Is Homeschooling Fair on Kids? Homeschool Mum Reacts
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Loose Women are back on UK TV discussing Home Education. I think this was a more balanced discussion than last time: • Reacting to a UK Home ...
What do you think of their arguments?
👋 👋 Hi, I'm Cathryn, a UK-based Mum of 3 Home Educated kids (girl/boy twins born in 2017, and their brother born in 2020). They are home educated from the start. We are non-religious, philisophical home educators (We home educate as our first choice, rather than it being a fallback option)👋 👋
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I enjoyed this video - and it reminded me why I don’t watch TV produced after 2009 😂🙈
I actually find talking about home educating our toddler and baby in the coming years as more divisive than talking about their homebirth and freebirth. Seems like social suspicion still arises when you want a sovereign, autonomous education and family life. It’s scary for people when you want to take responsibility for your life!
100% agree on everything you've said. Talking about home ed *really* triggers some people. I'm glad you were able to bear this video. It's a good reminder not to watch daytime TV 😂
Homeschooling is what kids need they are safer at home at more freedom to learn about the real world aswell as the skills they need to thrive in this world
I'm obviously biased but I agree with your comment! The irony is people always ask "how will they learn about the real world if they're not at school?" 😅
Thanks for commenting!
I think Janet is very ignorant . How can a woman who’s never had children tell people that parents don’t know what’s best for their child?🙄
she has lack of understanding and shows no interest in even trying to understand another perspective,she is very blind and brainwashed.
I also think it’s sad when parents find it a hardship to be with their own children when there are people out there who cannot have their own…
Parents know what is best for their children full stop and Janet is just repeating the views of the system which to be honest has promoted this ideology to the masses it’s the reason why many parents do not feel confident or capable of home educating and feel it’s best to have them pushed into the education system as young as possible.
I wonder what it would look like if the system was encouraging mothers/parents to bond even better with their children,to be encouraged as ‘primary educators’ first before anything else rather then pushing them forcefully into the workforce where they hardly see their children and so disconnect emotionally from them🤔🤔 a genuine thought here.
Thanks for this video very interesting topic!😅
Totally agree. Especially your last two paragraphs - really thought provoking!! I don't think the system will ever encourage that bond, sadly. But you're so right because we are their primary educators up until the age of 4/5 and no one questions that yet suddenly it's expected to change once they reach school age!
The thing is janet hasnt any children either so really she wont have any personal understanding or know how it feels to have children , let alone about school and children.
she would understand more if she had , had her own child/ren and now had grandchildren.
Ahhh I didn't realise this about JSP before people have started mentioning.
Shes also ancient .
Firstly, I love your plants in the background! You articulate your thoughts so well, and I also appreciate you watching Loose Women for this video 😂
We actually make our own yogurt all the time haha! Janet would love my family (I say sarcastically) - today I taught my children about hibernation with a puppet show, and my 7 year old was recently explaining to a family member how we make our own kombucha using a scoby!
Home education isn't always an easy path, but it is wonderful and has always felt like the natural choice for our family.
whaaaat. I want to come to your house and be home educated by you 😂 that sounds amazing!! I really want to do yoghurt or Kefir; apparently you can do it in the breadmaker but not figured it out yet.
"Home education isn't always an easy path, but it is wonderful and has always felt like the natural choice for our family." LOVE this. I couldn't have said it better.
The plants...the ones on the shelf my kids planted tiny little ones with their Grandma and then they seemed to explode 🤣 This was the only place high enough, but I love them. One of the others on the floor has been displaced by the xmas tree downstairs! haha
@@nurturingdiscontent haha, well they look really lovely! I definitely want more house plants. I do make my own kefir, but I prefer the ones from the supermarket 😂 my homemade kefir is fine in smoothies though. Homemade Greek yoghurt is the best though, and surprisingly easy to make :)
I love that polish kefir at the shops that is slightly lumpy and fizzy 😂😂 so weird but so good!
