Here are some photos of Angelina Jolie and the Jolie-Pitt kids in New York and LA from the past month. I never got around to posting these photos – it wasn’t a Brangeloonie Conspiracy or anything, it’s just that there was rarely a good story to go along with the photos. Plus, it’s become pretty common to see Angelina with the kids this year. She and the kids travel en masse now, and the kids come out to support mom’s films at premieres and film festivals and everything. Jolie took most of 2017 off, following her split from Brad. It was clear her priority was her kids and making sure that everybody was safe and healthy. She and the kids spent much of the past year and a half in LA too, and I wondered if Jolie was going to end up enrolling them in public or private school. Turns out, not so much. Jolie maintains that she wants the kids to be homeschooled. People Mag has a “what Angelina’s life is like now” story with some interesting details:
More than one year after filing for divorce from Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and her six children are moving on with their lives. “Angelina is busy with everything she is doing, including being a super mom to her kids,” a Jolie source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “But she is doing fine and working with Brad on ways to continue their lives so everyone is happy.”
Jolie and Pitt’s divorce is not yet finalized, but it is moving forward. In the meantime, the pair have been “working out time for him to be with the kids, which he treasures,” says another source. For Pitt “the process has been difficult,” says a source close to the situation. “But he is OK and remains committed to his family.” (While Pitt has dated since their split — “nothing serious,” says a source — there’s been no hint yet of a new romance on Jolie’s part.)
Maddox, 16, Pax, 14, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 9, live with Jolie, 42, in L.A. and visit Pitt, 54. Earlier this year, Jolie bought a $24 million estate once owned by Cecil B. DeMille to be closer to Pitt. During the week, the kids “are focused on studying,” a family source says. “They have tutors for all kinds of subjects, including different languages and instruments. The kids are also very physically active. They like soccer and love skateboarding, and also take self-defense classes.”
At a December screening of her Golden Globe-nominated movie First They Killed My Father, Jolie explained her decision to homeschool her kids.
“It bothered me how little I was taught in school,” Jolie, 42, explained. “I do worry about my children’s education. I homeschool partially because they are from around the world and it’s very … I didn’t want them to have the same education I had when it came to Vietnam or Cambodia.”
I’ve said this before, but when I was growing up, very, very few kids were homeschooled. It was definitely considered an extreme oddity in my day. These days, it feels like so many kids are being homeschooled for widely different reasons. Some kids are homeschooled because their parents are super-religious and the parents think public schools are dens of sin and lessons on evolution. Other kids are home-schooled by super-liberal parents who fear that their kids will become too homogenized by formal education. And then there are non-political reasons too, like there’s just a difference in how your kid learns or your kid is being bullied. I guess Jolie has her reasons, and I’m glad that the kids aren’t isolated too – she clearly is enrolling them in athletic programs and classes, so they’re interacting with other kids too. Whatever, I’m not clutching my pearls over this. I do wish that there were more celebrities advocating for strengthening public schools, but it’s not going to happen.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I read that the public schools system is more segregated now than ever before (I’m not sure about this quote). Yeah public schools suck a$$…
In urban centers, for sure. Chicago is incredibly segregated, with some of the best schools in the country and also some of the worst, and you can guess how they break down racially.
Georgia is like that as well. The private schools all popped up in the wake of desegregation.
I’ve read the same, and public schooling IS a disappointment (see below). The main advantage it has over home schooling is that you learn social skills from your peers. I have relatives who were home schooled from k-12 and they don’t pick up on social cues AT ALL. The few other home schooled kids I’ve met have been awkward and seemed uncomfortable in social situations. Maybe I met the exceptions though and not the norm.
Advantage of home school: at least you know your kid is learning something. I graduated from a public high school alongside a guy who couldn’t read. Yep, couldn’t read. Made it through all of those standardized tests and everything.
In terms of exposure to diversity, I’m not so sure that keeping your children at home for school where presumably they spend all day with parents and siblings only is really any better than having them in a segregated school system.
Re: socialization advantage, YES. Multiple members of my family were home-schooled—different generations and different sets of parents, and they’re all terribly socially inept if not completely maladjusted. Can’t read social cues, don’t know how to make friends, can’t cope with normal interpersonal conflicts and rejection, can’t cope with failure since their home-schooling did not include testing or grades, and saddest, no curiosity about the world, only fear and suspicion. And in each case, their parents had made a big deal about “I am socializing my children! They go to art class — teeball — Sunday school — play group,” but honestly I just don’t think that parent-organized and supervised limited-time activities substitute for being sent off to school for eight hours a day and being immersed in an environment where you HAVE to learn to get along with other people who may be a different race or religion or worldview, may not be nice to you, may give you a bad grade on a test, etc.
“I have relatives who were home schooled from k-12 and they don’t pick up on social cues AT ALL.”
This is a close friend of mine who was homeschooled. He is a great guy-highly intelligent, funny, quirky-but he has no self-awareness when it comes to social cues and boundaries. It’s like he was never taught what is appropriate social behavior. I think that’s an imperative for any person, particularly in their formative years. If kids are homeschooled, I think parents should make an effort on having them participate in extra-curricular activities like sports or art club…something that allows them to socialize and interact with their peers. Also I would think it’s important that kids have a mentor outside of their family–a coach, teacher, or another adult they admire and trust. Kids don’t necessarily want to tell their parents everything, but many will confide in a teacher, advisor or coach.
Kitten: I made a comment way down on #18 regarding same: social interaction. I was fortunate enough that my kids didn’t need to go to daycare. However, at age 4, I had them both go for half days to be around other children and get a feel of a classroom. They both loved it and it was good prep for starting school. I also agree that a mentor is important. They need to learn respect, and to have a voice other than at home. Good points Kitten, Happy Solstice!
TegTeg.. I work in public schools and the saddest thing is when parents stop homeschooling and send kids back to regular school. The lack of social skills and awkwardness is unbelievable. At high school level, it makes integration almost impossible.
here
Susie.. Your ignorance is showing. I suggest you read about modern education reform, school law and try volunteering in a public school first. No doubt your miseducation has contributed to a lot to the problems we face today.
The quality of public schools really depends on where you live, even in states and cities that have a reputation for better public schools.
I think that public schools are still segregated by various factors, including race and economic background as they were in the 1960s to mid 1970s before court ordered desegregation. I graduated from high school in the early 2000s in northern Illinois from a district that was a white flight district. It wasn’t the only rural, majority white district in the area that saw a spike in enrollment after court order desegregation in the late 1970s by any means. My high school graduating class was almost all white with maybe one or two Latino students. It was quite a transition to go from a small rural, mostly white high school to a racially diverse Big 10 campus.
Even among progressive whites, it’s not uncommon to associate schools that have a more mixed student body with not being as good as schools with students from more affluent and privileged backgrounds. My coworker’s kids don’t go to the elementary or middle school they are zoned for based upon his address because that school has more students from a low income background and that are African-American. Instead, he used open enrollment to get his older two into the school in a more affluent area with mostly whites and Asians. It didn’t work with his youngest because they had no room for open enrollments her year. His ex-wife got an apartment in the residency area so she could get in. They’ll still feed into the same high school that they would have gone to had they stayed in their zoned schools.
I’m honestly disappointed but not shocked that one of my cousins whose father was a special education teacher has steered her kids away from open enrollment public schools. Her male partner is a conservative Republican who has made comments about how some groups in this country don’t have proper family values. It’s really hard to restrain myself and ask him if he considers himself to be one of them having two kids with the woman he’s been with for nearly 15 years and not being married to her. Their kids are both in charter schools that are supposedly better i.e. whiter than the public schools.
Of course he considers himself to be one. That type cherry-picks their “values”.
Your restraint is far stronger than mine.
But the segregation stems from the decision of (mostly) white parents to refuse to send their kids to their zoned schools and try to send them to a better school near grandma’s or aunty’s place. NYC public schools are the most segregated schools in the country and gentrification makes it even worst! Public school funding in the US needs to change, funding needs to come from the federal level to ensure that poor states and poor cities/neighbourhood get their proper share of money regardless of how much taxes people can pay. Public school teachers need to get paid better too. Of course, it’s certainly not Betsy Devos that will do anything to help.
But public schools can and should be good. They’re a great place to learn that the world is diverse, that not everyone has the same incomes and background; those are important things to learn too. And yes, social skills and code switching are useful too
This is true. My kid’s school here in Jersey is actually pretty diverse and I like it like that. Believe it or not, I have heard people say how happy they are to send their kids to a school with very little diversity. As in, they are so happy they live in an area where the school is mostly all white children. Or people move right before Kindergarten to send their kids to a less diverse school. And they also choose private schools, especially in cities. And like you said above, use a relative’s address. So it’s a lot of white flight and under funding.
My kids went to public schools and got a good education. I wouldn’t make a statement that public schools “suck ass.”
Depends on where you live. I grew up in a middle-income neighborhood in Harlem and the public schools were so bad that I and almost all my friends went to private or parochial schools. I sent my son to private school and never regretted the expense.
The best way to strengthen public schools is through legislation. Teachers seem to be slaves to testing standards but how can you ensure a sound education without testing? I wish there was a better way but I’m a big fan of homeschooling.
Homeschooling can work with them since they’re worldly children and don’t miss out on social interaction. I bet their mother makes sure they have a proper well rounded education unlike, for example, the Duggar kids and their preachy religious zealot brainwashing inaccuracies.
I agree with you re: public schools. It’s a shame what little funding so many schools have to work with. Yet, look at the millions poured into bullshyte.
What I find different is that AJ uses tutors, which to me if you can afford it is the way to go. Most children that are home schooled are done so by the parents. I know several parents that have home schooled and by middle school (6th grade most the time) they can’t handle the curriculum as they (the parents) do not excel in all subjects and eventually send the children back to the public school system. I’m a former math teacher and while I could handle English, writing, history etc for the elementary level, I would be hard pressed to do what I consider a good job on a higher level for those subjects (but that is me talking and my insecurities).
What does them being “worldly” have anything to do with normal childhood development? Children learn a lot in day to day social interactions at school that you simply can’t replicate by joining a soccer team or having a play date every couple of weeks. And personally, I would say that the “worldliness” that we see – the constant travel, the taking the children to events – is the exact opposite, because it treats them like little adults. The child actors in the Cambodian movie do not count as peer to peer interaction
Been there, done that with the testing system. The testing system was not developed by those who are invested in education. Private schools don’t have to do the testing and they get along quite well. The only thing testing does is make those companies who make the tests richer. Testing proves nothing. In my state testing has no effect on the students as there are no consequences to the students if they do poorly. What it has an effect on is the school district (state may threaten to hold funding to districts that don’t do well) and the teachers. Yes, one year we were pretty much told that if our students didn’t do well on the test then our job was possibly in jeopardy. I know several students who were top students who didn’t care how they did on the test. There has to be a better way.
Two things: I went to catholic school for 12 years and sent my kids to catholic school, and we had just as many fill-in-the-circle tests as public schools. Difference was we didn’t gain or lose funding based on the results.
Which brings me to my second thing: it drives me crazy that the public schools that do better on those tests get MORE money, and schools that do poorly LOSE money. Shouldn’t it be the opposite? Just another example of lower income families getting screwed, and all of the spoils going to the wealthy. Ugh.
I’m the daughter of a public school teacher – I believe in making the system stronger. Just FYI.
I agree. I had a public school education, but I was in all honor classes. My teachers were excellent, but they did not hide their lack of enthusiasm for teaching kids in the basic classes.
Babykitten,
My experience exactly. Grew up in an urban public school system, but the honors track was like being in a different school altogether. Even so, one can’t overstate the importance of school communities for giving kids of all backgrounds a chance to know and understand the world beyond their homes.
I believe in making the system stronger, too. It’s too bad Jolie with her resources can’t be part of that but we can’t demand that she take up the cause. I was also surprised to hear she thought her own education was subpar, I wonder where she went (public vs private)?
