EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ONLINE SCHOOL/HOMESCHOOL, PROS & CONS, IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?

Hi everyone, it's Tilly and welcome to or welcome back to my YouTube channel. As we can see, I'm in a different location today. It is November, therefore we are allowed to put the Christmas tree up. So yeah, we're in here today. I hope you guys all like the background. I must apologize for my hair, it really is just doing its own thing. I kind of blend in actually to the tree, but my hair has got a mind of its own today, so please excuse that. But today I'm going to be talking all about homeschool. I put on my Instagram story what you guys would like to see you see from me, like videos on my YouTube channel. And I got quite a few requests for a really informative video about homeschooling, how I do it, why I do it, and just all the ins and outs in case any of you guys are thinking of doing homeschooling yourself as well. I know it's definitely a thought that's crossed a lot of people's mind, especially now in lockdown. We've all kind of had a, a little go at being homeschooled because we've had to be, and a lot of people have found that it's been working for them better than public school. So I thought it would be the perfect timing to give you all a very informative video about how to go about it, how I do it and why I do it. So let's get into it. So first of all, I am just going to talk about kind of my experience with public school and why I decided to become homeschooled. I feel like that's quite an important thing in this. So I was at public school, I've been at public school my whole life, you know. I left school in— it was at the end of year 8, I'm pretty sure. I'm not really sure how this comes across in other countries, I think it's grade 7. So I was 13, I'm pretty sure. Basically, when I got into Year 7, I had to go away for this big operation on my left leg. I've got a long video about why I had an operation on my leg, but long story short, my leg stopped growing, and so I needed this big operation on it to kind of stretch my bone for it to match the other leg. Otherwise, it could cause back problems, it being uneven in the future. So I kind of needed to get that done, and I was on the waiting list for 2 years, and then I finally was able to get it done when I was in year 7. It was a very long procedure. It was 6 months long actually, where I had this big cage on my leg. I was immobile for a large portion of it. I couldn't really go to school. I had this big contraption on my leg which needed a lot of like seeing to, like infections and everything could come about it. So I wasn't able to go to school for a really, really long time. At the start, the were just sending work home and everything was perfect. I was doing some work at home. By the end of it, they kind of just given up on sending me stuff back. They just stopped doing it. I, I don't really know what happened there, but eventually I got the cage off and I was able to go back into school again. Obviously missing 6 months of school, um, the end of Year 7 and the start of Year 8, I had missed out on a lot of schoolwork. Something that did open my eyes quite a lot though was when I was in welfare and they would have like teachers every now and again come to me with different work that I could have missed. And what I found really, really interesting was I was doing like assignments and exams, previous exams that my classmates had done already but I had missed, in like science and stuff. But kind of everything that I was getting wrong, my teacher would just say, oh well, you know, you got that wrong, but it's not really a big deal because you won't need that in the exam. And As well, for English, I didn't have to catch up on anything in the whole 6 months I was away. I didn't have to catch up on any, any work at all because my English teacher just said that it was for fun. Something I didn't know before, but it seemed to me that a lot of the schoolwork that they give you is just kind of unnecessary. I mean, the teacher said to me that they were doing that for fun. I know for myself, like, I wasn't going to school for fun, and the mindset that I have, I've got quite a lot going on like outside of school, so the mindset to me was that I really wanted to get my work done just so I could get out of school. I think education is really, really important, so I wanted to get what I needed, get the grades that I needed, I required for anything that I want to do, and so then I could just move on and do like career and things that I really want to focus all my time on. So that was kind of weird for me to get back after 6 months of being off school and then figuring out that all this time they've just been doing things for fun and I didn't at all need to catch up on it. That was kind of weird, I thought. So after my 6-month procedure, I wasn't just done and dusted there. I still have, and I still to this day, like 2 years later, I have to go to the hospital quite frequently to like talk about it. My leg hasn't bent since. My leg used to bend and everything was fine beforehand, but now it doesn't bend. So I'm doing intense physio on that, and I'm always having appointments with my doctors and being passed around to like 