To ask if anyone is now considering home education full time?

[PogTheDog]

I know most people can't wait for their children to return to school on Monday. However, is anyone now considering (all already decided) full time home education?

I have loved teaching my primary school aged children and they have enjoyed it too. I will send them back to school on Monday as I'm not brave enough to make a commitment to it yet, but may consider starting in September. Anyone else?

This thread has really proved that home education is the preserve of the privileged. To be able to work flexibily enough from home or manage on one salary is a huge huge privilege. I assume not many kids from disadvantaged socio economic backgrounds are home schooled, even though it might be really good for them? Just shows you that although money can’t buy happiness it can buy A LOT of other leg-ups in life

@Baws because you are agreeing with the poster. I should have tagged you both though.
And yes it’s true, I don’t know why you think home educated children would not go to uni in the same way as schooled children do.
It’s only the exemption in that anyone clever enough to study astrophysics is not the norm whether you were home educated or not.
Being home educated does not in any way reduce your chances of going to uni.
When you HE your child gets a lot more attention than they would in a class setting. There are many resources you can use to facilitate your child’s learning whether that be paid or free.

I have a child who really does not work well in school and does far better at home. I am also concerned for any male growing up in British toxic male culture and the social influences he will come across in British schools. However if I stay at home to educate him of course I cannot work. That’s an issue for me now, as I spent 20 years of working life forced to pay private rent to the rich idle landlords and so we’re nowhere near paying off our small mortgage, and possibly for the future, although most of us under 50 are expecting euthanasia rather than pensions when we get to that age. So probably won’t happen; unless the social issues force matters.

Please don’t deprive your kids of the social interaction (among other things) kids get at school because you’ve liked playing teacher for a few months. Unless you’ve trained to be a teacher, then you will be risking their education.

Really. I did train as a teacher, and have been pretty disgusted by the predominance of fashion and fads in education rather than solidly-founded established practice. Also by the dependence on social relationships, knowing the right people and flattering them than any kind of substance. Look up what’s been happening in primary maths education over the last decade or so. Not to mention the inability of school teachers to teach my son after the hell they put me through on placements.

@MyDcAreMarvel

I have never heard of any HE children who have gone to uni and this is because they don’t have the qualifications they need to get in. If you have the money to pay for tuition and want more individual attention then why not pay for a private education? I haven’t seen a single argument on here that will make me think that HE kids are not disadvantaged. School is about so much more than academic education, children learn important social skills, listening skills, how to get on with others, resolve disputes. It’s simply not possible to recreate this fully through HE.

I know a couple of HE kids who have gone to university. They sat exams at an FE college once they were old enough.

Most home-ed people I know are part of lots of groups, so the children do get lots of social interaction in normal circumstances. They go to sports clubs and things like Brownies too.

I honestly can't think of anything worse.

But children who go to school also go to sports clubs and Brownies so that's hardly an argument.
A relative of mine was trying home ed and kept going on about all the nature walks and reading together they did. We also do this despite having children in school.
As I say I know there are home ed families in my area and I also know there are so few groups. I therefore can only conclude that no home ed families go to any more groups than children in school.

[quote Baws]@MyDcAreMarvel

I have never heard of any HE children who have gone to uni and this is because they don’t have the qualifications they need to get in. If you have the money to pay for tuition and want more individual attention then why not pay for a private education? I haven’t seen a single argument on here that will make me think that HE kids are not disadvantaged. School is about so much more than academic education, children learn important social skills, listening skills, how to get on with others, resolve disputes. It’s simply not possible to recreate this fully through HE.[/quote]
I know quite a few - possibly because I work at a university so my sample size is probably bigger. One of my ex colleagues and his wife homeschooled all three of their children - all three have gone on to study at university (two in the sciences, one in the arts). Home tuition for the most part but they brought in one or two tutors for specific subjects so it cost quite a lot less than it would have cost to send all three to private school.

One of my own university friends got in on two GCSEs, half a college course, a sob story and a convincing interview.

To be honest I spend so much of my time mediating disputes between adults who went to school and by your logic should have acquired social and dispute resolution skills I'm not entirely convinced that school education works in quite the way you think it does.

Tbf there’s quite a few astrophysics degree courses out there, some at not-so-amazing Uni’s, so I’m sure it’s not massively competitive, no reason someone with a decent personal statement and couple of decent a levels couldn’t get on some of them, especially ones with foundation years

It has never been an option for me as a single mum working full time.

