"The first step in solving any problem is to recognize that it does exist."
--Zig Ziglar.

Parents are realizing that our public schools (in general) are failing their kids and starting to do more about it.

Home schooling numbers (2024 - 2025) has climbed from averaging 2-3% of kids to at least 5.4%. The 5.4% is undercounting (per the article) "exceeding the peaks reached...during the pandemic."

Particularly with the help of AI, I hope this number will reach 10% in the next few years.

The frustrating thing for me in all the recent talk about Texas property tax is that we all understand that too many schools are failing and pissing away our tax dollars.

The only way for public education to get better is for more parents to vote with their kids' feet. Taxpayers need to encourage this.

Thanks to any parents here who are taking on this responsibility. Your kids will thank you and so should we.

ETA- the numbers here are growth percentages, not pct of totals.
https://reason.com/2025/11/19/homeschooling-hits-record-numbers/

The problem is public schools are not failing our kids. Part of the great educational reset must be to hold kids* responsible when they don't meet standards. Repeating grades was not uncommon once upon a time.

*Teachers too, but that's another topic

Kids used to be afraid of the teacher/parent combo.

Now, most parents don't care. The kids have the power...and they know it.

It's take a banger of an economy to get homeschooling up to 10%. And it wouldn't happen alone: the distrust that would drive a doubling of homeschooling would probably mean a tripling of charters and privates, too.

"I make enough that my wife can homeschool our kids" is a legitimate status marker these days. It's up there next to "we send our kids to (elite private school)," as many of those families leverage dual incomes for that.

The best way to fix public education is for parents to vote the old-fashioned way. There aren't enough parents who can homeschool to really affect k-12 education as a whole. Actually holding schools accountable by being active in schools and school board elections would be more powerful and more beneficial.

AI will make your kids dumber. You can't learn how to critically think if AI is spoon-feeding you the answers. The ability to learn is more important than the actual knowledge you learn in school.

The only way for education to get better is for parents to get more involved and give a ***** You know why home schooled kids do better? It has nothing to do with public schools, it's the fact that kids are held accountable because they have parents involved on their education. All those failing kids have parents who are checked out and think that their kids' education is the school's responsibility, not theirs. They're not doing homework with their kid, following up with teachers, and doing the parenting part of educating their kids.

Do you think that changes with pushing towards home schooling?

DarkBrandon01 said:

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AI will make your kids dumber. You can't learn how to critically think if AI is spoon-feeding you the answers. The ability to learn is more important than the actual knowledge you learn in school.

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Most schools don't teach that either. Look at all the stupid progressive drones coming out of "elite" colleges. My dog has better developed critical thinking skills.

Get Off My Lawn said:

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It's take a banger of an economy to get homeschooling up to 10%. And it wouldn't happen alone: the distrust that would drive a doubling of homeschooling would probably mean a tripling of charters and privates, too.

"I make enough that my wife can homeschool our kids" is a legitimate status marker these days. It's up there next to "we send our kids to (elite private school)," as many of those families leverage dual incomes for that.

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I'm hoping with AI, homeschooling turns 5-6 hours of academics into 2 - 2.5. With better learning. The big problem as you sort of alluded, is the "day care" component that public schools serve now. Elon's robots?

ABATTBQ11 said:

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The only way for education to get better is for parents to get more involved and give a ***** You know why home schooled kids do better? It has nothing to do with public schools, it's the fact that kids are held accountable because they have parents involved on their education. All those failing kids have parents who are checked out and think that their kids' education is the school's responsibility, not theirs. They're not doing homework with their kid, following up with teachers, and doing the parenting part of educating their kids.

Do you think that changes with pushing towards home schooling?

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As I said in OP, these parents are choosing to take on the responsibility. The fact that number is growing is positive. OTOH- it's not a panacea.

DarkBrandon01 said:

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AI will make your kids dumber. You can't learn how to critically think if AI is spoon-feeding you the answers. The ability to learn is more important than the actual knowledge you learn in school.

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You're misunderstanding the role of AI here, not sure if it is on purpose or not?

AI guides the kids, constructs exercises, tests, reinforces. All 1 on 1.

Will it work for all kids, especially the ones that were put on Ritalin at 8? Not sure, but it might still be better than mainstreaming them.

AI is not here doing the student's work. AI is teaching and tutoring. Go to Grok (or one of the others) and ask it to make a course for you. Is it perfect yet, no. But better for reasonably motivated kids than most public schools? 100%.

And the motivation comes in because they will spend less than half the time they do in school. I would have loved this.

