Homeschooling, but not as you know it

[Midnight_Fairy]

I dont have a strict routine but I can not get organised without it! I used to think schools just programmed kids to pass tests but after spending time as a helper in my childrens school I changed my opinion. Yes they do conform to Ofsted and curriculum but they do generally care about children and its not a conspiracy or all bad at all.

I often do stuff with them at weekends to cover stuff they want to learn about

 

[Sarahkka]

My friend does this. Her kids are the same age as my kids....and waaaaay smarter. They are crazy intelligent, polite, and very social...and super mature. If I had the time, patience and dedication...I would homeschool. My friend does the no structure, learn as they live approach....and at first I was VERY against it....but, I cant find a single thing wrong with it. Her kids...age 8 and 5..read adult novels. Its nuts. Makes me realise our public education is crap.

I think the potential is there for unschooling to be an excellent lifetime of learning, but I don't agree that our public education systems are crap. There are certainly some places that are underperforming, but I have experienced and worked with fantastic teachers all over western Canada. There are lots of them out there and they can have a very similar effect on kids.
For me, this also brings up interesting socio-economic aspects of homeschooling. To give up one income and have someone home teaching full-time - is that a privileged position? I am interested in what others think of this. I believe quite fervently in putting our collective energy into public education, although I recognize that this could have many forms. If we all opt out and just unschool or homeschool, what effects could that have on the public education system?
I am not picking on you specifically here, Jasmak! Your post just made me think about these things and I am interested to hear what others think of this aspect of homeschooling.

 

[JASMAK]

I am sticking to my our education is crap comment. Alberta has alot of money. BC does not. No resources, nothing extra. Oversized classes, no aids for my daughter. Kids being bullied, swept under the rug. It is crap. Most definitely. Good for you for feeling otherwise. I have two kids in the 'system' and its shit schooling.

My friend didnt give up any income, neither did my other two friends who are homeschooled! That is a myth. I would have to change something about our situation, but I have a friend who works part time, a friend who owns her own business (bowling alley), and the friend that unschools is a dietician, her husband is a librarian, and they also run a farm!

 

[pinkpolkadot]

My friend does this. Her kids are the same age as my kids....and waaaaay smarter. They are crazy intelligent, polite, and very social...and super mature. If I had the time, patience and dedication...I would homeschool. My friend does the no structure, learn as they live approach....and at first I was VERY against it....but, I cant find a single thing wrong with it. Her kids...age 8 and 5..read adult novels. Its nuts. Makes me realise our public education is crap.

I think the potential is there for unschooling to be an excellent lifetime of learning, but I don't agree that our public education systems are crap. There are certainly some places that are underperforming, but I have experienced and worked with fantastic teachers all over western Canada. There are lots of them out there and they can have a very similar effect on kids.
For me, this also brings up interesting socio-economic aspects of homeschooling. To give up one income and have someone home teaching full-time - is that a privileged position? I am interested in what others think of this. I believe quite fervently in putting our collective energy into public education, although I recognize that this could have many forms. If we all opt out and just unschool or homeschool, what effects could that have on the public education system?
I am not picking on you specifically here, Jasmak! Your post just made me think about these things and I am interested to hear what others think of this aspect of homeschooling.

This certainly did make me think! After a bit of research I am surprised at how many parents in full time work manage to homeschool still, I guess the flexibility of homeschooling is on your side here. I am not denying it would be hard work though!

Another thing to consider is that if parents choose to homeschool, should they receive the funding that would have otherwise gone to their child's school, after all the school will have one less child to pay for? Or should the funds be spread about the other kids or go somewhere else all together?

To be honest I think there would have to be a huge shift in the way society works for there to be a threat to the public education system as it is generally geared up to supply the jobs market as it stands. The majority of folk are happy to go along with the system, and for those that are not it is often quite difficult to do any different!

 

[overcomer79]

I don't like any kind of home schooling for my family, i wouldn't know where to begin nor would I want to do it, I loved school growing up, felt I made the most of it and love being at work now not at home. There are selfish and genuine reasons why I wouldn't home school, but in all honesty as I know it is not something I would remotely consider it's not something I've read into, I know there are some fantastic mums on here who do a hell of a lot of research for home education and I have no doubt their kids will grow up to be very intelligent well balanced people, I don't think I could achieve it myself lol. I'm sure there are some "lazy unschoolers" out there, but tbh I bet there's a hell of a lot more lazy parents who send their kids to school and have no idea what their children are doing, how they are doing or help at home, I don't see how home education could ever be seen as a lazy choice as to me it's a lot easier to send your kids off to school, bring on September 2015

As for the lack of routine that's another thing that wouldn't sit well with me, I like routine, I like bed times, I'm quite traditional in that DH and I are the heads of the house, the kids will do as we say, it was how I was brought up and I had a very stable and happy childhood, not saying it's the only what to successfully parent of course, but it's how we parent. So yeah unschooling just terrifies my traditional routine obsessed mind lol.

Exactly this. No type of home schooling would work for my family. Heck I can't even make it work being a SAHM (by choice really and past experience) but to me school was a great experience for me.

I also don't like the no bed time route either. We sometimes let my four year old stay up but that does not mean he sleeps later. So he gets less sleep and is even more of a handful the next day. Not my way of life. I like the kids in bed at a certain time so I can have some wind down time. I'm not a night owl either so if both kids are in bed by 9, then I'm ok.

 

[overcomer79]

I don't understand why people make such a big deal about the routine thing. Surely people can learn to stick to a routine for work even if they didn't have one during childhood? I mean, I went from routine routine routine at school to suddenly only having 8 hours a week lectures. I adapted to not having a strict routine so why not the other way round?

Just remember that for every person who doesn't care about routine...there are those of us that can't understand how people deal without routines. Adapting to a routine is a lot harder than moving from one. I have breaks (summer, winter) and right now I'm not in a routine. Come Jan 13, it is going to be so difficult for me to pull myself out of bed at 545 and get ready for work. It usually takes weeks for me to adjust back into it.

 

[summer rain]

I actually like the idea (in another life I guess!), but I don't know if it's right or not. I will firmly say though i learnt far more on my own accord even whilst in school, and it frustrated the teachers when I was veering them off their class plans

Oh yeah, me too! They even called my parents in because I was so uncooperative and a 'troublemaker' for asking too many questions and thinking outside the box. Myself and this boy in most of my classes had the teachers seeing red, that boy is now a very very famous and successful actor Strange really as he was mediocre in drama in school, while I am home educating my kids. It's a funny old life eh?

I agree that if you live somewhere where the education system is crap of course you're more likely to home school or even unschool. Where I live, as is sadly the case for much of London, the schools are terrible. Academically in terms of results they are reasonably good or even excellent in some cases but not sure how they get those results because the teaching is terrible and there is an appalling bullying problem which is not dealt with; in fact in several cases involving OH's extended family and kids of our friends it is the bullied child who has been forced to leave the school. Either because the bullying hasn't been addressed and has worsened or in a couple of cases the bullied child has even been asked to leave or even expelled because it 'looks bad for us' (in the school's words). We couldn't afford private education but that doesn't really matter as the private schools here are pretty horrendous too Xx