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?

I would have totally agreed you once upon a time.

Then I had a child that was not academic, or sporty and who struggled socially. School was torture for them and us. I stuck with it till Y8, until he was headbanging when he came home from school.

My biggest regret is that I didn't take him out earlier. No, he hasn't got those qualifications you mention - but he wouldn't have got them had he stayed in the school system either. He also wouldn't have an overwhelming feeling of being useless, which stops him from trying anything new incase he can't do it and gets either laughed at or told off. This was made worse every single day I sent him into school and I didn't realise.

He has subsequently, out of the school system been diagnosed with ASD and ADHD. School kept insisting nothing wrong with him, it was his fault he wasn't learning.

So it's fine to have high ideals about education, but they crumble to dust when you have a child in crisis in front of you.

In most cases a teacher would be more experienced and knowledgeable around the curriculum than a parent. On the other hand, in most cases a parent will know their child and what works for their child as an individual better than a teacher teaching a high number of pupils would. Homeschooling parents can also be much more flexible and centre the learning on their child's specific needs and interests, whereas a teacher will be working to a set curriculum and having to teach at a level that meets the needs of the whole class rather that 1 pupil.
Being behind is subjective. Maybe they wouldn't meet the standardised scores school look for, but they may have skills and knowledge that children in the school system don't have, and those skills and that knowledge may be more beneficial for the child now and in adulthood.

I think there is a reason homeschooling is permitted and that is the rights of the parents to educate their children. It is part of The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which is a landmark United Nations treaty adopted in 1966 that commits signatory nations to protect and promote essential human rights.

ICESCR Article 13:-

“3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians, to choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.”

I can absolutely see why parent’s don’t want the government teaching their children. It was only as an adult that I’ve realised how deficient my own (public school) education was.

As a parent there are elements of the curriculum that I don’t want my children being exposed to. However, I would be the first to acknowledge that I am not qualified to homeschool and my child would be at a significant disadvantage socially and academically if I were to do so.

Unfortunately, there are many parents who are too dim to recognise that they themselves lack the intelligence or the ability to educate their own children. Further, we often find that parents who have severely abused their children had previously removed those children from school under the guise of “homeschooling”.

I think governments should ascertain that parents have a basic understanding of concepts and the ability to convey those concepts to children.

There also needs to be more oversight and checks on children who are not in mainstream education as children who are homeschooled are often vulnerable.

Teachers don't always teach deep, meaningful and useful concepts that can't be grasped by lay people.

Also, what some teach their own might have more importance to them as compared to what is taught by someone else.

What are we disallowing? Freedom to make the choice, again?

Why are people so against freedom of choice?

It's bizarre.

I don't agree with home Ed. Seen some awful examples of it

She got 8 at top grades and 2 were Bs (some iGCSEs aren’t graded by numbers) also she took them in batches on one year courses so took her first age12, 2 the following year, 3 the year after etc which is the way it’s often done in homeschooling. She also did other courses and activities that didn’t work towards exams and attended homeschool groups and activities.

Exactly this - the sister is out of order if talking honestly about work contacts, but also the whole OP is just vague sweeping statements.

Do you really not understand the difference between a teacher in school teaching classes of thirty children, and a home school setting with just one or two?

It's just apples and pears.

She’s in school now for sixth form (her choice) and she’s had no issues socialising and is more resilient than many of her friends tbh. I think the idea HE kids aren’t socialised is a myth. DD went to classes, groups, all sorts of activities and a hone education hub for iGCSEs and had plenty of friends. In fact it was a richer experience in many ways as she was able to socialise with different age groups older and younger her and not just her age. In school now she mentors younger age groups in her chosen sport and doesn’t have that resistance to socialising with younger year groups as well as her own peers.

I understand where all the misconceptions come from about HE but it’s incredibly frustrating to see the same myths restated on endless threads on here. I need to stop rising to the bait tbh!

The sister shouldn't be discussing her clients at all.

I think people just don't realise how dire the education system has become.

What an ignorant post. GCSEs are a convenient way for colleges, unis employers to get a snapshot of one aspect of a person. 8 good grades are more than enough for this. The rest of the available time, funnily enough. Might be spent doing physical activities, creative ones, pursuing a specialist topic, whatever. Home educating is not about filling what would be a school day timetable with lessons at the kitchen table. Again, I'm a teacher in a secondary school. They can work great for some but increasing not for increasingly many.

Yet another case where the posts on a thread would lead you to believe that there was wide spread support for home ed and yet the poll says otherwise. The majority of people have deep concerns about home ed because it is essentially almost entirely unregulated and there is real potential for a child to be deprived of a decent education which is one of their basic human rights.

