On the note of homework, it's weird how both the kids and teachers take work home after "working" hours.

@nurturingdiscontent

6 ай бұрын

True! Yes, from what I hear teachers have a TON of work to do after hours; it's really gruelling.

Absolutely loved this video, it's bang on!!! We have homeschooled our children for 3 years now and they are so much happier & content. The only way to save kids now is to keep them away from the ways of the world 🌎 ❤

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Ahhh thank you for your comment - so pleased to hear that Home Ed is working out so well for your family. It's such a tough balance, I think between allowing them to be able to operate in this world and society we live, while protecting them from all these things that have become normal that are actually deeply unhealthy

This video is so on point. We have deregistered this week and already the difference in my child has been amazing. The stress and worry has gone and we can learn in a relaxed way. No wearing uncomfortable uniform, learning things we really don’t need anymore. The whole of this school year he has had to write the date in Roman numerals 🙄 How is that going to be beneficial in the future. Thank you for this channel and keep creating 😁

@nurturingdiscontent

5 ай бұрын

Oh wow, how exciting that you've just started this week. How old is your child? It's wonderful you've already noticed a difference. Just be prepared for the day when you start questioning if you've made the right decision, and worry you're failing your child. It will happen, and it doesn't mean it's true whatsoever...it just means you really care, and the feeling will pass. It happens every now and then to everyone I think 😄

@katieparkerjewellery7277

5 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent Our son is 10 and was in year 6. We’ve had an amazing first week and he’s actually wanted to learn. Giving him choice has made it enjoyable for him again. I’m sure those feelings will come especially when we have difficult days, our son has ADHD, DCD and awaiting an ASD referral. The confines of a classroom are not suitable for him at all, I wish we had done this much sooner. 😁

I've recently de-registered my 5 year old daughter and she's currently learning about money management, caring for mental health, and cooking/ kitchen safety. She's leaps and bounds ahead of her peers in terms of her emotional development and school was just holding her back. She's now learning subjects that she otherwise wouldn't be learning for many years or at all.

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

yayyy, love to hear this. Such great topics to be covering, and something that will last her a lifetime!

@TaxingIsThieving

2 ай бұрын

This is my plan. One day 🥰

In Wales we have a new curriculum, where it is wanting "to have more authentic learning" and there is a bigger focus on wellbeing. But my issue is that is on top of the other curriculum demands so it therefore becomes another tick box exercise. With uniforms- I think the idea is that you don't see differences between backgrounds and that you are all equal. But I do think they need to be practical and cheaper. I am really being challenged as a trained teacher and working in the "system". This channel is challenging my thinking in a good way.

@bettyslowwastelife9731

4 ай бұрын

We are told to send parents photographs every few days- in one school we had to do it send everyday. Again would love to do this but this is on top of marking, teaching, planning, behaviour issues. I wish we had less of red tape. I have tried to have parents in more for play and stays and run workshops on the power of parents. Soo burnt out 🔥 Want to be at home with my daughter.. I have some many worries... 1. She is an only child- not sure I want more 2. Having one income maybe needing to work 3. Identity crisis! Went to uni to be a teacher but now questioning everything!!

@nurturingdiscontent

4 ай бұрын

Oh that's interesting about the new curriculum. I mean, I'm all for there being a bigger focus on wellbeing, which seems to be missing in England, but I can totally see that without extra funding/resources to do so, or reducing other parts of the curriculum, all it does it create extra demands and workload for the teachers :( I definitely see your point about uniforms. I guess there will always be pros and cons. As in there are cons to removing all opportunities for personalisation and self-expression, but there is privilege in being able to express yourself visually in the way you want, and in the school environments self-expression can lead to bulling I'm sure! I certainly remember being picked on for not having branded trainers for P.E.! Thank you so much for your feedback and taking this video in the manner in which it was intended 💜

@nurturingdiscontent

4 ай бұрын

The system is really preventing teachers from doing what they do best: teaching! oof, can totally relate to your worries. Just to add a few thoughts: 1.I do know people who Home Educate with only one child, and there are plenty of oppourtunites to socialise with other kids (at least where I live), it can also mean you can give more focus to that child's education. It also depends on the temperament of the child; some will be much better not constantly being around big groups of other children constantly, while some desire a lot of interaction 2. We are also living off one income at the moment and it is tight. You have to cut back on the luxuries and really manage your budget well. Having said that, I do know people who also work part-time making use of Home ed drop-off sessions, family, or if their child is old enough to do independent work that you can check in on periodically while working from home. It is a balancing act for sure but many people make it work. I am using my Mum 1 day per week and the weekends where my husband can takeover to try and build up a side income to make things less tight. Maybe you could consider using your experience to tutor home ed kids, or make guides etc to help parents. 3. Yep, identity crisis is real I guess being a Mum can do that in the first place, and then most of us won't have known we would also be hime educating and not "working" in the job we planned. I suppose this is something we have to work through and find all the good things in our new reality. As long as you are a parent you will be a teacher too, and I'm sure there are plenty of ways you could use your teaching skills if not full time teaching in a school. Wish you all the best and thanks again for sharing here on the channel! (sorry if lots of typos; my hands weren't keeping up with my train of thoughts :) )

@bettyslowwastelife9731

4 ай бұрын

Oh my Gosh, thank you so much for this detailed response. It honestly means the world. Especially when you said if you are a parent then you will always be a teacher. I am in the questioning stage of Wondering. I am learning so much! Thank you for this channel. I would love to know about local home education groups. Where to start.. Thank you Catherine! ❤️

@nurturingdiscontent

3 ай бұрын

Hello, really sorry I missed your reply before. In terms of local home Ed groups I’m afraid the best place to start (and really only way I know of if you don’t know anyone else already) is via Facebook. If you search “home education” and your area something is sure to turn up!