We don’t know if Angie’s mother was invested in her children’s education. She seemed like a free spirt, in that she let her 14 y/o daughter have a live in lover. In my experience, a parent invested in their child’s education makes all the difference.
babykitten, Absolutely. One of my kids has special needs and while the teachers and therapists and other professionals were amazing, guardian angels really, I could never take my eye off the ball, so to speak. Parents are a huge part of the equation, especially early on.
My children all got excellent educations at a mediocre public school because they were disciplined, enthusiastic students from a home where education was highly valued. Teachers were more than happy take the ball and run with it. Jolie claiming she wants to home school because of what she didn’t learn about Vietnam/Cambodia is totally bogus. She wants the kids to herself, to participate in her lifestyle. That’s her prerogative but let’s get real about the reason and not blame it on what’s available at school.
I believe she went to Beverly Hills HS, which is one of the best public schools in the country. She certainly was given the opportunity to get a great education.
I think to a certain extent you get out of your education what you put in.
I think Angie wasn’t the most motivated student, and is now looking back on her academic experience with revisionist eyes. No, there was probably little taught about Vietnam or Cambodia, but Angie probably wasn’t interested in math and science, which are equally if not more important. You don’t get to pick and choose.
Yes, absolutely.
And I never considered homeschooling because I couldn’t wait for my kids to go to school 😆.
But it’s not like homeschoolers are not advocates for a stronger public school system, it’s just that you don’t let your kids suffer in the meanwhile. And homeschoolers do pay taxes that don’t directly benefit their own kind ds.
Reminds me a bit of the white families in my neighborhood who send their kids to the local pre-K and elementary school then move to the ‘burbs as soon as the kid is old enough to attend Charlestown High, a predominantly black and Latino school with relatively subpar teachers and metal detectors.
Do I blame the parents? No, not really because I understand what a difficult decision that would be. You want to give your kids the best. You want your kids to feel safe going to school. And let’s be real here: a lot of these parents are uncomfortable with the idea that their white child would be a minority in their classrooms–that’s an uneasy and unfamiliar place for white peeps to be.
But none of that changes the fact that they are part of the problem–along with other factors, of course, but still–part of the problem.
Public schools will not improve if we pull our kids out of the schools that are struggling and white folks in particular could help to affect real and lasting change in this regard.
So while I’m sympathetic to the dilemma, the reality is that parents who care about their kids’ education are the best advocates for improving failing schools. They are the ones that will attend the school meetings and push for better school policies and better teachers. Until that happens, we will have public education segregated along racial lines with black children who are from economically-struggling families receiving a sh*tty education. It’s an awful way for a kid to start out, particularly the kids who are smart and gifted students. They unequivocally deserve the same opportunities as the mediocre student who lives in white suburbia. In fact, they deserve it more.
True. My son and I collect box tops for the schools & have become friendly with some of the local teachers. I homeschool him, but I absolutely support public schools. I went, my older son went, good experiences & loved it.
Kitten, that happens here in Jersey and also when I lived in NYC all the time. Or they stay put but send their kids to private school. Most of the homeschoolers around here are very religious families but some seem to be liberal and free spirited types as well.
Me too, my whole family is in public education, as are many friends. All of them do their best and often go above and beyond. There are many struggling schools though, and many teachers who don’t care, but I highly doubt the schools Angelina went to in Beverly Hills or whatever were struggling. Maybe she wasn’t a particularly attentive student at that age? And it’s difficult to compare the general education of a child with how you learn about something you’re passionate about as an adult.
Also, let’s be honest, Angelina’s kids would not be going to public school, but rather a fancy private school. If homeschooling works best for them though, that’s great, hope they are well prepared for whatever they want to do next. One of the great luxuries of wealth, IMO, would be giving your children the best education possible.
I think she is more worried about the America-first, pro-American-everything revisionist history that is taught to children in schools. I don’t think she is saying that the School she went to or would send her kids to is anfailing school that doesn’t have the resources to teach children well, but that the curriculum and text books are specifically so pro-America, anti-everyone else in their coverage of wars and history in general. She wants her children to have a less biased education.
Amy,
Fair enough but you handle that by staying involved with your kids and talking to them about what they’re learning. You don’t remove them from all normal childhood experiences. I’m not worried about AJ’s kids but she needs to be cautious about advocating for home schooling.
Amy, I feel you on that. I also didn’t learn a lot of extensive world history past the 19th century until college.
@Kaiser. Me too! Frankly, I’m surprised that more connections aren’t being drawn in the US between cutbacks in education and what’s happening in your government. (Also to people believing anti-vaxxers, fake news, etc.) Good education invites critical thinking, an open mind, and considered analysis; three things that seem missing from current American public discourse.
Yes!!! I’ve never commented before – but agree with this statement so much I wanted you to know. 🙂
Education level in whites is strongly linked to who voted for and against Dump.
Kaiser, as a public school teacher, I completely agree.
Kaiser, ITA!! Parents can and should supplement the education kids get at school, but school is where kids go to become members of society.
When I was coming up, many of my friends’ mothers were public school teachers, and without exception every one of them sent their kids to private school.
With all the money she got she can certainly afford a better and more individual education. From that pov it is probably better, its just not possible to give that much attention to a single pupil in public schools. But they are missing out on all other things. Mostly germs! They are important too!
Also the point of a civilized society shouldnt be to only grant that to wealthy people. The more they seperate from the public school the worse it will get. Its also in their interest. People with no future will someday stand in front of those walls around the gated communities.
It may seem silly to some, but germs is a valid argument. I read a study recently that showed children who attended daycare were less likely to get cancer. The conclusion was their immunity was better from all of the germ exposure.
I’m sure she can afford the best germs as well.
Early exposure to germs and a wide of microscopic entities albeit while living with proper sanitation and decent healthcare and lifestyle and no particular negative genetic heritage healthwise can increase immunity. Let us buy best quality germs. Not.
But Jolie is paying taxes on top of employing private tutors. She isn’t the problem just because she happens to be wealthy.
Paying taxes isn’t enough. The only way for real change to happen is to send your kids to the public schools, even if they are struggling. Fresh Air had a great segment about two schools in Brooklyn — one struggling and one successful — a few months ago.
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/13/557558468/how-the-systemic-segregation-of-schools-is-maintained-by-individual-choices
Also the daughter of public school teachers and sister to public school educators so I’m for strengthening our public schools. I also believe learning is a continuum and doesn’t stop at graduation so I was never angry that I didn’t learn something in school. Most of my knowledge was acquired incidentally and when I was older.
I had a cousin who was firmly convinced that her son needed a private education in Catholic schools. After struggling to pay his first year, they moved to Texas and she was forced to enroll him in public school. She called me after the first week – “Well, Justin can read after a week, but he was also bitten for the first time in his life”. Translation, the education was actually superior in the public school, but the Catholic school had the edge on discipline.
*Not the same cousin from my other comment. I have 22 first cousins, and at least 50 second cousins. Strange for an only child.
I’m another person who attended private Catholic schools up until middle school when we moved to another state and the nearest Catholic school was at least a 45 minute drive each way. Both parents worked and it was more efficient having us in public school in the town we lived in. I got a better education in the public school system. It was also a welcome improvement having actual school librarians instead of nuns who would censor material by using permanent markers to cover up human genitalia in books.
Wow, can you just see those nuns scanning through books and obliterating genitals with their sharpies? I can almost see their prune-lipped, scandalized faces.
And by the way, we have the same first name!
I know people who did great in Catholic school, but my neighbor refused to send their son to the public high school with me, because it was a “bad” school (it wasn’t, now I’m thinking that was code for “diverse”). I did great, went to a good university, have a great career. He…did not. Got in a lot of trouble at the Catholic school, flunked out of college, and now I have no idea what he’s doing.
There are lots of terrific public schools out there. And I also have some friends who have elected to home school their kids.
I’m from Queens, NY originally and attended the local Catholic grammar school – K through 8 which was far superior academically to the local public schools. Some of the nuns could be tough but they did instill discipline and a sense of public service. When it came time to attend High School, I choose to attend a Catholic HS, which was also far superior academically to the local public high schools. We had a very progressive nun who was the Principal. It was a requirement to do volunteer work e.g. in Nursing Homes, hospitals, organizing food drives etc. Given the proximity to NYC, our school principal arranged for theatre groups from Lincoln Center to come and put on plays for us at our HS, have makeup experts come and give us tips and she broadened the curriculum to include African American studies, cultural anthropology and lots of advanced college prep courses and she arranged lots of class trips and studies abroad. My experience attending Catholic schools was overwhelmingly positive.
I now live in Massachusetts and we have many excellent public schools. Over the last 15 years, my town has built a new elementary school and a new high school to accommodate the population growth. At the end of the day though, you get out of something what you put into it. That includes the kids’ willingness to study and participate and the parents willingness to put in the time to be involved and guide their kids. Teachers are overworked and underpaid. And in many cases they are under-appreciated.
I home schooled both of mine. I was worried about the lies and stereotypes taught in history class, the teaching to the low middle that occurs before tracking sets in, and we liked to travel. One wanted to start school in 6th grade and by 9th had had enough. He homeschooled again. Just graduated summa cum laude this month, a BA at 19. He has been offered early admission and a full scholarship to law school. The other wanted to start school in 7th grade, is now a junior and loves it. Point is that academically home school can be as good or better than traditional school. But socially there comes a point when the kids need to begin forming an identity outside the family. I hope she gives the older kids a choice.
I’m homeschooling my sons (8th and 9th grade), because my youngest was bullied to the point of being suicidal. He is so much better now and they both enjoy homeschooling.
I remember when they were in school, it seemed that a major part of their “education” was reviewing for months leading up to the standardized tests so the school would get better results. Months of review so the kids could take a test.
That’s not education, that’s memorization and regurgitation for a test.
There is a difference.
Yep, and that’s the problem with standardized tests!
It’s not true at all that all public schools “teach to the test,” or spend weeks drilling them. Some do, of course, but many don’t because they know they’ve taught the material that will be covered.
@Sherry
You did the right thing taking him out because of bullies. It isn’t worth his mental health and daily torture.
Ugh at the article painting Jolie as supermom and by extension Brad as the wandering bachelor. It’s too partisan and poor the kids.
However, I can’t fault the need to teach their children more about other people outside the pan-anglo, pan-american sphere. Although, it is easy now with social media etc to connect with other people, obviously with the downsides of social media too.
I think Jolie can be a bit high handed with her “citizen of the world” thing, but for now I see the JP children as being quite well-raised. Time will tell, of course.
There’s nothing wrong with showbiz however, being surrounded by alleged besties Luong, Pearl, Gooddall, Helic, et all, I hope the children will consider career paths other than showbiz (Hollywood).
Well, this is how his team as chose to portray him a s she has chosen to dedicate her life to her kids. Every week his team is claiming another blonde actress just can’t wait to date old washed up Brad Pitt. Angelina chooses to focus on what’s important. Not her fault Brad doesn’t have the same priorities.
Btw, he obviously didn’t . It get the 50/50 custody his team claimed he wanted
This isn’t new so I’m surprised people are making a big deal about it. The kids have been at least partially homeschooled for years. There’s also photographs of the kids playing soccer. I don’t know people think Angelina is isolating the kids. And why is it always Angelina when Brad has to be involved too?
Probably because Angie has been portrayed as calling all the shots this past year.
Probably because in this interview she is saying “I” instead of “We”. Which implies that the decision was her’s and not their’s.
I went to public school and one with a nasty reputation. We went through metal detectors and got our bags checked everyday. I received a great education. We had so many arts programs, science electives, and more AP courses than any other school around. My class had the highest percentage of graduating students going to Ivy’s (I wasn’t one of them lol). It was an incredibly diverse school and I loved seeing the shock on people’s faces when I said I went there, the pearl clutching some people did. Part of school is the socialization and learnin how to handle situations.
YES! Love stories like this.
One of the most diverse schools in my city, one with a reputation like that, is also known as the one with the strongest math program. Go figure.
It’s because of the teachers who care enough to dedicate themselves to education and to underserved populations. As much as the conservatives love to harp on public teachers as being in the profession for the cushy, well-paid jobs, I haven’t met a single teacher who’s in it for the money, or who hasn’t earned every cent of their salary.
