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?

What do you do for a living, OP?

If full-time home education is an option for you I am guessing that you are either a SAHP or can afford to give up your job. Perhaps full-time home education is for you, or perhaps you have enjoyed the stimulation of a new challenge. Particularly if you are a SAHP, this might be an indication that you are ready for study, or work, or another new challenge outside of the home. Just a thought.

Whatever anyone’s views are on the current curriculum, it is designed to enable kids to progress to the employment or the next stage of their learning.

There has only been a national curriculum since 1988 - it's a relatively recent concept that all children should be learning the same thing and it's by no means proven that it is the most effective way to educate our children.

Universal education has only been around for ~150 years, so the way we do education at the moment is based on relatively recent concepts of what it means to be 'educated' and the job market is changing so quickly, that even experts struggle to predict the skills and knowledge that will be needed by the time our children are of working age.

I appreciate that the school system is established, convenient and works for many, but I think your criticisms of home ed are based on the assumption that all home ed families are trying to follow the curriculum at home, which is rarely the case (in my experience).

there might be HE groups but in most areas these will be small and this limits a child’s opportunities to find their people and develop social skills

If you live in an area without much of a home ed community, then that might give a skewed impression of how it works elsewhere in the country. My experience is that there are LOTS of home ed groups catering to a really wide variety of age groups, interests and learning goals and I live in an area that is fairly typical from what I observe.

@BoyTree
I didn’t say that the national curriculum was the most effective way to educate children but if children don’t follow the same curriculum as the vast majority of their peers there is no getting away from the fact that they are going to be hugely disadvantaged when applying for jobs, further or higher education where all of these have basic entry requirements based on the NC.
There’s also no way that for the average child they would be receiving the same level of expertise and teaching in each individual subject area as they would in school. It would be a bit like my head teacher saying ‘Baws, we see you got an A in GCSE French in 1992, you’ll be teaching A level from September’ This would be disastrous for all concerned. I’m sure it works well for primary age and for those with ALN but I’m yet to see a viable argument on here to convince me it’s a suitable alternative option for secondary age kids.

I'm intrigued by the idea that you can work full time and home ed. What kind of job enables someone to do that?

I didn’t say that the national curriculum was the most effective way to educate children but if children don’t follow the same curriculum as the vast majority of their peers there is no getting away from the fact that they are going to be hugely disadvantaged when applying for jobs, further or higher education where all of these have basic entry requirements based on the NC
Academies and free schools don't have to follow the national curriculum. There's probably disadvantage if home educating parents don't consider their child's qualification options for the end of secondary, but I don't think it's as black and white as follow the national curriculum or be disadvantaged.

With my teacher hat on, I could confidently say I could not follow the national curriculum for English and still get DC to have good grades at GCSE English Language and Literature (via an external centre or home tuition arrangement). I'd probably go further and say that the English education they would get at home would be broader and more beneficial for higher study than some of what I've seen offered in some schools.

My DS is possibly going to an independent specialist school and the ones we have looked at follow the NC, possibly exactly because they know many children will need to slot in to what all the other children have been doing.

if children don’t follow the same curriculum as the vast majority of their peers there is no getting away from the fact that they are going to be hugely disadvantaged when applying for jobs, further or higher education where all of these have basic entry requirements based on the NC.

That's certainly not been my experience of home ed- further education establishments have systems in place to assess those without standard qualifications and can offer places based on a variety of criteria.

There’s also no way that for the average child they would be receiving the same level of expertise and teaching in each individual subject area as they would in school.

There are plenty of subject specialists running home ed sessions, including many part-time and ex teachers, so it is absolutely possible.

It would be a bit like my head teacher saying ‘Baws, we see you got an A in GCSE French in 1992, you’ll be teaching A level from September’

I don't know if it's common for a parent to teach their children every subject without any external assistance- most families I know would join a French class, use a tutor or use online resources if they didn't have the expertise to do it themselves.

@tilder

I'm intrigued by the idea that you can work full time and home ed. What kind of job enables someone to do that?

The ones I know have both parents with flexible hours and at least some work from home abilities. Eg mum works 2 full days and some evenings from home, she does the bulk of the schooling. Dad works 2 days at home and is available in the evenings, he does the bulk of extra-curricular shuttling.

Yes, to homeschool you need to put in the time. It's bizarre to imply otherwise. With younger kids you can be much more efficient than 9am-3pm ×5, with older kids they can be more independent. But yes, homeschooling well does take actual time and effort - quite a lot of it.

Neither of those jobs sound full time though. 2 days plus a few evenings?

@Escapetab

Ugh don't why I clicked on this, I knew it would annoy me, all the endless cliches about home education, how there's no socialization, no community, how only one parent can work if you do it - none of it true for my home ed family or many others I know.

but unless the home education community effectively sets up an alternative school, the kids will miss out on the sense of community and wide exposure that school provides

I mean this is just so ignorant. Since when is a community only accessed through an institution or only relevant if you're interacting with people of your own age? And why do you think kids can't socialize with their peers outside a school environment? Just because you can't imagine it doesn't mean it's not possible.

