This Golden Hour

93. Eli and Homeschool Surfing

• Timothy Eaton

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In this episode we get to spend time with my brother-in-law, Eli, from Alberta. Eli is a homeschool dad of four, business owner, and entrepreneur from Alberta. Today, Eli is joining us from Hawaii, where he and his family like to frequent during the winter months to surf and spend time together. One of the beauties of homeschooling is having the flexibility to do trips like these! In our conversation, we discussed several benefits and challenges of homeschooling, the impact of our public school experiences, and the value of an entrepreneurial education for children, which is severely lacking in schools. Eli asks some meaningful questions and we enjoyed a natural discussion about relevant homeschool and parenting topics. This will be a good listen!

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Eli Dehghani:

I do think schools have become outdated, like we can teach our kids so much more effectively, so much deeper outside of school. So learning wise, they're far better off in a homeschool environment.

Timmy Eaton:

Hi, I'm Timmy Eaton, homeschool father of six and doctor of education. We've been homeschooling for more than 15 years and have watched our children go from birth to university successfully and completely without the school system. Homeschooling has grown tremendously in recent years and tons of parents are becoming interested in trying it out. But people have questions and concerns and misconceptions and lack the confidence to get started. New and seasoned homeschoolers are looking for more knowledge and peace and assurance to continue homeschooling. The guests and discussions on this podcast will empower anyone thinking of homeschooling to bring their kids home and start homeschooling. And homeschoolers at all stages of the journey will get what they need and want from these conversations. Thank you for joining us today and enjoy this episode of this Golden Hour Podcast as you exercise, drive, clean, or just chill. You're listening to this Golden Hour podcast. In today's episode, we get to spend time with my brother-in-law, Eli Deani from Edmonton, Alberta. Eli is a homeschool dad for business owner and entrepreneur from Alberta Today, Eli is joining us from Hawaii where he and his family like to frequent during the winter months to surf and spend time together. One of the beauties of homeschooling is having the flexibility to do trips like these. In our conversation, we discuss several benefits and challenges of homeschooling, the impact of our public school experiences, and the value of an entrepreneurial education for children, which is severely lacking in schools. Eli asks some meaningful questions and we enjoy a natural discussion about relevant homeschool and parenting topics. This will be a good listen. Welcome back to this golden hour podcast. Today we have Eli from Alberta, but right now he's in Hawaii. Eli happens to be my brother in law. Pretty awesome. Let me just introduce him real quick. But thanks for being with us, Eli.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, glad to be here.

Timmy Eaton:

So let me just give a little bio. So Eli is a homeschool dad of four kids. And he's a business owner, entrepreneur from Alberta. And they travel quite a bit. His work allows him to do that. So we're going to bring that up in the podcast, but anything you want to say from a bio standpoint, before we get started.

Eli Dehghani:

I think you covered it.

Timmy Eaton:

Okay, let's just rock and roll then. Let's just get into it. How did you guys get started?

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, I think both of us just had our own Experiences with public school that weren't that great my wife grew up in Southern Alberta, her school upbringing wasn't like an amazing experience where she learned a lot I asked her directly, but I don't think that she talks about her school life is being like, super productive, right? Wasn't a good experience for her. And mine was the same. I had a rough time in school. So we both had those kind of I wouldn't call it negative, but less productive times with public school and it made us want to try something else. And then, of course, having you as an example Sara had kids Sara was homeschooling before I was even married. So she was quite a bit ahead with that and and watching her kids go through it and flourish and it was a good example for us. So that made it easy having you. I have the sorry, I lead the way.

Timmy Eaton:

Do you remember like how you guys actually look when you started thinking about it was Jen on board right away or like how did it work out?

Eli Dehghani:

Even when we were dating we, like we were hanging out with you guys and she was aware that you're homeschooling. Maybe she knew that you homeschooled even before we met cause you kind of had some interactions with her. In Southern Alberta.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

It seemed like she was always on board. Like she never even thought about putting the kids in public school.