Side story (but pertinent). Mrs. Glass, my 5th and 6th grade teacher had me for home room + 3 classes per day at Geo. B. Dealey in Dallas. Started there in January, in a month all I was doing in her class were SRA readers.

SRA - reading passages with objective questions. Ran out of 8th grade level by the end of the year.

Next Fall, she wanted me in her classes again. Worked a deal with a HS teacher; she got me all the SRA readers up to grade 14 (pretty sure, might have been 13?).

Mrs. Glass would have been fired now. With some effort on her part, I was reading at the 99th percentile at Sophomore college level when I got out of 6th grade.

And the AI is just getting better. Don't you want your kids'/grandkids' teachers to be Mrs. Glass?

DarkBrandon01 said:

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AI will make your kids dumber. You can't learn how to critically think if AI is spoon-feeding you the answers. The ability to learn is more important than the actual knowledge you learn in school.

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Yeah, public education , led by commies, is teaching kids to be mindless drones. You can thank your party for that. Watched it play out in Austin school district.

The aim isn't to teach or think critically. The aim is for you to be a Democrat activist.

Over_ed said:

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Get Off My Lawn said:

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It's take a banger of an economy to get homeschooling up to 10%. And it wouldn't happen alone: the distrust that would drive a doubling of homeschooling would probably mean a tripling of charters and privates, too.

"I make enough that my wife can homeschool our kids" is a legitimate status marker these days. It's up there next to "we send our kids to (elite private school)," as many of those families leverage dual incomes for that.

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I'm hoping with AI, homeschooling turns 5-6 hours of academics into 2 - 2.5. With better learning. The big problem as you sort of alluded, is the "day care" component that public schools serve now. Elon's robots?

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Oh - homeschooling doesn't take 5 hours daily. It takes a couple. The REAL cost of homeschooling isn't the hours of instruction, it's the totality of hours.

Children's daily care needs persist whether they're derelictly shirked to a government institution or shouldered excellently by a great woman. That's a massive opportunity cost many families don't think they can afford.

What you say is sad, but true.

Maybe if they are learning anything in P.S.143 then parents could do a lot of remediation in the late afternoons or evenings?

There is no helping the short-sighted, lazy, or overwhelmed.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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The only way for education to get better is for parents to get more involved and give a ***** You know why home schooled kids do better? It has nothing to do with public schools, it's the fact that kids are held accountable because they have parents involved on their education. All those failing kids have parents who are checked out and think that their kids' education is the school's responsibility, not theirs. They're not doing homework with their kid, following up with teachers, and doing the parenting part of educating their kids.

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This. Absolutely this.

My kids went to a private high school. It destroyed our family's finances but it was the best choice for them.

During one back-to-school night, the principal gave a speech. He told the students to look at their parents and then look at him. He said that those three people are each student's biggest fans and want the student to be successful at school. He went on to tell the parents that if there was a disagreement, the three of us would meet and come to an agreement so as to provide a united front to the student.

I had friends who thought that spending money on better schools was stupid or who thought that teachers should just teach the kids without bothering the parents about what was wrong with the kids. They also didn't care about their children's future education or employment.

It depends on the involvement. My wife is a teacher, and her biggest problem by far is not parents who are checked out of the process, but ones who actively interfere with discipline and/or academic standards. "How dare you give my child a low grade?!" "How dare you discipline my little angel when it's the other kids causing the problem?!"

B-1 83 said:

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The problem is public schools are not failing our kids. Part of the great educational reset must be to hold kids* responsible when they don't meet standards. Repeating grades was not uncommon once upon a time.

*Teachers too, but that's another topic

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You just defined a failed public school system. Texas public schools are an embarrassment.

B-1 83 said:

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The problem is public schools are not failing our kids. Part of the great educational reset must be to hold kids* responsible when they don't meet standards. Repeating grades was not uncommon once upon a time.

*Teachers too, but that's another topic

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Holding kids responsible for failure begins with teachers assigning a failing grade and principals not advancing them to the next grade. Parents aren't the ones that prevent lazy or dumb kids from advancing to the next grade.

Ulysses90 said:

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B-1 83 said:

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The problem is public schools are not failing our kids. Part of the great educational reset must be to hold kids* responsible when they don't meet standards. Repeating grades was not uncommon once upon a time.

*Teachers too, but that's another topic

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Holding kids responsible for failure begins with teachers assigning a failing grade and principals not advancing them to the next grade. Parents aren't the ones that prevent lazy or dumb kids from advancing to the next grade.

