World schooling….. what’s your opinion?

[IsSheOkayOrWhat]

I’m just intrigued to hear people’s thought on world schooling?

If you’re unfamiliar with this it means taking your child out of mainstream schools to go travelling to learn through culture amongst other things.

what does it mean for the future of our children?
Will this create a divide?
is it just for the benefit of the parents who want to travel?

please add your thoughts as I’m genuinely intrigued as to why it’s becoming more popular.

please don’t mention ‘government’ being in control… bla bla.

I want to hear why you think it benefits our children!!

I think the travel bit is just a bonus afforded by money and circumstances, travel benefits children across the board if they are able to do it whether they are in traditional schooling or not. So the benefits of travel are obvious.

Maybe your question is more about home education?

Or are you asking if we think children can learn as much by simply travelling as they could just by going to school?

Yes your later question…. Do children learn as much as they would if they were at school?

I think this is a very tiny (and wealthy) sub group of the home education community.

It is usually only short term for a few years and so it is extremely likely that the child will be able to catch up if they return to a school environment.

What are your own thoughts on it OP? when's it due

I think it's sad that there are some children who are learning so much about "other" cultures through travelling around the world - but missing out on the culture of the country they are actually a citizen of.
How can they experience UK traditions if they are never here?

I'm all for travel and I lived in several different countries as a child, however I always feel that this is more about the parents and them often looking to justify something they just want to do.

I feel I learnt more about the world from travelling as a young adult then as a child, though of course all travel is an experience.

All travel has benefits and I love travel myself and hate my kids are tethered to the school term but I wonder how these children feel about no school friends long term, a sense of belonging and constant change?

I know someone who does ‘world schooling’, they don’t travel particularly, I think they use that term rather than ‘home schooling’ as they aren’t just sitting at home at a desk, they’re out and about each day (but locally) learning from nature and activities. Child-led.

I think it sounds great. If you’re also travelling then I’m sure there are lots of leaning opportunities there too, but I don’t think the travelling is the important bit.

Outcomes for home educated children can be fantastic.

My eldest is now studying at UCL.

I didn't 'world school' but did do a small amount of travelling at times to support topics he was learning.

World schooling will become more popular as more people are able to work away from an office base.

Is this something you are personally considering doing?

Is the OP a journalist looking for quotes on the sly?

Children at school are just taught to pass exams. Sitting between four walls of a classroom all day long is a very out dated way of learning anything.
All l ever did at school was look out the window and daydream about the world outside, it felt like being in a prison and l was continuously bored stiff.
The biggest battle we have now is trying to change a system that is no longer working for teachers and students alike. "This is the way we've be always done it", therefore many closed minded people can't ever imagine trying something different.
Home education is on the rise and it benefits a huge number of students, yet you only have to see the ignorant and obnoxious comments on this forum from people who have no knowledge and haven't got the courage to attempt it themselves what an uphill battle it can be.
The school curriculum is an absolute waste of space and not relevant to the world students are living in today.
School anxiety is through the roof, if parents are having to drug their children to even get them to attend school something has gone badly wrong.
We need to become a lot more flexible and open minded about different methods of education, not just one size fits all.

I think, if it's done well, it's an amazing opportunity for children for short term part of their education.
I follow a couple of families doing this on Instagram, one family are cycling around the world and their children are being thoroughly immersed in different languages and cultures in some quite off-the-beaten track places as well as learning some serious practical life and independence skills.
Another is driving around the coastline of the UK and they spend loads of time outdoors and in museums, castles etc as well as doing school in their truck.
Another family just seem to move between overnight car park stay, beach and shopping mall - I can't see much learning of any kind going on in what they choose to show.

How will it create a divide? There are not thousands of people suddenly signing up to do this - and surely it has always been done just without a fancy name!

The person I know who has done closest to this certainly isn't wealthy, but they are also not afraid of roughing it and living with very primitive facilities, even with young children.

The other families I know who have lived with children in more than 2 countries are better off but don't tend to home educate - their children usually go to local schools, either international schools with a curriculum in a language they speak, or they are polyglots and integrate into local schools speaking the local language, with the parents selecting locations partially based on the school availability and languages spoken (e.g. a French speaking school in Belgium) or sometimes due to family connections (so the children have some exposure to the language anyway as one parent speaks it fluently).

Probably depends on the ages of the children. My children can't remember much about any of the places they went to when young, other than a vague snapshot memory of being there.
Personally I think this version of schooling suits parents who want to travel and don't want the constraints of school. They definitely don't learn the same things they would learn at school, or as much, in my opinion. They might grow up with different traits - perhaps more relaxed, tolerant, better at learning languages, but they would miss out on other aspects.
I don't think my own children would have preferred to do it because they liked their school friends etc. I also know a couple of people who travelled a lot as children and as adults they don't feel they have proper roots, which has affected them. It's a great opportunity though and I love travel. My best memories of travel were in my 20s when I was more in control or exploring and going where I wanted without my parents.

No not personally, my DD is starting school this sept and I guess I was just intrigued after seeing a post about ‘world schooling’ and I think a few people have said this is the new term for home schooling, but from what I saw people are travelling with their child to different countries which in my eyes isn’t ’home schooling’

Nothing sly about my post, just asking a genuine question and what people’s opinion are, I want to know what the pros and cons are? That’s all.

Friends of ours do that. Kids are super clever and naturally academic, and they use online schooling, So no problem of them falling behind.
adults work in online/remote jobs, so its all working well. They intend to do it for a couple of years.
It can work for some families.

I agree, I hated school!!! But as a parent now I wouldn’t even know where to start with home schooling and I’ll be honest I wouldn’t want to spend that much time with my DD. I think the social aspect is great for them but the things that are taught nowadays are outdated.

I agree,

A grand tour type six months or year in the teens is probably incredibly educational (if you go to museums as well as beaches/cafes) - the only people I have known who did it with primary school children ended up very disillusioned as they felt they couldn't enjoy the places as they had to wfh/try to get the children to keep up with numeracy and literacy, it was expensive and stressful to find places to park their van etc despite months of planning in advance, everyone was cramped together and the siblings hugely fell out but had no other friends to bounce off (as they were too young for texting etc).

I think it’s ok till the child is about six but after that they benefit from routine, friendships, and learning alongside their peers/having a more typical childhood and stability.

My dc travel a lot with us, they’ve been to about 20 or so countries, many of them multiple times. They enjoy it but I know they’d hate world schooling. They love their friends and family and don’t even want to go away for Christmas or birthdays as they’d miss the traditions.

A lot of world schoolers seem to do it when their dc are very young but then return. It seems to me that they may realise the drawbacks. Curriculum wise, I doubt that younger kids can’t catch up fairly quickly but any later than the start of year 5 (for bright dc at the latest) I do think it could be challenging.