Thank you for this. It’s really nice to just hear your views on it.
I considered homeschooling! I didn’t do it for a few Eaton’s, one of which was misconceptions, fear of him not being equips enough to get a good job at the end, and that I would not be able to teach everything because I don’t know enough. I had lots of people talk me out of it too, and I’m prone to anxiety and burn out so I listened.
One of the schools I visited really seemed like a good fit for my son. He started and actually enjoys it, but I’m hating that I’m missing out on his life, and there doesn’t yet seem to be any take away from that time. The school is not challenging him particularly and certainly not keeping up with his interests. They have been great at helping him practise patience, sitting a little more still, waiting his turn, and a lot more socialising than I could teach him. However, we do what I consider home education around school and on weekends. We are doing world map work particularly about continents and where dinosaurs live. Last week we did categorising transformers by teams and spelling their names with a moveable alphabet because that’s what he chose. I am seriously considering asking for flexi-schooling so I don’t overwhelm my child with so much, though he’s going for it! I’m very interested in homeschool, so maybe flexi-schooling would be the best of both worlds?
Thank you again for the content!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Really glad to hear your son is enjoying school - that's the main thing! It's a big change for us adults when we have been so use to seeing them all day!
I have definitely heard stories of families making flexischooing work, although it sounds like most public schools don't accept it, or the ones that do are few and far between. I think there is a facebook group for flexischooling in the UK, which could be worth joining for more info and to connect with others doing it.
I am totally pro home education as a first choice for my own children but have been considering school purely for my own mental health reasons as poor MH severely impacts parenting… however, JSP has completely put me off. She is right, if you send your kids to state school you will expose them to bullying, sexual harassment and boredom from being made to sit and endure pointless lessons.
Also she was very hyperbolic about learning to make yogurt and climbing trees. She know full well that children who are home educated will learn a whole lot more than just that over the course of 10 years. That statement was ridiculous. She is out of touch and has no clue about what she is talking about. A big mouth for hire. Great vid thanks ❤
Totally get you: our MH is so so important because it directly impacts our kids, and I think knowing what you know you would be able to protect your kids from many of the pitfalls of the education system if they were to go in.
She was never going to let go of the yoghurt thing once she got her claws into it 😆
Thanks for your support on my channel, hope to see you and the girls (of course my bestie X) soon!
I am a teacher....I want to homeschool my children for all the same reasons as you. I agree with virtually everything you say. I especially hate the normalisation of so many damaging messages that parents give to their children. I believe homeschooling would be the best thing for my children. However - I have known parents remove their children from school and do absolutely nothing with their children. Some who actually have their own attachment issues and anxiety and control problems and use home education as a reason to keep their child at home, and limit their socialisation and opportunities sadly. They wanted to keep the child fully dependent upon them. What is in place to make sure those children aren't missing out on every opportunity life can give them? Because one child I know has been basically alone with one parent doing nothing for 3 years now and is hugely disadvantaged in every way now. It's so sad. The bottom line is - is homeschooling good for a child? It depends ENTIRELY ON WHAT THE PARENTS ARE LIKE. Some parents will actively control and damage their children by keeping them out of school.
I also often hear the argument that - life isn't all fun, inspiring and doing what we want. We all have to get used to working hard and doing things we don’t want to do because sometimes it's necessary and we'll not cope in adult life if we dont get used to the idea of sucking it up and working hard when we don’t want to. What do you say to those people? I have family members who would say this to me. They'll say my children will get too used to a life that is unrealistically fun and free/relaxed.
Hey there! Thanks for such an interesting comment, I get what you're saying. I'm sure there are some parents who choose home ed for their own selfish reasons and not for the benefit of the child. There are parents with children in school who also do very selfish things at the expense of their children too. It's a sad fact of life, but it does slightly bother me that home ed families seem disproportionately accused of these things.
"What is in place to make sure those children aren't missing out on every opportunity life can give them?" Technically, it's the job of the local authority to ensure they receive a full-time education in alignment with their aptitude and needs, and they do ask about opportunities to socialise too.
