What is behind the rise in homeschooling?

[Anonymous]

Schools have gotten worse. Everything is on screens. There is so much wasted time. Some teachers are so burnt out and unsupported.

That said, homeschooling if done the right way is amazing but it’s a TON of work. Letting your kids drift around and counting on “osmosis” is not homeschooling.

[Anonymous]

there can be pockets of religious undercurrent. But I am also seeing parents who are dissatisfied with public school and can't afford private school. There are more home school resources now and the flexibility can work to your advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a public school teacher, I have certainly thought about it. The behavior issues in a lot of schools are out of control.

I know MANY teachers who will not send their kids to public schools. My youngest DD is in Pre-K with a kid whose mom is a public Kindergarten teacher, and she won't send him to public K. All of us moms were shocked to hear her, but she's been working for like 15 years in multiple schools.

The homeschool kids I know are not all conservative, many are super liberal/hippy. The two groups dress similarly and actually have a lot in common. Neither wants the government involved in their kids' education.

-too much laptop usage
-crazy discipline issues in schools
-not enough attention spent on regular students. My best friend was in a Title 1 school and her regular child was just straight up ignored. They'd put her on her chromebook while they worked intensely with other kids. She was getting very little teaching or attention. I have felt similarly about my own kids.

I'm PP and almost all of my colleagues send their children to private school or lottery in to our option programs (myself included)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I notice this too OP. I am a healthcare provider to DoD children and there feels like an uptick in homeschooling. At one time, these same kids would have gone to DoD schools or enrolled/unenrolled in local publics when they moved every 3 years. Now, it feels like the trailing spouse is homeschooling much more frequently.

I will say, the kids seem healthy, social and bright when I talk to them. Not weird, and mom’s not outwardly conspiratorial (they’re with me getting vaccines and antibiotics if needed). Of course I have no idea what their academic situation is

DoD dependent children get moved almost every 2-4 years. Schooling in public schools varies widely between districts, even in the same state. Home schooling can be prevent the educational disruptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read any thread about any of the public schools in the DMV. They are all full of complaints about teachers, other students, parents, school administration, tech in classrooms, school calendar, etc. Then add in school shootings.

This.

We would homeschool (for academic reasons, not for religious or political reasons) to better educate our kids, if we could. We cannot find a way to make it work.

In our social circle, almost every homeschooling family does it for academic reasons. College admissions has gone well for those who did homeschool.

The one exception is for a special needs child which their public school would not support sufficiently.

In each of these cases, the parents are both well educated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read any thread about any of the public schools in the DMV. They are all full of complaints about teachers, other students, parents, school administration, tech in classrooms, school calendar, etc. Then add in school shootings.

This.

We would homeschool (for academic reasons, not for religious or political reasons) to better educate our kids, if we could. We cannot find a way to make it work.

In our social circle, almost every homeschooling family does it for academic reasons. College admissions has gone well for those who did homeschool.

The one exception is for a special needs child which their public school would not support sufficiently.

In each of these cases, the parents are both well educated.

In this area, I'm sure people are teaching their kids. But in many parts of the US, people are just pulling their kids out of school and not teaching them at all or barely teaching them. This is driven by social media. My friend's niece and nephew were pulled out of school and they are using an online program. They do not know how to read and they are in middle school. This is in Tennessee and apparently there is very little oversight. You just have to certify you are homeschooling your children but there is no testing or required curriculum. This will be disastrous in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a public school teacher, I have certainly thought about it. The behavior issues in a lot of schools are out of control.

I know MANY teachers who will not send their kids to public schools. My youngest DD is in Pre-K with a kid whose mom is a public Kindergarten teacher, and she won't send him to public K. All of us moms were shocked to hear her, but she's been working for like 15 years in multiple schools.

The homeschool kids I know are not all conservative, many are super liberal/hippy. The two groups dress similarly and actually have a lot in common. Neither wants the government involved in their kids' education.

-too much laptop usage
-crazy discipline issues in schools
-not enough attention spent on regular students. My best friend was in a Title 1 school and her regular child was just straight up ignored. They'd put her on her chromebook while they worked intensely with other kids. She was getting very little teaching or attention. I have felt similarly about my own kids.

I'm PP and almost all of my colleagues send their children to private school or lottery in to our option programs (myself included)

I’m another teacher and I send my children to a private school. We also have many homeschoolers in our neighborhood. They didn’t make the choice for religious reasons. It’s primarily dissatisfaction with schools (lack of discipline, over-reliance on technology). Frankly, I agree with them. I would also choose to homeschool if I had the ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read any thread about any of the public schools in the DMV. They are all full of complaints about teachers, other students, parents, school administration, tech in classrooms, school calendar, etc. Then add in school shootings.

This.

We would homeschool (for academic reasons, not for religious or political reasons) to better educate our kids, if we could. We cannot find a way to make it work.

In our social circle, almost every homeschooling family does it for academic reasons. College admissions has gone well for those who did homeschool.

The one exception is for a special needs child which their public school would not support sufficiently.

In each of these cases, the parents are both well educated.

In this area, I'm sure people are teaching their kids. But in many parts of the US, people are just pulling their kids out of school and not teaching them at all or barely teaching them. This is driven by social media. My friend's niece and nephew were pulled out of school and they are using an online program. They do not know how to read and they are in middle school. This is in Tennessee and apparently there is very little oversight. You just have to certify you are homeschooling your children but there is no testing or required curriculum. This will be disastrous in the future.

No more disastrous than the failing public schools in many areas of the U.S. You must live in an absolute bubble if you think all school districts are fully functioning and fulfilling their educational duties.

[Anonymous]

I sometimes wish I had the skills to homeschool my ADHD kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that everyone has their personal reasons but why does it seem to be promoted so heavily on social media right now? There has to be something nefarious behind it.

You need to get off social media or use it more responsibly. They're feeding this to you because they know you're interested. I have a school aged child and I never get homeschooling content. You're not managing your algorithm and worse, you believe your algorithm is representative of something bigger. It's not.

I am a homeschooling parent in the DC area and I never get homeschool related content on sm. In fact, I learn more about how homeschooling is perceived on this site than anywhere else. To be clear: we are secular, believe in Science, and our children learn through in person classes taught by teachers, online live and asynchronous classes (also taught by teachers) and self led learning.

It seems like your kids are enrolled in online school, not homeschooled