4 different doctors at the moment because nobody knows what to do with me. But I'm always basically in and out the hospital seeing what could be the next step. A lot of the time these appointments and different things like that would happen during school, so I was missing every single Monday, so one day a week at school I wasn't in, at least one day a week, because I had an appointment at the hospital. I was also doing hydrotherapy every Monday, so like the pool at the hospital, trying to get my leg to bend again, as much rehabilitation as possible. And I was also having physiotherapists come into school for one lesson in the day. I was doing that, I think, Wednesday and Thursday. So I was also missing one lesson every Wednesday and Thursday because I had to go to a special room to let these physiotherapists try and sort my leg out. It did also mean that my attendance was not very good at school. I was in like the kind of red danger zone. And as I said, I do feel like education is very, very important. So seeing my attendance drop that low was not really ideal. So I kind of had a talk with my family. I'd been looking into homeschool a lot because I just thought that it could be better for me. So we went away and we were talking about that, and we were talking about it for a bit until ultimately we decided together that homeschooling could be the better option for me. My mom had a talk with the school. We went in together, had a big meeting about it. We went to the local council, told them that this is what we were looking to do, and then my mom did actually give me a kind of resignation note to hand into the school office. Office just to say, look, thank you so much, we've had a great time here, but I feel like in the current situation that I'm in, it will be better for me to go and be homeschooled. So ultimately, I left school because of attendance, and I just feel like it was better learning for me. It meant that I would be able to just focus on all the stuff that really, really mattered at school, that I really needed, rather than just doing it for fun. And I was able to get all that done and focus on stuff outside of school, and it wasn't just the hospital appointments that was making my attendance pretty low. I also had like quite a lot of other obligations. I'm a motivational speaker, so I was traveling quite a lot. So ultimately it was the best decision, I think, and everyone agreed for me just to become homeschooled because then you can take your work anywhere. It's just as long as you've got your laptop, you can do school, which is great. So now on to actually homeschooling itself, and there are a lot of options. There's so many options that you can choose from, basically just whatever works best for you. I know that there are many online online schools, or you can do homeschooling. I think basically homeschooling is like when your parents teach you and they're— they've got syllabus and they're working on it with their children like one-on-one. Basically what I do is I do online school, but the majority of online schools basically do it so you have kind of live lessons, kind of like what everyone's been doing in lockdown. There's live lessons which you can join and watch, so you've got like your teachers and kind of like you're in the classroom but you're actually at home. It kind of works in the same way like that. But what I do is I have online school, but there are no kind of videos live that I need to watch and log into. I have like this big syllabus and I have the courses. I've got like helpful videos, links, um, to like watch, but nothing's really live. It's all in your own time and at home. I do have access to teachers like online, but there's nothing live that I've actually got to log into, if you know what I mean. So there's many different ways that you can do it, and a lot of people would probably find online school with videos better, I guess, because it gets them up and out of bed at 8 AM to log on to a video. But for me, with everything that I'm doing outside of school, I thought it would be best to have all these videos that I could just watch whenever I could, you know what I mean? So that's kind of the route I went down. If you are looking to become homeschooled, then it's definitely worth checking out all the different options options, um, with online school or kind of online school, half homeschool. Then there's homeschool, and there's some people who actually do unschooling, which is just— I don't really know much about it, to be honest. I'm pretty sure it's just no schooling at all, like, as part of the syllabus. You kind of just learn from experience. So there's a lot of different methods to do it, so you should definitely research that. The subjects I took for my GCSEs this year— I'm doing another lot next last year, but the subjects I did take this year was Business Studies, Maths Extended, Spanish, which is kind of deferred on next year as well, Environmental Management, and English Language. But when you start, you can pick any subjects that you like really. There's a lot of variety, and it depends as well who you're doing the homeschooling or online schooling with. You also get sent all the books for each subject, so I have in English Language a Spanish workbook and a Spanish textbook, a