One of my cousins taught there for a while too. I don’t know any teacher that’s in it for the money – and we’re a state with fairly well compensated teachers.
My high school experience was “interesting” to say the least. I started at a public high school in the rural south, mostly white. My family moved to a city where I attended a very large inner-city school, predominantly minority. My last year was at a tiny Baptist private school. I am grateful for these experiences, even though I never stayed anywhere long enough to make lifelong friendships. The inner city school was the best. I got to take interesting courses (Astronomy!) and learned a lot from being in the minority (white). Private school was a joke.
I just moved my kids from a tiny, mostly white public school to a much-larger, more diverse public school. They love it and it was the best move we ever made and we did it because they were being bullied. That is no longer a problem for us personally and my son tells me it’s not near as big of a problem, in general, as it was at their old school. And guess what? They are able to take advantage of a much larger array of courses and experiences, which I want them to have.
Idk think they could get a sufficiently strong and interesting education at a private school (of course Jolie-Pitts would not do public), where they could mix normally with other kids, be on a disciplined schedule etc. Easy enough to supplement languages, history of their birth countries, special interests etc. I think she likes to perpetuate the notion that her super-special kids need a super-special education. And she wants them available to travel with her on a whim. Not sure she’s doing them much of a favor long-term, but her kids, her choice. (little trackings are getting a fabulous education at a diverse public school. I wish all kids could have access to this level of high-quality public education, very unjust that it’s tied to property taxes).
I agree that she could definitely make that kind of mix work. I tend to think the socialization especially would be good for them. Socializing in a soccer class or whatever isn’t the same as making friends in school who you see every day.
I was thinking the same thing Tracking! She has the money to send them to the best private school and then supplement that with some travel to the countries she thinks are underrepresented. I’d guess she homeschools so she can pull them out whenever she wants to travel and doesn’t have to answer to a principal or work around the school schedule. There is something to be said for the stability of going to a school building 5 days a week at set hours. Seeing your friends under stress situations (like while taking a test or when giving group presentations) – things like that can’t be home schooled.
This-she wants to be able to travel. That is why she home schools.
My daughter went to one of the top public high schools in the country. The extra curricular activities she was exposed to were beyond amazing. These activities gave her the confidence she lacked in her younger years. It also gained her acceptance to one of the top film schools in the world.
PR stunt
Why PR stunt?
This!
You poor sad thing sofie.
Homeschooling is illegal in my country, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. But, in my opinion the public school system is really good and private education is very rare and very looked down upon ( also a good thing). University education is also tuition free. Strenghtening the public school system benefits everyone.
Generally, most things here are not as segregated by income as in the US.
I also don’t understand how it works exactly. You need an master’s in education to teach 1st to 4th frade, and after that at least a master’s in whatever subject you are teaching. How could a parent do that?
What country are you in, whoopsydaisy? because it sure as hell isn’t america
Even in our public schools in many if not all states in the US a master’s is not required. They just get their BA and complete teaching certification test. There are many teachers who do eventually get their master’s, but most of them are doing it over time in their off hours, so it could take years.
In my state, there are no educational requirements whatsoever for a parent who wishes to homeschool. I know of several people locally who have only a high school degree or a vocational high school degree, yet are homeschooling their kids. (FYI if you don’t have that in your country, vocational high school focuses on a trade so the students are ready on graduation to be for example a dental assistant or beautician or car mechanic, but the disadvantage in terms of being a homeschool parent is in vocational high school they may not get the opportunity for advanced high school classes like chemistry, geometry, foreign language). Anyway, the parents I know use some kind of Christian homeschool curriculum. From looking at the materials, yes, the kids will learn the basics if the parent sticks to the curriculum, but the materials IMO are insufficient in comparison to public school with advancing grades, especially with math and science.
There may be no educational requirements but I don’t know a single homeschooler who doesn’t follow core curriculum in addition to other subjects they want to teach their children. Standardized state testing is required annually and since homeschoolers want their kids to mainstream or get into good colleges they not only comply but go above and beyond state requirements. Lastly, lots of homeschoolers connect with other homeschoolers for social interaction. They also participate in 4H, Scouts, Key Club, Kiwanis and other community based youth programs. In my state homeschooled kids can even join public school sports teams. The smart but hilariously awkward, regressive homeschooled kid is a possible outcome but far from the average. So many assumptions and stereotypes on this thread.
I get that some homeschool parents are going all-out and raising well-rounded kids. But just to push back, not every state requires standardized testing of homeschoolers. And frankly, some of the women that I know that are in charge of home-schooling are basically what I would describe as clinically depressed and they are doing the bare minimum to actually teach. They don’t have any background in how to educate, so when a kid has problems with math, for example, they are at a loss. Won’t recognize the child may have a learning disability and would benefit from specialized educational setting with trained teachers. One of the moms has given up so much over time that she recently signed the kids up for an online Christian correspondence school type of thing where she does not really have to do anything at all and the kids are left to their own devices.
Also, again, I fully acknowledge that this is just my anecdotal experience and #notallhomeschoolers, but the homeschooling parents I know do NOT want their kids to mainstream or go to a good college. Their goal is to maintain their children in a Christian worldview while giving them academic basics and they really don’t want their girls to have a career at all, they favor “home industry” for women, like you can get involved in essential oils MLM or beekeeping or set up an Etsy shop and sell crafts you make online. Which don’t get me wrong, I love a good cross-stitch as much as anyone, but for the vast majority of people it’s a hobby, you’re not going to make a living with it. They specifically emphasize that college is overrated and a waste of money. They are the kind of people that are always posting on Facebook articles with headlines like “College Is Not for Everyone” and “Don’t Follow Your Passion.”
I’m from Germany and Homeshooling here is very rare (officially it’s against the law, but there are exceptions).
The Public School System is very very flawed, if you live in a wealthy area, there are the good shools, the poor areas are really problematic.
They are running out of Teachers, so you don’t need a Master to stand in Front of a Class (except Private Schools), part of a bigger Problem…
We have more and more Private Schools (right so), and with the exception of the rare good Public Schools, and very looked down upon the Public School System.
The University is not for free, the Public University’s have small Fees, the Private can be expensive. Art/Design/Music etc. is always expensive.
Education at most public Universities aren’t seen as precious with exceptions, you don’t need to be very intelligent for that anymore, and there a many people with a degree who need basic education….
That was different decades ago.
But the Health System is Great.
That is so interesting to hear. When I was in high school (many decades ago) we would have German exchange students come in for a year and they were so advanced compared to where we were that we were intimidated by them and I always wondered if they were bored by our classes because they had already far surpassed the knowledge we were learning. So I always had the impression that German public schools would be excellent.
My experience varies greatly from yours.
Teachers who actually studied teaching need an MA or something equivalent to it, period. They also need 18 more months of training after having graduated from uni.
The so-called “Quereinsteiger” might not always need one, they might have a BA/BSc plus several years of work experience. However, most of them are required to get a (very complicated) teaching qualification within the first years of working as a teacher if they want a permanent job. It’s not a “friss or stirb” situation.
And I disagree that public schools are looked down upon since 99% send their children to public schools. What you’re talking about (Imo of course) is a tendency to complain about schools and teachers since everyone seems to think that the fact that they went to school years ago makes them an expert.
However, when it comes down to actual choices, public schools are not looked down upon and public grammar schools are the no. 1 choice for both parents and students alike.
having experienced several education systems, the German one was one of the better ones. It’s definitely less flawed than the American and British one imo, but lacking compared to the Scandinavian model.
My two blue-collar cousins practically bankrupted themselves sending their two children to an exclusive private school with rich kids. Their theory was they would heavily invest in their first thirteen years, and the children would get full ride scholarships to college. Never happened. While their son got into an actuary program and will make a great deal of money when he graduates, he received no scholarships. Their daughter, a very sweet girl, has her heart set on veterinary school (she’s not nearly intelligent enough, unfortunately), and they will send her to the most exclusive out of state school they can find. Neither of their children plan/planned on going to in state schools to save their parents money. In fact, the boy, who is a junior in college, has never in his life held a job. His father thinks he shouldn’t have to.
Nope. Just nope. Homeschooling does not teach students more. Parents are not subject experts, and children need to learn from people outside their household tribe.
As a college prof, it infuriates me that folks think teaching is so easy that anyone can do it. No. Just no. I’ve spent 20 years honing my craft. You are stupid to think you can effectively replace me if you don’t have the same background.
Seriously, the disrespect of the teaching profession is disgusting. The legal system is imperfect, but we aren’t our own doctors. The medical profession is imperfect but we don’t think we can be doctors. Law enforcement sucks but we don’t try to be police. Why do folks think it’s okay to try to replace teachers?
The whole problem with education is that teachers are not treated seriously as professionals. Homeschooling just makes that worse.
That being said, I get that Jolie can hire professionals. It just burns me up that everyone thinks they can do a better job than professionally trained teachers.
I hear you. I have the utmost respect for teachers, more so after having kids of my own, and it kills me when they’re dismissed and even demonized. The right wing faction in my town loves to paint the public school teachers as greedy opportunists who only work 8 months a year. Grr, I always say they wouldn’t last one week in a classroom. Thank you for your dedication, I know how thankless it must feel at times.
Sorry Rapunzel but I taught my oldest to read and he taught his younger sibling, when he was 7 and his sister was 5, using mostly Hooked on Phonics. It wasn’t anything I needed expertise to do. It was intuitive. I don’t see why any college educated person could not teach elementary subjects to a small group of non delayed children. It does take training when you move to large groups of diverse individuals or kids with special needs. And homeschooling is so common now that all types of classes are offered. Mine went to classes at art galleries, the science center, the zoo, nature preserves, the history museum, and more. All geared towards homeschooled kids and attended by various ages, and backgrounds. My kids met everything from vegan unschooling families to evangelical Christian kids who had to where uniforms for homeschool. They went to a coop where experts in the field were hired to teach when the material got beyond my capabilities. I’m not teacher bashing. You do a hard job and one of my degrees is in education, so I get it. But there is another way. My kids got a personalized education and they thrived. No school can replicate what a dedicated parent with resources can offer.
Aang-
1- Hooked on phonics does not teach reading. It teaches word identification. And imperfectly at that. So no, you did not teach your child to read. You only taught them how to identify words.
2. Little kids require the most, not the least, amount of training to teach.
3. “Personalized” education does not necessarily equal the education needed to survive college or the real world.
4. Most homeschooling parents aren’t putting in your effort.
@Aang: that is awesome. However, not the norm. I was one of those super early and enthusiastic readers myself as a kid, and boy was it a total shock when my totally normal children were NOT early readers. Their teachers worked HARD. Because it turns out, a lot of kids don’t immediately learn to read, and it can take until midway through 1st grade for things to really “click” (which is again, totally normal on the scale). So please just remember, your experience is an outlier. Teachers do an incredible amount to teach all children how to read.
You learn to read by reading the harder the better. My dad had me trying Dumas The Count of Monte Christo at 8 years old. He sat me down and told me this tale of revenge and then we went to the library and I got the book. Over 40 percent of the words were new. I had to read reread ask questions figure it out . I don’t know how kids even try anything like this with the digital world. But my point is reading is using your brain which is good for anyone.
@ Sansa – you still had to be taught how to decode. It’s taken my eldest well over three years to learn to read, from preschool through first grade, and that’s with a low-screen time (he only got tv after I had another baby) family that emphasizes reading. I think time has dulled your memories of learning to read.
Rapunzel
I’m glad you’re not teaching in any district that affects my family. You sound extremely intolerant, dismissive and judgemental of the homeschool process and its benefits. Homeschooling isn’t perfect but punlic school is far from exemplary either. They both have plenty in the plus and minus section. And you’re wrong. Underfunding, not disrespect, is the biggest problem facing teachers and schools today.
I’m not intolerant, Enough Already. I’m pissed. As you would be if everyone thought they could do your job without your education, training, or experience. And I have every right to be. As an educational professional I am sick of people thinking they are more qualified.
