The Second-Generation

I cannot remember a time without being surrounded by the concept of home education. My mother heard about home education while a teacher before I was born and my parents planned to home-educate me throughout my school-aged life. That’s exactly what happened and, over time my classroom was joined by eight younger siblings.

Andy and I have four children of our own and home education continues to be as natural for them as it was for me. I have often wondered if second-generation home educators like me have a head start and, when Molly asked me to write the chapter about the next generation of home educators, I had the perfect chance to deep dive into this idea. You will have to read the book to find out but it suffices to say here that we certainly aren’t disadvantaged by having been home-educated!

The number of second-generation home educators is slowly on the rise in the UK; we don’t seem as hard to find as when I started home educating my oldest child over a decade ago. We stand on the shoulders of giants — those pioneers who forged the way for us.

Philippa Nicholson is a second-generation home educator. The eldest of nine siblings, she enjoyed being home-educated so much that it seemed completely natural for her and her husband, Andy, to choose this route of education for their own children. They are blessed with two girls and two boys. Philippa spends the majority of her days facilitating the education of the children. She is also involved with her local Christian home education group, volunteers on the Mothers At Home Matter committee and spends any leftover time reading as many books as possible.