This is nothing new.
Over 20 years ago I had family that was homeschooling their kids.
Last contact I had with them (about 10 years ago or so), the oldest son was a window washer. Not a joke.

I was homeschooled, I was already a shy kid so it made me more anxious and socially awkward.

I was homeschooled and half of the kids I grew up with were also. When I left three years ago they were a few families homeschooling in our congregation. Most parents don't have the knowledge or ability to teach well and not allowing your kids to have an education is neglect. I feel so much anger over not having any formal education. I read a lot and I'm trying to learn as much as I can but I don't have the desire to go to school now.

I couldn't agree more. I used to be asked, "your kids are still going to school?" as it were a bad thing,. I wanted to say ..stupid are you gonna shield them from the real world for ever. Are you gonna support them when they get old and want to have their own family?

Homeschooled person here! Graduated high-school over 10 years ago. It's nothing new. Lots of jws Homeschooled.

On a related note. I work in education now and have a degree in the field. Most people who homescool are completely unequiped to do so. I'm not a fan of the practice. Public school in the US is not good either though so I do understand why people choose it.

This is an ongoing thing. I'm not old enough to remember 1975, but I remember all the kids slightly older than me who'd been pulled out of school because "Armageddon was so close." Truancy laws weren't as widely enforced back then, so quite a few of them never went back to school.

I left the cult around the turn of the century, and there were parents who never completed high school pulling their kids out of public school to homeschool. People who could barely manage to read a scripture aloud, who couldn't do basic enough math to keep accounts for their window washing or cleaning business, thought they could teach their kids reading and math.

It isn't just Witnesses doing it, either. My state has a particularly thorny issue right now with parents who don't want their kids exposed to "unbiblical" science, literature, or students who aren't as fundamentalist as they are. They're trying to abolish the recommended homeschooling curriculum and yearly testing programs currently in use.

Good jobs are becoming harder to find every day, and we have self-righteous parents sacrificing their kids' futures to their own egoes all over the damn place.

I’m 48 and my parents thought I’d never graduate before “the end”… skipped out on higher education and sports which I’m very good at…. Fast forward to when I was still “in” never really fully just played the part, when I was married and kids we had a family we’d hang out with quite a bit and they home schooled their 3 kids…. Present day they are some of the most missed up kids I’ve ever seen.. meanwhile my kids 24&20 yrs old(thankfully followed my lead) are thriving

Not sorry I homeschooled my son. We treated it like education and gave him better than public school. Caught his autism in the 2nd grade, which would have pigeon holed him as disruptive and/or medicated his super powers into mediocrity.

The decision to homeschool was not based on religious considerations, though my wife and I both were PIMI orthodox WT cultists. I slept thru high school and scored #21 in a class of 700 graduates, separated from the valedictorian by thousandths of points and above a 4.0.

I sacrificed a full ride to any college in the Western Hemisphere to the blood altar of YaYa the Midianite Djinn.

Upon encountering some "stumbling blocks" I did go back to finish an AA degree, secretly...

Not everyone should/can homeschool. Entirely dependent on child and parent<s>.

Socialization is the primary, very real challenge for a homeschooled student, though, if that is the primary criteria, then as a responsible parent, WHO are they socializing with? Sacrificing your kid to a Title 9 school is just as bad as Paradise Home School or sending in parent filled out worksheets to American Home School...js. The public high school I went to is actually a fairly well regarded one in my area, but all the educators went to one of 4 different big churches in the area, so no help for indoctrinated me, and our guidance counselors daughter was in my grade. So, guess who got all the attention, and she was the stereotypical blonde with a pebble rattling around in a vacuum chamber. Amazingly she got every scholarship you can imagine to a State School. The top 25 people in my grade all took the same course, including me... I slept through chemistry, physics 1&2... and outscored the valedictorian in all three. I did not take AP English... and my English teachers tried to convince me to do so...when they would wake me up, because I fried the curve for the trailing student in basic. Had i taken the AP, it would gave boosted my weighted average near or above the valedictorian... I have a bit of residual... feelings.