maths extended book, and environmental management. I'll attach like a video or pictures of them here, but these are basically just to help you along the course. When you click on different modules of what you need to do for the day, it'll show you, okay, so read pages 262 to 273 in your Spanish course book, fill out these in the Spanish textbook, different things like that just to help you along the course. So you've got all the information for your GCSE in these books which you can study throughout your time. You also get given the programme of study and the syllabus for each subject as well. These show you basically everything that you need to learn by the end of the course, all the knowledge that you should have achieved, and just basically the best way to go about studying. It also tells you how long you should be spending a week for each subject, which allows you like as a student, as the person taking the course to come together and create a basically a school timetable. So I know I definitely made a timetable for me, and you can mix it up to suit you. So kind of the key subjects are maths, English, science, and stuff like that. So you would need to spend more time on that, so maybe like 3 hours a week I would do. And then for the kind of littler, more what you kind of want to do kind of subjects, and I would spend like an hour or two a week, and you can make it completely customized to you. So if you have like a music lesson or something in between, or you want to practice and get better at art, you can take time in your day and write it. So, okay, so for these hours I'm going to be practicing art, I'm going to be having a piano lesson, or anything like that. It's really, really customizable, so you can make it perfectly work for you. I did find when I was doing homeschooling and doing my schedule and everything like that, I was actually able to completely finish my work for the day maybe like an hour before I would at school, which is really, really cool considering that I'm sitting my GCSEs 2 years early and I'm able to finish school an hour before I would at school, like public school. It's really, really crazy how much you can actually get done when you really just sit and focus on these 5 courses. I'm doing another 5 courses next year as well, so I'll get given the same books. As well, when you first start and you pick your subjects and you first begin working, you get a little introduction to the course Zoom call from all of your teachers. You do have teachers one-on-one for each thing, and you can book Zoom calls with them. But if you don't want to book Zoom calls, they're always there. Like, you get given their emails, and they mark all your assignments, give you all the feedback you need. And if you have any questions, you can go back and forward with them. And yeah, you've got access to them at all times. If I really had a question and I couldn't find it, like, from Google, then I would ask my teacher about it. But to be honest, I never really found myself doing that too much because you have the internet, like, it's online. So if I had a question, usually I would just Google it and, like, there's the answer. And so I can remember that for next time, you know what I mean? But you do have access to teachers at all times if you do need that. But yes, when you first start the course, you get a little introduction from your teachers, one to introduce themselves, but also just to talk about about how you should be revising and like doing the course, everything. Like if you've got any questions then and there on how the whole system works, then you can ask them. Um, but ultimately it is just, okay, so this is what you'll be doing, this is how to navigate your way around the website, and yeah, then you can just go on and do it. It's nice to feel like you're not alone. Education is a big thing that you're taking on, and I know that's something that my mom was scared about because she was like, what if you get to do your GCSEs and then you haven't learned everything. So it's really, really helpful having online school and having access to teachers so you know that you're not on your own and that you're getting all the information that you need to pass. Okay, so now you know all about that, I'm just gonna list off some pros and cons which I have found doing homeschooling. I started in September and I've now finished like my first courses, so I feel like I have the right to say my pros and cons, what I like and dislike about the whole thing, just so you guys can really get a sense if you're looking to do it yourself, what could be good and what could be not as good for you becoming a homeschool student. So let's go. Number 1, we have you do not have a uniform, which is quite good. I don't know if you guys have noticed from seeing my videos on this channel, but I always, always, always am like wearing joggers and like a sweatshirt like this, like pretty much like 90% of the time I'm in loungewear. It's my favorite thing ever. So it's really, really great not having to have this big strict uniform. I know people in other countries might not have that, but here in the UK, like, the majority of schools, pretty much all the schools, will have a really strict uniform. And I really hated that idea because it's just