Stay-at-home mum, Taylor Catron, 24, from Ohio and her husband, Derek, 28, wanted their children to eschew the traditional schooling route.
Instead of sending them to a public or private school, they decided to homeschool them.
They pulled out their oldest child, Dereon, now seven, out of school in 2016 when they were researching primary schools.
Since then they have had three other children; Aerityy, three, Aeviny, one, and Derek James, who is just eight months old.
Unlike the structure of school life, Taylor and Derek don’t enforce any strict timings and give themselves the freedom to choose their sources.
Their classes involve regular hikes in the city, visiting cultural places like the Cincinnati Children’s Museum, Contemporary Arts Centre and the Cincinnati Zoo.
The biggest educational tool the parents/teachers use for their children is Netflix, where they watch many nature and historical documentaries.
Taylor and Derek felt that the average American education doesn’t teach important parts of African history.
Their children also have some control over what they consume and are allowed to pick out documentaries to watch. Some of the top picks include Our Planet, Life Story, Abstract, Oceans, and Blue Planet.
They also use YouTube as a source and while the parents do allocate a few times a week on using workbooks or worksheets, they don’t spend more than 30 minutes to an hour on it.
‘We let the kids pretty much take charge; whatever they ask about or want to know about is what our lesson will be or what we plan for a future lesson,’ said Taylor.
‘We eventually want to school them around the world and travel to different countries and continents and learn about everything literally on the go.
‘We want them to learn through real-life, there so many lessons that can’t be taught in a classroom of thirty-eight.
‘There’s so much not taught in schools that we want our children to learn and I don’t believe in standardised testing and all that hoopla.
‘What we do works really well for us and our children are so smart people are always amazed after having conversations with them. It’s the best choice we’ve made for our children.’
It means Taylor and Derek have some control of the rich African American history they want their children to learn about.
Taylor added: ‘Mostly what we find unappealing about traditional school is that it’s all about standardised testing and regurgitating information.
‘You’re not there to learn you’re there to recite information and get good test scores. Not to mention all the important things that they don’t teach, like accurate historical events and African American culture and history’
While they are enjoying homeschooling, the parents do worry about their childrens’ social lives. But for the most part, the kids have enough friends to see as Taylor and Derek ensure they are able to meet others their own age.
They also cite Finland as having one of the best education systems in the world without having lots of tests and classroom time.
Taylor said: ‘Children aren’t meant to sit down and be still and quiet for six to eight hours a day. They are supposed to run around and touch things and ask a billion silly questions.
‘To anyone who might criticise this style of education I say, just because we do things differently doesn’t mean we’re wrong or not effectively educating our children.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/23/parents-homeschool-kids-using-netflix-and-youtube-as-schools-dont-teach-accurate-african-american-history-10967333/
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