The Secret Power of Homeschoolers 

If you have 40-200 kids, it's not a homeschool, it's just another for-profit private school.

It's not homeschooling if you just make another school. There are many reasons to homeschool your kids, but letting people without any credentials become teachers doesn't sound like a great idea.

My Mom homeschooled me due to the fact that I had a learning Disability and the Public Schools didn't want to take the time to properly teach me,so they tried to sweep me under the Rug and pretend I didn't exist until she pulled me out and Taught me herself. I loved it! I was able to get the one on one teaching I NEEDED,I did other programs with other homeschooled children who later became my friends twice a week,I began to excel once we found a method that actually worked for me. I was always and will always be so grateful to my Parents for doing what they did,I wouldn't have changed a thing. I'm in my early 30's now,I graduated College,became a Welder for 3 years,a warehouse manager for 2,a CNA for 2 and now run my own Business. Homeschool is such an amazing tool for your child if done RIGHT.

I was “unschooled” as a kid, which is an extreme form of homeschooling where I was allowed to do literally whatever I wanted every day with no curriculum of any kind. My parents chose this just because we lived in the country far from school, not for any religious reasons. It sounds like a crazy way to do school, but what I realized once I got to college (and got a 4.0 gpa my very first semester) is that going to a traditional school is really not important for academic success. Same once I entered the workforce and realized that being able to read and learn things on your own, think logically and creatively, and be resourceful are much more important. 10 years later and I’m happily married with kids, living a pretty typical life. What I’m trying to say, I guess, is that there is no right or wrong way to do school. I think that parents and the support they give to their kids is way more important, whether the kids are going to school or staying at home

The greatest challenge of this world is knowing enough about a subject to think you are right, but not knowing enough about the subject to know you are wrong…

I wish they had highlighted the many people who homeschool for non-religious and non-political reasons. There are a lot of us out there. My kids are awesome people. I enjoy spending time with them and allowing them the freedom to learn based on their interests and in a way they respond best. Sometimes homeschooling isn’t about making any religious or political statement; it’s about loving your children and desiring them to reach their best potential.

My mother, a self taught everything under the sun, homeschooled my four brothers, one sister and myself. We are in our 30's now, have achieved success, went to ivy league universities, but most importantly we are sharing the gift of being homeschooled with our own children and it's amazing. I'm not saying it is easy. Nothing worth achieving ever is, but as your child grows, so do you.

I was a public school teacher who resigned and took early retirement to stay home and homeschool. Our secret power is knowing there's more to life than the robotic nonsense of the traditional classroom.

I think a lot of patents who had to help their kids with virtual learning during the pandemic realized they are capable of homeschooling. I think it's important to realize people pulling their kids out of public school is a symptom that public education in the USA is seriously flawed.

I was homeschooled up to high school because I lived in a terrible area. The schools were violent, even in the younger grades, and weren’t a great learning environment. From a social standpoint, I hated it, but I got to high school and felt way ahead of my peers. Also, it should be said my mom had to get her GED. She didn’t do well in school but she followed the curriculum and used videos as well as other teachers to give me the education opportunities she didn’t have.

“Play is a child’s work.” This is what we live by. Ironically, I began homeschooling just prior to the pandemic. It was due to my then 6 year old finding it impossible to adapt, and feel safe in the charter school chaos. He was anxious, and learning nothing. His behavior at home began to decline. The teacher he began with left for maternity leave, never returning. Replaced by a revolving door of substitutes that were not accustomed to younger students. The lack of consistency was counterintuitive. Then there was the long day, removal of outside recess as a means of discipline. The list goes on. His poor teacher would often get back to us at 11pm claiming to have just gotten home from school that late in the evening. My infant at the time got sick and hospitalized from the constant illnesses that my older child was carrying home too. We do know that there are detrimental effects of masking the faces of young children in terms of language, psychological, and emotional development. With very little proof of efficacy. As soon as these masked kids would settle to eat lunch, the masks are removed lol. It’s such nonsense. We don’t homeschool due to that or politics/religion. We homeschool because my child learns best when he feels safe, and when the curriculum can be tailored for his specific learning style. Once he was recovered from the trauma of his conventional school experienced, I could not have beenï prouder of how beautifully he has acclimated. He is mature, responsible, takes accountability, is kind, and he reads constantly for enjoyment. I think homeschooled kids are going go change their generations future.

