Mother Withdraws 7-Year-Old Son from School Due to Teacher’s Homework Signature Request
A South Carolina mom has sparked major controversy after announcing she’s taking her 7-year-old son out of public school and “unschooling” him instead – all because his teacher wanted her to sign off on his homework assignments daily.
Kelsey Rhae, a mom of four who runs an influential social media business, went viral on TikTok last month when she aired her grievances about her first-grader’s classroom homework policy. In a heated rant, she revealed plans to withdraw her son from the school system entirely after the current year wraps up.
“I’m going to let him finish out the school year, and then we’re going to be doing unschool,” Rhae declared in the clip, which has racked up over 1 million views. Her main issue? The teacher’s requirement that she provide a dated signature on her son’s homework every single day.
According to Rhae, that demand was simply too much for her busy schedule to accommodate. “I have four kids, and I run a massive business through social media, I don’t have time,” she fumed, adding that any academic work should be completed during the 7-8 hour school day rather than eating into her evenings at home.
The irate mom went on to admit she’s “hard to get ahold of” and often ignores messages from the school’s communication app, preferring instead that teachers call her directly. She claimed to have been blindsided when her son brought home the signature homework form without any heads up from his educator.
When Rhae told her son she wouldn’t be signing off on his assignments daily, he expressed worry about missing out on some kind of rewards system in class tied to compliance. “He said ‘Mom, if you don’t sign it I’m not going to get fuzzies,'” she recalled in the video. “I said, ‘You’re not going to get punished for something I’m not going to do.'”
Sure enough, the little boy later came home reporting he’d only received “one fuzzy” while other students racked up five. For Rhae, this apparent act of favoritism was the final straw. “He’s being targeted, and I don’t like that,” she raged, revealing she’d demanded her son be moved to a new classroom for the remainder of the year.
The mom’s incendiary video quickly drew a heated backlash, with many viewers accusing her of misplaced priorities and failing to take an active role in her child’s education. Several dad content creators weighed in to condemn Rhae’s “bonkers” attitude.
“You want to unschool your kid at home, but you can’t…sign your child’s homework?” one incredulous dad influencer shouted. “Dude, get your priorities straight!”
Facing widespread criticism, Rhae soon followed up with an attempted apology video – though she spent most of the rushed clip doubling down on her position against homework and the public school system in general.
“The system is designed to control and create workers, and I have no interest in creating a worker out of my child,” she proclaimed, adding that she wants her son to grow into “a creative thinker” instead.
@thekelseyrhae Replying to @user1624005965783 another reason why most people choose public school because they dont want to put in the TIME TO BE MORE PRESENT. Dont be scared. Youre super capable of leading them yourself. #unschool #homeschool #homeschooling #unschoolingmom #theunschoolmom ♬ original sound – Kelsey Rhae
In subsequent videos, Rhae has detailed her unschooling plans, which seem to primarily involve “doing activities” like field trips and tying academic lessons into everyday chores and errands. According to the mom, her first official day of unschooling included having the kids clean her car to teach them about “hard work.”
@tobiesunshine Then she doubled down, and then made an apology at 2x speed but all videos are still up. This is why teachers are leaving. #fyp #teachersoftiktok #teacherlife #teacher ♬ original sound – Tobie Sunshine
While Rhae’s approach has plenty of detractors, she’s certainly tapped into a widespread feeling of dissatisfaction with traditional education models. Her videos have reignited polarizing debates around pedagogical methods, hands-on versus homework-based learning, and what role parents should play in the classroom.
Source: boredpanda
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