We woke up as a family approx 4 years ago. I am 3 courses away from a degree in cyber-forensics and have achieved a Sec+ cert. Guess who one of my personal pet projects are going to be? I am the knock in the night, the wak wak, the ghost in the machine. If you are a perv, trafficker or scammer... people like me are coming for you. I might even have the privilege of being the finger of the Universe. Blotting out the sky.

My kid is now enrolled in college with a higher reading comp than high school graduates and on par with their math. <Math was the inciting incident for his autism, being on par for him is equivalent to orbital mechanics for normals.>

I know a couple who have a 5 year old daughter that just started Pre-K but the mom started homeschooling her. Her reasoning was that she was scared that her daughter would get picked on by "wordly" kids. I mean I understand where she's coming from but c'mon kids need to be among other kids in order to socially develop and it is essential.

She doesn't have any siblings or friends her age, the other kids from the cong are within a 1-3 age range but she doesn't hang out with them outside of the meetings. Not to mention that she is already developing an insufferable personality thanks to her parents spoiling and coddling her too much. I remember babysitting her one time and she started to hit me so i grabbed her hand and firmly told her to stop (i did this after telling her multiple times to stop it because i didn't liked it and she kept doing it thinking that it was funny) she looked suprised like someone never told her the meaning of "no, stop it, I don't like it".

She also throws a tantrums whenever she sees "bad stuff" her parents told her to avoid, like disney movies with magic. On one occasion I was showing her my sanrio plushies (cuz I love collecting them) and she freaked out when she saw my kuromi Keychain saying that she was a evil witch and jahooba doesn't like witches. And i asked her what makes her think that she's a witch and she said "cuz my mommy said so"..... omg. Yeah I can't imagine how she's gonna react the day that a classmate throws a birthday party at school, if she even gets switched to a public school.

 I’ve seen a lot of JWs beginning to homeschool their children 

A JW Education Is...

Extremely Noticeable

Good Luck In the...

Outside World!..........😀

It’s a common practice within many conservative groups. Especially religious groups. JW is not the exception. I’ve meet many who have been homeschooled. They don’t go to college and are expected to fully commit to the Borg the minute they finished their requirements of schooling.

Those who homeschool are deep into the indoctrination. They find anything that isn’t taught from the Borg to be against the Borg. They are making it difficult for their children to do anything in society for they are being alienated from the world.

But a few do attend public school but are still heavily restricted on what they can participate and not. The Borg has shifted gears and has acknowledged that many want to attend college. They still quietly disapprove of this but it’s now a manner of self conscious. Everyone decides for themselves.

It’s a messy situation that every JW parent has to take. But everyone still finds it difficult in school when they don’t get to participate in parties or sports. Growing up JW is difficult it, alienates you and makes you be alone. Even when you find “friends” within JW. Everything must revolve around JW doctrine.

I was told I wouldn't get old enough in this system to see my drivers license. Meanwhile I'm waiting for my daughter to tell me I'll be a grandad any day.

That was my biggest fear as a child. So many girls in my congregation were homeschooling. My parents threatened to homeschool me a couple of times. Thankfully they never did. All my friends were at school. I refused to get baptized so by middle school I was getting soft shunned by the other girls in the congregation. Being a JW kid is such a miserable restrictive nonsensical life. I used to wonder why I was cursed to be born into this circus 🎪.

In order to retain members JW will eventually isolate from any external influence or information 

[deleted]

My biggest fear because school was my haven.

For personal reasons & not because of anything to do with being JWs, I homeschooled our 3 children. They are now 28,30 & 32 years of age, so this was some time back. Homeschooling was definitely not the norm amongst JWs at the time! As a matter of fact it was illegal to homeschool! When I told the headmaster of the school that our oldest attended for Year 1, that we were going to homeschool our children the following year, he said that he was obligated to report us.