Great video. It is a serious and real point that you make about the way some schools separate children from their parents. Another recent issue that came to light was when parents rightly wanted to take a look at the school’s RSE program and were not allowed due to “copyright”- imagine that? Not allowed to see how their children would be taught about some of the most delicate topics which some may not be mature enough to handle. Horrendous.

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Oh! I hadn’t heard about that. That’s really shocking. I don’t see how looking at something can be a copyright infringement. Nice excuse. I’m not 100% what RSE actually is. What does it stand for?

@YesYouCanHomeEducate

8 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent it is “Relationships and Sex Education”.

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Ahh thank you. I was thinking religious something or other 😄

I think many of the school subjects are great for kids to learn. I just don’t think we teach them in a way that lets kids know that this will be useful for certain professions. Such as the complex math examples, if we communicate to children that this type of math is useful for construction workers, it might resonate more. We need to start teaching children about the various types of jobs there are in the world, it would make the information we teach more relevant.

@karinadoshi3950

8 ай бұрын

let them know there is a purpose for what they are learning

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Yes, I REALLY agree with your point. That would be a good starting point.

I’m obsessed with your channel now! You say a lot of things that I’ve been thinking but haven’t said out loud yet. Homeschooling has now actually got me questioning everything in society.

@nurturingdiscontent

5 ай бұрын

Wow, thank you, Yep, once you start seeing some of the things that really aren't normal you can't stop seeing more. It can be hard going agains the tide of what's accepted as normal in society and seeing things in a way others don't, but once you see it there is no other way you could live.

Another fab video!! 🙌🏻 I look forward to them so much! Strongly agree on all points and the fact it’s so normalised is not right! 😮‍💨 Thank you again for such a clear and informative video! xxx

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for supporting for so long on this channel. It's been a great motivation for me. Glad you enjoyed this video ☺

Just found your channel. Iv been homeschooling mine since 2020 now. A teacher told my 8 year old son not to tell me that he had been applying hand sanitiser to his hands when i had requested for him to use soap and water due to allergic reactions from the hand sanitiser. That was just one of the many reason's. I wasnt overly keen on school and remember uniforms being brought in and crying to my nan and mum that i didn't want to go to prison anymore 😂. So my two youngest and our grandson who we have an sgo for are now on year 4 of homeschooling. Not going to lie its hard work 11,10 and 7 their dad grandad hates me for it makes my life miserable. My father in law recently passed and he was the only one who fully supported me and totally innerstood why i chose to do it. Im a strong believer that we never stop learning and as a result of all this i have picked apart our school system. And have reached the conclusion its prussian schooling and its a western world issue. These little people will hopefully one day be left to care for our realm and i think as parental its our responsibility to make sure we leave better children for our planet. Glad to have found you. Normally id be busy encouraging their math and English but i have an abcess and am suffering so sitting here watching the suggestions that theirtube is leaving for me today. Thank you for having us 😊

@nurturingdiscontent

6 ай бұрын

Ahhh, welcome - thank you for being here and leaving such a thoughtful comment. Sorry to hear about your abcess. That's great that you've been homeschooling for 4 years already; sorry you had to come to it through the school not behaving themselves. It really is hard work, and I think I have it easier with my kids being much younger, so I may be coming to you for advice when they get older 😆. I think I've got use to people not understanding my decision, but it must be even harder having someone so close to you actively against it :( . It sounds like you've really done a lot of reseach around the school system; absolutely agree with you about the prussian schooling! It's really like once you lift the veil you can't unsee all the worrying things about the school system isn't it. "These little people will hopefully one day be left to care for our realm..." love that and so true, and I really think we as home educators can help equip them for that future. Hope you start to feel better soon, and thanks again for your support here!

@sharn1982lizard

6 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent thank you as of yet still not great im pretty sure I would rather go through child birth again than this pain 🤣. That is the hardest part for me that someone so close just doesn't get it. I do miss my father in law's support a lot when it comes to anything to do with schooling. Again thanks for having us and hopefully I'll be able to help 🤣 at the moment I'm just trying to get my head around the rubbish my 11 year old needs for gcses 🤣as his dad insists they are much needed.

for the whitewashing part, im saying this a a mixed person, (half black, half white) and a british person. whilst i understand your point, you have to come at it from a point of that the history being taught in britan is that of british history, which is a white history, we do have black history month now, which to be honest i dont agree with anyways as all it seems to teach is about slavery, whilst whilst is important, is not all there is to black history, and it also paints it to be as if it was all the white peoples fault when it was black people selling other black people for profit (which had been going on or much longer than the slave trade), but regardless, i will be homeschooling my children, but when i teach them history i will be teaching them the history of there family history (both black and white sides) and aadding what i feel i need to add. When it comes to schools teaching history, adding a bit of history from around the world, so you can understand other cultures better i think would be best, but sticking to majority british history is fine. (unless your child wishes to major in history then they can choose which they wish to learn about) *apologies for any typos my keyboard is doing my nut in right now :(*

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

We are taught in school that British history is white history, whihc is exactly the type of whitewashing I'm talking about. There is a rich black British history yet we may be led to believe black british history only started with the Windrush generation. I'll steal from the English heritage website..."Black histories are a vital part of England’s story, reaching back many centuries. There is evidence of African people in Roman Britain as far back as the 3rd century AD, and black communities have been present since at least 1500." Great to hear you are thinking of homeschooling, and thanks for sharing your comment here.

