Many people ignore it, but while education is compulsory until the age of 16, school is not. The difference is size. As the law indicates, " compulsory education can be given either in public or private establishments or schools, or in families by the parents, or one of them, or any person of their choice  ".

Since 1936, the law therefore authorizes parents to educate their children themselves. In total, there are 25,000 in France involved in family education (ie 0.3% of children aged 6 to 16). And this number is constantly increasing.  

What drives these parents to switch to Home-Schooling? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this type of instruction? We take stock. Do not hesitate to give us your opinion in the comments.

Summary
What is home education?
Home education, family instruction, independent learning, homeschooling, home-schooling… There are many ways to name this type of education, which comes from the United States.

Parents choose to take their children out of school in order to educate them themselves. Those who make this decision believe that the mode of education offered at school is not suitable for their offspring.

There are two types of home education:

Correspondence courses (CPC). Children receive content that follows the curriculum of their level. Lessons, exercises, homework, answers…. They are monitored and evaluated by the chosen public or private body (CNED, Legendre, etc.).
Family instruction (IEF). Parents educate their children themselves, without correspondence courses. They are subject to annual checks by inspectors from the academy, to check that their knowledge is in line with the school's programs.
At the end of a year, regardless of the course chosen, all children should have the same skills and the same level of knowledge.  

Why is the number of home-educated children increasing?
Each year, more and more parents say they are “disappointed” with the school and its teaching. They then decide to embark on the adventure of family instruction.

By adapting to their children, these parents intend above all to better respect their rhythm, take into account their emotions, develop their centers of interest… As many aspects that the school can set up but to a lesser extent. Because even if school teachers individualize the courses offered as much as possible, adapting to the needs of each child by offering it on a case-by-case basis remains impractical.

Overcrowded classes, school no longer meeting the needs of society, disparities in levels within the same class, personal projects (travel, etc.), the parents concerned put forward many arguments to explain their choice.

At the same time, we also see the trend of “proximal mothering” or “hyper-mother”. Home birth, long breastfeeding, non-violent education, co-sleeping… This phenomenon intensifies this need to withdraw into the family cocoon.