"life isn't all fun, inspiring and doing what we want"... I think about that argument a fair bit myself; I think a lot of us have been brought up being told that. But I question where that narrative ultimately comes from. Fed down from people who want to keep us in boring stressful jobs keeping them rich and us believing that we should put up with certain things because "that's the way life is". Ultimately I don't think that's normal at all, and I don't think our children will just doss around not doing anything and never facing up to challenges or adversity because they are home educated. If anything, I think that will make them more equipped to do so in a way that better protects their mental health.
"It depends ENTIRELY ON WHAT THE PARENTS ARE LIKE"...yes totally! And is school good for a child...it depends entirely on what the school, teachers, and other pupils are like (which as we know are often very damaging to a child).
Sorry if that was rambly, I missed points you raised, and didn't make sense, my 3yr old was asking me about oranges the whole time 😆
I don’t usually reply to any comments on CZcams but really feel like your comment about “life isn’t all fun”stood out to me. One thing I think about is just how uniquely different everyone is, your family makes a valid point but that doesn’t mean it’s unrealistic. I think about friends I know that really do not thrive in a 9-5 working environment they find it difficult working directly under others, like they are being restricted because they have strong leadership as-well as other qualities that just don’t flourish in a corporate environment for example. They have managed with hard work to calve out careers where they work for themselves, they manage their own time and some even travel for work etc. They also really seem to enjoy their work life. I have also sat in conversations where other friends find self employment very daunting and are happy to be working a 9-5 for a company as they thrive with more structure and the truth is the world needs both. The world wouldn’t function if one rule applied to all. I’d say go with your gut if you feel to home educate and with your background in education I’m sure you already have great insight.
@@nadineoteng "...the truth is the world needs both. The world wouldn’t function if one rule applied to all." Very true! 💟
I think maybe that Janet should go and meet some home ed families, before she talks about it😅
She'd probably be horrified by us and our yoghurt-making kids 😂😉
🙌🏻 Great discussion points there, thank you, i was talking back to my phone at times 😂 the contradictory points being a major one!
Look forward to your next video as always 🙌🏻🙌🏻🎉
xxx
haha, I always do that too! Maybe that's why I like doing reactions so i don't just feel like i'm talking to myself. Thank you, thank you! Hope to have another video up soon!
I was homeschooled for a year, with my sister, by my Mum, when we lived in a remote location in Saudi. We loved it. My Mum was a great teacher, we had a lot of focus, one to one, and returned to the UK a year or more ahead. We did 'formal' lesson time, to a timetable, but had the freedom to explore things we were interested in further. We could sometimes schedule things differently around other activities. On one to one time, you get the support to grasp things quicker and be flexible in the teaching time to accommodate subject areas that you find harder and spend more time on those, and less time on the things you grasp more quickly. I also liked not going to school with kids who were not very nice, I loved playing with my sister! Due to the particular constraints of our environment, we didnt have any other playmates, but that taught us how to entertain ourselves. We didn't have television either, so we listened to music, drew, painted, crafts, reading, a lot of story telling and made up games, board games, as well as physical games, riding our bikes, swimming.
We also benefitted from the relationship we had with our Mum as a teacher, she made everything interesting and she embedded a love of learning. Mum was also quite a tough marker...not shy of a red cross and commentary as well as ticks...but she made it clear, that a cross is information to tell you what you still need to learn, and a tick tells you that you have learnt something well. Marking is a tool for your own benefit.
From a social perspective, we had been to school before, had friends and playmates from school and just neighbours and family friends, and also from a very large family with an enormous group of cousins.
As long as you do have access to a wider social group than your immediate family, that helps teach how to get along or stand up for yourself with people who have different views, and behaviours to your own family values and how to cope with very fixed routine, as we generally have to in some aspects of our lives. School is not the only environment that can teach these skills though.
