"The Public School Dilemma: A Former Teacher’s Critical Reflections"

I've always maintained that my issues with schools stem not from the teachers but from the system. As an ex-teacher, I am all too familiar with the challenges of being an excellent educator within the constraints of a system that is failing in many ways. Together with my husband, we decided we weren't willing to make our children subject to the system we had lost faith in and resolved to build an alternative outside of it. Our belief about our children was that they didn't have to be passive cogs in the machine of standardised education. We aimed to ensure that our family would be the main engine of their education.

I understand that many parents although interested in home educating, feel too insecure to take this step. Please be encouraged that you are the expert on your child and success is not synonymous with schooling. I love this quote from a friend I interviewed on our YouTube channel: "There is no perfect schooling option, but homeschooling is a perfectly viable one."

In the growth of human society, families always came first, communities second, and only much later came the institutions (e.g. Schools) set up by the community to serve it. Somewhere along the line, that changed. People often put home educators on the defence, forcing them to justify their decision, yet very seldomly do people critically examine the education system they strongly advocate for.

Here, I'd like to present some matters I've thought about extensively for you to consider. Conformity is predictable, which is beneficial to those who wish to harness and manipulate a large labour force. School trains children to be employees and consumers. Think about it, it is not often that in school children are taught to write a Business Plan but they will most certainly be taught how to write a CV. As home educators, we have more scope to teach our children to be leaders and adventurers. School trains children to obey reflexively, yet as home educators we are at greater liberty to teach our children to think critically and independently. I have found that well-schooled children often have a low threshold for boredom; seeking constant companionship through TV, computers, mobiles, and shallow friendships quickly acquired and quickly abandoned. In our family we challenge our children with plenty of solitude so that they can learn to enjoy their own company and conduct inner dialogues. We have found that limiting our children's screen time fosters creativity and preserves their innocence and childhood.

Sadly, schools are increasingly becoming laboratories of experimentation on young minds and drill centres for the habits and attitudes of the ‘culture’ demanded by society. Perhaps this is a great point to pose the question - have you ever researched the history of the Education System?

Upon my own research I discovered that the Prussians established the first education system to produce obedient soldiers. The principles were adopted in the US by industrialists. Rural people poured into cities to work in factories, and their children needed care. The vision was that those children would ultimately grow up to also work in the factories that employed their parents. Schools were created to serve this purpose, hence the similarity with factories – rows of desks, military bells, and an insistence on timing. The basic foundations of a generic Prussian primary education system were first laid out in the 1760s. In comparison, in France and Great Britain, compulsory schooling was not successfully enacted until the 1880s. It therefore could be argued that mandatory education as intended, serves children only incidentally; its root purpose is to turn them into servants of the State.

This system is not entirely problematic. We all benefit from a thriving economy where everyone contributes and my African heritage influences my preference for a collectivist approach over an individualist one. Furthermore, as a Christian, I appreciate the importance of honouring leadership and respecting authority. I am not anti-government, anti-establishment, anti-schools, or anti-authority. I just believe we need to be well-educated about the full picture of Education, before being quick to criticise homeschooling. I also fundamentally appreciate the benefits and advantages that home educating our children brings.

In the end, every family must choose the path that aligns with their values and beliefs. For us, homeschooling is not just an alternative but a deliberate choice to prioritise our children's individual needs, cultivate their critical thinking, and prepare them to lead and innovate in a world that desperately needs it. If you're considering homeschooling, remember you are the expert on your child, and there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to education.

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