Few common professions are as simultaneously essential and terrifying as teaching is. On the one hand, we all need some kind of an education, and it’s a huge privilege to play a part in that. On the other hand, the mainstream school system can be notoriously difficult and demoralizing for both those who work in it, and the kids that get pushed through it.

This leaves parents with numerous understandable reasons for wanting to homeschool. However, there are also many more crackpot ones as well. Parenting is enough of a difficult job without giving yourself another job within it, and it’s a controversial decision to make. 

As a result, it’s no surprise that homeschooling was a recent topic of debate on Twitter. When one man used a screenshot from a satirical TikTok to suggest that he thought the practice should be banned, the reactions were strong. There’s a reason you have to have specific qualifications to be a teacher.