In todays world, I would very likely prefer to home school my children, at least at Primary level, but probably send them to school for their secondary education, for expertise and equipment in specific fields like physics and chemistry, IT, Design and Tech, that it is harder to provide for domestically, or beyond my personal scope to teach at GCSE/A level.
Wow, what an interesting story, thank you for sharing about your time being homeschooled in Saudi. Your Mum sounds like she really struck a great balance! Yes, access to a wider social circle is definitely important, I agree.
@@nurturingdiscontent Not sure if it's useful to others considering home schooling, as this was a looooong time ago, but my Mum prepared before we went and we used materials and curricula from WES for the UK. We still have some of the books which I shared with my children at a similar age, introducing them to Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh and Vermeer...I loved these books and they started a lifelong passion for art and later architecture. As an aside, because we had lived in Switzerland not long before, we both started kindergarten and school there, and my parents wanted us to continue learning German and French, but we needed to understand English grammar better to understand the difference in French and German, so on Saturday mornings we would go to a language tutor for 2 hours, which was quite intense at the ages we were, however it stood us in good stead in the long run. The same tutor prepared audio tapes and the textbooks with structured learning for us, which helped my Mum a lot, as her own French was very rusty and she had conversational dialect German but not any formal written high German. I would say to people there are lots of ways to get different support and materials for home schooling, even easier now with the internet than it was many decades ago, with parents able to draw on their own expertise, and pull in others to fill in any gaps.
Unfortunately, despite it being 2023, schools are still not great at accepting and meeting the needs of children with SEN. Additionally they are far more likely to be bullied than their neurotypical peers.
I am an autistic woman with adhd and found school to be horrendous, particularly high school. I was expected to be able to overcome my difficulties and conform due to my intelligence, however my IQ does not negate the struggles of my autism or my adhd.
I was hoping times had changed because my 4 year old son has the same conditions I do and is due to start reception this year, however everything I have read about SEN kids in school is causing me to fear that the environment is just not right for him. I am seriously considering home education despite having chronic illnesses which I know will make it very hard. I’m not sure what to do yet, but your channel is a very useful resource so thank you for your videos. I really appreciate your perspective and the information you provide.
Thank you so much for sharing your story here. Sorry to hear school was such a struggle for you; I know that can have a long lasting impact on a person. On the plus side it sounds like it has left you very open-eyed to the challenges a neurodivergent child can face in school, and I'm sure you will be your son's biggest advocate if you do decide school is the best or only option for your family. It might be worth joining your local home ed facebook group if they take people considering home ed, or a more national one like HEFA where you can connect with other people with chronic illness, and find out how they are making it work and wether that could work for your family. Wishing you all the best on your journey and any more questions please feel free to ask!
The first lady who spoke about her dyslexic child is describing the same story, that I'm absolutely sure, is the same story for everyone with children in primary who are in whatever way a little bit "different" or should I say, requires a bit more attention & a bit more support than other children & it really really annoys me. My son has really bad anxiety & panic attacks. The doctors have diagnosed him with about 4 different types of anxiety. But what did the school do? Pretty much nothing. I had a meeting with the "family support worker" at the school who pretty much told me tell him he hasn't got anxiety & go against the doctor's advice & the head teacher was as dismissive as you can imagine. What really bothered me tho, is that my son was amongst an entire class of children with all varying situations such as autism, adhd, dyslexia etc. But I really did get the impression, from other mum's, that they also got treated the same. After that experience I'm fully at the mindset that mainstream school is just a sausage factory. As children we're all supposed to "be the same" & "learn the same" & if you can't, well then you pretty much get left behind. I'm just currently struggling through our first two years of secondary & it's been a nightmare for us. Those "different" children who got left behind in primary are all now seriously getting left behind in secondary. They're all angry, they're all out of control & what's the secondary school's solution? Send them all to the isolation unit away from everybody else so all the "normal" children can carry on being normal. We're just in the process of taking him out of school. Thank you for your videos. They've been very helpful.
