04/04/2025
Today I’m claiming back this smile, by deregistering our youngest from the broken schooling system.
Our youngest daughter has not flourished in high school. She’s had tumultuous friendships, lost her love of learning, not had the support she was promised, been made to feel stupid, been made to feel less than, and had her spark dimmed down (but thankfully not extinguished).
Most people I’ve told have said things like,
“How are you going to run a business and homeschool?”
“Are you the right person?”
“Isn’t she going to miss her friends?”
“The social aspect of high school is so important”
“What about GCSE’s”
My responses to those statements are;
- I did it during covid, I can do it again
- Yes. I know my daughter. I know how her mind works. Her literacy, numeracy, passion for learning and inquisitiveness greatly improved during that period, since attending high school these have all been in decline.
- The couple of friends she has she’ll still see, the other ‘friends’ who take advantage of her kind nature and gullibility, good riddance. She’ll also make new friends.
- I have two older children, this isn’t a case of helicopter parenting, this is protecting her before all the qualities that make her who she is are schooled out of her completely
- At her current trajectory at that school, she would have left in y11 with no qualifications and a sheet of paper telling her what a failure she is. Now that won’t happen and I’ll make damn sure of it
You know your own child. Trust your gut. Sometimes we have to make the difficult choices, often you are their only advocate so stand up for them and do what is best for them, not what school or society tell you is best.