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I have two sons, one in his early 30s and one in his early twenties. Both of them were home schooled for part of their education but not all of it. It was because I live in rural Virginia and the schools are much more regressive than the schools in Seattle where I moved from. There were a lot of discipline problems when my older son was in school, so he did middle school homeschooled and then went back to school for high school. My younger son is on the autism spectrum so I pulled him out after 6th grade and he finished school homeschooled. It was their choice, we did secular homeschooling, we did a lot of co-ops so they were around other children and I saw a lot of things that scared me. In the state where I live you can declare homeschooling for religious reasons and never have to show a test result. I saw kids that were woefully ignorant of common knowledge and I also saw two different occasions of abusers who didn't want their kids in school because counselors were asking too many questions. I think it's disgusting how children's education has been co-opted by the fear mongerers. at the very least someone who's homeschooling should have to test their child and they should have to pass a basic test for knowledge for their age.

If you can't teach your kids to be cautious without being fearful, that sounds like a YOU problem to me. my grandkids are cautious of covid but not fearful of people.

I was homeschooled for a few years and skipped a grade and finished in public school. It's crazy how much better you can learn with homeschool. Most of my cousins were homeschooled and they all have university degrees and are insanely interesting as they have a huge capacity for critical thought. Religion aside, it is not hard for homeschool to be superior academically.

For years Before the pandemic I ran a homeschool gardening / nature school from my home with an amazing small group of home birthing, freethinking, caring parents. This video is a different angle on homeschooling very politically/ religiously driven. I was a public school teacher for over 10 years but working with the hippy dippy freethinking, life living, family and nature oriented homeschool community changed my life . In my mind that is “homeschool”.

I mean, this doesnt look like home schooling to me. This just looks like an alternative school.

"He doesn't have a background in education" Wow! SHOCKER!

The teacher who almost started crying earlier in her interview and then started crying about not being able to buy her personal books, shows how stressed out teachers are and how broken this system is. I am worry about the mental health of public school teachers, if this is what comes out during an interview about being a public school teacher. Maybe, taking kids out of the home, away from their families, maybe taking parents away from their children to be raised by others isn't a great system. We took a potential great thing and used it and abused it. Public education was never supposed to replace the family, it was supposed to help it. I'm frustrated by the way this was framed. Do you know how much money is lost to families who homeschool? They do not stop paying taxes to the school system. All books, and all curriculum has to be bought by the family. The potential for an entire income is lost. Please stop framing it as if homeschool families are taking something away financial from the system. They're not. Homeschooling puts them at a great financial disadvantage. but apparently, it's worth it.

I want to point out that many of these programs that look like really good “homeschooling” programs are really closer to a camp than traditional homeschooling. In fact with all the kids walking around in a building with backpacks, learning from people who aren’t their parents, it almost looks like a school. Point is maybe what we need more so is large scale reform in our educational system, rather than homeschooling. The problem isn’t necessarily schools, it’s that our education system sucks. Which is nothing new, yet for some reason it’s focused more on “school vs homeschoolers” rather than “traditional schooling vs reformed schooling”.

I was homeschooled, but my mother is a qualified educator. She was/is a teacher, a curriculum developer and was a deputy superintendent. We got an education that was almost on par with standard public school. So by the time we transitioned to public high school, we were able to just slide right on in B U T She never homeschooled us for a political/religious/conspiratorial reason It was simply because the school on the Reservation I grew up on didn't have quality education. She got sick of the GENUINE educational neglect, and decided to take things into her own hands These guys aren't even educated themselves 🤣

There needs to be 10 year follow up video on these kids to see how they fared post-home school. I have a feeling it won’t turn out all that well. Most in this video are being home schooled for all the wrong reasons. If you have a good reason, it will stand up to criticism rather than retreating to their bubble.

I was homeschooled from K-8, and though this shows some aspects of the homeschool community I think it’s missing a lot. We had a large group of homeschoolers in my area who were generally leftist or centrist, and made up of people who didn’t believe the academics in public school were strong enough. There are MANY people that homeschool that come from the left, not just right wing extremists. Where I currently live in Oregon, most homeschoolers are the nature loving hippie types! People homeschool for so many reasons, and a lot of time there is a great community involved. This video shows such a narrow part of homeschool.

