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It’s true only because you and your kids weren’t prepared and didn’t have time to think through the situation. Trying to replicate school at home is a recipe fo

It’s true only because you and your kids weren’t prepared and didn’t have time to think through the situation. Trying to replicate school at home is a recipe for disaster. Instead, think about what an education means to you and what you want your kids to be when they are 18 or so. Then design your years and days around that. Nobody can fault you for the result of the pandemic homeschooling experiment. Nobody was prepared. And you were trying to work from home at the same time. This last semester has pretty much just been a pause for most people.

the_other 6y ago
My gut feeling is that this falls apart if you try to work in the current Western work culture and rent or pay a mortgage in the current land ownership culture (especially in a major city). The kind, pace and quality of work you would do whilst simultaneously homeschooling doesn’t mesh with the current work culture. I’m fairly sure that if you could successfully homeschool whilst working, you’d have to work/produce more on local problems; have a more blended work-life balance (mixing work and non-work more freely); deadlines likely would have to be longer; you’d probably want to priorities craft and quality over mass distribution. I find these ideas appealing, but I think you need to rip the innards out of capitalism to achieve it.
- tmaly 6y ago
  I think if we had enough effort put into it like we mobilized with the Manhattan project, we could create some amazing supplemental online material. We have incredible technology and a good understanding of psychology. Why could we not apply some Hollywood approach to creating amazing lessons that are engaging and fun to watch?
  - watwut 6y ago
    Our undestanding of psychology is not all that great. But what we know is that kids are social emotional animals. The relationship with teacher and other kids matter a lot. Interactions matter a lot. Own activity matter a lot. There are fun and engaging lessons to watch, if you know where to look. The above is missing.
  - vharuck 6y ago
    I hate to be that guy, but who would pay for it? The barebones and dull textbooks we have now came about because their publishers chase government money. I'm even less hopeful there's a profit from selling to individuals or homeschool groups.
    - ksdale 6y ago
      The U.S. spends upwards of half a trillion dollars per year on K-12 education (an average of $215,000 per 30 students). That doesn't include college or what parents spend out of pocket on private schools, homeschooling, tutoring, etc. I think there's plenty of money to be made by someone with a great idea and high quality execution.
watwut 6y ago
But ... my kids did not ended badly. It was no catastrophe. There is no blame on me. I just found that teachers know what they do better and that school is giving my kids more then I assumed before. I could put in a lot of effort to design and plan years and days around education. But it would be awful lot of work for not much benefit. While the schools can be improved in a lot ot ways, they are much less failures then some people love to make them be. Also, I know what it is like to be stay at home mom, I simply don't want that. It is profoundly unhappy situation for me and consequently imperfect for whole familly. I don't want it for myself and my kids don't deserved depressed stay at home me.
- guidoism 6y ago
  Failure isn't a word that I would use to describe schools — They do an excellent job of doing what they are supposed to do. Like Illich says, a single model isn't work for everyone, but let's keep the models that work for the people who want them. For what I'm looking for traditional school is a tremendous waste of time and energy. Primary school skills don't actually need to be taught in anyway that resembles teaching. They just sort of happen naturally when you go about the business of playing and interacting with other people and engaging with society. So, my kids can do the stuff they want during the day. It doesn't take really any effort on our part as parents, other than being around them all day, which — to be honest — sucks. But for us it's a tradeoff that's worth it. I wish we had something like the Sudbury School where we lived. There's just not enough people — Except in a few pockets around the country — That want something different for their children.
  - watwut 6y ago
    My kids did not learned to read nor write just by interacting with world. Nor basic math. I would have to consciously manipulate them into situations for them to "naturally" learn that. Same for stuff like vocabulary, foreign language, about nature or space. Or anything history. Or general what to do when accident happen that they learn in a school too. Naturally by playing they don't learn any of that unless I consciously set up situations.

the_other 6y ago

My gut feeling is that this falls apart if you try to work in the current Western work culture and rent or pay a mortgage in the current land ownership culture (especially in a major city). The kind, pace and quality of work you would do whilst simultaneously homeschooling doesn’t mesh with the current work culture. I’m fairly sure that if you could successfully homeschool whilst working, you’d have to work/produce more on local problems; have a more blended work-life balance (mixing work and non-work more freely); deadlines likely would have to be longer; you’d probably want to priorities craft and quality over mass distribution. I find these ideas appealing, but I think you need to rip the innards out of capitalism to achieve it.

tmaly 6y ago
I think if we had enough effort put into it like we mobilized with the Manhattan project, we could create some amazing supplemental online material. We have incredible technology and a good understanding of psychology. Why could we not apply some Hollywood approach to creating amazing lessons that are engaging and fun to watch?
- watwut 6y ago
  Our undestanding of psychology is not all that great. But what we know is that kids are social emotional animals. The relationship with teacher and other kids matter a lot. Interactions matter a lot. Own activity matter a lot. There are fun and engaging lessons to watch, if you know where to look. The above is missing.
- vharuck 6y ago
  I hate to be that guy, but who would pay for it? The barebones and dull textbooks we have now came about because their publishers chase government money. I'm even less hopeful there's a profit from selling to individuals or homeschool groups.
  - ksdale 6y ago
    The U.S. spends upwards of half a trillion dollars per year on K-12 education (an average of $215,000 per 30 students). That doesn't include college or what parents spend out of pocket on private schools, homeschooling, tutoring, etc. I think there's plenty of money to be made by someone with a great idea and high quality execution.

watwut 6y ago

But ... my kids did not ended badly. It was no catastrophe. There is no blame on me. I just found that teachers know what they do better and that school is giving my kids more then I assumed before. I could put in a lot of effort to design and plan years and days around education. But it would be awful lot of work for not much benefit. While the schools can be improved in a lot ot ways, they are much less failures then some people love to make them be. Also, I know what it is like to be stay at home mom, I simply don't want that. It is profoundly unhappy situation for me and consequently imperfect for whole familly. I don't want it for myself and my kids don't deserved depressed stay at home me.

guidoism 6y ago
Failure isn't a word that I would use to describe schools — They do an excellent job of doing what they are supposed to do. Like Illich says, a single model isn't work for everyone, but let's keep the models that work for the people who want them. For what I'm looking for traditional school is a tremendous waste of time and energy. Primary school skills don't actually need to be taught in anyway that resembles teaching. They just sort of happen naturally when you go about the business of playing and interacting with other people and engaging with society. So, my kids can do the stuff they want during the day. It doesn't take really any effort on our part as parents, other than being around them all day, which — to be honest — sucks. But for us it's a tradeoff that's worth it. I wish we had something like the Sudbury School where we lived. There's just not enough people — Except in a few pockets around the country — That want something different for their children.
- watwut 6y ago
  My kids did not learned to read nor write just by interacting with world. Nor basic math. I would have to consciously manipulate them into situations for them to "naturally" learn that. Same for stuff like vocabulary, foreign language, about nature or space. Or anything history. Or general what to do when accident happen that they learn in a school too. Naturally by playing they don't learn any of that unless I consciously set up situations.