And no, underfunding is not the biggest issue. The constant second guessing and disrespect of teachers as professionals is why schools have issues. Teachers can work around lack of funds. They cannot work around untrained, inexperienced folks telling them how to do their job. Which is what happens cause the majority of people making public school decisions have never set foot in a classroom.
I suggest all you pro homeschooling folks learn what types of work it actually takes to teach. And check your arrogance for thinking you can do better.
I say again: no other professionals get second guessed this way.
Teaching is a profession, and teachers work long and hard to be experts at it. You ARE dismissing that hard work by acting as if there is no skill to it. If I were a teacher, I’d be angry too with your attitude toward my profession.
And I suggest you ask yourself if public education is always in the best interests of every child. If you think so then that is arrogant. And let’s not pretend that there aren’t teachers out there who gave no business educating children. Let’s not pretend that there aren’t teachers out there who balk unless they’re in an ideal setting. I knew a girl in college who had to teach in an inner city school to satisfy part of her state scholarship requirements. She and her friends constantly complained about the poor and minority kids and how they couldn’t wait until their “prison sentence” was up so they could go teach in the suburbs. But yeah, disrespected teachers is the biggest problem.
And please tell me how homeschoolers have any impact on how teachers perform in public schools? What would make you even notice them?
Enough Already- I didn’t say public school is always in the child’s best interest. I said teachers can’t just be replaced by anyone.
And your example of the bad teacher is ridiculous. Most teachers are not like that. And that’s no reason to dump schools. You don’t stop using professional doctors cause you have a bad one. Or stop using lawyers or police cause there are bad apples. So why is it ok to dismiss school cause of the occasional bad apple?
This attitude is a huge problem. It’s why teachers don’t get paid enough, and in some cases live out of their cars to teach. It’s why administration thinks it can regulate teachers to the point they have no say over the work they’re trained to do. This only results in more bad teachers and schools.
We must break this cycle for kids who cannot be homeschooled or private schooled.
I think they’re underfunded bc nobody respects them.
Rapunzel – a) I homeschool, and I have a teaching degree. Don’t throw us all in one basket. b) LOTS of professionals get second-guessed all the time. I used to be a journalist for several years, and it was astounding how many people thought all you needed was the ability to form a sentence, that anyone could do it. I know a few anti-vaxxers (not me) who second-guess doctors all the time. I used to date a lawyer who had clients who would think they knew the law better than him because they’d read something by Alan Dershowitz. It’s certainly not exclusive to teachers. And, with co-ops, local teachers, librarians, park rangers, etc. teach for homeschool kids. Some also homeschool using an online public school where the students interact with the teachers almost daily. What do you even know about “most” homeschool parents and what kind of effort they put in? You’re letting your anger make assumptions for you. A lot of homeschool parents are far from Duggars. My brother homeschooled, went to college, and now has his teaching degree.
Ok, so I know I sound harsh. But here’s the thing: Homeschooling may be successful in some cases- Aang for example sounds like she’s done a good job- but I work hard. 60 hour weeks most times. The “schools suck and teachers suck so let’s homeschool” attitude is a slap in the face. How are schools gonna get better if people play school at home?
“Play school”? And you don’t think that’s condescending? I’m sorry but you seeing homeschoolers as the enemy is your issue, not an informed, objective criticism.
Nope. Homeschooling is not the issue. Those who do not respect my professional expertise is. It just so happens those folks often homeschool.
Playing school might have been a condescending statement but you’re condescending me by thinking I am replaceable by anyone.
You want more valid criticism of homeschool? Read the other posts. They’ve all said what I would say.
Teachers really are the most disrespected and undervalued profession IMO.
Also not to thread-jack but @Rapunzel I wonder what your opinion is about fellow professors. I’ve found that many professors just aren’t good at teaching, regardless of how much knowledge they have about their respective field. My personal experience has been that many professors (particularly in community college) have no formal training in teaching, which really shines a light on what an important skill it is. It’s simply not enough to have the body of knowledge, you need to be able to impart that knowledge in a meaningful way to be an effective teacher.
Anyway, I feel your frustration so much but please continue to hang in there because we need professors like you.
@kitten- out of the 30 profs in my department, I’d say maybe 3 shouldn’t be teaching. Like any profession, there are bad apples. But most are great and work hard. I spend around 20 hours a week on grading alone. I have days where I’m on campus 12 hrs. I do lots of work I don’t get paid for. It’s a tough job. Most who don’t really care about students won’t last.
Teachers are misunderstood, so let me set the record straight:
1. We don’t set policy or standards.
2. We aren’t out to indoctrinate your kids into any agenda. We have too many other things to do.
3. We know we can’t always go into depth. That’s not cause we don’t want to. It’s that there’s not enough time or we have to cover other things.
4. We love our students and want to serve them well.
5. We cry when we hear how much people blame us for what’s wrong with schools
You sound incredibly judgmental. I was home-schooled for half of my middle school ans high school years. Turned out just fine. My single mother did an amazing job considering that ahe had two children, a full time job AND homeschooled both of us doe a significant amount of time. I went on to study acting and writing. My brother gradiates Magna Cum Laude and is now getting his Masters Degree. Sooo…yeah. You assumptions about homeschooling and it effectivness are suspect at best. PS – I have FOUR friends who are public school teachers and they work their a*ses off. I see how stressed out they are and how the system is rigged not only against the kids but also the teachers. I have the utmost respect for what they do because it isn’t easy. But that in no way negates my OWN experience.
Play school? Really? My sons get one-on-one teaching five days a week. By the time they are finished with high school, they will have covered advanced math through Calculus as well as advanced biology and advanced chemistry along with their other required subjects for graduation. They will also have the opportunity to explore subjects they are personally interested in.
You sound very ignorant regarding homeschooling. My children have to meet all of the requirements for graduation that any public/private school student has to meet. Quite frankly, my sons will exceed those qualifications and will probably be taking college classes their senior year of high school.
No one thinks public school teachers have it easy. Teaching is hard. It’s even more so when you’re trying to teach 30 kids one subject and the reality is that some of those kids are going to get left behind because the teachers are on a schedule that must be met at all costs.
I have a college degree and my husband has three college degrees; however, I have friends who have homeschooled their kids from Kindergarten through High School who only have a high school degree themselves. Their kids have gone on to some of the highest ranked universities in the nation.
Rapunzel
Now teachers are living out of their cars??
The fact remains you have degraded and invalidated an entire teaching system because you feel disrespected as an educator. That is patronizing and extremely myopic. I’ve had some truly spectacular teachers so unlike you I can see the detractions and benefits of both. There are some amazing homeschoolers out there and I can see why it would bother you that their students turn out well outside of the public school system. The best homeschool parent is better than a mediocre or bad public school teacher any day. How is this even up for debate?
That’s a fair point. But not even close to every homeschooler feels that way. I know I certainly don’t. I rely quite a bit from advice from professional teachers; I have a teaching degree, but I’ve never done it professionally but have several friends who have/do, and they are a true Godsend. I wouldn’t have had the guts to try it if I didn’t probably – but while my older son sailed through public school and off to college with no problem, my younger son was incredibly miserable and being bullied, scared to go to the bathroom. It had nothing to do with thinking the teachers or the schools weren’t up to par.
Enough Already- yes there are numerous teachers who make near or below poverty wages, especially higher education adjuncts professors who make around 25k a year. And some live out of their cars. Because they are dedicated professionals.
I’m sorry to sound judgemental, I truely am. And maybe I’m too sensitive because so many homeschooling Trumpsters in my rural area keep dissing teachers as part of the liberal agenda. I’m not entirely opposed to homeschooling, and realize some do it well. There are many situations where homeschooling might even be necessary.
What I am opposed to is the attitude that says “this system is broken, so I’ll teach my kids myself”. This happens in no other system (law, medicine, journalism, etc). And it happens in schools because teachers are blamed for the flaws in the system. That’s wrong. You may think your homeschooling is not disrespectful to teachers and that you’re not attacking them. But you are. You said it’s not personal and I’m absurdly twisting this as anti-teacher, but it is personal. Whether you like it or not.
Homeschooling contributes to the notion that schools suck and teachers can’t teach properly. This is the EXACT mentality used by folks who want to dismantle our system. It’s the idea that schools are broken and alternative systems needed which is slowly allowing folks like Betsy Davis to destroy any quality education publically available. It’s an inherently anti-teacher attitude, whether you mean it to be or not.
In short, you do nothing to help the system by using an alternative one, which is terrible not only for teachers, but also the students who don’t have the luxury of being homeschooled. As someone who sees this system work, and who works my ass off to keep it working, I cannot help but be bothered. I do apologize for sounding a little close minded; I honestly do recognize that not all homeschooling is bad. But I put my blood, sweat, and tears into my work. I feel like those who think they can replicate and or improve that work are insulting me.
I can agree with you that teachers need respect but I have to laugh at the fact at what you call a few bad apples. My experience in the education system has taught me how inherently racist and systemic it is in the topics it covers and how it measures intelligence. I must have encountered all those few bad apples…what horrible luck I have.
I agree in the most topics with you.
For example in germany we have at the moment a lack of teachers in some parts of the country. The result of this lack is that schools make contracts with academics to compensate this lack of teachers. These People so have degrees in mathematics, chemistry etc but they have absolutely no pedagogical background.
So this is one reason why school system in germany fell off in quality
+100%
Ok rapunzel tell the law school that just offered my 19 yo homeschooled kid a full ride that they can’t read. Just recognize words. 🙄 and my junior homeschooled until grade 7 that’s in national honor society is illiterate. What worked for us worked for us. Why can’t that be ok for us? My kids were a breeze to teach and did/do very well both academically and socially once they transitioned to traditional school. Really, no matter how much it angers you that is our experience and the experience of the other homeschool families with whom we’ve kept in touch. I taught my kids to walk, talk, use cutlery, use the toilet, dress themselves, and all the other things toddlers and preschoolers do. All of a sudden at age 5 they need a state trained and paid “expert”? In my option early elementary learning is as intuitive as all the other things I’ve mentioned. Kids are born to learn. In many cases it’s school that kills the natural love to learn, or at least can derail it for test prep. I’m not saying school is wrong or useless why can’t you extend the same open mindedness to those who choose a less traditional path?
I never said your kids couldn’t read, Aang. I said hooked on phonics didn’t do it.
And if you want open mindedness regarding “what works for you” I said above it seems like you did a good job.
But this “respect homeschooling” request is a difficult one when homeschooling demeans me and my professional training and experience. Why can’t homeschooling folks see that?
Homeschooling basically tells teachers you think they’re irrelevant, and that their job can be done by anyone. This is not good for teachers or schools and contributes to the issues with public education.
Aang
Well said and congratulations on your family’s success.
@Rapunzel – Respectfully, homeschooling is not telling public school and teachers that they’re irrelevant. Homeschooling just says, public school is not right for our family and we are choosing a different path.
It’s like the quote, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Some kids are birds, some are monkeys, some are elephants, some are fish and some are cheetahs. You can’t teach and test them as though they were all zebras.
@Aang: it sounds like that worked really well for you and your family!! That’s awesome. However, if I can point out – your son is clearly academically gifted. He’d be considered an outlier in any educational system that you chose. Super awesome, but not really applicable as an example.
Rapunzel, I’m wondering what your opinion of Betsy Devos is.
Devos is awful.
Agreed. She’s a disgrace.
Both my mother and grandfather were teachers. My mother never thought of home schooling my sister and myself, even though she was a teacher and my father was an engineer, both well educated professionals. She said that one of us would be dead (her kids) and the other would be in the state penitentiary (her) if she had taken that route. She knew that she had made the right choice because by middle school, it was clear that I was more inclined towards the humanities than STEM classes. She knew that it’s hard to motivate someone who’s indifferent towards a subject if you have to be their parent and their teacher.
I agree. Public school is not for everyone either, if your parents aren’t able to send you to Emma Woodward you have to hope they have alternate school . AJ & Brad Pitt can afford real professionals I doubt AJ is doing the teaching. She is just managing them.