There are a lot of comments about the positive and wholesome homeschooling experiences that people have had in their lives. That is truly wonderful, but it's not the story for everyone. My best friend was homeschooled by her parents until she renrolled in high school. She was overwhelmed and struggled immensely in high school and the "real" world outside of her home. She was raised in a very isolated environment with parents who barely knew math, science, or grammar, and when she finally joined public school, she struggled immensely just to keep up and had to relearn almost everything on her own. She wasn't the only former homeschool kid I knew in high school who faced a lot of issues. Although not all of them struggled, most had emotional, social, and academic problems that followed them into college and beyond. I think it's important to remember that while most of the parents in this video are bright and responsible people that provide ample, positive education for their children, there are also many homeschool parents who lack education and awareness and are not actually capable of providing a proper and applicable education to their children. Unrestricted and unregulated homeschooling can give some parents the ability to isolate and control their children, causing only harm and doing minimal good. Not to mention the fact that here in rural Indiana, the majority of homeschoolers are indoctrinated hardcore into Christianity, which isn't inherently bad, but, again, it can cause a lot of awful and traumatizing issues when they finally leave home and go to college, get a job, and start socializing with people who are different from them. I can definitely understand the appeal of homeschooling, especially nowadays, but it is also far from a perfect system. Oversight and protections are needed for homeschool kids, too.

I am a homeschooling parent. Not all homeschoolers are as politically driven as some of these people being interviewed. In fact, I wish it wasn’t portrayed as such a political weapon rather than a powerful tool in a child’s education. Homeschoolers can learn and move through curriculum at their own pace. They normally excel because they don’t have to compete with a large classroom for individualized instruction that fits their academic needs. I also love that I can teach my children more about their culture. At the same time I think it can be a disservice for the ones who pull their kids and decide to not teach them about other cultures all in the name of “CRT” (which is not taught in schools k-12 btw). Homeschooling is a powerful tool and as mentioned I will fight for my right to homeschool because I know that it is what is best for my children. But I don’t have the same reasons as some of these people. It actually makes me annoyed to hear these people pushing their political agendas on to these children. In my homeschool I teach my children. As they grow older and learn about politics they can decide their own political stance.

it’s crazy how some of these parents say they homeschool their kids to prevent them from being indoctrinated while indoctrinating their kids. at least in public schools you’re learning about topics from multiple different perspectives and lenses due to all the different teachers and peers you have surrounding you. each year you get different teachers with different beliefs and you meet new people from different upbringings who offer you a new perspective that allows you to form your own perspective about things.

I think homeschool is a great power that parents have. They can use it to offset failing public schools. Especially now with modern technologies.

All of the home schooling parents were so bright and vivid and proud and happy to be home schooling parents to be also teaching their children and others how to gain their power back ext. Meanwhile the teacher from public school setting broke down in tears, seems so stressed out and overwhelmed Over not being able to afford books. Who should we rather want to be teaching?

As a homeschool alum, homeschooling *can* be great. It *can* be very helpful for a lot of children. But the reality is that a significant number of parents neglect their children's education and/or use homeschooling as an excuse to control and abuse their children. None of my siblings (myself included) received an adequate education and those still under 18 live in a high-control environment with little freedom.

I was homeschooled because my parents didn’t trust the quality of our local public school which was known for bullying and drug use. My mom is a qualified teacher and i really appreciate that she gave so much of her time for her kids, when other parents would understandably prefer to take back some of that free time back.

I was recently asked to teach some home schooled kids. My background is biology. I charge 30/hr. Ive worked in the classroom and it's a mess. I don't blame anyone for wanting to homeschool their kid. I also don't blame any teacher for wanting to leave the classroom.

It is an easy decision for my family. Home schooling takes far less time, it allows for creative experiences that likely won’t happen in a restricted environment, and home schooling teaches that learning is happening all the time (not restricted to a set time or place). It does come at an intentional sacrifice of making less money. Totally worth it.

As a child I was a shy kid with immigrant parents who did t speak English, i struggled and thought that I was stupid , the teachers and staff wouldn’t pay attention to me as much and would give me a little extra time teaching me . I asked but was ignored. As an adult I find that I wasn’t stupid but the environment I was in at school made hard for me to grow and made me even more shy at as a teenager. My choice to homeschool my girls at least for primary school was based on my experience. I want to make sure my girls grow on their pace and not feel discouraged but build confidence.

