So many think they can teach

[Wecandancetillthemorninglight]

My sister works with homeschooling families in London and frequently tells me stories of how they usually are. How they think they know more than the teacher after quickly looking up how to teach a concept online versus 30 plus years of teaching experience and many different methods and ways of doing things.
I have the upmost respect for my Dc’s teachers and wouldn’t dream of thinking I knew more. Dsis tells me the children are often way behind and have very few actual hours of learning and the mums think they’re doing an amazing job

Should this be allowed?

When I was a SW I was taught that I might be the expert generally but the families were the experts in their own lives and to act accordingly.

You need both.

Also, as a reminder, there's approx 126,000 children being home educated in England, vs 4.5 million children in state schools in England. This doesn't include those in specialist schools, private schools or those with EOTAS. There's actually very few of us compared to the numbers of children in school.

Time will tell how well home schooling has gone when the kids grow up and do exams.

As someone who has come close to having to hs, because of my dc’s needs, I’m both defensive of parents’ right to choose, but also sceptical of my own ability to teach effectively. I definitely wouldn’t want to test my skills in a classroom!

I do worry that there’s an online drive towards homeschooling, rooted in US Christian fundamentalism that presents a very appealing lifestyle, but I’m very sceptical of. And the lack of oversight for hs dc in Ireland is deeply concerning (not sure if that’s the sane in Uk?) They’re also not called up for the school based dental and medical checks in primary school so miss out that way too.

I feel more investment in education, and a range of approaches is a better way forward, rather than trying to undermine parents, who often have been backed into a cul de sac.

I’m actually very hopeful that AI will eventually transform education, delivering individualised curricula and then human teachers can facilitate the socioemotional modules.

many kids don’t fare well in schools either though, but we don’t start making blanket statements about banning schools.

Yes because grades are the only measure of a successful education. 🙄. I'm a teacher of 30 years. I'm bloody good at my subject and classroom management amd all the other things we have to be good at. I am less successful trying to get my own kids through an academic task set from school. BUT if they ask me to explain something thats caught their interest, I have the skills to.communicate it, break it down, think if analogies etc. I dont know why people feel so threatened by the idea that there are viable alternatives to school. Loads of home ed groups now to provide opportunities for group work etc and frankly, not everyone is destined to end up navigating a corporate office or typical workplace. Its not an inevitability that people MUST learn to cope with difficult colleagues or whatever. The whole point of being an adult is choice. I strongly suspect at least one of mine, who just about copes with school will end up self employed so she can work with her own rhythms. That's fine.

When my kids were in primary school, they asked parents to give a talk about something to do with their job. I did lots of prep, took fun stickers and props and I went and spoke to the 10 y olds for 30 minutes. Omg never again; all those questions! I simply don’t have the skills.

Home education should be allowed. Schools do not do a good job of teaching every child.

The same will be true of parents who take over their children’s education, but most parents who home educate do so because they take education seriously and found school did not meet their child’s needs, not because they are lackadaisical.

A parent home educating doesn’t need to know about multiple teaching methods. They only need to find the methods that work for their children’s education. They don’t need classroom management techniques. It is a completely different teaching situation.

Homeschooling should be illegal except in rare or exceptional circumstances. It's cultish and most people who do it are dumb as rocks! I'm a teacher but I wouldn't dream of thinking I was capable of homeschooling in anything other than basic primary + my subject specialty.

There is such a wide range of home education that it is impossible to generalise.

Some families are doing a fantastic job, often with children with SEN who would find mainstream a struggle.

Some are religious nutters, some are people struggling with MH problems - their own and those of their DC - some are inadequate, some are negligent, and some are abusive.

On mumsnet though all home educators are wonderful, committed people doing a fantastic job. All outcomes are positive.

Oh bless you. 😂

The same as teachers then.

What is it you think is harder in home education than teaching as you currently do?

I agree with you. I work as a TA and have seen kids come back into mainstream after being homeschooled. One woman thought her son was a genius as he'd read one classic book. He wasn't, he also had no idea how to socialise with kids at all and had no friends.