Timmy Eaton:

Really? I didn't know that. I wasn't sure for a while like how everyone thought about it. And and I guess as a homeschool family you're always kind of like Everyone thinks it's weird. So you just assume that. I didn't know that she, didn't even consider the school option. You were saying how it wasn't productive for her or for you but talk about your experience specifically, like when you look back, cause you, you had a ton of fun in school, but

Eli Dehghani:

I made some great friends and it was for sure. Very social. Very fun.

Timmy Eaton:

So what, so when you say it didn't serve you or it wasn't productive, tell more details about that.

Eli Dehghani:

I grew up, I was born in 82 I was diagnosed with a DD when I was, I think I was probably junior high when they figured things out. But I was getting in trouble. From the beginning, like even super young, I was always in trouble.

Timmy Eaton:

Do you remember it being fun or do you remember it being like, why is everyone like getting mad at me?

Eli Dehghani:

I like making people laugh and having a good time in class. But I didn't like getting in trouble either. No, I didn't. And it wasn't just getting in trouble, but like I was also falling behind. I wasn't learning anything.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

Like I was for sure behind in, in math. I was behind in, in reading and writing and kind of basic. A lot of the basics you learned in elementary, I was just behind. I started off grade one in French Immersion you're learning in French and English. And I think that also sent me back. After grade one of doing French Immersion, my mom took me out. She's let's just focus on English.

Timmy Eaton:

You said I was behind and it's like you're made so aware of that like in school now that you've had your kids homeschooled, do you think that they even have a concept of that? Whether they're ahead or behind or is that just something that exists like a cultural notion that's like,

Eli Dehghani:

yeah, they for sure don't have any comparisons. They have no one to compare to. They're just learning.

Timmy Eaton:

And what do you think about that? Do you think it's healthy? Cause you were saying you're just used to saying I was behind and maybe that's true just based on like you're observing other kids that age group or whatever but so many times when I hear that now as like being exposed to homeschool literature and homeschooling for so long I'm like, who like who's to say what behind or ahead is No, I was

Eli Dehghani:

for sure behind. I didn't know my times tables I could hardly read or write honestly I pretty much learned to read and write like, when I was that sounds, that sounds extreme, but obviously I could read and write. I wasn't like, I wasn't very efficient at it. I wasn't good at it.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. Yeah. Were you interested in it yet?

Eli Dehghani:

No, No, not at all.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. See, that's what I'm saying. That's why I think the idea behind is weird. It's and maybe you would have been interested earlier. Had you been. Homeschooled or another thing but it is interesting that there's that concept of behind and I think that we're so used to saying that we don't even stop to consider who says what behind is and like, when a kid's ready to learn something

Eli Dehghani:

that's a good point. Like kids with ADD, they just can't get into anything. They can't get into or pay attention to things that are interested in. That's the whole thing. So you stick a kid like that in a class and say, today we're learning this. And he's just not interested in that. It's just like torture, right? There's torture in the kid, forcing him to learn something he's not interested in learning about. Yeah.

Timmy Eaton:

I wonder if it's actually the same for everybody, cause I don't know if I wasn't interested in something. Maybe I was just fine to sit there and deal with it or something like that. More than a kid who had ADD or ADHD. But maybe that's where ADHD is a gift where it's like you, you focus on the things that you're interested in and you know what I'm saying? Where it's I don't know if kids are different who don't have ADHD, they're just willing to cooperate more or something in a classroom setting. I don't know.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. They're more like amiable to like, okay. You want me to do this? I'll do it. I'm more cooperative. But yeah, I found that elementary school they're basically forcing the kids to learn whatever is in their curriculum. We're gonna learn this today. It's like forcing. There's no choice for the kid, is there?

Timmy Eaton:

There might be places where they incorporate that more, but no, I think it's just here's what you're gonna learn.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, when I grew up, they were just forcing you.

Timmy Eaton:

In a homeschool situation, how do you see it different?

Eli Dehghani:

They have some choice. They have some agency, but what they're interested in, and Jen's really good about when they have an interest in anything, she teaches them about that and they're into it because they're, cause say they're into birds and they'll learn all about birds, bird calls, types of birds, how to find birds, where they live, if they migrate. And you just go into a lot of detail and they're into it.