Ah I have a lot to say on this! I was homeschooled in Montana my whole life without ever going to a school, I'm 34 now for context. I come from a large family and there are a lot of homeschoolers in my community who also have large families. Were predominantly a mix of protestant and Mormon faiths. Everyone's primary reason for homeschooling was religion. That said, some are more extreme the others. For instance; my family was super strict on some things, and very loose on others. All the homeschoolers in my area are self-employed as pastors, tradesmen, accountants, or farmers/ranchers. There were two types of homeschoolers: the dedicated to education/spelling bee ones who typically go on to super successful lives post college, and the ones who skip college to enter the family business full time. Many homeschoolers are enrolled at least part-time in their local community colleges by the time they're in high-school to help learn subjects their parents aren't qualified to teach. This means by the time they graduate high-school and transition to college, they're more prepared than the average private or public school student. Additionally, working with our families in business during childhood teaches us a lot of things many other kids wouldn't know - strong work ethics, practical knowledge of a trade, and a taste of what adulthood looks like. Homeschooling can either be the greatest thing for a child because they can receive more time and training in school, putting them ahead of their public and private school peers, or it can be the worst thing if they are smothered with religion and don't receive even a basic education. I'm an engineer, another sibling is an engineer, another sibling is a mathematician, others are working the family business, so my family has been very successful partially as a result of homeschooling, and partially because my parents were smart enough to keep religion out of our education. We all have multiple degrees and value learning. The problem is with the mainstream homeschoolers who have crazy ideas about religion to the point of clinical insanity. Homeschooling has perhaps the *greatest* potential amongst all the learning types because of the amount of time, attention, and creativity a parent or teacher can provide to the student. That said, many fall flat as a result of misguided faith and religion. Also, I should note, my family was considered lower middle class, some families are near poverty level - for those saying only privlieged families can homeschool.

This really makes me proud. To see so many parents so passionate about their children’s education. Anyone who can, should homeschool.

The fact that they thought she was being abused when she was at school but didn’t investigate say more about the DCPS than an indictment of homeschooling and the attitude of the legislature when speaking about this issue is the exact reason homeschoolers don’t trust the local or state or national government to act in homeschoolings best interest! And the history of the those governing bodies says they can’t be trusted.

To be fair, if your child is talented and is forced to go to a school where the children are aggressive and violent towards bright kids, it makes sense to homeschool where your child will be safe and not be hindered by the class

I was homeschooled in Texas but both of my parents are college educated. I used to work with my mom and then I started taking classes with other homeschoolers once a week. Honestly, it was like a college. I loved it and wouldn’t have changed it for anything. I graduated from college, moved abroad, and now speak three languages. I was educated but I certainly know other “homeschoolers” that didn’t actually study. Politics don’t belong in the education system and I truly believe that more people would stay if they believed that.

I homeschool my youngest. I love our local schools. They were perfect for my oldest child, but my youngest thrives on their own schedule. Homeschooling, they do way more work, get great grades, and have finally started to come out of their room, join the family, play with friends more…it’s been amazing!

We did this 30 years ago… remember school only started a couple hundred years ago… one of our children got the deans medal another an engineer all have a wonderful sense of humor and far more friends than I see most people have.

I was homeschooled till grade 6, and it was amazing. I would be done my schoolwork by noon, and be outside playing till dinner every day. We had 3 month long summers because we were able to finish our semesters early, due to there being 3 kids for 1 teacher instead of 30 kids. We've expressed interest about homeschooling our kids to friends and family, reason being that we could give them a similar upbringing, not be tied down to a rigid schedule, or one place. But most of the people we've told get excited and start talking about how 'the world is getting so crazy nowadays', and I know they're excited because of the same reasons the people in this documentary have. Makes me feel gross knowing these people think I share their delusions about conspiracies and religious fervor, I just want my family to have a rad life

Teachers should be paid as much as doctors and lawyers and respected as such in a modern society. With the same level of credential requirements. Teachers are fundamentally important to our society and it sucks that they are so terribly treated.

I was self educated; not homeschooled. Public middle school and high school was a joke; it was a punishment; it was a glorified day care for big kids; a place to learn how to do drugs and develop new pathologies. Elementary school was ok back in the 90s, but now it's very ideological. Kids in my district don't even call their teachers Mr. and Mrs. -- they call them by their first name. I don't think people realize how public school has changed since they were in school. They don't even teach phonics any more!!! Kids are graduating from hs that can't even read.

I homeschooled 5 children in the 90's and because of the closed schools in 2020, I volunteered to homeschool my grandson for Kindergarten. By the time we finished the school year he was reading at a second grade level, was familiar with the 50 states, learned about the stock market daily, and was creating simple video games with arcademaker. Now in 2nd grade his national scores for reading are at 99 he also gets an A for every subject. He can spell better than most adults. He saw me using software to create early reading books and decided to use it to create his own books. He published an adorable coloring book 2 weeks ago and has already sold over 40 of them. I didn't even have to teach him to use the software. He figured it out. One of the biggest advantages to homeschooling is the the teacher is usually a parent or grandparent and is completely emotionally invested in the welfare of the child.

I was home schooled growing up in Canada up until grade 8. It was nothing like these conspiratorial nut jobs... it wasn't perfect, but we had curriculum, tests, grades, etc. This is just insanity...

“Don’t control my kids. But, I get to control your kids.”

