Yes, I’m well aware that homeschooling is an immense amount of work—especially if doing it as an individual household. That’s a big part of why I’d be so excited to see more experimentation with “pods” or small clusters of (educationally aligned) households. This might involve group homeschooling (which would still be significant work on the part of the parents, but would see non-trivial efficiency gains over each family going solo). Or it might involve “micro-schools”, where they hire teachers to do the bulk of the work, in an informal/alternative setting with tiny class sizes that allow for genuinely individualized learning. (My wife has actually looked a fair bit into the logistics of such an idea. I could probably share some details in a future post if there was interest.) Or there might be other possibilities I haven’t considered, that could secure many of the benefits of “fully homeschooling” with less of the costs.
Anyway, I’m glad that the traditional school system is working out well enough for you and “most parents” that you know. But it’s not for everyone, and it would be really helpful for those of us who are committed to alternative education to have more and better options. (Even if you, personally, are no longer interested in those options.)
Yes, I’m well aware that homeschooling is an immense amount of work—especially if doing it as an individual household. That’s a big part of why I’d be so excited to see more experimentation with “pods” or small clusters of (educationally aligned) households. This might involve group homeschooling (which would still be significant work on the part of the parents, but would see non-trivial efficiency gains over each family going solo). Or it might involve “micro-schools”, where they hire teachers to do the bulk of the work, in an informal/alternative setting with tiny class sizes that allow for genuinely individualized learning. (My wife has actually looked a fair bit into the logistics of such an idea. I could probably share some details in a future post if there was interest.) Or there might be other possibilities I haven’t considered, that could secure many of the benefits of “fully homeschooling” with less of the costs.
Anyway, I’m glad that the traditional school system is working out well enough for you and “most parents” that you know. But it’s not for everyone, and it would be really helpful for those of us who are committed to alternative education to have more and better options. (Even if you, personally, are no longer interested in those options.)