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Have you experienced any of the following misconceptions of what other people have about Home Education and Home Education families? Maybe people haven't said it, but you get the impression they're thinking it? Maybe they're just curious but sometimes they can come across a little sharp? Here's my top ten, see if they resonate with you too.
People believe when you home ed.....
1) You have a lot of money.
Well, this may be true for some families, but certainly isn't the case for us. In the past, we have been better off financially but home education isn't cheap. You get no funding from the local council or the government. Home education is your right, your privilege, your choice and also your financial responsibility.
2) You think you are better than everyone else.
Not true. We just think that mainstream school isn't right for our family. Many people take their children out of school to home ed because the school has failed them and they lose trust in the teachers and the system. Many home ed from the start and just want to teach their children in a non-conformative environment.
3) You don't discipline your children.
Children play up no matter if you're a home-ed or a mainstreamer family. Everyone disciplines differently and home education certainly makes no difference.
4) You must be part of a cult.
They've probably read something on social media or heard on the news of some deranged family keeping their kids in the basement. This is NOT home education. This is psychological and physical child abuse, which you HAVE to remember also happens to children who go to mainstream school. They just experience it during their home life. However, you could argue that some children who attend school are going through this by being bullied by other children and even teachers. Those tragic stories only highlight the fact that the children were home educated to create fear and prejudice of something different from the social norm.
5) You are not giving your child a proper education.
Schools were first created to educate the children in reading, writing and arithmetic. As time passed, schools became a way of moulding children into conformity and churning them out ready to go into the factories and manual work. They got them used to sit all day, being told what to do without complaint and having time allocated for them to eat and use the toilet. When the curriculum was introduced (UK) it was wrapped up as being a fuller and all-round better education. This has only created stressed-out children (who aren't academical learners) leaving school believing they are stupid because they didn't get the grades required or couldn't keep up with the work. I don't think that a proper education.
6) You will have socially inadequate children.
I was socially inadequate when I left school because I attended mainstream school. Since being a child (before my school days) I always preferred being around adults. There are lots of opportunities for home ed children to make new friends as well as staying in touch with old school friends.
7) You have separation issues.
Maybe we do. But I don't think there are many parents out there who haven't cried at the school gate when their child goes to school for the first day. It's especially traumatic if the child is also crying and the teacher is having to pull your child off of you and take them away into a big scary building for 6 hours a day. There's nothing natural about that.
8) You let your children sit playing computer games all day.
Not all day. Hahaha. I personally allow 3 hours per day 5 PM - 8 PM. Which gives them time to chat with friends, play or watch a film. Some home-ed families don't allow their children to have games consoles or mobile phones or tablets at all.
9) You will have feral children.
Again, there are hundreds of children who attend mainstream school who in other peoples eyes could be considered "feral" or "unruly". Some families in the home-ed community practice "free-schooling". (A method in which families have no house rules or schedule regarding education). I guess, to many people looking in, it could seem a little erratic and abnormal but it can be quite character building. Children learn by trial and error and in an environment, with no competition, they have the freedom and confidence to make mistakes and learn from them.
10) You only home educate to avoid the school run and have cheaper holidays.
Believe me, if they were the only 2 reasons someone chose to home-ed their children, the kids would be back to school after a month! Yes, there are perks to home-ed like cheaper holidays and not having to get up at 7 AM for a 2 hour morning of bickering and stress to try and get the kids fed, watered, cleaned and dressed before tackling the walk in the rain or car parking jam. But it is not always easy and there are times you question yourself and your abilities. Some days you even cry and feel like you're going insane especially if you are stuck in most of the time because you don't have a car. Many families who home-ed are on low income (like myself) and can't afford to have holidays every year. So yes, there are advantages but they are not the reasons we chose to home educate.
Well, home-edders, what do you think of my top ten? Maybe you worry that people are thinking these things, maybe people have made comments like these? Well, now you can breathe a sigh of relief if you've been questioning yourself.
And mainstreamers, have you ever thought these things of a family you know who home-eds? I hope I've been able to clear up a few stereotypical thoughts for you all. Remember, we're all trying to do the right thing for our children. Be kind.