In the 90’s the homeschooling critics said, “We can’t let family’s homeschool because children can’t learn of they don’t have a certified teacher. They won’t get a decent education like in the public system.” Now that homeschoolers have been kicking the intellectual rear ends of their public school peers for many years, the new excuse is, “It’s unfair that some kids can homeschool because they get one on one attention. Of course they’re going to perform better!” Lol, make up your minds.

I was homeschooled and I'd never go back. My sisters were homeschooled (same household, parents, etc.) and they hated it. Within the community there are pockets of borderline cults and there are also pockets of people who take their lives seriously and just want to do the best they can in society.

I can't imagine homeschooling my kid. On top of the fact I have a room temperature IQ and lack the qualifications, I'd also be depriving them of the social development of being around kids their own age.

More reasons people homeschool: They like spending time with their kids Safety Bullying Food allergies or health concerns Different learning needs Failing reading scores Failing math scores So kids can have a childhood - bookwork like reading and math doesnt need to be more than 30 - 60 minutes in early elementary. Why not play, bake, read together, do sensory activities, go to the park, dance or listen to classical music, go to museums or the zoo, go swimming, do art projects... in the rest of the "school day" Less worsheets/ busy work Interest led learning Time together with parents who work different shifts or are military, time together as a family so siblings actually know one another Outdoor time Increased movement Family member has cancer and needs less germ exposure during treatment Politics being pushed in schools Faith Behavioral issues of other students Lost learning time They realized public schools is an experiment that failed and are taking education back to basics to grow critical thinkers and not industrial workers or military as this system was set to create. As a previous public school teacher I highly recommend people homeschool their children. Co-ops are great or tutors for areas a parent isnt strong in. Parents can team up with other parents depending on work schedules. Also, there are curriculums that are totally scripted so you dont need an education degree to teach. Examples: all about reading for phonics, math with confidenxe for math... and there are cheap or free options (delightful mom on youtube shares great free resources).

I love how vice tried to paint homeschoolers as crazy but the comment section is overwhelmingly in favor of home schooling

I feel like the homeschool outdoor school might not have the highest quality of lessons but as a teacher I still feel that the type of education that they offer with the mix of physical activities and learning would be benificial to quite a lot of students

I was homeschooled and loved it and plan on doing it for my kids. I've done extraordinarily well for myself and experienced first hand the benefits of the flexibility/1:1 to accommodate my apd. But I want to make something clear: the real dangers of homeschooling are parents who homeschool for non-educational reasons (crt, religion, political). However, as far as education goes, if done right, it is arguably better because you get a more customized curriculum for that student needs/strengths/weaknesses.

I really prefer interviews where the interviwer's contempt and condescencion are not on full display.

They are a powerful movement, because they are fighting for their kids well being. And nothing beats that drive 💪🏻

I have no problem with homeschooling. I do have a problem with people who don’t know anything about education, child development and psychology, teaching their children. These people seem more concerned about their own political views and making sure their children are shielded from the reality of the world than making sure their kids get a quality education. In turn, doing the exact same thing they’re so worried about: indoctrinating their children.

No more public schooling!!! So I'll just create an organization with a bunch of kids and someone guiding them... Oh wait

I was homeschooled through Florida Virtual School. I liked the flexibility of my schedule and how it allowed other activities as well as being fully accredited. I was able to take a lot of AP classes and even opt-in for just taking AP tests in a subject I studies. I got credit for AP Spanish and AP Physics through that, while also spending significantly less time on the subjects than if I was in school for an hour a day for a year for the same thing. It allowed me to learn at my pace, which was relatively accelerated and I was able to then take the time I saved and even start working and learning skills as well as making money.

I was homeschooled and my parents still had to pay a school tax. When I started working at 16, I had to pay a school tax. Now that I'm an adult, I'll be homeschooling my daughter, but my husband and I still pay school taxes. Every single person who is employed in our state has a portion of their paychecks going to the schools, whether they attended or not. The schools still get money regardless of attendance. The current system of teaching is what is failing, not the schools themselves. It's an outdated system that hasn't been updated in over a century. It's pretty obvious that batch education is ineffective and that one-on-one teaching will always be better. I also want to mention that homeschooling in my state is extremely regulated. I'm in a blue state and they do not like homeschooling so they make it a very difficult process. There is a lot of paperwork, proof of education, and teacher evaluations starting at age 6 (thanks to Covid, they lowered the age from 8). It's a huge infringement on my freedom and I understand that they are trying to prevent people from abusing the system, but the good parents always get punished in the process. The amount of regulation has discouraged many parents from doing it, which is incredibly unfortunate.