@ Rapunzel,
“It just burns me up that everyone thinks they can do a better job than professionally trained teachers. ”
sometimes they can
Respect need to be earned, there are a lot of Teachers who got highly respected, those one who were open minded, interested in the Students/Kids, and not all about themselves.
You seem to be a narcissist it’s all about yourself and only your opinion is right, you don’t show respectable behavior, maybe you need some education in tolerance and socializing.
I’m glad you were never near me as Teacher.
Rapunzel, yes to everything you stated. I have been a teacher for almost 20 years. I can’t believe the number of uncertified people who think they can do our job. I have a master’s degree and have been through countless professional developments over the years, and they still that anyone can do this job. SMH 😑
I understand why you’re upset, @Rapunzel. I’m from a rural, impoverished place but we were so lucky to have amazing and caring teachers and that changed my whole life. Teaching is an art form and teachers deserve more respect as a profession. Thanks for what you do.
I must admit that I had no idea that people felt so strongly about homeschooling… it seems like a personal choice for parents, but I would think it would make parents appreciate teachers even more. It’s hard work!
That’s the thing. Only Rapunzel is saying that homeschoolers are giving all teachers the mddle finger. It’s absurd. Many homeschoolers admire teachers but have no love for a broken system. It’s not personal.
well that seems to be the attitude. that they think they can do it better than rapunzel. public, private or charter. there are plenty of options – why keep your children aware from their peers? what a lonely and sheltered life.
i think homeschooling is risky. like i said before, homeschoolers in my day were the biggest socially and emotionally crippled kids i would meet.
TBH, most of the teachers I know, in public and private schools, feel the same way that Rapunzel does about home schooling. I have no real strong opinions on it myself. My kids go to public school and I so did I, but I do know some dedicated home school parents. A lot of the ones I know are very religious. They have a lot of kids and are devout Catholics (we don’t have a lot of fundies in this area). So without looking at in depth research or statistics, I’d say whatever most benefits the children themselves.
Rapunzel, I just want to send you a big, big hug and thank you for your dedication and hard work. I had some awesome teachers myself and I acknowledge their mostly unrecognized effort and input to my education. Their jobs but I am happy to say they did it well. Not all do. Thanks again.
Why are people making it sound like Angelina was the only one who decided this?
Both Angelina and Brad seems to like homeschooling and it has its advantages and disadvantages.
I prefer public school more and probably will never homeschool my children.
But I would also homeschool my children on certain extra subjects.
Because it is “helped along” by the narratives set up by both camps, even when they are still together: Angelina the Supermom and Brad the Diletante Actor and Super Hollywood Producer, whose idea of childcare is pulling them out of bed and waking them up with soda sugar hit.
You don’t even have to look into the archives that far. Angelina has all the kids and Brad is off casually dating some other artist. It goes to say that Angelina calls the shot and Brad just plays Dad if and when he’s at home enough to care.
One is helicopter parenting and the other is convenience parenting. I look forward to the tell-alls the kids might write in the future.
I think all of that is due to her being open and him being private.
I’ve also wondered if we’ll see a tell-all years down the line. Something stinks here…parental alienation, enmeshment…something.
Savasna, why do people think he’s private ? The reason Ophelia knows Brad started the day with those kids by giving them sugar is because he told us. Everything we know about him is because he told us. From the kids to his marriages to even his parents. His daddy was mean to him and that’s the reason he was mean and drunk.
I don’t think Angelina is a helicopter parent. I think she wants her kids to have a good education and to be independent individuals. I wouldn’t be surprised if her older son moves out soon like she did at his age. When Brangelina had better years AJ would leave the kids with Brad when they worked at the same time… Until Brad was caught drunk on a plane headed to Dubai with Maddox with him. Then he stopped traveling with their kids which was obviously the right decision.
I agree Jennie. My instinct tells me the kids are used by these parents for their giant egos and narcissistic needs. I view Jolie and Pitt on equal footing.
If she has legal custody, he has no say.
Brad gave an interview several years ago when still together. His views are the same as Angie’s regarding education, and he discussed their homeschooling of the kids. No homework. I think school is four hours a day.
They were on the same page and this wasn’t decided by one parent, but by both. Although, I don’t get why she didn’t bring up the fact that they traveled all the time as a big reason for it.
Let’s be clear here — she herself doesn’t homeschool the kids, she has other people do it. I think it was mostly to allow the kids to participate in her (and Brad’s) peripatetic lifestyle, but she’s rationalized other ways it may be good for them. And white it may be good for them, I really doubt that disappoint over her own education was a top consideration when embarking on this course.
I completely agree with this. If you want to live a semi-nomadic lifestyle where both parents work, often abroad for months at a time at different periods AND want to keep the family together at all times, you have only one educational option for your kids.
So I’d tend to think that the choice was made first and foremost with that in mind.
I agree with both of you. IMO it’s clear the JPs are rationalizing and telling themselves they are putting their kids first, when in fact AJ and BP put their own desires first.
Yes to this SL. I do not know who is calling the shots, or why, but I am highly suspect of this whole family situation. I’ve seen entirely too many inconsistencies and half truths to trust in much that they have to say.
The second photo though.
I like her hair at that shorter length, and prefer it lighter like that, rather than the black.
I’m not talking about her hair.
Okay, are you talking about her face, her outfit? What was your point?
It’s lovely isn’t it! And great makeup too she looks great here, how does she get that dewy look- anyone have any tips?
I’m talking about her face babykitten.
Her face looks fine to me in the second pic, but I was taken aback by her outfit in the last pic. Did she just throw a long sweater on over a nightgown to take her kids out?
@tracking. To be be fair, she’s also wearing a giant floppy hat and house slippers.
I think school is important for children, particularly the younger ones. They learn academics, as well as interaction with other children. It seems these kids spend a whole lot of time with their mother, which is great…….but you have to let go sometime. They need to be individual human beings and have best friends who aren’t their siblings. If she is truly worried on particular studies, they can be tutored outside of school. Traveling the world as they do, they see more and have learned more than average children anyway,
“….but you have to let go sometime. They need to be individual human beings and have best friends who aren’t their siblings.”
THIS. I couldn’t quite place my finger on why I find this family a bit off, but this is it. Something feels very controlling and “blood is thicker than water!” about this tribe. No offense to the children, of course.
Another advocate for strengthening public schools here. I would never homeschool my kids. One, because I cannot afford to hire tutors, two because I have my own career and aspirations and do not want to be home with the kids. Plus, I could never be a teacher, thats why I went to school for something else. I bought a house a few years ago and the number 1 criteria was how good the schools were locally. Of course the high property taxes that I pay fund the local school and determine the quality but I hate that it has to be this way. Schools should be at the same level across the country and budgeded at the federal level so that poor and rich states get the same amount of funding. As it is, poor states and poor counties end up with the bad public schools. You can imagine the racial make up there. The work to close the gap on income inequality starts with a strong public education. If black children go to crappy public schools compared to the white kids, the chances of them landing equal paying jobs later in life are diminished. It starts there.
I can understand her argument but I mantain that school is important, almost fundamental, for socialization. I think the children already live pretty insulated life by travelling frequently.
Amen
When else in your life will you be age segregated with people from only ruffly the same socioeconomic background like you are in school? I maintain that being in the world is a better from socialization. At 10 my homeschooled kid took a bus across the city twice a week to be a mother’s helper in a super hippy family that unschooled, were vegan, and had a rule about never saying no or other negative words to the kids. Had to redirect not say no or don’t or you can’t. Made enough to buy a MacBook. Later he attended a coop with some pretty strict evangelical kids in mixed age classes. Those are just two examples of how homeschooled kids can be socialized to live the real world. Meeting people very different from yourself, different ages and abilities, and learning to get along. Working at a job and saving money at a young age. Learning to manage your own time. All real world skill learned. And I managed to build a business while homeschooling so it didn’t impact my career and the kids got to see the ups and downs of being your own boss. Why is it so hard for people to imagine something different than what the experienced being an equally valid option.
More power to you if you commited to socialize your homeschooled son in different environments, that’s admirable. In my experience homeschooled kids were often slightly socially awkard and I do stress that school teaches you so much about living and working with your peers, showing you early one the positive and the negative of the interactions that you’ll have in your life.
The Jolie-Pitt have already had some extraordinary experiences (witnessing life in refugee camps, being on a film set in Cambodia) but maybe they lack that element of socialization.
Agreed – school is important for the socialization – and not just socialization where you hang out with kids your age during your free time, but socialization where you learn and work together. Like the socialization you get from group projects or classroom question and answer sessions or critiquing each others papers in English class. The pride of playing on the school sports team, or playing in the band. They are missing all that, and I don’t think trips here there and everywhere will make up for that. They could always travel when they are older but they can’t go back and experience high school again.
For most kids, I agree. There are some who have a tough time and home is the better environment for them, but I think a classroom environment can teach many things beyond academics, things that we carry through our adult lives.
There’s also a physical aspect to things like science labs, physical education, chorus, class plays, etc that would be more difficult, especially for a family traveling, and some kids learn better or discover an interest by doing.
Training for the Hollywood side show continues. No concept of normal socialization. No playing on any sort of team, sports, academic or otherwise. The idea that they are more special and better than the rest of the population is/will be fully ingrained. How is this different than Donald Trump? It is all based on financial elitism. Let us hope for their sakes the money lasts their entire lives.
I agree. I mean to each their own but within the safe confines of our celebitchy discussion, I think those kids are going to grow up arrogant and weird.
The kids seem healthy,happy & we’ve seen them around playing with other kids so who cares,they’re her kids…what’s more Intresting to me is the kids live with jolie & pitt gets “visitation”….So he lost custody,i’d really love to know what caused the break up.
Hmm, I am not sure, if their lifestyle permits school schedules. It has advantages because the kids are from very different backgrounds and their roots can get acknowledged better through homeschooling. But on the other hand, the socialising factor of school would matter to me. And I am saying this as a kid that got bullied.
Nope. Nope nope nope nope.
Yes, parents homeschool for a thousand reasons, but far and away it’s for “moral” reasons. https://www.hslda.org/docs/news/2013/201309030.asp Let’s not pretend the BULK of homeschooling parents are doing it for a better education, they’re doing it to avoid “contaminating influences.” This, coupled with the demonization of public schools and public school teachers is dangerous and part of the world that has gifted us with Trump.
I see we have some homeschooling and homeschooled people on here. I know there are some valid reasons to homeschool, but with that 77% that does it for “moral” reasons? Nope. I am not here for it.
I agree. And the people I know who homeschooled were not nearly educated enough themselves. How do you teach calculus when you never took the course yourself? And foreign languages should be taught by native speakers. So much of the homeschooling smacks of arrogance. And only a very self-motivated student will thrive when their “teacher” is 100% a computer. I tried it for 6 months and I fear I put the child at a disadvantage. And I’m college educated.
ITA, Betsy.
Exactly this. For many wealthy parents (like AJ and Brad), “homeschooling” (aka traveling with tutors), is a lifestyle choice. They are outliers. The only kids I know who were homeschooled had parents who thought man and dinosaurs lived together on Earth and wanted to “protect” their kids from science.
Of course homeschooling can be a beneficial choice for some kids, but we must recognize that it can also create uneducated isolationists, which is pretty effing scary.
Exactly! Neither of those children, let me say Angie’s and Brad’s will never have to earn their own living should their parents not choose to gratify them with trust funds. Just like those royals all over Europe, some of whom actually work in business of all kinds. *Not all*, don’t get me wrong.
I am happy to acknowledge that AJ and BP’s children are more traveled and more knowledgeable of the world and better taken care of and educated in all sorts of filelds in that 1 or 10 percent of their own, money wise, and that they could make a difference on their own. But not anyone can make a good teacher, there are too many variables there so one cannot measure success based on parents’ abilities and interests and their children’s abilities or interests’ either. AJ and BP’s children’s education would NOT make the cut in any reputable research. Let them all enjoy their lifestyle and choices and please, some credit to qualified teachers! More than 90 percent of educated people are educated because of qualified teachers. Including in forgotten communities no longer on the world map!