So sorry you and your son have been through that. Sadly, it seems to be a common story doesn't it. You're totally right about school being a sausage factory, and it's achieving exactly what it was originally set out to do: produce workers who won't question the system. It's great that you have your eyes open to that and can do what you need to support your son. It's so sad that children who don't fit this mould are being isolated from the rest. Wish you all the best in the process of taking your son out of school, and getting started with Home Ed life. How old is your son? Have you got an idea of the sort of things going on in your local area for Home Ed kids?
On Discipline: I wouldn't want to live in a disciplinary society, I would just want to live alongside people in a dignified manner
That sounds like a great way to live to me!💜
@nurturingdiscontent Sadly there are some people who don't want that and those are the people who need discipline.
My sons head teacher refused to acknowledge his autism, insisting it was all because he didn't attend nursery. 😂 He has SCAR TISSUE in his cheek muscle from an injury at school.
There are more and more additional needs kids and the staff are not equipped to deal with it, they don't have enough staff to handle it, and parents don't often have enough time to do the foundational support the children need because of work demands. Which just feeds into the problem.
I never wanted to send my kids to school. But was effectively forced to so my son could get diagnosed.
Wow so sorry that has been your experience! You seem to have a good insight into the pitfalls of the system, which i'm sure helps guide your son through it 💜
"if anyone of us are actually 'normal'.."🤣 Spot on!
Normal is definitely a myth! 😄 Love the look of your learning vids - given your channel a follow!
@@nurturingdiscontent aww thank you for that, and thank you for sharing your video with us. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
@@nurturingdiscontent I would politely disagree. Homeschooling is what's normal and what has been done by most people since the beginning of time. Sending your precious children off to strangers for the majority of their childhood, that's what's abnormal.
@@racheljames7 I totally agree with that; we're on the same page 🙂. It's just not what is seen as normal by most of society...that's where the myth of normal is
i plan to home educate. theres another homeschool one on stacey solomon on loose women who used to homeschool her kids
Hey! Welcome. Great to have you hear as a future-home educator 💜
I'm a Primary School Teacher and am considering home education. My son is only 4 months old, so I have plenty of time. People keep saying that he will end up "weird" and "undersocialised"
That's great you have such a headstart on things, but I guess many more years of rude comments, sadly. Although I have also had supportive comments along the way, so hopefully you will experience some of those too! 💛
The stigma is real and l believe people think a certain way about your child and the family as it goes against the norm! I want to homeschool and hubs is totally against it. He will not budge and at this time l am just stuck with my desire to teach our kids on a structured curriculum with extra subjects that school does not offer. I want my kids to learn about the world and not only what the gov has decided is what they need to learn
Yeh, it's so true what you say about the stigma. I think it's starting to get slightly less now, but most people still just can't get their heads around it. Sorry your Husband isn't on board. What are your Husband's main concerns? Mine certainly has his wobbles, but I'm thankful he hasn't put his foot down about it. I love what you say about wanting your kids to learn about the world and not just what the gov decide.
I think what janet is saying i may be wrong! Is that the behavior in schools is happening because of their experience with home life and the teachers now know whats best for the child. So basically parents dont know how to parent teachers do and they need to learn how. 😂
Yeh I sort of got the vibe that she was blaming the behaviour of kids in schools down to the parents. I'm sure on some levels there is some truth in that, but there has to be a long hard look at the environment we are placing school kids in. It's such a complex topic.
She was saying parents play some part In how your kids turn out ie violent. She claims that parents don't always know what's best for their kids. That's why even though I put my daughter in school I'm not going to treat holidays like fun, do what you want so the teachers can say why is your daughter so spoilt and disruptive. I'm educating her in holidays and life skills exc I'm not leaving it up to the teachers only.
Teaching life skills in the holidays sounds great, but I'm sure you can make it feel fun too! :)
Dyslexia can't be diagnosed until the child knows all their phonic sounds this is normally in year 3 (6/7 years old).