It's crazy how nobody has experienced these Awful things schools are teaching that thr against It's always a friend of a friend 😕

I was homeschooled. the parents that homeschool because they’re religious, anti mask or don’t want them to learn about important subjects like sex or race make homeschooling look bad to everyone else. so many non homeschooled people assumed I was religious and that I was naïve about the real world because of how much homeschooling attracts more conservative and religious parents.

I find it comical that they show how public schools are failing kids and their response pretty much is, "yeah, that's because your kid isn't there. Please sacrifice all of your kids to the system in hopes that it'll get better."

I was homeschooled growing up because we couldn't afford private school and was bullied by the kids in the neighborhood who I would go to public school with. We couldn't afford to move, so homeschooled it was. Luckily, my mom had been a teacher for 15+ years. I do think that parents of children who go to public school forget that they need to supplement their education at home, and that if you object to certain lessons you can voice that to the administration ahead of time and remove your child for a short time. They're still your children even when they're at school.

these are the types of parents that make teachers want to quit all the time. as public school teachers, we have no control over who comes into the school, and we cannot force them to leave. one student i had tutored would scream at me because he was forced to wear a mask and he would incessantly complain about how his mom didnt force him to do so and that i was all wrong about what they do. he would interrupt me and scream "NO NO IM RIGHT YOURE WRONG". once, a parent sued the school because they didnt like how a teacher talked to their son who was misbehaving. that teacher quit thinking they were a burden on the school. that teacher was also one of the most beloved by the rest of the student body. one parent caused the rest of the student population to be affected. these people think they have 0 power in schools and theyre wrong. they seem to incorrectly believe that schools in the u.s are not run like businesses, when they are, and often have a "customer is always right" mindset

I'm on my 2nd year of homeschooling my son. Certainly not for the same reasons as these people. Aside from the fact that my son literally begged me to homeschool him again... I do it because he was falling behind in school even with tutoring. He's incredibly smart, but not a strong student. He also needs a bit more of "You need to sit, focus, and do your work." than he gets in school. I won't be able to homeschool him forever, but he has been benefitting from the one-on-one and he is building his foundational skills and confidence as a student. He does miss having as much time with other kids, but he has always been very social... and unfortunately views school as a social situation more than a learning one. It's all a struggle to find balance in both situations. He has made some significant improvements in his learning skills so I'm happy with that, but will continue to look at things and reevaluate as we go along.

I will never have kids if I can't homeschool them. I was homeschooled for some time and it was absolutely amazing.

I finished my senior year at home, and tell you what, it's been the best decision in my school life. There was literally nothing my school could give me but scoliosis, indigestion and myopia. There wasn't any person at my school with similar interests, no clubs, there was no one I could talk to and "socialize". So what's the point of sitting on your thumbs days long?

I was home schooled for grades 9 to 12 here in Canada. It was almost exactly like school, except I could do as much or as little a day. As long as I did all the tests and had the courses finished by end of year. Up here at least, home schooling just means from home. Learn the same things as those in school. This is insanity.

Another point to observe , parents dont want their precious children to become victims of some psychopaths who love to practise their shooting skills and targets.

California venture Academy is not homeschooling. It’s just another school.

Not all homeschool kids are weird or religious. Atheist here & my kids were homeschooled till college. We purchased our curriculum stuck to a schedule but traveled the world. They were in a lot of activities, little league, scouts, and other activities to meet friends. They both got very high ACT scores, scholarships, and got into their university of choice.

All I needed to hear was in the first 3 minutes. "He doesn't have a background in education. He used to run an adventure tourism company..."

I think the idea of letting kids do more kinesthetic activities is very smart. I'm a kinesthetic learner and I wish I had more of a hands on/ working with my hands education.

Parents have the right to choose how their children learn and homeschooling is a great option for many. I'm grateful for my homeschool education. It's a beautiful thing to see parents pulling their children out of the corrupt public education system that is failing them and choosing to homeschool.

I started homeschooling my two kids two years ago. Before that they were in the failing public school system. There are so many bad behaved kids in the public schools that cause major distraction along with all the other distractions throughout the day. Public schools have become a daycare and feeding center for parents. The parents have no clue what their children are learning or doing all day. It’s a huge disconnect. I enjoy home educating my kids. I am also relearning a lot of things I had forgotten in school. There are many advantages to home educating. I get annoyed with parents when they say “I can’t help my kids because I have no idea what they are doing”. Wow! That speaks volumes with todays society. Parents need to step up and take the responsibility of being a parent and know where there kids are and what they are learning.