You always bring up such important discussions on your channel. I really appreciate that. I educate my children at home, and I have been since 2020. I decided to quit my career and continue home-educating after the pandemic. One of the reasons was the unfortunate revelation of how terribly my children were actually doing in school and truly had been before all hell broke loose those last 2 months of school. It was honestly something I had considered many years ago, but never had the courage. Everything you mentioned really hit home; being taught unnecessary subjects like certain maths etc, I had a career in Fashion, and the most important form of math I needed was fractions,. But the whitewashing really struck a chord. I'm black and live in the US and I can tell you that this was my least favorite subject to teach, which probably sounds weird, but the reason is because I didn't realize I had been conditioned to teach it how it was taught to me. My kids were so bothered and upset when I discussed the things I thought were "normal". I'm a Gen X'er but my kids are Gen Z, so fairness is important to them. They did not appreciate all the negative information without a true resolve or call for justice. And I really had to adjust and try to highlight more contributions from our race and culture that were not just sad or "bad".

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Wow, thank you so much for your comment, and for sharing your story here. It really means a lot to me. So many of us who take the decision to not send our kids to school anymore have to give up a lot, and I know it's not a decision any of us take lightly. I'm sorry to hear you had to go through a really tough time with the school to reach this point, but glad it is working out for you now! Once you have your eyes opened to the whitewashing that is ingrained in every aspect of our lives it's hard not to keep spotting it everywhere, and as a white person I know unless I am actively trying to undo that then I'm only contributing to the problem more. Thanks again for being here, and best of luck on your continues home educating journey! 💜

This video was suggested to me randomly, but I was really interested to watch it especially since I knew the educational system was quite broken but I didn't really think, in depth, why exactly it's broken. I'm not a mother myself, but I'm an adult with very small brother and teen sister, and I really want to help and introduce them to a better learning techniques and actually useful information for their future life. These were very helpful to notice and hopefully I will be able to also use it to help my little siblings through the weird school system. Thank you very much for compiling and sharing these points, it was very eye-opening to deconstruct the systematic elements we just grew into and never questioned.

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for your comment, and sorry for my slow reply! Wow, your brother and sister are really lucky to have such an invested older sister! I think you're absolutely doing the right thing being aware of the pitfalls of our current education system to help them navigate it and I'm sure with your help they will thrive. Best wishes to you and your family!

Am starting homeschooling for my kids

@nurturingdiscontent

6 ай бұрын

Yay, really exciting. Good luck to you and your family. Where are you based?

I have been fielding these arguments for too long to think this will make any particular difference, but: children are creatures of potential. We teach them a broad range of subjects because NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THEY WILL "NEED"! Exposure to a broad range of subjects is inefficient in the same way that not knowing the future is inefficient. Pretending we do is the real waste. Furthermore, as I am fond of pointing out to my students, we do not teach soldiers by throwing them in a field and shooting at them; we teach them peripherally relevant skills first. The thought processes and discipline engendered by mathematics are vital to sound reasoning regardless of whether students go into STEM fields. People don't like maths for the same reason they don't like facing difficult problems. If we think they will never have to expend mental energy struggling with difficulties, sure, skip education entirely. Even when you say that "if a student shows interest in" an arcane subject, it should be followed up, how exactly do you think they will be exposed to it in an educational environment that insists upon teaching only what is "necessary"? If a supposedly pointless subject models (and rewards) intellectual curiosity, and / or gives a student intellectual satisfaction or pleasure, are these unworthy goals? The fact of the matter is that schools offer huge advantages in terms of collecting experts together that, in their sum, can offer more than any but the most extraordinary individual can offer on his own. Their efforts create space in students' imaginations and intellects that demonstrate that a brain is not a finite drawer in which "useless" material "takes up space," but a wonderfully capable organ in which every new piece of data offers the possibility of leading to wholly new places. Particularly if you believe the brain to be a mere repository of information, I encourage you to leave the teaching to the professionals. That being said, I do think financial education is valuable and uniforms are overrated (although data does seem to suggest they improve behavior, which is of course pertinent in a group setting).

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

"children are creatures of potential". I wholeheartedly agree; what a lovely phrase "The thought processes and discipline engendered by mathematics are vital to sound reasoning regardless of whether students go into STEM fields". Good point! "If a supposedly pointless subject"...my point wasn't that they are pointless it is that they are forced. "...models (and rewards) intellectual curiosity, and / or gives a student intellectual satisfaction or pleasure, are these unworthy goals?" Absolutely worthy goals to those who get these things. I love intellectual satisfaction. "The fact of the matter is that schools offer huge advantages in terms of collecting experts together that, in their sum, can offer more than any but the most extraordinary individual can offer on his own" agree schools bring together experts - it's fantastic. Often it sounds like these experts are so bound by school bureaucracy, financial restrictions, behaviour management methods, etc, that they have little room for their expertise to flourish. "Particularly if you believe the brain to be a mere repository of information, I encourage you to leave the teaching to the professionals." I 100% do not believe the brain to be merely a repository of information, in fact that's the antithesis of what I believe. Jiddu Krishnamurti, who has perhaps had the greatest influence on how I view education, said "Merely to stuff the child with a lot of information, making him pass examinations, is the most unintelligent form of education.” It saddens me that this is what schools often seem to do. Thanks for your comment - interesting stuff

In my experience parents are not allowed to challenge detentions. At least not at the school i went to

@nurturingdiscontent

6 ай бұрын

That's sad to hear. I really can't get my head around how the school are allowed to detain pupils like that

Great points you have made. I love your passion and intelligence on the subject. Keep on! X

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Ahh thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Was worried I would get backlash on this one...but that could be to come still 😅

I think uniform is a good idea..I'm 34 and when i was in Primary in Yorkshire i went to a school that hadn't yet introduced uniform...and there was a real hierarchy according to the kids clothing! Those children who wore branded, trendy, expensive clothes immediately became superior.... 2 years into school,uniform was introduced. Btw i homeschool in the uk also, i like your channel, alot of what you say i fully agree with.