Reception aged children are still very much exploring their sounds, letter formation. B's and ds are often backwards at this stage being reception/year 1 aged.
This doesn't mean her child doesn't have dyslexia but it won't be able to fully show until later.
I am Teacher also thinking of homeschooling 😂
Ahh thanks for that I didn't know. I can't remember did she say what year her son was?
Interesting to hear you are considering homeschooling. Would love to hear your reasoning behind that if you're happy to share
💜
Hi yeah, I am happy to share.
1. The education system has become very very stretched. Teachers are being asked to do more and more with less and less resources. I know I want to give my very best to all the children I care for but sometimes it feels impossible.
2. Wanting our values as a family to be the main influence in her life. (Our faith is important to us)
3. I am basically working a full time job and teaching my child at home anyway! Her main educational progress is from myself anyway!
4. New curriculum changes mean the classroom is a political playground!
Happy to answer any questions. Xx
Fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing. I've certainly heard some of those things through the grapevine. This is why I always try to caveat that I know most teachers are really trying their best but are limited by the system they work in.
I live in the US and I really think homeschool needs a new name. Maybe "alternative education". There is still this assumption that it is really conservative moms trying to shelter their kids from the world standing in front of them lecturing all day or just letting them run wild. This couldn't be further from the truth now. My daughter is 9.5 and has never been to public school. She would be in 3rd grade if in public school. Her testing 4 months ago had her at a 10th grade reading level and 3 years ahead in math. We use a few different online programs based on what each offers. She is particularly talented in natural sciences. She is taking a 3 year series of courses on Vet Science and has done over 200 hours of volunteer work at an animal shelter and an animal clinic. She is also taking a series of 2 year courses on marine biology through another program which will lead to her going to a camp in another country at the end. She loves genetics also and is taking some classes. If she was in public school she would be in a 3rd grade class that has general science a couple times a week and that's it. She has also taken Spanish for 3 years, and ASL, and Latin, and has asked to switch to French for a few years, which she will do in January. In our public school there isn't a foreign language until high school and then only Spanish and German are offered. I encourage financial literacy, so I have taken her to an investment banker who likes to teach children about finances for lessons. She's done summer camps at farms. I have brought her to many of our local government meetings so she gets to see civics in action. Recently we visited a church(we are not religious) and got a tour of all the Latin words written around the church. Atleast 3 times a week she has time to spend with friends after they get out of school. She isn't just climbing trees and most homeschoolers are not doing that.
YESSSSSSS!!!! I could not love your comment more. Thank you so much for sharing. Reading all that is actually spurring me on even more for a new year of home educating!
I totally agree with you about changing the name from homeschooling/home education. I think I said that in another video too because we actually don't spend that much time at home 😅. I think I said I'd call it "Life Education". It was this video - czcams.com/video/Zo03lKjnDx0/video.htmlsi=Zap65ZMhUWDfSkZl
Your daughter sounds like she's doing incredibly well by deep diving on her interests and would have been held back by school. The vet science sounds awesome combined with the volunteering. My kids also do Spanish and have from about 3/4, which they also wouldn't have done in school. What I really LOVE the sound of is your financial literacy lessons. Such a good idea to find an investment banker - I never thought of that! Definitely something I'll look into. If you have found any other good resources for finance or have any other ideas I'd love to hear them. So so important.
Thank you so much for being here and commenting - really insightful!
How did you go about finding the investment banker out of interest? Was it a case of asking around or did you see them advertise their services?
I work with the public and know alot of people. I also post alot about homeschooling on my fb page. I had been posting videos of my kiddo learning finances and the banker is a customer of mine at my job who reached out and offered lessons.
@@raes8520 that's fab! I love how connections come together like that!
Does loose in the UK mean something else than in the US?
This show is called Loose Women. Yes, some meanings of the word are probably the same. I think in this context they are probably going for loose as in they are loose-lipped and talk openly about anything. But loose can definitely mean loose in other departments here too!