I'm homeschooling my 11-year-old. I'm an atheist and we take vaccinations and wear masks in crowded places. I seek out experts in subjects and I try to keep his education well-rounded. I wish that I felt confident that public schools could do a good job with my child but in the past, they have not and that's why we homeschool. There are a lot of homeschoolers that aren't like the guy in the beginning but our kids are autistic or ADHD or have another health concern or disability and the school is treating them like they don't matter. My son was getting put in a room by himself for hours a day with a worksheet at public school. It breaks my heart to think about the years of his life he was there getting treated like he wouldn't amount to anything. We've spent a great deal of time making up for what public school didn't teach him.

I was homeschooled pretty much throughout grade school. My mother worked and homeschooled 7 children. During freshman year I did go to a public high school and after school, I would babysit while my mother went to work. I finished the year with all A's and didn't want to go back. I could see the lack of parenting and real-world education many of my peers desperately needed. I went back to homeschooling and sophomore year did dual enrollment at the technical college which I enjoyed a bit better. My parents gave up a lot to give all seven of us the education and family life we had. I count myself very lucky and I encourage everyone to homeschool their kids.

i was forced into homeschooling by an abusive fundamental christian parent. it took me years to learn how to socialize because that was robbed from me, and i was subjected to 24 hour abuse with no escape.

Would be nice if they had reviewed the statistics around home-schooled children. How do they fare in standardized testing or in college? We have been schooling our children since 2009 because we can simply provide a better education than the public schools we've looked at. Evidence to back up that claim? My children consistently score at the highest levels in standardized tests. One of my children will have her associates degree before she graduates from high school. I think we're doing okay. As for asking our children what they want - do parents of public-schooled children ask their children if they would prefer to be home schooled, and then support that choice?

It's not just families quitting public schools, teachers and staff are quitting because the system is broken and bashing homeschooling isn't going to stop people quitting.

I’ve been homeschooled for my whole life and one of my parents reasons was so that me and my sisters could figure out what I wanted to do in life. I have seen in my life how this has effected me and one thing is that as a 15 year old I can think for myself, I have my own money, I have been able to volunteer for my community even in the middle of the week

From some things I've been hearing about public schools, I think home schooling is a good alternative. If I had school age children, I think I would definitely consider home schooling. The things I've been hearing and seeing are not happening in all areas of the country, so I might also consider moving to a different area if I lived in one where those things might be going on.

I grew up in public schools. Honestly the lack of funding is the worst part. My high school had temporary roofs that hadn’t been fixed in 10 years from a hurricane. Which led to it leaking over the summer, destroying textbooks, and there not being enough books to go around. My little sister is 12 years younger than me and is in charter school. Its way better funding, teachers actually look happy to teach, but honestly the people there are the same people I met in public school so theres no difference there. My parents make more money now so they can afford the charter school, but I can imagine how hard it can be to put your child in charter school of you dont make a lot of money. Honestly the more we move away from public schools, has me scared that once again the poor will not have a right to be educated as others. It creates a cycle of being poor. I was always the smartest person in class in my public school but when I went off to college I saw the better quality of education that other people were getting at other schools. My public schools never assigned homework on computer (like math homework done solely on computers), when I went to college everyone had done that for years, and I was stuck learning how to do math on a computer. The problem should be to fund the public schools not take away funding

I wasn’t homeschooled but when I was transferring schools my mom and I looked into homeschooling me. However it wasn’t the best option for me due to educational needs. So we explored the private school system and since the schools in my area didn’t offer educational support services ( special education). we looked at charter but the one and only charter in my area had a waiting list that was long . So we decided a different public school district was the best option. Ultimately my mom let me decide what path would be the best for me. I was 13 years old and I knew what I needed academically. Now I’m in college studying to be a special education teacher . Edit wanted to add When the pandemic hit, the transition to online homeschool for college was a struggle. So I looked towards the youth of my church who were homeschooled and their parents. With their help and I was able to structure a plan that suited me. Those habits transferred with me to on campus learning. I have a deep respect for homeschooled students and their families. I admire them in many ways and somewhat envy them but they taught me “ I don’t have to stop learning even when I’m not in class “ .

honestly i think that going to public school shaped me well. to be around different people from different backgrounds taught me more than i can even say. you'll always be around people you disagree with(or agree with). to learn how to adapt and become a worthwhile person in youth is vital. I may not agree with everything in public schools but thats the point.

I started homeschooling 2 years ago. The local public school here has some pretty extreme behavior. My son's then 3rd grade teacher took his lunch away and told him if he didn't pray with the class, he wasn't going to eat and that he may not pray at home, but while he was in her class, he would pray. The superintendant's answer was to put my son in the hallway away from the students while they prayed. We once again complained to the school board and they became very belligerent and responded, "well, what do you want us to do?". I don't know, let my son eat in peace? We took both our children out of school and are homeschooling now.