@nurturingdiscontent

Ай бұрын

Yeh I can definitely see that aspect of it for sure! Although saying that, it still managed to happen in my uniformed school with trainers and footwear. I wonder how they deal with it in places like Finland where they don’t wear uniform…will have to look into that.

Great video. I am on the same page as you completely. Infact I may have to pinch some bits and bobs in the future for our channel ;) Another big problem we have is tracking down accurate history to teach them, as most of whats out there is lies, propaganda, and manipulation. Very hard to know where to turn!

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Thank you! Really appreciate it. You are welcome to “steal like an artist” as they say 😄 that’s what I did when I saw another vid discussing life scams like bank charges etc. I thought I could come up with a lot of these for the school system 🤣. Hope you are doing well on your travels!!!

@life_uncharted

8 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent great stuff. Thank you 😁. Sadly we are back from travelling now. Hiding from the weather up north where we live in Yorkshire. Planning to do some home Ed related videos until we can travel again. Keep it up. Love the channel 😁😁

Ps school uniform. Oh yes! This is my opinion. They are getting them ready for work. My husband works for tesco and they all wear the same uniform to represent the company. But Xmas time wear a Xmas jumper like my daughter today. Also have you heard of muffty day! Wear what you want day. They do this in school doing the same in work place. Lucky I get the uniform cheap as husband works at supermarket. But it's annoying cos always buying new shoes and if uniform gets ruined have to buy again lol. Schools were put in place to help those disadvantaged and poor to get into work and to prepare children for the workplace.

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

I do see your point, but I'm always hesitant about these "preparing them for the real world/working world" arguments. I think kids need to be present as kids not spending their lives being made prepared for the next stage. I can definitely see both sides of the uniform debate. Like I said in the video, it's more the uniform punishments etc that I'm critical of. "Schools were put in place to help those disadvantaged and poor..." I really hope there is evidence that this goal is being achieved.

@jennybillen5430

8 ай бұрын

@nurturingdiscontent well it is being achieved hence why we opted to put our daughter in school in my previous comment xx but yes there is so many opinions on every subject that has changed and re invented every year.

I love your chats :) much love from Stratford XO

@nurturingdiscontent

3 ай бұрын

Yay! Thank you so much. Ohh, Stratford awesome. I miss london 😄

I got frustrated thinking why they give them homework ?has no logic ,you don’t take work after work when you come back home ,thanks for all videos my little one is going to school this September but I am leading about options in case I will need to make that decision to take her from school ,you so right they teach so many unnecessary topics that we never use ,even maths that we only use the basic knowledge in real life .I am not feeling strong enough on knowledgeable enough to Home school at this moment

@nurturingdiscontent

3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for your supportive comment 💜 it’s great you are keeping such an open mind around your little one’s education. Wishing you all the best for when your child starts school and hope they love it. I’m sure you are totally knowledgable to home educate if you decide on that path. It is more about being a facilitator and providing them with the right resources. I do so much learning alongside my kids!

An attendance letter was SENT OUT for my child being SICK!?!! SCHOOLS ARE STUPID, I feel sad.

@nurturingdiscontent

6 ай бұрын

Sorry to hear that and I'm not surprised from similar stories I've heard. Along with this new gov campaign about kids not missing school owing to illness (mental or physical) "this morning he was worried about school...now look at him". It makes me genuinely so sad that after all these years (since I was at school) nothing has changed despite all we know about the effects of physical and mental health on our wellbeing. It seems like a lot of companies have caught up with understanding that burnt-out employees cost them money and they put money into employee wellness schemes etc, and yet our schools still have this "plough through, you'll be fine" attitude. I just can't get my ahead around how they can be so openly archaic about it despite all the evidence we have around children's mental health. And then parents are made to feel like they are the ones in the wrong!?!? 😤 Sorry went on a bit of a rant there! I hope your child is feeling in much better health now and they are lucky to have you as a parent who has their eyes open to how silly it is and can support them through 💜

I was hated by the teacher, principal cause I asked questions about what they were learning.

