Saying “You Don’t Have to Go to School” Is Easy. What Happens Next?

The other day, homeschooling came up during one of my online English lessons.

It is an educational approach in which children study at home rather than attend school. Apparently, it is not an unusual option in some countries.

The number of children in Japan who do not attend school is also increasing, and I often hear people say, “Children don’t need to go to school” or “They can study at home.”

I also believe that children who are suffering from bullying or similar problems should not be forced to attend school.

But I have one question.

I understand that they don’t have to go to school. But will they actually study at home?

Home Life Disguised as Home Study

I once watched a schoolteacher on YouTube discuss what happens later in life to children who stop attending school.

According to the teacher, students who continue studying at home are less likely to attend university, and many ultimately struggle to make the transition into adult society.

I do not know how statistically accurate that claim is, but I can understand the reasoning behind it.

After all, studying diligently at home every day is difficult even for adults.

If I had no work to do, I am confident that I could start watching YouTube in the morning and suddenly realize it was already evening.

Children are even more susceptible to that temptation.

At school, lessons begin whether you like it or not. There is a teacher, and your classmates are studying around you.

At home, however, games, smartphones, and a bed are all within reach.

A child may begin with great enthusiasm, declaring, “I’m going to study for five hours every day!” Before long, however, day and night have been reversed, and the only thing that has improved is the child’s gaming skill.

Even so, call it “homeschooling,” and it somehow sounds like an advanced form of education.

English labels can be very convenient that way.

School Is Useful for More Than Studying

There are many unpleasant things about school.

Classmates you do not get along with, unreasonable teachers, and tedious school events. I have no desire to return to my own school days either.

Still, there are things you only realize after entering the working world.

At a company, you may have a boss you dislike, colleagues you cannot reason with, and rules that make no sense to you.

School also serves as a rehearsal for this troublesome human society.

Of course, I am not suggesting that enduring bullying is a valuable social lesson. Children should escape from that.

But if someone spends years having almost no contact with anyone outside the family, the barrier to entering society will continue to rise.

At first, the child simply could not attend school. Eventually, even going outside begins to feel like a burden.

Before long, the child has become distant not only from school but from society itself.

After escaping the restrictions of school, the child ends up confined within the even smaller world of home.

There is considerable irony in that.

If School Is Unbearable, Go Somewhere Else

I am not opposed to the choice of not attending school itself.

An alternative school, a sports club, or any kind of regular class could work.

What matters is leaving the house regularly and interacting with people outside the family.

As for academic study, online learning materials and AI are now available. Compared with the past, the environment for learning at home has improved dramatically.

However, although AI can teach a subject, it cannot guarantee that the student will feel motivated to learn.

If a child says, “I don’t want to study today,” AI may offer some gentle encouragement.

A human teacher might simply say, “Never mind that. Open your textbook!”

It does make me wonder which response is more educational.

The Irresponsibility of Saying “You Don’t Have to Go to School”

Recently, people have become remarkably casual about saying, “You don’t have to go to school.”

Those words can certainly be necessary for a child who is suffering right now.

But we cannot simply say them and consider the matter settled.

If the child does not attend school, how will they study? How will they maintain contact with society? What is the plan for further education and employment?

Those questions should be considered as part of the same conversation.

Anyone can simply say, “You don’t have to go to school.”

What is more, saying it makes someone look like a kind adult who truly understands how children feel.

Meanwhile, an adult who begins the practical conversation by asking, “So what will we do from here?” is immediately treated as harsh.

It is an extraordinarily convenient arrangement.

A child may not have to go to school. But that does not mean the child can do nothing.

We cannot postpone a child’s transition into adulthood for our own convenience.

The kind adult who says, “You don’t have to go to school,” will not necessarily take responsibility for finding that child a job 10 years later.

By then, that adult will probably be saying the same thing to another child.