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Major educational changes require planning and a child’s input, not sudden competition with another family’s success.
This 19-year-old watched his mother pull his younger sister from school after their homeschooled cousins began excelling.
His sister wants friends and a traditional high school experience, while their mother has no curriculum, legal research, or teaching plan.
Check out the full story below.
AITA for arguing with my mother over my sister’s education?
“I’m 19M, my parents are 43F & 47M, and my sister is 13F. Yesterday, I got into an argument with my mom and I don’t know if I’m justified.
My uncle and aunt homeschool my cousins (11F twins). My mother used to scoff at their decision, she called my aunt a “hippie idiot” behind her back and told my uncle that his daughters will grow up to dislike him.
It looks like his mom is wrong about this…
But things have gone really well for them, they’re being raised bilingual, go to all sorts of classes, and one of my cousins is a math genius who’s competing in national competitions.
They’re both above grade level, specifically above my sister’s grade level which made my mom do an 180 and pull her out of school with only a few weeks to go to finish 7th grade.
She’s now obsessed with the idea of homeschooling her but here’s the thing: She has nothing lined up and my sister doesn’t want to be homeschooled. My sister called me crying.
This doesn’t sound good.
She said mom dropped the news to her on Monday and she’s expected to just go with it.
My sister likes school and she doesn’t want to lose her friends. She’s a good student, she wants to have the whole high school experience like I did, and go to college.
I honestly don’t believe my mom can handle homeschooling, she never even helped us with homework past 3rd or 4th grade and now she can handle 4 full years of teaching on her own?
In fact, it sounds like a horrible idea!
She doesn’t have a background in education, she lacks patience, and she hasn’t even researched homeschool law. She works part-time (she said she’ll quit and be a housewife like my aunt), and my dad works full-time and has no interest in taking on any teaching role.
I called home yesterday and told my mother that my sister is devastated and I suggested she let her finish the school year and research homeschooling over the summer or maybe talk to my aunt about it.
My mom got defensive and after some back and forth she told me to mind my own business and that she’s trying to correct the mistakes she made with me (I go to community college and she previously supported my decision).
I told her that being jealous of my aunt isn’t a good reason to experiment with my sister’s education and it’s exactly my business to defend her. My dad then stepped in and told me to stay out of it.
Am I wrong for interfering?
I’m really frustrated because I care about my sister, and I don’t want her to be isolated or fall behind just because my mom suddenly decided she can turn her into a polyglot math whiz to own my aunt.”
Check out how folks reacted on Reddit.
This person chimed in.
Another reader said he’s NTA.
This individual agreed.
Another Reddit user shared their thoughts.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about siblings who don’t think they should have to give up their own sports’ seasons to help with their younger siblings.
This individual didn’t hold back.
This young man was right to speak up because his sister was distressed, and unplanned homeschooling could shape several important years of her life.
His strongest approach would involve their father, aunt, or a school counselor while centering his sister’s needs instead of accusing their mother during an argument.
Mom saw two successful homeschooled cousins and treated education like a recipe she could copy without the ingredients.