Timmy Eaton:

So does that too? I think maybe the, maybe one of the common threads for homeschool moms or homeschool principal parents is they'll watch what their kids are interested in. And then all of a sudden a ton of books will show up about that topic. And cause they're like, that's what their job is. They're ready to observe what their kids are into. And then they just go get all the paraphernalia. Sarah's really gifted at that. If, when when, as there's into skating. She gets cool stuff for skateboard and then has him read books on it and looks into it and finds cool. Just for his birthday he got that. Did you see that thing that he puts on the end of this skateboard that like sparks? Yeah. Just like stuff like that. So homeschool moms become like researchers'cause they care about their kids' education. But

Eli Dehghani:

yeah, Jen's the same. Like they were getting into the digestive system and like how food gets processed and like I came home and there was like a full size like human body with Velcro. intestines and organs everywhere. And

Timmy Eaton:

yeah, that's awesome. Anything else you want to say about just like your experience in school and and then the comparisons you've seen, are you like hesitant at all to say your experience would have been different, like majorly different had you been homeschooled?

Eli Dehghani:

Oh yeah. I would have been far more educated, when I graduated from high school, I would have been in a far better position. Like scholastically if I would have been homeschooled and actually pretty much any success I had with public school was because I was at home and my mom would spend the time to help me do the report, do the essay, help me learn, if it was math and it was getting difficult, she'd get me a tutor.

Timmy Eaton:

So

Eli Dehghani:

All the serious learning that did happen, even in public school was the result of my parents.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah this might throw a wrench into what you're just saying, because one thing I've been observing personally and. And just, you're a main example I look to for this, but like one thing I've noticed about like successful business people or entrepreneurs is the the proximity to risk they like risk taking or they're willing to take risks. Do you think if you were homeschooled, you would have been taking less risks because did not being homeschooled? Did it facilitate you and almost even the mischief, taking risks and then that opening your mind to learning that wasn't school learning per se, but life learning that actually ended up totally positive.

Eli Dehghani:

I think I have a personality that's likes to test the boundaries of things. And whether I was in school or not in school, I would have had the same personality. But, my childhood friend, Mitch, I think he's also a huge part of who I am today because He was such a risk taker. So we did things that no one else, like we did crazy stuff growing up. And I think that, that, translated to my business life for sure.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. Cause I wonder, and it's hard to know when you didn't do it that way, but I think you're right that people just are their their personality. I think it just carries over into whatever they're going to do. For sure. So talk about one thing that your family has done, just I don't know how conscious it's been. I know that you've just been like, When it's, when it's winter time, I want to find a place to surf. And so the kids have traveled quite a bit. How deliberate was it just Hey, we want to travel and school? Or was it more like just a lifestyle thing? And then schooling was like a by product of that.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, like we, I think naturally I enjoyed traveling before I was married. Before we had kids, we enjoyed traveling and we got into a routine of doing that. And it fits in really well with my job because my work is seasonal. So it became a family tradition, but every winter we go somewhere different and travel. And one of the benefits of homeschooling is you can do that. And it's fun to travel when all the other kids are in school, like even if you're going skiing or going to the mountains. Or going to, somewhere like Mexico or Hawaii, it's just quiet. There's no kids anywhere. So you can just, you go to a museum. Wherever you're going, you're the only ones there. I know, I love that. Because all the kids are in school. I yeah, and we never go skiing on like a Saturday. Like it's, we can go on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah,

Eli Dehghani:

When the chair lives empty,

Timmy Eaton:

What what things have like the kids learned? We always talk about when we talk about your kids, like their eyes aren't wide open when they go through an airport. They like know the way it works. And even your littlest kids know how to do that. There are other things that you've noticed that they just have picked up from traveling so much.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah. Like it's fun going to different cultures I remember when I was a kid and the first time I saw someone from different nationality, I was like, whoa, I've never seen something like that or heard the accent or whatever. And and our kids aren't like that. They interact with all kinds of kids from all different places. And they're just like super comfortable and they don't even notice the difference.