These homeschooled kids are the type to end up on "are you smarter than a 3rd grader?" As adults.

"We are against any opposing views to ours and don't want our children to challenge us but we want to challenge everyone else" type of hypocritical view.

I am a teacher and the system is flawed. They truly expect us to be perfect and the job expectation is very unrealistic to meet all students’ needs in the classroom. There is no right way to deal with the diverse population we have. Lots of different special needs that need to be served at most times. We need more adults in schools and working with the kids. Set up classrooms so we can have 10 kids to 1 adult. Once we get past 15 it’s really too much room for error.

I'm so thankful for the ability to homeschool my kids. Our oldest is a senior in college now, graduating this December at 19 and our youngest will graduate from his first two years of college and high school at 18 (next year). They are well-adjusted and smart kids. So thankful for everything they've been able to learn and experience.

I was an online student in AZVA-K12 system in Arizona from 2010-2015. Aside from half of 8th and all of 9th, I was in online school from 7th grade onward. These systems are garbage. If you're already upset about the fact that public schools overwhelmingly care about having butts in seats for attendance money over actual education, I assure you online school is far worse. My dad used me to get government support and child support checks from my mom, and the school used me for their attendance stats. I was fully responsible and the teachers knew it. I did the work, then logged in as the parent account to input attendance then log right back out. What did they have a problem with in this situation? The fact that I was putting the real time it takes to get through their lessons, 15-20 minutes, and they wanted me to put an hour for each class regardless. They even set it up so that if you click to input your time, it always defaults to an hour so you can literally just click down the list and hit "send". When my grades started slipping because obviously a depressed, socially isolated teenager isn't going to play along with this obvious bullshit system, they would call ME to issue ultimatums about my grades and assignments. The only calls the PARENT got was to ask to speak to me about it. I even have one of the voicemails they left him because he emailed it to me like I'm an employee. The "benefit" of homeschooling can only be reaped by rich white Christians where the daddy has a well paying job handed to him and mommy stays at home. Funny how it also benefits Christians by allowing them to indoctrinate their kids better. It's almost as if homeschooling is being pushed because even private school isn't insulating enough against reality for christians.

It’s frustrating that despite homeschooling offering a potential alternative to public schooling, they’ve just made a more sheltered version of summer camp that is wildly subject to the internal biases of their teachers. Honestly they’ve almost reinvented Montessori schools but instead of having highly educated teachers they have just regular people

My wife and I just started HS homeschooling this week. 2/20/23 Best choice because our public School System is broken and teaching Garbage. Props to this Man in the video for starting this program up. I don’t know him but Thank you Sir. Good Documentary👍🏼

I went to a better public school in a wealthy district, and got a terrible education… I am incredibly jealous of these kids getting homeschooled!

$800 a month is insane… if only people could afford things like this.

It will be interesting to see the advanced level of education that these non teachers provide. For the kids sake I truly hope their experiment sets these and others up for a life of success. Personally, Finland has the highest quality of education in the world and everyone attends public schools. Not to mention the economic privilege that people have to even consider a homeschool option.

This is exactly how I figured Vice would cover this. 😂

With all due respect to the law we currently are under we do not (I repeat) we do not control what public school offer to our kids, if so there wouldn't be so many parents feeling the need to remove their kids from public schools all together. Parents are taking back the ownership of their children and giving their full energy to raising their children. The U.S school boards are just not listening anymore so parents are finding other options rather than fight with a system. Sincerely we are educating our children, so we deserve the (public) grants as well.

I was homeschooled most of my time growing up because whenever we would try putting me in a public or private school, I was not learning. I wasn't understanding anything because they were not teaching me in ways I could understand. And it didn't help that I was chronically ill and disabled and the schools refused to give me any accommodations. Heck, my local public school put me on homebound and sent teachers, but literally said to my parents' faces while I was in the room that I was going to fail and that they weren't even trying to help me get to graduation! Ableist much to tell a disabled kid that they can never succeed in life!? And keep in mind that this school was considered the best in my district. Highly revered in my state as an amazing school. I learned SO much better while homeschooling because I was able to learn in the ways I needed and I was able to get the one-on-one learning that public and private schools don't do. The decision was about my well-being and not about politics. My siblings did great in either public or private school. I just didn't. Also, even though my state doesn't have mandatory testing, my co-op always did the testing anyways. Most co-ops I have heard about around here do, actually. Homeschool parents DO want their kids to be learning. It's not a get-out-of-jail-free card. All the homeschool kids I know went through stricter learning than any mainstream school kid.

I'm sure this won't have catastrophic & unforeseen consequences for decades to come