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.