Timmy Eaton:

What are some places you've been to?

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, we went to Dubai and England and Paris. We've been to Tahiti a few times Hawaii a lot. And then we one fun trip we did was in the motorhome where we traveled the entire United States. They call it the smiley face. We went down the West Coast, along the border, Texas. I don't know, it was Jen's family in Georgia for a while, then went to Florida, and then back up the East Coast.

Timmy Eaton:

one thing people ask is they just say what do they do for school while they're there?

Eli Dehghani:

So our routine here, like we're in Hawaii for the next for two months. And the routine is on Monday through Thursday. The kids get up hopefully decently early, maybe seven, seven 30. Make breakfast, do our chores, and then we get into school and if they all focus and we can be done by noon.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

So at noon school's done. And then we have the rest of the day to go to the beach or do something fun, play some pickleball or tennis or whatever.

Timmy Eaton:

We're so used to saying we do school to this hour and then we go do this other things. But the fact is, you're learning the whole time. And the kids are going to these places, they know how to navigate. You go check in here and then you play this sport and then they go get something to eat. The whole thing is an educational experience. And then your kids have Yodos, I know, and they're learning. They're listening to stuff. Like it's learning all day. And that's what I love about homeschooling.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah. Yeah. The Yodos are 24 7. They'll have their own Yodos and just consuming books 24 7. It's fun. Like they've been doing they've been doing surf lessons and we hired these like local kids. One of them was super interesting. His mom is from here and I was like, Hey shouldn't you be in school? He looks like he's high school age.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

He's yeah, I don't go to school. I'm like, oh, you're homeschooled. He's actually, I don't go to school at all. Period. I was like, okay. It was funny. I'm like, what do you do? He's I just surf. I'm going to be a pro surfer. I just surf every day. So I spend the winters in Hawaii and then I go to Hawaii. my mom takes me to Indonesia and I surf there in the summer, and I'm self serving. So he doesn't do any school. And I was looking at him, I'm like, this kid's 16, super well spoken super happy, living a great life, doing what he loves. Where's he from? And Hawaii.

Timmy Eaton:

Oh, I thought he just does it in the winter here.

Eli Dehghani:

No, like Hawaii is his home, but they travel. Oh, no way. They travel in the summer. Is he an only child

Timmy Eaton:

or something?

Eli Dehghani:

I don't think so. I didn't get into that but just, I kinda, it got me thinking like, man, do you even cause we're pretty rigid about okay, this is a curriculum, we have to get this done,

Timmy Eaton:

huh.

Eli Dehghani:

Like we still want to check off some boxes. And he took it to the whole next level being like, we don't even do school. It got me thinking being like, cause he was such a great kid and he was so socialized with our kids, like so good with them and. Lots of these kids that public school kids, like they can't have conversations with people and they don't, they're not like, if you're not their age, they can't connect with you at all.

Timmy Eaton:

I always see it here where I, cause I teach and I see it with the kids. They function safely in this little world, but man, if you put them in where I grew up or other places, I know that they would have a hard time fitting in or transitioning. That's just the reality. So what was he doing? Was he teaching them lessons or? Yeah, he does surf lessons. And did you introduce that idea to him or did he already do that?

Eli Dehghani:

Oh no, he has a job. Yeah. Like he, he has a job.

Timmy Eaton:

Oh,

Eli Dehghani:

he thinks people how to surf. Is he good? Yeah. He's he was, there's a surf contest happening here called anyway, he was surfing Pipeline. He got like eighth place in a huge competition with like pro surfers. That's so crazy

Timmy Eaton:

that he's just no, that's what I'm going to do. Like I'm going to be a pro surfer.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah. And even if it doesn't end up being a pro surfer, I have no doubt he'll be successful doing whatever he wants.

Timmy Eaton:

I know.

Eli Dehghani:

Starting a business. Being a trades person, like whatever.

Timmy Eaton:

What tells you that about him?

