So, What’s The Attraction? Choices (Part 3)

Categories: Choices, Léo’s Insights 2022-2023

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Talk about failure!  Every time I am informed a family is leaving Education Unlimited for another option, I am tempted to think we have done something wrong or failed to properly enable, equip and encourage them.

People are certainly free to choose the option that works best for them.   Our job has never been to argue with parents so we respect parental decisions even when we disagree.  Still, I always wonder what could possibly be the attraction of the replacement institution, particularly when people are sending their children back to school?

First things first.  I am not so naive as to think everyone should home educate.  There are situations that require students to attend school.  Even so, most people can and should choose home education simply because parents are best able to meet the individual needs of their children.

The universal reason for sending children back to school is the faulty notion that all educational options are equally good.  This begs the question as to why did parents decide to take their children out in the first place? I can guarantee that the school the children left has not gotten better.  Also note that schools A, B and C are different in title only.  While you may find a better teacher this year, there is no certainty that this will happen again.

The single biggest reason students are sent back to schools is parents.  Yes, you heard me.  The moment a child is born, parents are thrust into having to sacrifice, not just immediately but for the rest of their lives.  The question is will they sacrifice themselves for the sake of their children, or will they sacrifice their children for themselves?  Parents giving reasons for sending their children back to school almost always provide a variation of seeing school as a free daycare service.  Few parents really believe schools are a better place than home but the children are out of the way when they are attending school.

Occasionally moms are tempted to believe school can do a better job of “schooling” than they can, which may be true.  However, lacking confidence in one’s ability to copy a broken system is not fixed by sending the children back into the system.  Normalizing family-based learning is a much better option.

Needing friends is commonly presented as a reason to send children back to school.  Oddly enough, it is also one of the key reasons people pull their children out.  Best to get the children involved in extra-curricular and extra-familial activities so they have opportunities to meet new people and make new friends.  That said, I do acknowledge that making friends can sometimes be a challenge for the home educating especially when living in the country and during the teen years.

The craziest reason to send a child to school is because the child has made the decision to go to school.  Who’s the boss here?  Who has the responsibility for choosing what is in the best interest of the child?  Who has the insight into what is actually involved in this decision?  I must say I shake my head when I hear that an eight year old has made such a determination!  Children should not be making adult decisions.  Enough said!

By far the most disappointing and most common reason for older children to be sent to school is completely based on a false assumption I have dedicated half my life to exposing.  This is the mistaken notion that students must be accredited by the government to successfully access post-secondary options.  This is simply not true, but it remains a mindset rooted in the mistaken idea that schools actually know what is best for children and are more able than parents to teach them at the higher levels.  The home educated are usually ready to embark on their post-secondary pathways when their peers are starting high school.  Why go backwards to advance?  High school accreditation is not needed.

Allow me to make a confession.  Although I was a very successful teacher, I never taught students anything.  I provided them with opportunities, and advised or provided direction so the students could teach themselves.  I encouraged them, answered their questions (which today is readily available online) and daily, communicated my belief in each student’s ability to be successful.  One more thing.  I had very high expectations of my students and they delivered.  I never believed 50% was good enough.

While there may be good reasons for sending children back to school, almost all the reasons we hear are really more harmful than helpful to the child.  Keep them home and provide them with what they need to meet your high expectations.

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