But the last year has shown me it could never be an option for my DC whatever the circumstances. I believe school is far better than me at providing a good education that works well for my DC and provides good social interaction for them. They aren't interested in having me as a teacher.

The start of this year has been terrible with DC lacking motivation and ability to pay attention and me trying to oversee school work while working FT at home.

@Blueeyedgirl21

This thread has really proved that home education is the preserve of the privileged. To be able to work flexibily enough from home or manage on one salary is a huge huge privilege. I assume not many kids from disadvantaged socio economic backgrounds are home schooled, even though it might be really good for them? Just shows you that although money can’t buy happiness it can buy A LOT of other leg-ups in life

I'm disabled and on UC. 🤷🏼‍♀️

But sure, "privileged".

I have never heard of any HE children who have gone to uni and this is because they don’t have the qualifications they need to get in.
I've worked for some who were home educated and then got highly sought after scholarships to independent schools before going to university.

This thread has really proved that home education is the preserve of the privileged. To be able to work flexibily enough from home or manage on one salary is a huge huge privilege. I assume not many kids from disadvantaged socio economic backgrounds are home schooled, even though it might be really good for them? Just shows you that although money can’t buy happiness it can buy A LOT of other leg-ups in life
Whereas I know several people who home educated because their children have SEN and the education system wasn't meeting their needs. They aren't wealthy. Home education was a response to circumstances.

What this thread actually shows is that the people with strongest opinions about home education seem to be those with limited experience of home education and seem to ignore that families who home educate covers a broad range of circumstances, a broad range of education provision and a broad range of backgrounds.

@Blueeyedgirl21 my nephew went to UCL no foundation year, I can assure you it was competitive.

I'm loving the comments about not being a qualified teacher.
I often wonder what people think a PGCE consists of.
There's certainly no units on home education, you are no better qualified to teach your own kids than the average parent.
The experience has no resemblance to school teaching, why would it?

This thread has really proved that home education is the preserve of the privileged. To be able to work flexibily enough from home or manage on one salary is a huge huge privilege. I assume not many kids from disadvantaged socio economic backgrounds are home schooled, even though it might be really good for them? Just shows you that although money can’t buy happiness it can buy A LOT of other leg-ups in life

We only had one min wage and managed fine.
It's not what you earn, or how many of you work, but how much you spend. We valued home education and travel over attending school and being employed.
Being at home with your children isn't privilaged, both parents having the ability to work and afford childcare is privilaged, that's expensive.

Devlesko
I think the qualified teacher thing depends on how people view home education and how they would want home education to work.

For me, the main reason I'm considering it for DC is because I have some strong beliefs about our system and expectations on young children, but I wouldn't want to home ed through secondary. I feel that being qualified teacher would suit my ideal approach to home ed, and someone I know who has children with SEN has a TA background, which helps, but someone else I know is sympathetic to some of the unschooling approaches and probably wouldn't find having QTS beneficial, and someone I used to work with home educated because of religious reasons and QTS probably wouldn't have been beneficial for how they chose to home school.

I’d be as likely to homeschool my children as I would be to attempt perform an operation on them! Teaching is a skilled profession, and in the same way I’d want a doctor operating on my child, when it comes to their education I’d much rather an experienced professional took on the role.

I’m under no illusion that just because I managed to print out some worksheets, explain some basic maths and encourage some reading over the last few months, that I’m any kind of teacher.

@HerculesMulligann

I’d be as likely to homeschool my children as I would be to attempt perform an operation on them! Teaching is a skilled profession, and in the same way I’d want a doctor operating on my child, when it comes to their education I’d much rather an experienced professional took on the role.

I’m under no illusion that just because I managed to print out some worksheets, explain some basic maths and encourage some reading over the last few months, that I’m any kind of teacher.

Well said!

The problem is that many people have a negative view of teaching in general as well as a total lack of awareness of the skills needed.

@EdersonsSmileyTattoo

To quote something I saw in FB this morning.....

That's the first thing that came into my mind when I read the thread title too

@LolaSmiles

I've worked for some who were home educated and then got highly sought after scholarships to independent schools before going to university

So they have been educated in a school before being accepted onto a university course then? Hardly the same situation as someone who has been exclusively home educated and then accepted onto a top degree course without formal qualifications.

