC qualifications and so on at colleges or as independent candidates. And BTW, a lot of these groups are free or not for profit, so run at cost, it's not that you need to pay loads of money to attend loads of clubs/groups. Of course, all the ordinary clubs - music lessons, sports clubs etc are still open to home educated children just as children at school can go to them. (Not currently of course, but generally.) And one of the perks of home ed is that you can specialise in whatever your child is interested in or good at or even struggles with (as long as you have the materials and resources accessible, of course).

You don't have to follow the national curriculum, you can follow whatever learning plan you like. Although yes it does involve some level of planning and effort from the adults, whether that is setting up detailed work plans and curricula or just finding resources appropriate to childrens' level and interest, and coordinating how and when to access them.

Abusive parents abuse children whether they are at school or not - it's quite a misunderstanding of abuse/control to say that abusers would want their children at home in order to abuse them more(!) and in any case home ed has always been an option, I don't see lockdown making loads of abusive parents suddenly go "Aha!"

However I agree what is happening now is not home education but more remote schooling in isolation, which is a totally different thing, more like the kind of homeschooling done by children living in remote rural locations. I have a few friends who home educate and they are struggling without their usual access to groups and friends and facilities etc, as well.

See I was thinking it must be a nice reprieve for children who are bullied etc. but then again, there's the loneliness aspect to contend with, unless they're still seeing their friends most days

The isolation and lack of socialisation notion rears its head yet again. My children had loads of friends of all ages. They were with friends on outings, at other's homes or at ours. As home education increases the network of friends grows. As for summer, we could have spent a couple of months going round the various camps and being with others. HE is a very social world!

@BertieBotts Thanks for that post. It's just what I would have said had I the energy and the ability to type much.

I think a lot of people are saying they are home schooling but they are just getting the kids to do the online work set by the teachers. That is absolutely not home schooling. If people want to actually properly home school by organising and setting all the work then that is a lot harder.
Most home schoolers I know from my anti natal group are very well off, can afford for one parent to be at home and they call it "experience education' so they go out and do lots of educational things. Not remotely similar to what people are calling home schooling now.

@AlexaShutUp so what about all the people who absolutely hated school?

There should be alot more options in freedom in how children are schooled.

The options should be:

Those that want to go into school can.

Those who want to be homeschooled can.

Those who want a mixture - homeschooled for a few years, school building for some yeara.

Homeschooling is already used alot as an option in the states. I have talked to many people there who were homeschooled up until their senior year, and then went to a school building for their senior year, to try it out.

They have much more choice in schoolig there than they do here

If I didn’t need my income I’d home school.

I think the social aspect of school is overplayed. My enduring memory of school is bullying and if I could protect my dcs from that I’d sleep a lot easier at night.

School institutionalises children. I’d rather mine were free thinkers who could choose their own path and learn to self motivate and be independent.

But I am in no financial position to do this so back to the exam factory mine will go.