like, why do I need this big button-up shirt and a blazer and a skirt and tights? Like, it's a big Just next we have constant access to the kitchen. My room is downstairs as well, so I literally have the kitchen like within like— how long is this— like 5 meters from me when I'm doing my work at my desk. So it's really, really great. You can get snacks whenever you like, help yourself to some cold coffee brews and everything like that. Basically the fridge is there 24/7, so you can help yourself really. As well, you have constant access to the bathroom, so you can go whenever you want. No more anybody shouting at you for needing to go to the toilet. I always thought that was a bit stupid, not gonna lie. You've got your bathroom all the time, so if you need to go, you could just go. You don't need the permission of anyone, which is— I mean, it should be a given anyway, but there you go, that's an advantage, I guess. Next, you've got so much more freedom, and you can actually determine how full-on your course is going to be depending on when you're wanting to get it all done by and actually sit in the exams. I mean, obviously I sat my GCSEs 2 years earlier than I would do a public school. So my courses and my kind of schedule, school schedule for the year, was pretty full-on. But of course, that does depend on when you're wanting to sit them. So if you're not wanting to sit your GCSEs 2 years early, then your school schedule should be an absolute walk in the park, you know, because you're not doing all the unnecessary stuff that you'd be doing at school, and you're doing like a couple of things at a time. In the school year. So yeah, you can kind of alter how full-on your course is going to be depending on when you're hoping to finish them by, so it gives you that kind of, I don't know, control over it, I guess. The next pro is that you can take it on the road traveling. That's what I do. I've had days where I've been in Mexico because I'm speaking at a summit the next day, and I've literally done work, like my schoolwork, on the balcony of a hotel in Mexico while I've been traveling. So it's really, really cool. It's completely, you can take it on the go. I do a lot of travelling so I'll always bring it on like the train or the plane with me and try and get as much done as possible before I start like feeling travel sick because that's a thing unfortunately, but you can just take it wherever you want so yeah. So onto the cons, a lot of my friends assume that just because I'm homeschooled like that I don't wake up the same time as them, that I don't have to get ready, that I just like lounge around in my pyjamas like I don't even get dressed in joggers in the day because I don't need to. That actually isn't the case. So I still wake up the exact same time as all my sisters would to go to school, and I get up, I get dressed, and I get ready. Like, I brush my teeth as I do. Sometimes I will just chuck on some makeup, not because I feel like I need it, but because I feel like it's really, really important to keep a routine, especially when you're homeschooled. A lot of the motivation is on you. Like, you need to be incredibly motivated. So I always like to get up and ready every single day. I'll pick up my outfit the night before, I'll wake up around the same time as my sisters do like I did at school when I went to public school, and I'll get started for school on the day like 9 AM as I would at public school. So it's all the same like that. And my mom as well would not have me sleeping until 3 PM and starting my work at like 7 PM and doing it through the night because she's just like, no, she wants me up and ready at the same time as everybody else, so I'm on the ball. But I do definitely think that helps 100%, like, so much with motivation, because you need to be hella motivated, and if you were doing it in your pajamas at like 4 PM, then you're not going to be very motivated, or at least I wouldn't be, I know that much. The next thing is that you have got teachers, access to teachers online, you've got their emails and everything, but the responsibility is largely yours like you're the one waking up every day, you're the one making sure you're getting started on this and that, you're the one clicking on your modules and making sure you're getting all the work that you need to get done in that day. You need to be able to know how to balance your school around extracurricular activities— that's not the word, is that the term? I don't really know— but you need to basically have that balance, make sure you keep that balance, and that responsibility is on you because your teachers don't know the ins and outs of everything you do outside school, so you definitely need to think about that. If you've got any other things that you're doing, you need to make sure that you balance that and put that in your timetable. You have a calendar on the website I'm on where you can put on anything and like mark in when you're going to be away and different things like that, so you can really work like in advance and see how you're going to stay on top of everything, if you know what I mean. With it being all online, you can 100% easily mark in an assignment wrong, like the deadline for an assignment wrong, or completely miss it out. Like, just— I'm