Critics argue that home-schooled children may miss out on social interactions and structured environments, while supporters highlight the flexibility and opportunities for creative development.
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00:00So, you know, it's not simply just about passing exams, it's that sort of ability to go interact
00:06with others.
00:07Because, you know, once you sort of complete your education, you're going to have to go
00:09out to the wide world anyway.
00:11So I think it's a sort of good grounding, but yeah, I mean, clearly home education,
00:15it's on the rise, probably because, of course, I suppose the sort of the big problem that
00:19we've got is the sort of the all public services and education is no different.
00:23It's really sort of struggling against the backdrop of sort of reduced spending, also
00:29being squeezed in terms of the amount of money that it gets.
00:32And I suppose many parents feel that sort of they can literally sort of do a better
00:35job than teachers.
00:36But, you know, it's a dangerous sort of path to go down, because I think you are depriving
00:40your children of sort of something which is really valuable.
00:42Steve, you worked at a university.
00:44What impact do you feel the rising trend of home education has on children's long term
00:50academic and indeed social development?
00:52Again, we've got to come back to lockdown, because, of course, lockdown gave a real sort
00:56of turbocharge to sort of the idea that you could learn from home.
00:59Now, of course, that there are ways and means, of course, home education could be sort of
01:04simply sort of, you know, the parents are doing everything that the teacher would do.
01:08And that that might work.
01:09But there are other sort of methods of sort of online sort of learning through sort of
01:14classes.
01:15While experts point to a mix of factors driving the trend of home education, including dissatisfaction
01:22with overstretched schools and heightened awareness of alternative approaches post-pandemic.
01:27However, critics worry about the lack of structure and peer interaction, which could impact children's
01:34social development and preparedness for future challenges.
01:38We'd like to sort of to talk to one another.
01:39We like to interact and do things collectively.
01:42So I think it's a worrying trend, because, of course, you know, the sort of the logical
01:45consequence is everyone stays in their home and they're educated at home and they work
01:49from home and they have their sort of shopping delivered.
01:52But of course, you shut out the outside world.
01:55And of course, we have a reduced experience as a consequence, which I think is worrying.