It amazes me honestly that anyone who's had to start home educating (or homeschooling, a term I hate but which is accurate in this case) during the pandemic wants to carry on, it's so tough and so different from normal, but I hope and trust it will work out for those who want to. But how anyone who's homeschooled while housebound, largely unable to learn in the world, unable to socialize with peers, forced to stick to set times and a set curriculum, without having been able to plan it or have their lives set up to make it work, thinks they know anywhere near enough about the lives of electively home educating families to make sweeping judgements like these I really don't know.

^This with bells on^

It's more salaried with busier weeks. Think submission deadlines or events. I'm not going to lay out their exact schedule.

I know a lot of families with one full time & one part time working parent who homeschool. I also know single parents who work full time and homeschool - generally they work from home or on a flexible schedule and have one or two (max) fairly compliant children. I also know many families who have made different sacrifices to have a parent available for homeschooling.

Its like anything, if it's a priority for you, you do what you can to make it work.
I would never suggest everyone can or should homeschool under these, or any, circumstances.

Firm no from my DC and me.

I can manage many things but I can’t morph into a 9year old at playtime.

I also can’t properly do my job at the same time.

I guess if the last year has taught me anything, it's that for us having our kids in school is a priority. School works for them. I don't think home ed would. It would also be career ending for me.

If I wasn't working, I had fewer kids, I could see the appeal. I think ds1 would enjoy it (but he would become a hermit who reads). The others would hate it.

So @Escapetab and @SignOnTheWindow, if I'm being ignorant, please do come and educate me. I can only base my understanding of HE on the people I know who do it, and what I read online, but I am open to the idea that there may be other approaches that I haven't yet come across. I'd honestly love to know how you recreate both the breadth and depth of social opportunities that school provides - both in terms of how you give them sustained exposure to the kind of people whom they might not get on with at all initially, as learning to appreciate and get on with those particular kids has been a significant learning opportunity for my dd over the last few years, and also how you recreate opportunities to build the kind of close relationships that I have found my dd has only really been able to build in school. Although she has made a lot of lovely friends outside of school (including a couple who are HE), school friendships are qualitatively different in my experience from the friendships that she has formed with people through hobbies etc, who she inevitably sees less frequently and for shorter periods. This isn't because of any magical quality associated with school itself, but is simply a reflection of the amount of time that they spend together and the extent of their shared experiences. Another poster has indicated that they don't feel that relationships of that nature, based on the kind of regular and sustained contact that you get in school, are important for their dc, which is fair enough - I respect their judgement, because they know what their dc need better than anyone. However, I think for lots of kids, especially teenagers, those relationships are hugely important. I'd genuinely be interested to know whether you have found a way of recreating those opportunities, or whether you just don't consider those things to be a high priority.

No. Some of us have jobs.

this limits a child’s opportunities to find their people and develop social skills

This was the argument that stopped my homeschooling DS at secondary transition.....

The 2 years before lockdown he learnt how to put up with the person your teachers told you was your "best friend" pouring water over you, if you needed significant support you got lumped the kids that were angry and noone could teach him to hear someone saying hi when there was background noise or he was tired.

DS has been so much happier since I pulled him out September.

The surprise has been DD (15). so much happier not in school and now enrolled in OU style learning. Fitter healthier happier. There hasn't been much fun having a CEV sibling, but wouldn't even have considered it for her previously.

My DD is 14and has been getting on fine with online. She hates school but she's bright.
I can't afford to withdraw her and pay for H. E.
I wfh so can't do it myself.
But.... She's an only with no relatives like cousins so needs to go to school.

@drspouse

My DS is possibly going to an independent specialist school and the ones we have looked at follow the NC, possibly exactly because they know many children will need to slot in to what all the other children have been doing.

Exactly!

I would but I think JackieWeavers Home School establishment was put into special measures due to the teacher rocking backwards and forwards in the corner clutching a bottle of wine, and the children running feral and naked around the house..

I would but I think JackieWeavers Home School establishment was put into special measures due to the teacher rocking backwards and forwards in the corner clutching a bottle of wine, and the children running feral and naked around the house..

Definitely not. I love the school holidays and doing fun stuff with the dc but home learning during a winter lockdown has been an absolute nightmare.

@LolaSmiles

Academies and free schools don't have to follow the national curriculum. There's probably disadvantage if home educating parents don't consider their child's qualification options for the end of secondary, but I don't think it's as black and white as follow the national curriculum or be disadvantaged.

Academies and free schools are a terrible idea for this very reason though! There aren’t any where I live but there is no way as a teacher knowing what I know about how they are run that I would have sent my DC to either.

I've home educated it worked well for us.
I wouldn't try to persuade others, it depends on so many factors.

Ha ha ha ha ha. Nope.

I would possibly consider homeschooling DD1 but definitely not DD2 or DS.

DS attends a special school and DD2 is stubborn. I think I found DD1 easier as she is in year 4, she has already learnt to sit and listen and work. DD2 has not been taught that.

I would only do it with the support of her tutor who has been helping her 3 mornings a week during this lockdown. If I did it I would probably want the tutor every morning for an hour. So effectively I would want the tutor to homeschooling her...

However I have really enjoyed spending this time with her, she is terrific company and has an active and interesting mind and we can easily spend an afternoon investigating plants or what planets are made of etc.