Eli Dehghani:

Just the way he carries himself. He's confident, he's happy, he's sociable. Yeah, it was,

Timmy Eaton:

you said he's well spoken,

Eli Dehghani:

well spoken. Yeah. It honestly made me think man, maybe we're being too rigid. And we just got to dial it back even more.

Timmy Eaton:

I know, it's a hard thing because a kid has to actually have that deep interest. Like that kid has that interest. And the question would be, where did it come from? And so what fosters, what does like, there's like the openness totally foster that, I liked that you brought that kid up because what a good example of like, when there's freedom and flexibility, people go into what they actually like and don't waste time on other stuff.

Eli Dehghani:

I'm sure he has a routine still, like I'm sure he's productive and has routine. And his mom was some sort of entrepreneur with like multi level marketing. And I had the sense that he was involved with his own business as well. Yeah, so he's like apprenticing an entrepreneur and doing surf coaching. Yeah, it's a good education though.

Timmy Eaton:

It is. And he's only 16, right?

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah. Yeah,

Timmy Eaton:

he's

Eli Dehghani:

young.

Timmy Eaton:

So maybe we can bring this up now because I feel like your experience in school, even what Jen's said, and then comparing that to what your kids have done, what you guys have seen with homeschool and we're both in the Alberta context. When you think of like how school was when you were in school and what you've observed now what have you seen? Since the time we were like in high school and grade school, what's happening in schools?

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah. I have a lot of friends that have kids in public schools. One friend just pulled this kid out of public school and went from like a private school. Cause just some of the things that they're being taught there. Yeah. In Edmonton, especially there's a pretty strong ideology. Certain narratives and ideology being pushed by the educators that some people don't agree with the values of the teachers might not align with the values of a lot of the parents and kids. Lots of parents don't feel comfortable having their kids in that sort of environment where teachers have an agenda to, to try to like, mold them and help them think a certain way, right? It'd be nice if education in Edmonton and Alberta was just purely about helping them learn specific subjects.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

And keeping it, keeping politics out of it, keeping ideology out of it.

Timmy Eaton:

I know. And everyone carries biases and will teach that. But like when you're doing that deliberately, like when there is an agenda that's where it's got to be given back to the parents. I had a guy on a while ago and I've met him in person several times, but basically he's pushing hard for school choice and that's happening in the States as well. And so I think there are steps being taken and obviously. Homeschooling is growing everywhere. So do you ever see you guys putting your kids in school or what, if they're like, Hey, I really want to do high school in the schools have you guys talked about that?

Eli Dehghani:

There was a homeschool family that moved that was from BC and just moved to our city and they, they came to our church. I met them and they have a 16 year old or 17 year old daughter who is in grade 12 now, and they had homeschooled for most of like growing up. They mostly homeschooled. And when she came to Edmonton, she decided that she wanted to go to public school. So she did her grade 12 in public school. And I talked to her a few weeks ago and said, Hey, how's it been? And she said that super different, but that she's enjoying it. It's been a good experience.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

And she recommended that. Yeah. If there was ever one year, she said that she wouldn't want to do more than one year. She said, Hey, like I recommend it maybe one year just so kids can have that experience. And she said that if she recommended a year to do it, it'd be like grade 10 or

Timmy Eaton:

11.

Eli Dehghani:

Not so much grade 12, because in grade 12 she's a lot of the, she felt like a lot of the people already had like long term relationships that already have like their bros but still she has enjoyed it.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, and I would think about it. If our kids wanted to, I think I'd be fine giving them a chance to go, maybe for a semester. I wish there was hybrid, like when I was in high school they pretty interesting classes for like welding and shop class and stuff like that. They do have that.

