Why?

Why do people choose to home educate their child(ren)?

Watch our Watch Education Otherwise's video "School is Not Compulsory" video on the EO Youtube channel to find out more.

Some families make a carefully considered decision to home educate long before their child reaches "school age." There may be philosophical, religious or various other reasons for their choice, ultimately they feel that in some way they can offer a more suitable education for their children at home. It is also a natural choice for parents who have enjoyed participating in their child's early learning and see no reason to give up this responsibility when the child reaches the age of five.

Other parents send their child into the school system, but later find that school does not work for their child. School does not suit everyone. Sometimes children may find it hard to "fit in"; some children have special needs; some children face bullying and may become very anxious and distressed.

Children may find that school does not suit their particular way of learning, so parents who become unhappy with the education which is provided in schools may also decide to home educate. Many parents feel they are better able to cater for their child's individual needs at home.

Only you and your family can make this decision, but it can be very helpful to talk to other families with experience of home education who may share the same problems and concerns.

Membership of Education Otherwise gives you the opportunity to meet other home-educating members, as well as offering a range of information and ideas to enable you to make an informed choice based on the individual circumstances of your family. In the Members Forum you will find a broad spectrum of home educators from all areas of the country and with a variety of different perspectives and experience.

Ross Mountney

Home educating parent Ross Mountney writes a regular column for the Education Otherwise newsletter. In the following article, Ross explains the basics about home education.

"There are as many reasons for this as there are families doing it. Here are a few of them: children’s ill health; unhappiness, loss of a 'childhood', bullying, children turning into unrecognisable aliens! Poor academic achievement despite intelligence; lack of support for learners’ needs; lack of respect for children - their personalities and gifts; the increasing stress of testing and attainment targets; poor interaction with others in schools - both children and teachers alike; narrowing of the curriculum; intense pressure; unreasonable expectation put upon children and teenagers.

In general; miserable, stressed, switched off kids. And the deep inherent feeling in parents that surely there has to be another way.

Surely a successful life in the real world after school years is not dependent on this!

You’ll be glad to know, it isn’t!

To put some other worries at rest; educating out of school is legal, you don’t have to be a teacher, your kids do make friends, there is support, you will not be alone or the only ones, children do learn, and finally home educating does work!"

Read more from Ross's article here.

Ross's book Learning Without School is available through Education Otherwise Amazon store.

Articles by home educators

You may also find it helpful to read the following articles, where children and adults share their "why":

• Lorraine - "At the end of last year she started to apply to Universities and was accepted by all she had an interview at. The interviews were positive towards Home Education, they liked the fact she was able to think for herself, and had her own points of view. She is now at the Uni of her choice."

• EO Member - "At a meeting I said, "I think he’s bored". His teacher said, "He’s going to spend the next 12 years in school, he’ll have to get used to being bored." At this point I removed him."

• Rae Price - "The Ed Psych's report had just come and she had told the school he needed to be put into the top set for every subject but English as his dyslexia puts him at a major disadvantage with reading."

• Barry Durdant-Hollamby - A father's report of home education. "Anna and Sophie's sense of self was beginning to be weakened in their school environment by the expectations and projections of teachers and by pressure from their peers to conform in ways that did not reflect their true selves."

• Alan Harris-Reid - "Too little thought is given to the question "Are we preparing our children to be motivated, responsible, happy and looking forward to a life which they are in control of, and not ending up in a low-paid, dead-end job which they hate, but are doing just to 'pay the bills'?". Our children deserve better than that."