We lived a little out of town, & driving children to school & back was a nightmare. I had grown up in the same place, & 12 years of the same trip to school every day was firmly cemented in my brain. Our oldest son did go to pre-primary & then school for one year, but after that I made the choice to homeschool.

For us, homeschooling was fantastic! We did “school” for one or two hours a day, & Fridays were free. We went to museums, libraries, etc, often. We joined a local homeschooling group (Christian & they didn’t like us much), where the children did art, played musical instruments & other fun stuff. Our children had time to develop their own skills & talents, & were never forced into a cookie cut model because of the normal restraints of the education system. I used a combination of syllabus’s, one of which was literature based so we did heaps of reading, & the Unschooling Method which is interest-led, & allows the child to learn based on what they enjoy.

We moved to another country when 2 of our children were teenagers, & the youngest was 12. She wanted to go to the same high school as her brothers, & the headmaster agreed after interviewing her. She was put a year ahead & she never looked back. I was told constantly that my children were such a pleasure to have in the school. The headmaster himself would often tell me this, complimenting us as parents. After a year or so, one of the education coordinator’s made a point of stopping me to say that my daughter was the most well adjusted & well socialised student she had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

This is not me trying to say that we did anything special, but that homeschooling is not necessarily a negative. Our sons did 2 & 3 years of high school respectively. Both have uni degrees, after putting themselves through university, one in business, majoring in logistics, & our second son has a degree in environmental science. They have done extremely well for themselves & have very successful jobs in the mining industry. Our daughter works on a goldmine & is very highly paid, as well as being highly regarded in the company. She is a personal trainer on the sideline.

I will never regret our decision to homeschool. School can be a waste of time too, as so much of it is spent moving classrooms, accommodating breaks, keeping the students under control, & it’s only becoming worse.

My parents made me do independent studies. Barf. I am now completely socially inept and still learning new things I should have learned in school in my late twenties.

Bunch of brainwashed sorry people. Is children had no choice. I had a good childhood but didn’t get opportunities like (worldly) people.

JW homeschool to protect their children from worldly influence. But then this becomes isolation and control. The Christian’s I worship with now do homeschool (not all) but these kids are not isolated. They do some classes in the jr high and high school. One was a football celeb. All I know of go to college of their choice. One is in veterinary medicine, goes on missions in South American countries and actually helps farmers and residents with their animals, surgery and otherwise. Another is pursuing forensic psychology. No isolation here! One can be taught morals and principles and still be normal! So sad JW don’t encourage college .

I understand this may not be everyone’s experience but there was one home-schooler in my congregation growing up, and they stuck out like a sore 👍

I hear the same congregation has 2-3 homeschooled children who are from the same family. So not much has changed. 🤔

My nephew is homeschooled and it is not doing him any favors. The lack of socialization and discipline is making him uncontrollably temperamental. It breaks my heart to see him grow up in the JW bubble.

Homeschooling has always been the go-to for controlling educational material starting as early as possible with kids, it doesn’t matter how much detriment it does to the kids educational needs. I am saying this as someone who bought into this BS when I was PIMI and foolishly homeschooled my kids for 3 years until my life situation finally forced me to re-enroll them in public schools. This is their second year back in and my oldest thankfully isn’t hindered but my youngest is still overcoming difficulties from his learning disabilities that I had no idea how to handle. Typical for the BORG, keep them ignorant and uneducated and they won’t have the mental skills set to ask questions. 🤨

I’m a non JW (sister is a mad PIMI). Given the state of some schools I would homeschool if I had to do it all again. The results for homeschooling are good if you are a sensible parent. Just. EEC to sign child up to clubs for socialisation. JWs will just brainwash their kids regardless so the result is the same.

Honestly, homeschooling is better than public schooling nowadays, with all the white washed history, litterbox supporters, lack of reading education, and tiktok association. The American public schooling system is a fucking dumpster fire. 

Tons in my area doing this.