@nurturingdiscontent

Ай бұрын

Yep, they don’t like kids who question things! Sorry you had that x

I am an educator and I want to respond to this video politely and earnestly, because I believe that you created this video earnestly. For background, there are subjects in what we in the United States call public school - government funded school - which are optional. These are, in primary education, called extracurriculars, and in secondary education, electives. They are called extracurriculars because they happen outside of the school day, and electives because they happen inside the school day but students must elect, or choose, to do them. To get on with my response, I have taught pretty much every subject to many, many ages of student and I take issue with your characterization of subjects as useless. Let's start with maths, or as we call it, math. It is invariably important that the population of our planet are universally educated on certain mathematical strategies. I'm sure you would agree that Arithmetic is important, but Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry are important as well. It's true that advanced subjects like Calculus are not as necessary, but they are already offered as optional electives. The reason these math subjects are essential is precisely because students who are not yet in university don't know yet what they want to do for a living. I first wanted to be a video game designer, then a history teacher, and now I'm pivoting my career to screenwriting. If a student does not receive fundamental education before they become adults, many options, some of which you detail in your video, are lost to them. They no longer can become Formula One race car designers, because they lack the education all of their peers in that career already have. Further, I object to your characterization of maths as something we never use in our real world. You showed geometry on your screen as an example of math that doesn't matter, so let's use that as our case. If you are taking your car to the mechanic shop, you will need to understand the volume of your gas tank, the size and area of your tyres, the rpm of your engine and so on. If you do not understand geometry, it is very very easy for the mechanic to swindle you, and you'd have no way of knowing. Moving onto Geography. Geography is absolutely essential. When you watch the news about the War in Ukraine, or the genocide in the Congo, or any other story, you need to know where these places are. If you hear the latest United Nations report on Climate Change, you will need to know basic geography to understand it. How the world is shaped is so intrinsically linked to everyday life. You will meet someone from Bangladesh, and it would do you well to know where that is before meeting them. To know that Australia and New Zealand have summer in December and winter in July is also essential if you're going to visit any of those places. A more practical real world subject i could not think of. And now, history. It is true that Ancient Rome is focused on far far too much in Western education. Historians from Europe see Rome as one of the starting points of European civilization, which is true, in a sense, but it ignores so much more history. We learn history as a practice in empathy, to understand that we are not alone in our story on earth, and that people have come before us who struggled with different, yet similar issues as us. We need to learn from them, and not repeat their mistakes. History is the foundation upon which our world is built, and not knowing it is like trying to build a house without understanding the soil upon which you are building. I don't like homeschool parents. It is, honestly, an insult to professionals like me for a random person to say they can bypass our years of training and education to become a replacement for us. I know for sure that most homeschool parents do it for altruistic reasons, but there's a reason you wouldn't build your own car. You have less experience, and you trust the professionals to build it better. That's not to say there aren't issues with education or that parents should have no say, far from it. What I am saying is that when you take your child away from school, you are taking on a massive amount of responsibility that you are, frankly, incapable of handling effectively. You should, instead, speak up and make your voice and vote heard. We live in a democratic society, our children should be educated together, as a community, instead of isolated.

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Thank you for your comment, it took time away from your day to leave a thoughtful response on my little channel here, so I appreciate that and your efforts to make it polite; however, we may have differing opinions on whether making the sweeping statement "I don't like homeschool parents" to a parent who home educates is actually polite. I like to think if you met me in real life you wouldn't dislike me. I’ll take it on the chin that maybe I didn’t get across that my main point wasn’t that subjects were useless but that they are not optional, and children are forced to do them even if they struggle or intensely dislike them and don’t serve real-life situations. But I do take on your point that it’s important to expose children to a wide range of subjects because we don’t know what they will later choose to do and could close doors for them (although often those doors close a lot later than the school system would have us believe; for example, many children go on to do GCSE maths at college age in the UK rather than at secondary school age). I 100% AGREE THAT MATHS IS SOMETHING WE USE IN THE REAL WORLD (my children and I do real-world maths every day)!! But I don’t think real-world maths is taught at school. Honestly, I did maths up to AS-level and I had to look up the word Trigonometry to remind me what that actually is…but there is a very real possibility I’m just stupid I guess. I like your analogy of using maths at the car mechanic, but I don’t think this sort of maths is taught in school (but I only speak from my experience of course - if it had been taught in these terms it might have stuck with me more and I think that would be a great context to teach maths in schools). Completely agree with your points on Geography; again, I didn’t learn any of those things in school. In fact, my knowledge of where different countries are has come on leaps and bounds since becoming a home-educating parent. We follow F1 around the world, and learn about where the countries are, along with the different languages, customs and cultures in those places. My children can point to Saudi Arabia on a map and know the flag of Bahrain: I definitely couldn’t do that at 5 years old. Ditto on climate change: I was never taught that at school (maybe I’m too old!). My 5-year-old was having a conversation with me about the weather being dismal several months ago and said “maybe it’s sunny in Australia…no, actually, it would be nighttime in Australia at the moment”. Again, his world knowledge far surpasses mine at that age, but again…maybe I’m just stupid. I don’t want to pick on Rome, it was just an example, and actually, as an adult, I developed a deep interest in Stoicism. Marcus Aurelius and Seneca were very prominent Romans whose words have had a big impact on my life. Again, it was more that children aren’t given an option whether to study these, even if, after the initial discovery, they have very little interest; maybe that interest will come later. As for History repeating itself, as I said to another commenter, I see very little evidence that certain subjects being taught stop people making the same mistakes. We were all taught about the World Wars and yet wars are currently rife across the world. Most of us will have learned about the atrocities of the Nazis in the 1930s and yet we are currently witnessing another mass genocide as we speak. Nothing has changed despite years of schooling between these events. No home educating parent is trying to discredit or bypass the training that teachers undergo, but we do know our children better in terms of what makes them tick, what their interests are, and what environments they can flourish in. Plus many believe a 1-1 teaching ratio that is adaptive to a child’s needs is much better than a 1-30 teaching ratio where one style of learning has to suit many different learning types. Furthermore, many home educating parents do indeed enlist the services of tutors or learning centres to teach subjects that we know they are far more expert in than we could ever be. As for comparing teaching a child to building a car, well, I think we just have very differing opinions on how children best learn and will have to agree to disagree. “…you are taking on a massive amount of responsibility that you are, frankly, incapable of handling effectively.” I completely agree that home educating parents take on a massive amount of responsibility and that is not a responsibility we take lightly. In fact, I would say that home educating parents generally give a lot more thought to the decisions over their child’s education than those who simply send their children to school because it’s the norm and never consider alternatives. As for whether I, personally, am capable of handling this responsibility you have absolutely no insight into and, again, we have differing ideas on what is a polite thing to say to people. “our children should be educated together, as a community, instead of isolated.” I agree with you. My children have plenty of opportunities to be educated alongside other children and are much LESS isolated than children who spend their days with the same set of children of the exact same age day in and day out for 12 years. Best wishes to you, and thanks for the discussion. I'm glad we've both had the chance to put our points across in a civil manner.