Yes, this movement started out with fundamentalists wanting to keep their children pure from terrible things like learning about evolution and modern social and cultural issues. Mainly religious and then a few progressives who want to control their kids social life and make everything they do meaningful and “fun”. Good luck with their learning how to deal with the real world or even college, who now have to tell parents at orientation to back off and let their kids start making their own decisions. My two very different sons went to a large very diverse public high school and the teachers worked very hard to help the poorest and provide an amazing educational experience for the affluent. Repubs have managed to malign school teachers for years because they are so anti union. It’s sickening and as many people have pointed out, in every profession there are a few bad apples. Ugh this country sometimes…
Jolie is doing this for somewhat selfish reasons. She doesn’t want to feel guilty when she decides to take off and a school reminds her that she can’t take her kids out and in during the school year. Whatever I’m sure they’ll be fine with large trust funds and let me guess, they will all be musicians, artists or actors…(nothing wrong with that of course).
As I said, most of the homeschool families I see around here are super religious. We have two families in our neighborhood who do it. Nice as all get out, though. However the bulk of them are Catholics, I don’t know too many fundies here in my part of New Jersey or on Long Island. I am not in their homes, so I don’t know what kind of education the kids are receiving, but the parents seem dedicated.
They are nice to your face, but….
I live in the south and am surrounded by fundie wonders. The family behind me will only let their children play with other homeschool families of their denomination. They hand out tracts at Halloween and stick an 8 ft tall cross in their yard at Christmas.
Maybe I am wrong but one fundamental thing homeschooling does not provide is ability to withstand pressure from bullying within peer groups and even from teachers. Social skills are developed within the same peer group, over time. By being exposed to different situations and people. Interacting with more or less carefully selected peer groups does not necessarily encourage those abilities in communication, emotional intelligence, accountability for individual or group behaviour, self reflection on accepted or prohibited norms of behaviour in a certain school group pr community. Private or state schools do not provide it either, saying this just in general, no matter internal codes of discipline/behaviour. Even when schools are institutions that are controlled more or less by education authorities. I guess there is no right or perfect solution.
You are wrong. School is not the only place to develop social skills and some studies have shown that social skills developed in places like sports and other outside groups are more beneficial to kids than those developed in school. As for bullying. I find your comment backwards. Instead of teaching children to withstand bullying shouldn’t we be teaching them NOT to bully?? I went to public schools and was horribly bullied, I also went to private schools and was also home schooled. So I have the benefit of having experienced the full spectrum and I can say that the one that grew my confidence and sense of self the most was homeschooling.
When I posted my comment I rightly started my comment with “maybe I am wrong”. I cannot fully relate because all of my personal experience stems from being educated in a state system and knowing from friends, colleagues and observation of the world around me. Mostly subjective but also objective. I have little second hand experience with homeschooling. That was my take on it but I don’t take it as a definitive rule. Education authorities cannot fully tackle bullying or under performance be it students or teachers. Some homeschooled children make it, others don’t. For as long as they is no objective research for a considerable length of time, scientific research with a demonstrable sample with fixed variables in a controlled environmeny, for as much as possibly accurate, I stand by my opinion that formal education is better overall. Not best. Not for certain cases. Not all parents are prepared or equipped for teaching. Too many variables apply. My honest take. Individual anecdotes don’t matter in the great scheme. Homeschooling is basically unheard of in Europe, where I am from. It may be different to some extent in the USA.
My youngest son was always outgoing, positive and happy. Always. Once he hit middle school, the bullying started and it got so bad he was suicidal. During this time, I talked to the teachers, the principal, etc. the bullying kids were “talked to.” Meanwhile, my son became so depressed he was suicidal and in counseling every week. The final straw was a kid in homeroom telling him he needed to “drink bleach and die.” My son didn’t tell me about that, but the next day in homeroom this same kid approached him and said, “I see you didn’t do what I told you. I said go home, drink bleach and die. Get it right next time.” This broke my son and the teach took him and the bully to the principal’s office. I was called and removed my son from that school immediately and began homeschooling him. A few weeks later, his older brother asked if he could be homeschooled too.
After a year and a half of homeschooling, my youngest is back to being his happy, outgoing and positive self. I will never send him back to public school.
i went through the same things and i had to endure it for a year, eventually it stopped but it was hard. I hated highschool which made me all the more driven to get out and go to college.
were the administrators afraid to act on this obvious bullying? why didn’t the principal expel this bully immediately? they give the bullies way too many chances.
adminstrators are so afraid of getting sued by parents they don’t act and do the right thing some times
Sue the school/education authority/mayor/federal and central government authorities. I feel for everyone, student and family alike. Duty of care plus internal codes plus all relevant legislation. Make them pay, shame them and work on prevention. Easier said then done, but many must take action.
I homeschool. Why should I sacrifice my children’s education to “strengthen” public schools? Isn’t it enough I am forced to pay for it? Throwing more money and kids toward an archaic broken system isn’t going to fix it.
And the children whose parents must work for a living and cannot stay home to teach them, should not receive a free education????????????? we are part of a collective society, i don’t understand how we can turn our backs on others in our communities. you sound bitter you have to pay taxes towards them. I’m single and have no children, but I pay hefty taxes towards this as well because I work in education technology and I believe in public schools. Public school is also about teaching life skills and creating life-long relationships and childhood memories, in addition to the basics.
When I think of the alternative to public school as NO school –
it’s scary to think what would happen to our world.
Agreed. I have no sympathy for parents complaining about supporting public schools. Try being child-free and paying for other people’s children. And even then I don’t complain.
@mary. Agreed, I always think of it this way, these children will be my doctor, carer, maintenance man/woman, nurse etc. Even though I do not have kids it doesn’t mean that I don’t support children and their nurturing. Call it investing in our future! That’s the whole point. I cheer @Rapunzel. I agree with everything they said. Don’t listen to the others!!
It sounds quite privileged, honestly. What about single parents who don’t have that luxury? If you can homeschool, go ahead and do you, but don’t get sanctimonious about it.
You are really, REALLY wrong.
It wasn’t broken until Republicans decided to weaken it through disrespect and underfunding. Public education is a cultural positive. Homeschooling is not.
Exactly. Their agenda is to eliminate public schools altogether so they’re not subsidizing others’ educations. It burns me up…so selfish and shortsighted. And clearly their talking points are working, as even people here are casually slamming public education. Angelina, too. It may be inadvertent, but she’s contributing to the problem.
It’s fine to homeschool if that is what works for their lifestyles but there are actually plenty of people who receive fine educations at both public and private schools. No need to feed into that Dead Poets Society-myth that all schools do is blunt creativity and originality.
Being part of public school is being part of your community. Our school district is pretty good (and we pay an arm and a leg in rent to be here, can’t afford to buy a house in this district). Parents are involved, lots of kids bike or walk, the principal lives down the street, and the teachers rarely leave so staff turnover is low. Our city also just voted in favor of a huge bond to support infrastructure needs for the whole district. If there’s one thing I don’t mind paying taxes for, it’s education for kids. This school community also has been welcoming refugee children and their families and local organizations have helped the school develop language programs and other ways to support them in the community and school. The school itself could be more diverse but it actually isn’t terrible when you look at the numbers, and my son’s class is quite diverse. They also are top notch in including and mainstreaming differently abled kids and ensuring those kids feel welcomed.
Even with a great school, my husband and I do a lot of supplementing. We both have PhDs and we spend a lot of time (even just informally, at the dinner table) talking with our son about all kinds of things he might not get in school. I trust the teachers to know how to deliver the basic skills and foundational elements and then do my best to expand, explore, and extend. We travel a lot (as much as we can afford). Even the best schools need parents to be active partners in their kids’ education.
I’ve always been deeply suspicious of home schooling. The vast majority of home schoolers I’ve met may mask their rationale in something else, but at the root their desire to homeschool seems driven by racism, religious zealotry, or some kind of libertarian selfishness.
Angelina and Brad’s kids are simply in a different universe from most kids. I suppose it’s almost inevitable they’d have to be home schooled, living the way they do. I’m sure there are some advantages to that kind of cosmopolitan life for kids, but I tend to think kids do better with roots and continuity.
This.
I think there is a faulty logic there in the sense that people think school is responsible for teaching them “more” or “everything.” That’s not really the point of school, it’s akin to thinking that in order to be a teacher one must “know everything.” As with everything in life a little due diligence is needed and “homeschooling” is a form of that but I think it’s selective diligence. Go to school and learn how to operate in a social setting but if you want more than the basics, pursue further education or pursue it on your own. If you think public education should expand beyond the basics you’re kind of missing the point. Anyone who is knowledgeable in anything in my life did that outside of school and if they did receive education in that field, it was supportive not the be all and end all.
I agree. And an invested parent is invaluable.
People have pointed it out before, but there’s a great similarity in Brad’s and Angie’s faces. You can really see it in the picture where she wears the cap and sunglasses.
It’s obvious when you look at their kids, too.. you can see both parents in each bio child. Genetics is fascinating.
My ex (still good friend) is a college professor and he always said his most infuriating students were the few home-schooled ones he would get every year. They would test well enough to get into a college, some were very young, like 16 or 17, and some were standard 18 to 21 and they were just not ready. They just regurgitated information, could not interpret info on their own, had trouble handing in assignments on time, could not take even the most constructive criticism well. He would find out they were home-schooled eventually during their one-on-one office time or when their parents would email him, complaining about how he treated their child unfairly. After the 5th year of teaching at the college, he was able to identify them fairly quickly, such was the pattern. He said there was an exception or two, but nearly always the same. He said you could also easily differentiate private school and public school students, based on their behavior.
To each his own. If you want to learn you will. Period. There’s no right or wrong. I don’t agree with her generalization of public schools. My husband went to private school in Massachusetts with kids from all over the world. To this day he loves that he experienced it. There are options for everyone. Socialization is huge, to me, home schooling does not prepare you at all.
Personally, I find one of the problems with public school is their refusal to have part time workers. Some excellent teachers have to retire if they don’t want to put their children in daycare full time. I think that two teachers can plan and consult to form a formidable duo.
That is so true.. the only way to be part time is to be a substitute, right? Even better would be a day care option at school, so you could pop around and see your child throughout the day. (Some colleges have this, it’s amazing).
I think it would be really hard to be a part-time teacher if the class is five days a week. Unless you shared the job with someone you were comfortable being very close to and talking with all the time. So much prep and time put into every day that it seems like it would be hard to dip in and out.
I wish she would also be honest enough to admit that she does it because it’s more convenient for HER and their lifestyle. That’s a dirty little secret of homeschooling that people seem to be afraid to admit – it works better for them.
Our family’s decision to homeschool was born out of wanting an even better education for our kids (even though we had access to good public schools), a little bit religious/influence-based, and because my husband worked nights at the time and would never see the kids if we did traditional school. Eventually we found the balance in a university-model, classical education school (school three days a week and school-directed homeschooling two days a week). Of course, we have the time and resources to devote to this.
Part of why we got out of the full-time homeschooling community is because a good chunk of the ones we knew were arrogant assholes who resented paying taxes for schools they didn’t “use”. When I pointed out that the child-free and those with grown children still pay for this as well, I got iced out. Strong public education is the KEY to a free and open society!
Good for you, You seem to have a very healthy attitude towards it. It’s so shortsighted to complain about taxes for education. what exactly do these people think the alternative is?
her kids have always struck me as being a bit odd, I’m sure homeschooling is just re-enforcing that. I’m sure their private tutors are fantastic but as far as socialization, they are probably missing out.
Though with their background and affluence, they will be just fine as adults i’m sure.
Financially they will be fine.
But educationally? Education in a broader sense helps you to understand your culture and other cultures. So if a person’s education gets messy in younger years then it is very difficult to replace and reeducate the mess in adult life.
Babykitten – you are SO RIGHT. My kids are getting older and I would love to teach part-time, but I can only do that in a private school, so I work at my kids’ school. My dad is retired and would love to teach math – but not full-time – he’s 70! My mom would love to be a school nurse – but her health prevents her from working full-time. Three people right there ready to contribute and work but those stupid rules get in the way…
It’s really a shame.
