To find the homeschooling fad really braggy

[Kudosss]

Am I wrong to think there's something braggy and arrogant about homeschooling?

I'm NOT talking about the parents of SEN children who may not have been able to access a school, or feel it's in the child's best interest. I'm not even talking about the quiet ones who just get on with it. I do acknowledge our school system has it's problems but...

I'm talking about the loudly wholesome parents bragging about their lives and day, how much richer their kids are for being home schooled, outdoors yahdiya.

I mean I would love to be able to homeschool but the reality is I a) can't afford to and b) quite like the little bit of sanity I have left and c) I'm not so arrogant that I think I can undermine qualified teaching professionals with years of experience.

It's almost like these parents are basically announcing their wealth and privilege to the world without announcing their wealth and privilege and making everyone else feel inadequate.

I guess most people wouldn’t unless it’s something they have ever considered or they have friends/family who home ed.

There are drop off home ed groups around, usually only where there are a high number of HE families yea. My kids have started a forest school that is a preschool and HE setting, it’s a 30 min drive away but it’s helping me feel less insane and get just a little breathing room and be able to set stuff up better for them to learn at home. Where we lived before there were more HE kids about so a lot more local activities and drop off settings.

(and yes I have seen some about that have raised my eyebrows as being a little bit more… unofficial than I’m comfortable with, for what it’s worth my kids place is ofsted outstanding)

I agree and l think flexibschooling is a ridiculous idea- poor teachers having to accommodate this type of crap

And lots of the other forest school parents work, I don’t because DC1 burned out of nursery and spent 3 years not being able to do anything without a parent. Being able to drop her off anywhere has been a very recent development and forest school is still too far for me to practically work really.

A lot of HE parents claim benefits because their children are disabled so that helps the finances too.

@SharptonguedwomanAmongst many reasons, because DH and I have worked in mainstream education settings, and experienced first hand how chronically underfunded and overcrowded it can be.

You realise schools choose to do it? No one is forcing them.

True. I think it must be lovely not have to go to school and be bullied and picked on.
Bullying has serious repercussions and people have killed themselves over it.
Must be lovely to wake up early eryday and think that's not going to happen.
A kind of safer childhood. Nice not to have all that peer pressure to of what phone to have and trainers.
Yes I like that idea.
Also going on holiday when you want too without worrying about the holidays.

I think there’s a growing number of parents who have concerns with schools, but whose choice is take it or leave it. They don’t want to or can’t homeschool, but have to hope that school in its current form is the best out of the two options.

Anytime anyone mentions 'building dens' as part of homeschooling I zone out.

Kids that are educated outside a school aren't locked in rooms.

They still interact with their parents, siblings, extended families, people in the neighbourhood, people in extra-curricular activities, people at church or temple, people in shops, and so on.

Interactions in schools tend to be on the artificial side and it's not uncommon for them to be socially toxic. Bullying and other antisocial behaviours are common.

I home educated for a number of years, overall I found the kids in that community were very socially adept. They happily played with others, they were often really kind and inclusive of younger children or those with difficulties, they knew how to interact with adults they didn't know.

No, l thought it was a legal thing and that schools can refuse it onna case by case basis but parents have got the right to request it but l might be wrong.
In my experience, it's never for the kids' benefit - more to satisfy the parents' needs.

Why not see if school suits her first before HE?

Because after a lot of research I feel it’s the best fit for her and us. Just as a parent who chooses a private school over state does- rarely would they try state first, they decide what they think is best for their child and family. This is just the same but less common so people aren’t used to it. Hopefully in time it will become more common and people won’t be as surprised.

I agree too many infiuencers removing kids because it doesn't fit with their lifestyles nothing to do with better education!

Your comments regarding social interactions also apply in the workplace? And many other situations not just school !!

Most homeschoolers/unschoolers I have come across definitely have a faint smugness at best and a massive superiority complex at worst.
They either don’t realise or don’t care that by going on about how school is so very damaging for children etc etc they are insulting the majority of parents.

They seem to forget that it’s a massive privilege to be able to have one parent at home every day and it’s one most people can’t afford.

Devil’s advocate incoming. True but it’s also possible to socially isolate a child, especially an only child, put them in danger from abusive parents and so on. Do parents have to produce any kind of curriculum? is there any kind of annual progress monitoring?

Obviously it’s better and kinder for children struggling with the system but aspects of it concern me.

how is that relevant?

When your child is at home all day and night, you can work any shift you like, that's still the same amount of hours when you are at work and not with them 😂

So it's full time childcare, and then on top of your full time shift work, you do full time education, and then you take the same amount of time any parent has to bring to clubs etc. Yes, I can see how that works

No amount of bragging from a homeschooler could ever make me (a) want their life (b) think their kids were anything other than closeted and missing out by not having the experience of school and friends

who are these bragging people anyway? Presumably online. Stop following them

I don't care if people chose to "home educate".

I actually know families, whose kids are now at prestigious university, who have been home educated by brilliant but very "strict" parents and there's no doubt their level of education and sport is highly superior. Funnily enough, they never "bragged" and barely mention home education. Homeschooling is like everything else, people who are useful, confident don't need to brag or lecture, or try to justify themselves.

It doesn't change that home education done properly is a huge commitment, in time and finance, and a luxury that most people couldn't afford even if they wanted to.

The "I am teaching maths by baking with my kid" nonsense doesn't cut it 😂. We all do that, or most of us do, and that's nowhere near enough to cover what they actually learn at school. Most, or a lot of kids, do all the trips, history, geography research, biology and learning and all the rest of it. That's not enough to call it "education". That's a normal childhood for most kids, who go to school and have working parents.

It's interesting that it's the ones who are on a permanent holiday who are the most vocal, most braggy and don't seem to actually achieve very much.

Parents can request anything they like, schools are still in control.

I only know one family that did it well - dad was a prof of medicine, mum a humanities teacher and even then they had specialist tutors for the GCSE years. And 1 of the 4 kids ended up in a normal secondary anyway.
They educated well / but I would still argue that the younger 3 weren’t socialised brilliantly, lots of time together rather than with peers which has left them quite ‘independent’ according to their parents - hard work to the rest of us!

What's better for the "poor teachers"? Having a child with adhd who can focus for half a day who is then taken home, or a child with adhd who can focus for half the day and is then hopelessly distracted or dysregulated for the entire afternoon and can't get any work done?

Teachers aren't some innocent victims of these dastardly children by the way. They choose this job. Children generally don't get that luxury.

This is true but those children are being seen by professionals who have safeguarding training and there is a known process for escalating concerns.

Exactly. The one’s bragging on social media about how well their kids are doing at Cantonese are not the problem.

Its the ones where a parent has deregistered a child because they can’t manage getting them out of bed in the morning and convince themselves they learn “real maths” by going to the shop to buy fags.

The problem is the system can’t tell the difference.