@DavidJamesHenry

8 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent You have an excellent point in stating that children are supposed to study these subjects regardless of if they dislike them or struggle with them. It is a teacher and school's responsibility to make sure students are not left behind, and since every child ticks differently, as you so eloquently said, a good teacher should cater his or her lessons to help that student become passionate. I know from experience that if I become excited and passionate in my delivery of my lessons, the students often suddenly become excited, too, as an example. You are correct in saying that a teacher to student ratio of 1:30 isn't good, but teacher's unions have been arguing that exact point for years. My union just recently went on strike because my school district isn't lowering classroom sizes by hiring more teachers. Again I reiterate, taking students out of classrooms doesn't fix this problem in the long term. At home and in homeschool networks, children only get exposed to other children in those networks, who are likely just like them. If they attended school, they would perhaps meet a student whose parents are homeless, they would perhaps meet a student from Bahrain, they would perhaps meet students who have celebrity parents. Unlike private schools (which in America means schools run without government money, usually Catholic but oftentimes otherwise religious and sometimes secular), public schools collect people from all walks of life. You must admit, for a family to afford taking their child out of school and into homeschooling, they must be pretty well off. At least one parent needs to have the time off of work to educate for free. But parents who cannot do this have no choice but to send their child to school. That leaves those schools with poor students, less government funding, and poorer learning outcomes. When I say we should learn together, I mean all of us together, not just the individuals in our classrooms. I chose my words indelicately in my previous comment, and I apologize. I dislike the cohort of people who homeschool, not the individual parents themselves. It's like how I dislike landlords, even though my landlord has been, so far, a very nice person. My objection to homeschooling is more about the institution as a whole. That's not even to mention how the curriculum that homeschooling parents are able to purchase online is almost always politically biased or religious in nature, it's not even approaching the subject of how homeschooled children, when they reach university, are invariably much less fluent in social skills and they are often incapable of understanding how a class schedule and structure works. I went to college with several homeschooled peers, and one of them broke down into tears because socializing with so many people every day was something she was untrained to do. It was a muscle she hadn't exercised, and now she was bending under the pressure, isolating herself because she was scared of stuffing her foot in her mouth, and then as a natural consequence, feeling lonely. The statistics bear this out, homeschooled children struggle in higher education more than children in traditional school. When you take your child out of school, you are also taking your voice out of the conversation. Schools, like all parts of society, should be controlled democratically by the people to whom they serve. Your voice could have made real change.

@chantelleedwards3089

4 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontentwhat an absolute coherent response. Im literally going to subscribe now

@nurturingdiscontent

4 ай бұрын

@@chantelleedwards3089 great to have you here! Thanks so much💟

@nancyroberts8749

4 ай бұрын

@@DavidJamesHenry Cite your sources for your claims. Less personal anecdotes about a student or two you knew in college please.

My older children's secondary school (thank goodness they have left now) would issue detentions if they wore socks of any colour other than black or white. I won't carry on explaining the nonsense their school expects. It's a horrid school

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

🙈🙈 different coloured socks??? The nonsense knows no bounds!!

Fantastic video well done! WTF do they bang on about the Tudors in school? Henry the 8th was a serial killer of women and he wasnt even presented to us in that way. I thought RE was the biggest waste of time although the teacher was nice xx

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Thank youuuuu! 😅 This is actually the first time i've heard Henry VIII described as a serial killer, but...ACCURATE! Weirdly RE was one of the subjects I did enjoy...probably the teacher, ditto.

Have you thought about how your kids are going to get their qualifications? Don’t we need certain levels of GCSEs and A Levels to take certain degrees? I know your kids are still very young but may it’s something you’ve not thought about before

@nurturingdiscontent

3 ай бұрын

Hey! Thanks for taking the time to comment; it gives me the chance to add more info to those not in the know... Home educated children can absolutely sit GCSE’s (and go on to A-Levels, Uni) if they wish, but it’s not a legal requirement and doesn’t necessarily affect your prospects depending what you want to do. Many Home Ed kids choose not to do GCSEs and go on to have very successful jobs/businesses (despite the fact that the school system tells us that without 12 GCSEs our lives will be ruined). On the other hand, many love academia and go on to University. If Home Ed kids do sit GCSEs they tend to only do a few and may sit them earlier or later than in school. Sorry, I know your comment sounded mostly well intentioned (I say mostly because of that other spelling comment), but I did have to laugh a bit when you said “may[sic] it’s not something you’ve thought about before” because parents of home educated children CONSTANTLY and EXTENSIVELY think about their children’s education. Yes, my children won’t be GCSE age for another 10 years, yes I am still asked “what about GCSEs” constantly, and yes I am already saving for them in the event my children want to do GCSEs (because we take full financial responsibility for that as home ed parents). If you are genuinely interested/concerned about home educated children’s access to GCSEs then you can go over to youtube.com/@YesYouCanHomeEducate channel; she has older home educated children who she has led through GCSEs and videos explaining the process. Hope that helps your concerns. Have a great day!

Isn't it funny as we think about these things, they really get crazy sounding!