As the daughter of two public high school teachers, I wish celebrities who homeschool their children would at least try public school before discounting it, and that they’d realize how badly public schools need support, not just in terms of better funding, but overall.
Also, as someone who worked in higher education for over a decade, homeschooled children, by and large, come to college woefully unsocialized. We had to set up a department within freshman orientation to create a support office for homeschooled kids who needed help navigating social interaction.
None of their kids will ever go to college.
When I was in school so long ago, the home schooled kids I would meet at summer camps or who were re-introduced to public school for whatever reason, were hands down the biggest weirdos and had the most problems socializing successfully. They were at such a disadvantage socially and emotionally. There is something to be said about kids who are socially resilient, a lot of this is learned in public school.
These kids travel a lot, and it’s hard to form lasting social bonds when you move every handful of months. And the truth is, taking some art classes or participating in a sport just isn’t enough to socialize children – they need the day to day, learning how to live and learn in tandem with other people. Remember Shiloh’s birthday when she only invited a bunch of the Cambodian children who worked on the film? While a nice gesture, that’s also doesn’t really speak for her having close friends in her own peer group. And that’s important. School is so much more than academics (which ironically are the easiest part to supplement). Those kids have lived a nomadic existence their whole life in an attempt to make them “worldly” but sometimes, “normal” is what developing kids need.
These kids have been photographed with friends many times. Maddox and pax pretty much have their own lives away from their mother and siblings. They are hardly ever with her when she is seen with the younger kids and are probably off doing their teen stuff.
@ Bridget
I agree. And I have never seen pics of the kids with their friends. It is very difficult to form friendships when you move every three to six monthes and travel a lot in between.
There are still nomadic people living in Europe. Yep, there are! For example in Great Britain they are called ‘travellers’. And they travel to a new place at least every 4 monthes. Their children don’t get a proper education (because tutors don’t want to travel all the time). And their children don’t socialise with children from “settled” families. As a consequence they have HUGE problems in getting even lowly school degress and they have huge problems to leave their travellers’ clan because they don’t know how to form bonds outside these travellers’ clans.
I’ve seen many pictures of the children with friends in L.A. They have friends. Just because we don’t see pics of them 24/7 with friends does not mean they don’t have relationships with other kids their ages when they have photographed every now and then with other kids. The kids also participate in sport activities where they probably make friends too. And since Jolie doesn’t talk about what her kids are studying that means what they are studying isn’t educational. Does she really need to tell us what her children are learning? Nope.
Except they’re not based in LA. This is a family that we know for a fact has spent the children’s entire lives moving every few months. And no one is saying that what the kids are studying isn’t “educational”. What we’re saying is, she’s using faulty logic and could ultimately be making a choice for them to make them more “worldly” and “sophisticated” that could end up doing just the opposite.
They are based in L.A. They travel but L.A. is their home. It has been since Brad and Angie chose to have so many kids. If they aren’t based in L.A. why do they spent months in L.A. before traveling somewhere for their acting jobs or her humanitarian work? The kids have traveled but they always come back to L.A. and stay there for months before Angie or Brad has a new project that moves them to Europe.
Daily Mail has had tons of pics of the family in L.A. shopping, sports activities or the older kids with friends. So I don’t think their lives are as abnormal as some of y’all want to believe unless the pics I’m seeing are fake.
There’s no way she ever went to a “bad” school! I’m so tired of her and her specialness! I hate that public schools are constantly bashed. I think private schools should not exist, and that you could only homeschool in special circumstances, if it really is better for the child.
right? she grew up as a privileged and spoiled child in Hollywood for crying out loud. She is an ingrate.
This. If she didn’t get much out of her education, that’s because she didn’t put anything into it.
No Betsy. School failed her. If you’ll notice, absolutely nothing is ever Jolie’s fault. /s
I agree.
All schools should be high quality. The school quality shouldn’t depend on location rich/poor district.
Unfortunately we are a far cry from such a situation. Trashing public schools doesn’t help but Jolie helps a lot in trashing schools. Judging by how she is raising her children I wonder if she got those kids merely to support her career. Constant travel ain’t good. Jolie’s family isn’t moving home like once in three or four years. But those kids are barely in the same place for three monthes uninterrupted. And yes, that is unhealthy. Because such intense travel makes a family become very very close and they do habitually exclude strangers very much. It is similar with travellers in Great Britain. The travellers’ children do barely socialise with “settled” children and as a result they have huge difficulties getting a proper education and fitting into employment in later life.
And from what Jolie says about her family’s specialness … I bet those kids do get only a very narrow education in a few selected subjects. Jolie never talks about their curriculum in natural sciences or in society sciences (history, sociology, politics…). And just doing skateboarding is a very narrow education for a sport curriculum.
They don’t socialise with “normal” or average-income families who work “average” jobs. “spoilt” won’t be enough to describe them.
Wow. There is so much judgment on this thread about homeschooling. Do any of you actually KNOW anyone who was homeschooled?? I was. From the 6th grade until my sophomore year of high school. So was my brother. We both grew up to be intelligent productive members of society. The reason why my Mom chose to homeschool was because she couldn’t afford private school any longer (we went to private school for quite awhile) and after terrible experiences in the Chicago public school system she felt she had no choice. Because where you live plays a HUGE role in the quality of education you receive. It’s a fact. We were a lower income family in a predominantly black school district that was underfunded. She made the choice that she felt was right for her kids.
“Do any of you actually KNOW anyone who was homeschooled??”
Yes, we do. It’s why we’re making the judgments that we are.
Well Betsy, it’s narrow minded in the extreme to judge everyone who home schools or was home schooled based on the people you know. Just like it would be narrow-minded of me to judge the entire public school system based on the under funded, crowded, racially segregated public schools I went to.
Everyone’s acting like she’s the one homeschooling them. She has hired qualified tutors. It’s not like she is personally teaching them algebra and physics. She is not disrespecting teachers.
Also, these kids travel around the world and are never in the same place at once. That makes going to one school difficult. If they stayed at school, they would not see their parents for months at a time. In the case of these kids, it’s the best option for them. I’m sure they socialize fine. They get involved and make friends around the world. They probably have better understanding of social skills than a lot of Americans do when they travel over seas.
Those kids travel the world because Jolie says they have to.
Yelling at hotel staff and assistants and such doesn’t help you to develop social skills. One of their former nannies talked and it was quite an insight.
And they will form only very superficial friendships as they will barely see their friends around the world as they are constantly traveling.
This so smacks of privilege.
This so smacks of privilege. She’s kind of acting like only a platoon of individual tutors and world travel can result in an quality education.
I applaud her for being an interested parent and wholeheartedly support supplemental instruction to regular curriculum but tone down the noblesse oblige please.
Well, Jolie got to teach university students at some London university despite she likely doesn’t even have a high school diploma.
Celebrity status.
She doesn’t get such gifts because she is gifted but because she travels the world and has magnific… t… and li.. in every pic with refugees, orphans and world leaders.
Sorry super fans, but AJ was living with her boyfriend and pursuing acting as a teen and had little interest in school before that. She didn’t learn much in school and that was her own doing and that of her mother. There are a million types of schools in LA. And the tutors she uses could supplement school. This sounds like PR spin to me.
Thank you. She was basically a drop out. No one to blame there but herself and her distracted and enabling parents, not the system.
She did drop out …. of college. She actually did get accepted into NYU and attended for some time. So clearly she wasn’t completely incompetent as a student. She didnt drop out of high school. College isnt for everyone but she gave it a shot.
@ Nope.
She never went to NYU. she did a summer course there. Angelina did drop out of High school. The school she even attended was meant for kids with learning disabilities and who were having trouble with life.
Once again the fact that Brad Pitt doesn’t have joint custody is glossed over. I knew he would lose in court. Btw, according to gossip cop they still have a mediator helping them come up with time for when he “visits” the children. Angelina doesn’t get to choose and should stop being blamed for how the judge, ten therapists and now a mediator has handled this case.
Similar to Janelle Evans of teen moms custody a case… Probably has a similar visitations. 2 weekends a month and maybe 2 weeks in summer. It wasn’t babs Evans choice -a therapist and judge made that decision.
She will always be blamed for something or another. Its just the way it is
Everyone, including Jolie and Pitt share joint legal custody of their kids except in very rare instances of grave issues. You are speaking as if from fact. There was NO order by the judge in this case. The parties drafted and signed a joint stipulation. Then a second stipulation was signed in January of this year outlining joint custody and an informal visitation schedule. There is a mediator helping to write a final order and it is likely that there will be a bifurcation so they can divorce. These parents share joint legal and physical custody while Jolie may be the primary custodial parent. That is how it is done. He has the same rights to his kids as she does and that is how she wants it…unless she is an alienating parent and I am convinced that she is not. Regardless of the substance abuse by both parents here, intelligent people realize that married partners are BOTH “at fault” when divorce occurs. In this case Angelina has been unable, at least publicly, to own her part. That is her prerogative of course, but I am not fooled into believing that she was not part of the problems. That is pure fantasy
I totally believe in the public school systems I attended – the one where I live now, not so much. I sent my oldest son to public school, but after two and a half years, I pulled my younger son out because of bullying and he has Aspbergers & ADHD. There are public online schools now that can be done from home that technically are not homeschooling – you work with a certified teacher, follow the curriculum, they send you all the equipment & books (which you send back at the end of the school year). Then we moved to another state and it’s really expensive to use that program here (it was free where I was before). So for now, we joined a co-op and piece it together. There are literally hundreds of free online resources and guides for curriculum. We do secular, not religious. I have to politely decline some of the field trips the co-op does (I live in a very religious area, Baptists lol) like to Noah’s Ark and the Bible Museum & Creationism museum, because seriously? But I wouldn’t put him back in public school here, they mix religion and school all the time and I can’t stand that. But I’ve seen a change in him that’s made me confident I made the right decision. And no, parents don’t attend everything for the older kids (he’s 10 now). The local library has a group for homeschoolers to attend and the moms just go get coffee and gab. He doesn’t like big crowds, and smaller groups with one-on-one attention is better for him. It’s different for every family; all the assumptions get annoying.
The Pitt Jolie kids are not being raised traditionally. It will be interesting to see how they turn out as adults. Seems like a very insular upbringing for all of their travels.
Long time lurker, since the very early days of Hot Guy Friday. Celebitchy is my celebrity gossip guilty pleasure while I have my coffee, every single morning.
Secular homeschooling mom of 4, though we’re hardly ever home…
I’m not sure why I keep coming back to these comments. So many of my favorite commenters stereotyping homeschoolers, it feels like a personal slap in the face even though none of you know me.
My personal decision to homeschool has nothing to do with you, it’s not a personal attack on teachers, it’s not me thinking I’m better than you. I realize I am privileged to be able to stay home with my children, though our family has made many sacrifices to do so. We support our local public schools, especially the school my children are zoned to attend. We enjoy their Scholastic books fairs and fall festivals, etc. Why wouldn’t we, the kids that go to those schools are the same children in my neighborhood, the same children my kids play with everyday, the same children that maybe one day my own kids will date and work with.
I am part of a huge homeschool community, one that offers co-ops, sports, bands/orchestras, even dances like prom. I’ve never once heard a family say they decided to homeschool because the teachers are crappy, or they can do a better job than a teacher that has years of training. How could you even compare? One on one vs a teacher with 30 kids? Completely different ball game.
My cousin was homeschooled in the 90s when resources were not like they are now, and yes, he was “weird.” (What’s wrong with being weird?) The community is larger now and rules have changed. Sure a few states have no regulations but many require yearly testing. Some require homeschool teachers to hold degrees, some states even require umbrella schools, yearly outlines, and portfolios that are looked through and approved by teachers or school superintendents.
I guess my point is, please stop claiming that because we keep our children from public school we are keeping them from being strengthened….I think we’re all just trying to do what we think is right for our children.
It seems like no one ever had any problems with public schools until Angelina decided not to send her kids to them lol.
Anna – All marriages have their downs and to Angelina, their downs as a couple is not what led her to file for divorce, it’s what happened on that plane that broke the camels back.