Although I do agree that school isn't for everyone, I don't know what the answer is, but it's not always homeschooling!

As a secondary school teacher and a parent of an autistic child, then sometimes home schooling is absolutely the right decision for many kids.

It's not these kids we are talking about.

I have seen some children taken out of school to be home schooled where we have had to notify social services.

One that sticks in my mind was a girl who had had minimal parenting, no discipline or boundaries, and struggled at school as she hated being told what to do, so although she came into school every day, she just ran round all day, hiding in the toilets, truanting every lesson. Mum got fed up of being called into school so decided to home school her to have some peace. Needless to say no education went on. The girl was always in the park, hanging out with older kids all day, I remember seeing a soc-med post asking if anyone saw her to let the police know... She eventually ended up back in another local secondary school.

This girl was incredibly vulnerable, a target for county lines gangs, and should NEVER have been taken out a system that although perhaps wasn't right for her, at least kept her safe during the day.

And no @Dontcallmescarface , not all teachers are the best either, but I do know that every teacher I have ever worked with, no matter how dodgy some of their teaching skills, at least cared about the child's welfare.

I'm all for home education, but it needs to be more heavily vetted so that vulnerable children are kept safe.

Teaching is a skill. Regardless of how easy the content and concepts are to you as an adult, you have to understand pedagogy to be successful as a teacher. I therefore don’t think most adults could teach KS1 and 2 well.

If homeschooling is to work then the curriculum needs to be developed by a professional and partly delivered by a trained teacher too. In my opinion anyway.

Really? I’m home educating my DD who the local authority can’t place in a suitable school. I have two professional qualifications and a Masters, definitely not dumb as a rock. I know my limits and support her with tutors in areas I can’t teach. She is doing well, much better than in school because I can tailor to her learning difficulties in a way her school simply didn’t.

You’d favour making it illegal for my child to be educated, because the local authority can’t educate her in any meaningful way.

It's not about teaching. It's about learning. John Holt's 'How children fail and How children learn, Learning all the time' were interesting to me when I was thinking about my children's education.

I believed that my children could be trusted to learn what was necessary and interesting to them. I understood that I could lead them, but I could not force them to learn.

My PGCE focused on lifelong learning which again is about trusting individuals to seek out learning as needed.

Home education often looks very different to schooling and your sister clearly is looking for a school based approach.

Autonomous learning child led learning, classical education, Charlotte Mason education, world learning, structured schooling, forest school, Montessori, Reggio Emilia Steiner - these are all very different approaches to education.

I don't think much of your sister's professionalism though.

I definitely looked stuff up right before "teaching" it.

I'm really not sure what the OP's sister is doing but neither the OP nor her sister seem to know an awful lot about home education because successful home-ed comes in many guises and looks nothing like school nor does it require a schoolteacher approach.

We did not spend anywhere near the time on academics that they would have spent in school. We were out nearly every day doing loads of different things and they all got 8-10 I/GCSEs each while home ed.

So what’s the point of teachers then and all their years of studying and experience…parents can do it just as well by your account. It’s so patronising

Me too, there’s no way I could or would want to do it

Home ed does not require a teacher, nor a curriculum developed by a "professional".

Presumably the National Curriculum was developed by professionals but it's actually really narrow in some many areas.

Does your sister work for the LA? If so of course everyone’s going to tell her they’re doing a great job if she can issue SAOs… it’s the equivalent of Ofsted turning up!

You probably don’t have to try and dump on those of us who can and do though. It’s not actually a good colour on anyone to be that way.

Of course it's a skill. So is parenting. Parents teach their children a wide variety of things from the word go, like how to speak, how to write, how to tie their shoelaces, ride a bike, swim, cook, sew... I don't think a parent who can do a reasonable job at those things would be inherently any worse at teaching spelling or maths just because they haven't studied "pedagogy" at a college.

Caveat that I appreciate, and said previously, that it would take a bit of an effort. But I still believe it's within reach for most adults.