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Which makes it impossible for teachers at the next grade to keep students on grade level. Or above, but let's not talk fantasy island. So even "good" teachers are set up to fail.

I have many issues with the education system at all levels, but the jobs that public teachers need to do now is almost impossible in the majority of schools. They are largely directed to pass kids no matter what to keep parents happy and the dollars flowing.

How does society change this blockage? Figure out ways to remove kids from public schools where they can be more successful.

Over_ed said:

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Ulysses90 said:

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B-1 83 said:

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The problem is public schools are not failing our kids. Part of the great educational reset must be to hold kids* responsible when they don't meet standards. Repeating grades was not uncommon once upon a time.

*Teachers too, but that's another topic

---

Holding kids responsible for failure begins with teachers assigning a failing grade and principals not advancing them to the next grade. Parents aren't the ones that prevent lazy or dumb kids from advancing to the next grade.

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Which makes it impossible for teachers at the next grade to keep students on grade level. Or above, but let's not talk fantasy island. So even "good" teachers are set up to fail.

I have many issues with the education system at all levels, but the jobs that public teachers need to do now is almost impossible in the majority of schools. They are largely directed to pass kids no matter what to keep parents happy and the dollars flowing.

How does society change this blockage? Figure out ways to remove kids from public schools where they can be more successful.

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I teach Algebra 2 in a texas high school and I get kids who cannot add 4 and -7 together. No critical thinking and want to be hand fed all the information. It is really hard.

Hey...so.. um said:

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I teach Algebra 2 in a texas high school and I get kids who cannot add 4 and -7 together. No critical thinking and want to be hand fed all the information. It is really hard.

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LOL. I know adults who've mastered this math using their fingers. Easy to solve every time if you aren't lazy.

Hey...so.. um said:

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Over_ed said:

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Ulysses90 said:

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B-1 83 said:

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The problem is public schools are not failing our kids. Part of the great educational reset must be to hold kids* responsible when they don't meet standards. Repeating grades was not uncommon once upon a time.

*Teachers too, but that's another topic

---

Holding kids responsible for failure begins with teachers assigning a failing grade and principals not advancing them to the next grade. Parents aren't the ones that prevent lazy or dumb kids from advancing to the next grade.

---

Which makes it impossible for teachers at the next grade to keep students on grade level. Or above, but let's not talk fantasy island. So even "good" teachers are set up to fail.

I have many issues with the education system at all levels, but the jobs that public teachers need to do now is almost impossible in the majority of schools. They are largely directed to pass kids no matter what to keep parents happy and the dollars flowing.

How does society change this blockage? Figure out ways to remove kids from public schools where they can be more successful.

---

I teach Algebra 2 in a texas high school and I get kids who cannot add 4 and -7 together. No critical thinking and want to be hand fed all the information. It is really hard.

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Yeah, one of those ... if I could give you more blue stars...

Algebra 2 might be the most difficult HS course to teach now.

• Everyone has to take it, so no self-selection like say Calc.
• Need to teach at a high level for the kids in pre-calc etc., so you can't teach it down like a "dummy" course (math fundamentals)
• Requires mastery of previous course (Alg I) unlike say Geometry where at least you start from ground zero
• Definitely requires lots of practice for average kids--good luck on that as opposed to TikTok

Do what you can, and don't let it get you down!

Even with so many kids doing homeschooling and going to private Christian schools, public schools are still educating 9 out of 10 kids. We have to be vigilant in what public education is doing to our children, because like it or not that vast, vast majority of kids are still doing public school.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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The only way for education to get better is for parents to get more involved and give a ***** You know why home schooled kids do better? It has nothing to do with public schools, it's the fact that kids are held accountable because they have parents involved on their education. All those failing kids have parents who are checked out and think that their kids' education is the school's responsibility, not theirs. They're not doing homework with their kid, following up with teachers, and doing the parenting part of educating their kids.

Do you think that changes with pushing towards home schooling?

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Yes, parental involvement at all levels of public education would help. Most parents have no idea what's going on with some of these lefty teachers and policies.

B-1 83 said:

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The problem is public schools are not failing our kids. Part of the great educational reset must be to hold kids* responsible when they don't meet standards. Repeating grades was not uncommon once upon a time.

*Teachers too, but that's another topic

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Agree fully that kids/parents need to be held accountable to standards with repercussion for failure but education administration is more at fault. You always have to hold leadership accountable. Most education administrators are weak. School board crazies are a close second.