So I knew a family that was homeschooled, I was also homeschooled for a few years due to bullying but it wasn't the whole time

Jehovahs witnesses have been homeschooling their children for a long time now, but I could imagine the escalation due to COVID and the worsened political toxicity out there. 

I’m an ex teacher and I would NEVER homeschool.

I don’t know anyone here in Switzerland or Europe. Didn’t know this was such a big thing

It's a classic ' rinse and repeat'. There was the same frenzy starting around 1965, when they started really pushing more and more that A isccoming in 1975. Many quit school to pionner, I know 3 people who sold their homes and little business to go ppreach as need greaters. More children were homeschooled because of ' satanic' worldly influence. Besides we dont need a good éducation because now is time to preach , Stay Alive til 75 was driller into us .

I remember hearing stories on an ex-JW board about JW schools. I think in CA. Maybe elsewhere. I don’t know if it was an official school or just a community type of thing. Sister smith teaches grades 1-3. And it’s just meeting at somebody’s house. Or at the hall?

Back in the 80’s, I knew one girl that was being homeschooled by her pioneer parents. A good friend of mine at the hall was interested in her and they passed notes/cards because her parents wouldn’t let her date yet. I read some of these. All I can say is those parents should’ve been locked up. She could not spell and her grammar was horrible. It was like a 3rd grader but she was probably 16 at the time. Oh well. That’s the point, isn’t it? Stupid keeps you religious.

My brother (long after leaving) had a son. He had a high level of nut allergy. So they home schooled him. But he and his wife are smart. And he wound up rejoining the public school system. And did great. Joined the robotics team. Coded for it. Did competitions. Going to college now hoping to be involved with NASA or Space X someday. He’s going to school at one of the places JPL recruits from. Such contrast between hone schooled JWs and home schooled by smart parents deeply involved in their child’s education.

A lot of Evangelical Christian and Catholic parents homeschool their children. The difference is that the ones who do this are highly educated themselves and capable of supervising their children's education. Most also participate in coops so people educated in different fields can lead. All the children I know who were taught this way have gone on to college and professions like law and medicine.

When my JW sister homeschooled two of her daughters, she used online materials. She had a high school education period. Interestingly, her third daughter went to public high school and then college. I can't figure it out, but this same sister hasn't spoken to me since I became Catholic in 2008 so . . .

i was a gifted/honor student from k-8th grade. projected for college and a great career. i started homeschooling at the start of high school from the pressure to pioneer. and i did for 2 years. my school was pushed off for years. i ended up graduating 2 years late because of it. they were the worst years of my life.

You fart, that's a lie, get with the times, don't lie just to fit in.

My sister homeschools. She got tutors for their science gcses. The first 2 got 2's and 3's and the third is just starting gcse years.

It helps that she is clever, got straight A's but left at 16 because in the uk that was when you could leave.

Her children have to remain in education to 18 so they are now both at college.

It's not terribly new. I know one family from 25 years ago that homeschooled one of their kids to keep her away from the "bad influence" of school. She married a rich (or, well-off anyway) brother to avoid having to get a job with essentially zero education.

Another JW homeschooled her kid from the start. She just had the local pioneer sisters babysit him while they were out in service. I'm sure they loved it, since they could count time with him, but he was just hanging out with pioneers all day from a young age. He eventually asked to go to public high school because even he recognized how limiting it was having mostly elderly women as his only friends. Didn't matter as far as keeping him "spiritually grounded" because he was never baptized and left JW last year as soon as he could after graduation.

The only thing that will keep the kids from learning TTATT is if they wall everyone up in remote cult compounds with restricted outside information. I wouldn't put it past WT to try it.

I was homeschooled. I always thought I was stupid but it turns out I just wasn’t given the proper education lol. Interestingly enough a big factor in me being able to wake up was seeing how genuinely good “worldly” people are once I started working. I was shocked at how wrong the orgs warnings were. 

Being homeschooled, my views on outsiders were sooooo warped. I guess it’s easier to indoctrinate when you have 0 contact with the real world