So they have been educated in a school before being accepted onto a university course then
Hardly the same situation as someone who has been exclusively home educated and then accepted onto a top degree course without formal qualifications.
But they got sought after scholarships at good private high schools after being home educated, which somewhat negates the claims throughout this thread that children who are home educated aren't educated properly, children who don't follow the national curriculum are disadvantaged, etc.

After all, if home education was so terrible, produced children with limited social skills and didn't equip children for educational success then surely the home educated children wouldn't have got the scholarships? If not following the curriculum is such a disadvantaged, surely the selection panel would have preferred students educated in school and extensively tutored?

Home education covers a whole range of educational provision and despite this there's many posters on this thread who seem very keen to push the idea that home education is whatever their own limited understanding of the topic says it is, usually making huge assumptions about the quality of education offered and how privileged they think the families are.

My dd was He.ed throughout primary along with her brothers.
They went back for GCSE's because they found a school that taught the GCSE's they wanted to do, and it was free.
My dd found a school, that allowed her full control over her academic subjects, at a very ss school @32k+
She would still be auditioning for conservatoires had she not won her golden ticket, and been H.ed throughout.
It's not for everyone but a viable option for those who want to.

I haven’t seen a single argument on here that will make me think that HE kids are not disadvantaged.

I'm not actually trying to compete with schools. I think there are pros and cons to all types of educations. I'm well aware that there are areas where a good school will do better than me, but I am really tired of people comparing home education to schools that have the resources to teach those skills well - that's not what everyone has access to.

We don't teach children interpersonal skills just by having them be in a room together anymore than we teach them music by just having them in a room with musical instruments. Sure, some pick it up, but all those lovely social skills - just being in a school doesn't automatically teach that, or we wouldn't have so many adults that struggle with them after going through the school system. It's more complicated than that.

Yes, there are disadvantages to home educating and greater barriers to some things, particularly in areas with less support. I am more than happy to talk about them, but whether they're more disadvantaged than the school depends on the school options available and the child and family involved.

This thread has really proved that home education is the preserve of the privileged. To be able to work flexibily enough from home or manage on one salary is a huge huge privilege. I assume not many kids from disadvantaged socio economic backgrounds are home schooled, even though it might be really good for them? Just shows you that although money can’t buy happiness it can buy A LOT of other leg-ups in life

From our children being disadvantaged to giving our children a leg up...

Yes, as I mentioned in my previous post, I'm so privileged to live between not one but two inadequate primary schools that have safeguarding issues. There are also 2 more often than not inadequate secondaries, 1 yet to be anything but inadequate UTC that had so many problems that the DoE "allowed" them to not take in an entire year's cohort so they could focus on fixing the issues, and 1 secondary that's a new free school that doesn't yet have an OFSTED report or really much to base it on which yes has some teething issues but my DDs are pinning their hopes that it will be great.

Beyond the city college, those are the school options for me and the thousands of households around me. I quite like where we live, we enjoy many benefits of living here with low costs and easy access to amenities, but the school options are definitely a disadvantage of this area. The resources it would take to really help them are unlikely to happen while my children need them. It's a boat the 'disadvantaged socioeconomic' around me deal with however our children are education. Home educators I know in-person are all in this boat with me.

I do think it's wonderful that we can give our children options, but I don't see the benefit in oversimplifying the complex lives of families into calling home education or work that makes it possible either a privilege or a problem anymore.

Good education options shouldn't be a privilege, and many of us are giving our children what we can through our time and doing without whether our children are school or home educated or both. Both of them have costs in time, money, energy. I'm not spending less money now with children are at school, though I would argue that I've have less option to 'shop around' for things with schools - the required blazer costs what it costs, the very specific coloured pens cost what they cost. I spend less time on some parts of their education, but more in others.

The problem is that many people have a negative view of teaching in general as well as a total lack of awareness of the skills needed.

I think more government officials and "journalists" are like that which is how we've ended up with so many undersupported schools and undercompensated school staff.

Home educators have a wide range of opinions on teaching and skills involved and are unlikely to have much an impact on what many people think on those topics.

@PogTheDog

I know most people can't wait for their children to return to school on Monday. However, is anyone now considering (all already decided) full time home education?

I have loved teaching my primary school aged children and they have enjoyed it too. I will send them back to school on Monday as I'm not brave enough to make a commitment to it yet, but may consider starting in September. Anyone else?

Are you going to do a degree and/or a post graduate qualification?