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Absolutely! They are things you then can't unsee! 😄

Hi, hope you are doing well. I'm thinking of home educating my 2 children. I'm finding things a bit daunting at the moment as it's all new to me. I am thinking of using Estia tutoring or Edplace, do you think there are good tools to use? Thanks

@nurturingdiscontent

6 ай бұрын

Hey! Welcome. I'm good thank you for asking. I'm afraid I don't have any experience of either of those platforms. How suitable the programmes are will probably depend on the ages of your children too. I know it can seem overwhelming, which is probably in part to how may choices there are. Remember you don't have to do formal lessons or follow any type of curriculum. I recently made a video about how to start home educating, which you may find useful: kzread.info/dash/bejne/n6Gu0ZltZsTFppM.html

Basically, whether you send your kids to mainstream school or home educate, in order for them to 'succeed' academically/intellectually/what have you, they still need the same 1-2hrs per day of one-on-one attention, support and instruction 😅

@elizabethbriggs492

8 ай бұрын

Accounting for homework, I mean.

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Sadly, in this world we live in and all the pressures on parents and teachers I should imagine 1-2 hours a day of 1-1 for every child is rare

There’s no law requiring school uniforms. By the way why do people want to keep uniforms when prom dinners from the USA etc have come in recent decades

@nurturingdiscontent

5 ай бұрын

Yeh, you're right. We take most things from the states, strang we have't adopted that too

Really sad, as no longer home educating ❤ my daughter just started year 2. I miss her so much she crys when I drop her off. To be honest a I'm a Christian, just talking from that perspective there is not many people that home educate and not much support towards the Christian based stuff or help to do it as everyone doesn't do it. I was trying to be confident about the whole thing but to be honest I don't have the confidence to know I'm doing enough or confident enough we can afford it when It comes to GCSEs. To be honest alot of people look at us confused that we home educate when we are on low income as their are a few families I know personally that do it if they are a elder in the church or the husband has an amazing job. ❤

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Hello, thank you so much for your comment. Hope it wasn't my video that made you feel sad, because that's definitely not what I want. I think you are obviously aware of certain failings of the school system which will be the best thing in terms of supporting your daughter through the school years. It's funny because there seems to be a pretty big Christian home educating community where I am, or at least I meet a lot of home educating families who belong to churches. Having the confidence to home educate is REALLY hard, and something I struggle with too. It's really easy to let the doubt slip in that we are going to let our kids down, and the possibility of it becoming too much of a financial struggle is REAL. I've had sleepless nights over this. But you are totally right it is a huge privilege to be able to "get by" without having to take a full-time job. I'm sure you have given your daughter the best start in the first 2 years of her schooling, and hopefully once settled she will thrive there with your support 💜💜

@jennybillen5430

8 ай бұрын

@nurturingdiscontent no I'm sad because I miss my daughter. There is so much online support but to be honest not everyone has time to watch videos. It depends on your life situation. Technology is taking over so not much practical support anymore ie meeting up exc. Thanks for all your support your videos did help.

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

@jennybillen5430 too true! I really appreciate your thoughts. Take care of yourself; everyone is just doing their best for their kids in the circumstances they are in 💜

@jennybillen5430

8 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent much love and will keep you guys in my prayers 🙏

Ok, in terms of math when do you think we should close off that path? The more math you know the better you’ll be payed! Just saying

@nurturingdiscontent

15 күн бұрын

You know, this is actually a really interesting comment and got me researching, so thanks for that! There does indeed seem to be research supporting a link between good-quality advanced maths curriculums and future earning potential. However, the researchers themselves don't seem to have fully resolved whether this is causal or correlational, and whether implementing forced advanced maths is always a good thing , quote: "Policies that force certain math courses on students could have negative consequences, such as high student dropout rates and a watering down of the work required to complete those courses. This report does not analyze such consequences. Any policymakers considering sweeping curriculum reform would be well advised to initiate small-scale demonstrations of the reforms to" ref: (www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/content/pubs/report/R_701JBR.pdf) I wouldn't dispute that if you are, for example, interested in computer science/AI then yes you will need to take very advanced maths courses and will likely go into a high paying job. My point is, if you are not interested in a career-field where advanced maths is neccessary then being forced to take maths beyond what you need in everyday life may be detrimental. I would suggest watching Ken Robinsons "Do schools kill creativity" TED Talk for an example where this may be the case. So, yes you are correct that advanced maths leads to higher paying jobs, and if you are interested in being an employee in a company where your main goal is to earn a lot of money then it's a good idea to take advanced maths. However, I think there are enough examples of entrepreneurs or people successful in other career paths who have failed at even basic maths courses who have gone on to make a LOT of money, so it's certainly not the only option. Nonetheless, food for thought - thanks!

@robingow7276

15 күн бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent Nursing, medicine, medicines you take, engineering, going to the moon, solar panels, cars, plastics, building, generators, athletic shoes, processing food, the phone I’m texting on, and the list goes on and on, all require good math skills!!! In fact just to not get ripped off by dodgy financial advisers requires good math skills. Good math skills are essential for life.

@nurturingdiscontent

14 күн бұрын

I 100% agree. I don’t think I’ve ever said children should have no math skills, if it came across like I don’t think children should be taught any maths then I will try to articulate my points better in the future. 👍

Uniformity = conformity

@nurturingdiscontent

2 ай бұрын

💯

Homeschool all the way 🙌

@nurturingdiscontent

Ай бұрын

Yes, us too!

❤❤❤I agree with you 1000%

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Thank you for your comment 💜 glad to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way!