For all her faults, Angelina is all about her kids, no matter how busy she is with her Hollywood work or humanitarian work – she finds a way to involve her family and divide that attention.
Brad offcourse loves his family but for him to get to that point with booze, bad decisions that do nothing but break the family apart and cause unnecessary pain show selfishness and a shame really. So when you say own her end of the street etc – what exactly has or did she do to contribute to the reason as to why she filed? She filed for the health of her family. Something or somebody was unhealthy and caused trauma to the kids. Brad got too immersed in distractions that deviated from family goals and the plane incident just cemented how far he had gone.
Actually the older boys were done with him afterwards and it’s Angelina who has been encouraging them to forgive and use therapy as a tool to deal with their emotions.
It’s Viv the youngest who was affected more – as in physically shaken for a long time and it’s no coincidence she doesn’t leave her mom’s side and the family is very protective of her.
I’m a high school English teacher with 2 masters degrees and halfway done with my PhD. I find it a little insulting that people act like public school teachers are hacks, and that people with no training in education or any education in content areas are better teachers than well-qualified
and highly educated teachers.
That all said, I also homeschooled my two kids from 7th through graduation because they have severe disabilities (one physical, one mental). And I have no issue with homeschooling. My issue is with the way people basically spit on teachers and public school education. Here in Massachusetts public schools are great. But even when I homeschooled they took math at school and did extracurriculars at school.
i came from an abusive childhood home and teachers and administrators in my public school weren’t just my educators, they were my angels at times. school was tough but it was also a refuge from my awful home life. so thankful for them.
Honestly, most of the teacher friends I have feel the same way as you.
Trashing public schools and public services is necessary if reducing the state to a “small state” is the intention.
It is sad, really.
themummy,
Can I ask your opinion on teaching English in high school versus getting a PhD and teaching English at a college? My daughter is almost done with college and really wants to go on and get her PhD and teach in a college environment. From what I hear though professorship openings are few and far between. I feel like teaching high school English would lead to more opportunities and not require the 6 year time investment (and financial hardship) that pursuing a PhD will involve. Would you be willing to share your opinion?
With the lifestyle she is forcing her kids. I have a hard time believing that they are even home-schooled.
I am very curious to see where the JP kids stand in comparison to their peers in terms of maths, sciences, literature,etc.
I think Jolie leaked this fake news to do damage control over her embarrassing and failed Oscar campiagn. The kids were always with her at events and film premieres and she was criticized for using them as props from people. No way they are even getting a proper home-schooling based on the lifestyle they lead. Its not possible.
AJ herself is a high school dropout and Brad dropped out of colleges. Niether parents care for education I think.
I have doubts about the children’s education, too.
She could afford THE BEST schools for her kids but she clearly doesn’t.
And when she describes the children’s curriculum then I don’t get the impression that it is a well-rounded “scientifically diverse” curriculum aka covering a certain diversity of academic fields. In my country children have about 8-10 different subjects and I doubt Jolie employs 4 (?) tutors/teachers for all these subjects (2 subjects / teacher). Especially teaching in high school requires an academic degree because else the teacher is just as dumb as everybody else.
So I doubt those kids get a decent education. Likely they will go into the movie business like their mom and on their parents coat tails. And likely that will be enough for them to get honorary phd’s as gifts and visiting professor-ships as employment like Jolie.
Well-educated m.. a.. .
I totally get celebs who don’t send their kids to public school due to safety issues. I don’t blame them for that. But AJ and BP could very easily send their kids to a nice private school in either LA or NYC. Or even send them abroad the the UK as well.
They didn’t and still aren’t doing any of that. I don’t agree with Jolie taking the kids to foreign countries and forcing them to go to her UN events, film premieres, PR for her Oscar campaign most of the time as education. Its not.
So really, where is the time for them to get educated?
@ Jennie.
I am not anti- Jolie. I am questioning whether or not its true her kids are getting a decent education.
And I am not wrong to point out that she mainly takes the kids overseas and they are constantly at film premieres, UN events, PR events most of the time. She brought them to nearly every single movie premiere while campaigning for FTKMF. When they should have been in school.
@ariela… Wow anti -jolie… Do you ever think why in everytime angelina has to go somewhere Angie bring with her? Maybe because Angie can’t really leave her kids to brad.. Reason maybe we don’t knowZ
That doesn’t follow. She was praising him as a father and married him 10 years in. She has always trusted him with their children. You are putting your own opinions and feelings on this. You do not know she feels that way.
It’s a tough one. In my state a lot of the public high schools seem to care too much about the rights of bullies and disruptive kids and not enough about the kids who are negatively impacted by their behaviour. As a result the standards of some high schools are in the toilet. On the other hand if you want to send your kids to a private school, whilst the educational and behavioural standards are high, they tend to indoctrinate their students with orthodox and conservative values. So as a parent I had to really shop around to find suitable public high schools for my two sons and they ended up having to go to schools out of our area.
We homeschooled our youngest for high school and it was the best decision ever. I only wish we had done it with our oldest, too. I was always afraid I’d be terrible or fail them in some way but it was MAGNIFICENT.
Can we discuss the fact that sending 6 kids to a school like LyCee Francais or Buckley where plenty of other celeb kids go like Sandra, Charlize and Halle would set back Angelina/Brad $210,000+ a year. For that amount of money they can have a more personalized education with advanced tutors in multiple subjects like languages and music instruments. There is a reason why the uber wealthy use to homeschool their kids in the early 1900s. I don’t blame her for homeschooling that many children with their particular lifestyle.
Set back?
AJ abd BP are filthy rich. They can afford to spend that kind of $$$ on schools.
Stop acting like they can’t afford them. They very well could but are choosing not to.
And even with home-schooling, you still need 6-8hrs per day and the kids are all different ages. Maddox is 16 and the youngest kids are 9. I am not sure how each child is getting home- schooled considering they are not even at their real home most of the time. They are always travelling overseas and are constantly at film premiers, PR events and dinners with their mother.
AJ sounds like she is not telling the truth.
@Ariela The family travels but there are times when you don’t see them and when they are seen they are in one place: L.A. The kids can be properly homeschooled. Do they spend every week or month walking a red carpet or traveling? No. As a matter of fact of you wanted to be technical they haven’t been photographed in any other country or state besides L.A until recently. It’s not impossible for them to get eight hours of schooling If they spend a huge chunk of their time in L.A. Yes they have a nomadic lifestyle but I feel like people are making so many assumptions about how they don’t have friends or they don’t have a home base or how they can’t properly be home schooled when there is photo evidence of them being in L.A. for long periods before traveling anywhere. And why is Angelina getting so much dislike for homeschooling when it seems like Brad and Angelina both chose to homeschool their kids? He has spoken about them being home schooled in the past quite a bit.
Relax; I didn’t say they wouldn’t be able to afford. I just said it would be a better investment if they spent that money on personalized tutors. Always read a comment at least twice before responding.
It’s also not necessary to spend 6-8 hours on homeschooling a day because it’s usually 1 to 1 so you can do it in 4 hours.
But the L.A. suburbs have legendary public schools. She can easily afford a home in anyone of the numerous school districts with fabulous public schools. I’m not even suggesting her kids should go to public school (I guess there might be security concerns or whatnot) but she shouldn’t advocate for home schooling either. Most children will have to go forth and earn a living someday, and home school seriously limits their ability to engage with people (to say nothing of children who need outside contacts to emotionally survive the trials of their home life).
I’m not anti-homeschooling. I’m annoyed when religious zealots use it to further enforce their agenda on children but I don’t think it’s wrong for every child. Sometimes people prefer a more tailored curriculum for their child, especially if they are gifted. Gifted Musicians, elite athletes, etc. do better with homeschooling; she clearly prefers a education that is more focused on languages so instead of trying to find a school that teaches Russian, German, French, sign language, Arabic, and a Cambodian language she homeschools. I don’t see what the issue is; they can always go to university.
I would imagine that hiring qualified teachers who are capable of giving the kids the sort of education they would get at the Lycee would end up costing more than the school fees would. They would definitely need more than one given the age range of the kids, and the breadth of subject matter that is covered. Plus all of the travel expenses for those people.
If I remember correctly, the kids (or some of them at least) were doing the CNED, which is the Lycee program by correspondence. Pitt said something about that years ago, and that they dropped it for something “homegrown” (that’s the word that comes to mind, but he maybe used something different).
Good point; I definitely think there is a online portion and tutors are brought in for specialized subjects. They probably spend around the same amount.
As someone who went to the one of the worst schools in my state. I’m interested in the home schooling- not many Aussies do it. There are so MANY FLAWS of public schools. The constant pandering to students who disrupt the class 90% of the time and the bullying – which they have guidelines- but really don’t do anything about it.
The type of activities home schoolers get to do sounds great. I’m jealous I never did anything like that at my school.
@ Dana
I am a teacher actually, and what you are saying is wrong. Based on the kids hectic and nomadic lifestyle, no way are they getting any type of proper education. I fail to see how Jolie can employee all these different teachers for each of her children. Her kids are all different ages and who knows if some of them might even have a learning disability.
And nope, it’s not hating( such an immature response btw) to cricitze Jolie for failing to give her kids a proper education. Travelling abroad and going to movie premieres is not an education. I also wonder what you have to say about using her kids as apart of her Oscar campaign( which failed miserabley btw). They were nearly at every single premiere of the film for the past 3 months.
She herself is a high school dropout from a remedial high school. She doesn’t value education herself.
Brad Pitt is also a dropout but I think even he knows how important going to regular school is for those kids.
The kids do not spend all day at movie premieres and traveling so they can in fact have proper homeschooling. And they have friends since they’ve been since hanging out in L.A. with kids their age. They travel but they go months without leaving L.A. and L.A. is their home. And I didn’t call anyone a hater I said she is getting so my dislike for choosing to preferring to homeschool her kids. When at the end of the day she and Brad know what’s best for their children. As do most parents that choose different forms of schooling for their children. A lot of the comments here are informative and objective and they were interesting to read. You saying her “Oscar campaign failed miserably”makes you sound like a hater. So if you felt the need to be snarky about her in that way why would you have an non judgemental attitude about the way she raises her kids. See now I’m actually calling you a hater.
Public schools are in trouble and they’re about to get even worse now that our ridiculous excuse for a president has made it so that teachers can no longer write off the supplies they buy for their students. I have a friend who is a 4th grade teacher at a public school and the amount of $$ she regularly spends out of her own pocket is mind blowing. She does this because she can’t get the school to provide (no funding? or they don’t care?) and she wants the kids to be able to do fun projects that help them learn, and not be hamstrung by their lack of school supplies. Being able to write that stuff off on her taxes helped her to mitigate the stress of paying for so much of it out of pocket. But no more. Now the little freeloaders will just have to make do with a golf pencil and no health insurance. Thanks, President Dumbass!
That provision is not attached to the final bill, Kim. Teachers can still write off supplies.
If Angelina and Brad chose to homeschool their children it is their choice. Why do people feel the need to criticize each and every thing this woman does? Those kids seem smart and obedient to me. They aren’t doing anything negative, bad, acting out, doing drugs and etc. They are simply living their lives.
Some homeschooled kids are amazing and very smart. And to the poster who says Angie didn’t graduate, check your facts hun. She did and she wasn’t a drop out. I think she struggled a bit because of issues with being a part of a broken home. she did attend NYU so stfu.
The circus that surrounded them for years could have been one reason they chose that form of school. But I think it’s ok to home school if that is what you prefer read and article on a black family where the mom homeschooled all of her kids which graduated early and are graduating law schools and doctors. Really cool
I am surprised at all the hate on homeschooling. I attended a public school with a 10/10 rating and was bored. I was switched to homeschooling and loved it. I was able to persue my interests and learn at my pace. I also spent less time on school work and, when I reached legal age, was able to get a day job. By the time my peers had gotten out of school I had already done my school work, worked at my job, and was free to spend time with friends with nothing else to worry about.
My husband had a similar experience so we are both considering homeschooling our kids.