speaking from experience if you hadn't noticed. I have a big problem. I ended up like, like 2 assignments behind and a good couple of weeks. So yeah, that was really, really stressful for me. It was not fun. Um, yeah, I'm a huge advocate for technology, but sometimes you can just not trust it, you know. The next con, which I have kind of brushed on as well, is that it requires a lot of motivation. You need to be up and ready, you need to be productive every single day to be able to stay on top of it, and you need to be able to balance everything. You need to be able to get yourself out of bed and doing the work because, like, let's not lie, it's not something that we want to be doing. You want to be doing what you want to be doing. I want to be filming and editing YouTube videos, I want to be modeling for Instagram, but education is very important and you need to have that mindset to know that, right, I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get it done, I'm gonna start at this time, I'm gonna finish at this time. Yeah, you know what I mean. The next thing that everybody calls a con, I get asked about it a lot, and it's the idea that I am missing out on the high school experience. I don't know about you, but when I was in secondary school, I was just like getting up, I was going to school to get through the day. I really lost a lot of motivation for school in secondary school. I liked primary school and I would get up every day and like be kind of excited to go in for primary school, but secondary school just really wasn't it for me. Uh, I just don't like the high school experience. If you ask me, the high school experience is like pretty toxic actually. I'm glad I left when I did because I don't know, I just feel like everyone has changed so much, and if I was still there or I went back now I would feel so out of place. I think it's pretty toxic. So I mean, that's just personal experience. I just don't— yeah, I don't see the attraction about the high school experience. I didn't enjoy it very much, and I would much rather just be getting my work done at home so I can hustle on what I actually want to be doing in like career. So yeah, that's just my personal opinion, but a lot of people ask me about that a lot, like what about the high school experience? So if you're anything like me, or if you actually do enjoy school, then maybe homeschooling isn't for you. If you enjoy being in like a social environment or you feel like you're going to miss some people, you like to be in touch with these people like every single day and seeing them, then I would say maybe don't go for homeschooling. But for me personally, I am a big fat introvert and I really didn't enjoy the high school experience. I feel like it's pretty toxic. There's a lot of things that I don't really want to be a part of, so I'm definitely much happier being homeschooled. But that could be a con for some people, so I thought I would leave it in. And the last con that I have for you guys today is that it's pretty, like, probably the worst con, is that it's private, so you do have to pay for it. I know, we have to pay for school. It kind of sucks because here in England, if you're not from the UK, um, the school system is free except for like school dinners and everything. You have to do that, and they have like fundraising events for the schools fund and everything like that. So you have different things like that, but you don't actually have to pay for education, if you know what I mean. It's all like public— if you go to public school, you don't need to pay. If you go to private, you need to pay. And homeschooling online, you've got to pay as well. And it can be pretty pricey. It does vary in price, so you can go for a much cheaper one. But my parents thought, for me personally, like, they don't mind paying a bit more for an education because it's education, you know, it's pretty important, so we didn't mind splurging a bit on that. But of course, it is kind of annoying. So you have to pay for the course, and then you also have to pay to sit the actual exams at the end of the course in an examination centre or a school that takes in external GCSE takers. I don't know, external students, that's the word. So you do have to pay for things like that, which is a bit annoying, but that's what you've got to do if you want to do it privately or at home. So there's some pros and cons. Ultimately, it is 100% up to you. So if you've resonated with anything I've just said and thought, wow, this could be so much better for me, or maybe this isn't for me, definitely evaluate these things, all the pros and cons, what could work best for you. Have a long talk with your parents or your guardians about it. Don't be making any rash decisions when it comes to your education. It is very important for your future. So I hope this video has been as informative as it can be. If you do have any more questions for me, I've tried to put everything in this video, But if you can think of any more, please leave them below and I will 100% get back to them for you. I really hope you enjoyed this video. Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe. I wish you all the best in your homeschool future, if that's what you want to do, and I will see you all next time. Bye!