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Home schooling: the benefits for children
You can choose not to put your child in school from the start, just as you can decide to withdraw it later, whether for ideological reasons, a long trip, or if you realize that it does not adapt. In families who have dropped out of school, most of the elders have gone through the school hut, which is not necessarily the case for the younger ones who often have followed the clear path of the older child.
Why choose not to put your child in school?
Choosing to educate your child outside of school is a very personal educational choice. The reasons for not attending school are diverse. Travel, itinerant life, expatriation for some, inadequate teaching and methods according to others or simply a desire to adapt the programs, to change the rhythms, not to immerse the little ones in a sometimes harsh community. The advantage of this solution is that it is quickly applicable, easy to implement administratively and above all reversible. If this solution is not suitable in the end, going back to school is still possible. Finally, parents can choose to educate their children themselves, to use a third party, or to rely on correspondence courses. In return, it is necessary to measure the time or even the necessary finances.
From what age can we do it?
At any age ! You can choose not to put your child in school from the start, just as you can decide to withdraw it later, whether for ideological reasons, a long trip, or if you realize that it does not adapt. In families who have dropped out of school, most of the elders have gone through the school hut, which is not necessarily the case for the younger ones who often have followed the straightforward path of the older child.
Do you have the right not to send your child to school?
Yes, parents have the right to make this choice on condition of making an annual declaration to the town hall and to the academic inspectorate. Annual educational checks are provided for by law. At the same time, from the first year, then every two years, children who are not in school but of age to be, are subject to a social visit by the competent town hall (social worker or the person in charge of school affairs in the smallest municipalities). The purpose of this visit is to check the good teaching conditions as well as the living conditions of the family. It should also be noted that legally a family who has dropped out of school has the right, like the others, to family benefits due by the Family Allowance Fund. But this is not the case for the Back to School Allowance which is allocated according to Article L. 543-1 of the Social Security Code to “each child registered in fulfillment of compulsory education in an establishment or organization. public or private education. “
Which programs to follow?
The decree of 23 March 1999 defines the knowledge required of an out-of-school child. There is no obligation for families to follow the program to the letter and class by class. However, it is required that a level comparable to a child in school be targeted for the end of the period of compulsory education. In addition, the Academy inspector must verify each year, not the assimilation of the program in force in public or private establishments under contract, but the progress of the pupil and the evolution of his acquisitions. This is why homeschooling families use many and varied methods. Some will use textbooks or correspondence courses, others will apply specific pedagogies such as Montessori or Freinet. Many give free rein to the interests of the child, thus responding to his natural curiosity and content to teach him the basic subjects (mathematics and French).
Being socialized is not only defined by going to school! There are indeed many ways to get to know other children, like adults for that matter. Non-schooling families are, for the most part, part of associations, which is a good source of contact. It is also quite possible for these children to participate in extra-curricular activities, to meet children attending school after school and even to attend the recreation center of their municipality. Out-of-school children have the advantage of being able to be in contact with people of all ages during the day. In reality, it is up to parents to ensure their sociability. The goal, like all children, is to find their place in the adult world to which they will one day belong.
And when you decide to go back to school?
No problem ! The child must be reintegrated if the family so wishes. But it’s not always that simple. Indeed, even if no examination is required to integrate the public school system in primary, the head of establishment can proceed to tests in the principal subjects in order to evaluate the level of the child and to place it in the school. class that corresponds to it. Be aware that for secondary school, the child must take an entrance exam. According to the children who have had this journey, it is not the educational level that poses the most problem but the integration into a system they have never known and which at best surprises them, at worst exceeds them. completely. This is undoubtedly the most important dimension to take into account when dropping out of school. These children will, at one point or another, have to come to grips with what they have avoided before, either in high school or in the world of work.