Home education as quiet rebellion: the power of connection over control

Why community is the quiet revolution in home education

“The most revolutionary thing one can do is to introduce people to one another.” — Howard Zinn

Home education is often seen as an act of quiet rebellion — a decision to step away from systems that no longer serve our children, and to build something smaller, slower, more human.
But if Oscar Wilde reminds us that disobedience can be a virtue, Howard Zinn reminds us of something equally powerful: connection itself can be revolutionary.

Revolution doesn’t always look loud

Not all rebellion is protest and noise. Sometimes it’s a handful of parents meeting in a park on a Tuesday morning. It’s a child learning freely, without fear. It’s the steady work of building trust, friendship, and shared understanding.

In a world that often pushes isolation — individual achievement, competition, and comparison — coming together as families, sharing skills, stories, and laughter, is an act of resistance.
When we introduce people to one another, we remind ourselves that community still matters more than control.

The quiet networks changing everything

Home ed groups, meet-ups, co-ops, and online spaces form a web of support that keeps families going. These are not official institutions; they’re grassroots, living networks built on kindness and shared purpose.

Every time a parent reaches out to say, “You’re not alone,” it chips away at the idea that learning must be standardised or isolated. Every time children of different ages learn side by side, they’re proving that real education is collaborative, not competitive.

Connection is contagious. It spreads ideas, courage, and empathy — all the things the standardised system tends to flatten.

Why it matters now

With new policies and bills trying to tighten control around education, this kind of human connection is more important than ever. Systems can regulate attendance, collect data, and define “outcomes”, but they can’t measure the quiet strength that grows between families who truly see one another.

The home education community thrives on what can’t be counted: trust, generosity, belonging.
And those things — though they rarely make headlines — are what sustain real learning.

A revolution of relationship

To home educate is not only to reclaim learning; it’s to reclaim community.
Every shared walk, every cup of tea, every “me too” moment between parents who understand — these are small acts of solidarity.

Zinn’s quote reminds us that the revolution we’re part of doesn’t need banners or slogans. It grows through connection. It’s built one introduction, one friendship, one conversation at a time.

And perhaps that’s the quietest, most enduring kind of rebellion there is...