There’s life lessons and lessons about the world and government that we learn from the Romans. Kids should absolutely be learning about it or we’ll be doomed to repeat those mistakes in the future. Trigonometry and calculus are absolutely useless

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

Thank you for your comment, really appreciate your contribution, but I have to make the point that in school almost every child (at least in the UK) learnt about the Nazi’s and the mass genocide they conducted in the 1930s….and yet, here we are in 2023 with another genocide currently going on right in front of our eyes. Sadly, learning about the past has never stopped people from making mistakes in the future. I said it in the video but I’ll say it again, I don’t advocate that no one ever learn about the Roman’s…if that’s an interest for the child absolutely go for it. But my point was the fact that children in school have no choice but to learn about it. Same with trig and calculus: it’s been absolutely useless for me, I agree; for some it will be very useful if the CHOOSE to study it.

@Happycactus-s1q

8 ай бұрын

Trig and calc are highly important for all sorts of career fields… maybe you don’t personally use them but you’d have to be daft to think that there isn’t a crucial need for math in society. Do you really think we could function without engineers? Scientists?

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

@@Happycactus-s1q sorry, I really think you have missed my point, which is my responsibility for not conveying it properly. Did you watch the part where I said if they want to do something like designing spaceships or Formula 1 cars then children should absolutely do advanced maths (or were you just skimming through? Which is fine, I do that)? The same goes for those who want to be scientists, doctors etc.

@DavidJamesHenry

8 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent Do you think that the public outrage we are seeing right now towards those genocides would be as fierce if we as a public hadn't been educated about the Holocaust?

You think you're better then use

@nurturingdiscontent

4 ай бұрын

I presume you mean “us”, so who do you mean by “us”? People that send their kids to school? If so, that’s certainly not the case, and I’m sorry if you interpreted it like that. I just want to raise awareness that somethings schools make seem normal actually aren’t, but I will certainly reflect on my content and whether it could come across like that, so thanks for bringing it to my awareness Josie even if if you had to do it in that way.

@jendrizzyy

3 ай бұрын

At least we can spell us 😂

@aryanakurillo3536

2 ай бұрын

😂😂 ​@@jendrizzyy

You've had me fully engaged up until your diversity and inclusion, black people shtick. We're in a White Christian country, it's literally not our job to teach the history of Africans outside the points you already covered. Having said that I think Candace Owns and Thomas Sowell should definitely be added into the curriculum for inspiration and balance.

@nurturingdiscontent

3 ай бұрын

Wowwwww. Given my children are British and Nigerian then I absolutely want them to be taught the history of “Africans” as you call them (do you also say “Europeans” or is it only people from the African continent you refer to en mass?). Why would we not teach about the rest of the world!? How narrow minded do you have to be to only want to learn “white Christian” history. Though I shouldn’t be surprised I can’t help be shocked that views like this still exist. “Black people shtick”?? Are you serious?

@sinnyozzy

3 ай бұрын

@@nurturingdiscontent Yeah, I am serious, not going to tailor the national curriculum for a minority of Nigerians, that's liberal nonsense. Outside of home schooling (you made the right choice) if you wanted them to have a Nigerian education you should have moved to Nigeria (but you won't will you). And as for "why not" it's because if we tailor the curriculum for Nigerians, we'll have to do the same for every nation on the planet which is literally not feasible, derp.

@nurturingdiscontent

3 ай бұрын

When did I say it should be “tailored to Nigerians”? My point is that why would you only want to learn about the country you were born and raised in like the rest of the world doesn’t exist?

💕

@nurturingdiscontent

8 ай бұрын

💜

Uniforms have a place for sure, and pro's and con's. I'm not really pro/anti uniforms as it's just kind of a fact that's there, the cost can be a problem for sure but could be addressed if it was the only issue. As for hair regulations? I don't have a problem with having a code for hair presentation, if people want to move to the UK from abroad then they should comply. Heaven forbid that a White country teach White history.

@nurturingdiscontent

7 ай бұрын

Yes, I get you on the uniforms. Pros and cons for sure. I absolutely can't get on board with your stance on hair regulations though when it's to do with a person being discriminated against for their natural hair. And last I looked we are absolutely not a white country. It seems like we want it both ways, bring black people over to work for us and boost our economy and yet still want to claim we're a white country. Nope nope nope

Year 12? I only remember there being a year 11 lol, then it was sixth form. Took my little boy out of school just before his 5th birthday in Feb, he suffers with anxiety, and wasn't settling at all. Your videos are helping tremendously with our transition to homeschooling. I love knowing exactly what he's learning & that he gets quality 1 on 1 time with me daily. 🫶🏼

@nurturingdiscontent

5 ай бұрын

Sorry, where did you hear Year 12? It's been a while since I watched the video 😄 Well year 12 would be the first year of sixth form or college I guess. Oh did I say 12 years of school? That's Reception year plus Yr1-Yr11 So glad to hear that the videos have been useful and congratulations on starting Home Ed - exciting!! How is your son finding it?

@charlialex99

5 ай бұрын

Right at the beginning of the uniform discussion, around 5 mins 15 seconds in haha, had to go back & check 🤣. He is doing really well thank you, home is his safe space, so as I'd expected he is coming on leaps & bounds now as he is able to confidently ask more questions etc!

@nurturingdiscontent

5 ай бұрын

@@charlialex99 😄Yeh I think that was the verbal equivalent of a typo. I probably had in my head that we do 12 years of school. Although I think people who go to sixth-form refer to the first yr as year 12? I went to college, so not sure. Omg, I remember the fear of asking questions at school!! So glad your son is thriving now 💟