Personally I would like to see home ed far more regulated. I think the rules should be far stricter and all kids (barring those with significant SEN) should be taking GCSEs and passing most of them. I don't think children have the capacity to truly consent to depriving themselves of a formal education and this concerns me. I would have been desperate to home school as a teen but it would have been the absolute worst thing for me to do. Sometimes, especially when we are young and naive, we need saving from ourselves and not facilitated.

If everyone's experience was like this it would be great.
My issue that I have is that there are no checks done on HE children in our area. It appears that anyone can just say they are HE and just not attend school.

Home education can be wonderful and often is. However, go on any of the home education facebook groups and you will see some absolutely awful examples of poor home education.
I do think we as a society need to ask why so many children are now home educated. Clearly the current school system needs radical change. I can’t see that happening any time soon though.

Yes! I think I can teach!

Were you taught by teachers? Were they good at teaching?

Are you a good learner? How did you learn that?

If your sister is tutoring one to one she's giving the equivalent teaching in an hour of the best part of a school day.

Of course theres more to going to school than being taught but I think that's that's not your particular concern on this thread.

PS it sounds like you sister has an excellent opportunity to model good teaching and inspire these parents to become better teachers. What a lovely job!

If the sister has kept the children and families totally anonymous then she's done nothing wrong.

I don’t agree with schools. Seen some awful examples of them…!

First off I was a teacher for over 10 years. I worked in both the school system and in prisons and was a SENDCO and have a headteachers qualification.
The reason I don’t teach anymore is because of OTHER TEACHERS. people who think like you, that just because they are qualified they are good. In my years of teaching I saw maybe 2 or 3 good teachers and the rest did not care. They were there for a wage, for the holidays off that suited their families lifestyle or because their whole family were teachers. Often they liked the praise they got for being a teacher in this hard world (I have actually heard that said and watched the teacher puff up like a praised cat) and they like bullying or tormenting others and their only way to continue it out of school was to go back to school.
Now that’s out of the way, I don’t agree with homeschooling parents doing a better job than teachers. Firstly that can undermine their “job roles” in the family (one minute she’s mummy the next she’s a teacher) and can result in quite a mixed bag of results. I agree taking them out and getting a proper tutor daily or weekly that can actually cater their learning to their needs is ideal and is what we would do given half a chance. Freeschooling is just messing your kids up - I know people who free school, their children are 15, 13, 11, 8 and 6 and the oldest still can’t write her name, her address or read a book. Which is just the mark of a poorly educated child.
Finally, your sister is disgusting in talking about her clients so freely. If I were to find out as her client I would be furious and calling the LA, that’s not appropriate, but neither is your over simplistic approach to teachers: you both need to get your heads out of your arses and just look around you to see you are both wrong.

I totally agree that reading is an essential skill and in my son’s case school was unable to keep him regulated enough emotionally to learn how. They didn’t seem to consider it as important as him staying in the classroom to do colouring in.

Since taking him out (aged 7) I’ve taught him to read, we had to go back to basics and I used a lot of different resources to help. He would probably still be deemed ‘behind’ for his age but he has the skill to work out how to pronounce unfamiliar words and is gaining more experience every day.

It’s so necessary and it is sad that people don’t place the correct importance on it. It definitely doesn’t help the HE community being taken seriously.

You know that there is plenty to learn and experience in this world that doesn’t involve passing an exam at the end of it?

With reference to 'It's 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'.

1. Choices for people who are wealthy are not the same as those for people who live from day to day hoping they can pay their bills. There are many things that influence choice and whilst we can influence which direction our lives go in, we can't control everything that will ever happen to us.
2. Even if self-employed people have to deal with challenging people in life e.g., people who don't pay up on time or people who irritate them and even if you response that's not 'emotionally driven' but based on fact and this isn't easy to do if a person's stressed which we all experience from time to time. You learn to manage stress from exposure to lots of social interaction and challenging people. I admit I'd be thinking 'wow' if you tell me you've never met a challenging person in your life. I don't know when I or my husband die but I know that when we do, our daughter will have the skills to survive in this world whatever she does and wherever she travels. I admit that there are flaws in the system and understand why parents feel hacked off with certain aspects of our education system and school selection process.

Que sera, sera

It was just such a goady post, other people agreed. I would hardly be claiming someone with 8 GCSEs is a high achiever.

I don't disagree that you don't need millions but I wouldn't be starting my child doing them at 12 if they are doing such a small amount.

Totally agree but it was a very gloaty post!

Also if busy experiencing other things why start at 12!