Timmy Eaton:

They have that. Okay. Yeah. You can do hybrid stuff. Or I know tons of kids that take a one course at the high school or they can sign up through the alternate school or whatever it is. In your area and then they can take like a class depending on the school, I guess they have to work with the principal and the administration,

Eli Dehghani:

when is hybrid start like junior high or is it more high school,

Timmy Eaton:

You know what I have found is that unless the school has been through it, they don't even know that and you introduce it and then they have to find out what the policies are. But I think you can do it at any level. Parents have the primary responsibility for the education of their kids, and schools exist to work with the parents on that. And but a lot of schools don't realize, because they've felt like an authority for so long, they don't realize sometimes. We had to teach the schools here where we live. About how homeschools can participate in sports and stuff like that. They didn't know that. Now we kind of regret having done that, to be honest but but that's the reality of it. So until the questions are brought up. School principals and administrators aren't really talking about that stuff until it comes up and they go, Oh, what do we do about this? And then they create something. So if one of your kids was like, Hey, I want to do welding, either the school's already ready to go. Sure. You can take a welding class, especially because funding follows the kids. So they're interested in the funding. So they get certain amount of money per kid, so they might have requirements. They say you have to take two classes so that it's viable for funding and stuff like that, but.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah that'd be easy. Looking back at it, it'd be fun to maybe Tuesday, Thursdays, go to public school, do gym class, shop class, drama class, those sort of things. That'd be great. So we'd be open to our kids getting involved in that way.

Timmy Eaton:

There's a whole mix of things you could do. My thing is having had several kids now go through the secondary school, like high school years, not all of our kids have the same interest, but I'm more like it, it proves to be an interruption when you can outsource I don't know why you would do it at the school. There's online stuff. If you're doing welding, ask a guy in Edmonton To show them welding on Saturdays or something like that. Or co ops, a lot of times they'll ask an engineer to come to the co op and he'll teach a class for them. And so sometimes the school's awesome. Cause there's like a killer teacher but what parents are mostly doing now is they're locating the person who's best. Like for example, how we do piano at the university, Sarah finds the best person to teach harp or piano or cello. And then we just outsource that way instead of cause the school, what it introduces, it depends on people's worldview, but it introduces this like potential negative socialization but everyone's going to navigate that on their own. And some people like that exposure. So they get some more of that into their lives, but I don't know, we haven't found that totally positive, but

Eli Dehghani:

Our kids are young, like we're not at that stage yet. Our oldest is 13. But I thought it'd be fun for the kids to go to school to hang out with other kids. So obviously I could for sure find a local, an example of welding class or something. I could for sure find a, like someone privately to teach them. And they'd probably learn a lot more that way because they do one on one, all that kind of stuff. Or an example of gym class, like I could, get them in Taekwondo or baseball coach, indoor, indoor baseball coaching and so they can learn way more outside of school, that's for sure. But there'd be no kid interaction. So do you feel your opinion, you don't even want your kids interacting with public school kids? You feel like it has a negative influence on them?

Timmy Eaton:

And that, when that question comes up what I always think, and then I want to hear what you think, but as if homeschool kids are like, totally in their homes, maybe there's examples of that, but in their home, never like you're doing right now you're in Hawaii, your kids are going out, and yeah, They're not doing it in the cultural setting of a school, which is awesome. And that's like why we don't do it, but and so the idea that they need to be in a school to accomplish that type of like friendship exposure, they can join a team, they can be in a class. It doesn't have to be through the school. And then to be honest, our, like all our kids have played school sports. And I would honestly say that we've probably seen more. Negative effects than positive effects from that. Definitely Sarah would say that. And so each family is going to look at that differently. And I honestly, everyone has a different experience, so you can't impose it. But to me, the principle would be like what are we after? Are you, after just making sure that your kids have friends or is it like having a bit of a school experience so they know what that's like? What is the principle for me? It's like they get tons of socialization at church at. Activities at through sports, through music, it doesn't have to be in a school. And that's why I don't want the school anyway, cause I found it mostly unhealthy.

Eli Dehghani:

I know this is supposed to be a podcast and you're asking me the questions, but it's

Timmy Eaton:

Fun. I like it.

Eli Dehghani:

Okay. Like what sort of negative effects to public school kids have on, on, our kids.

Timmy Eaton:

Have you heard of the book Hold On To Your Kids?

Eli Dehghani:

I have. I think even Jen might have read it.

Timmy Eaton:

the concept is that peers are raising peers. And peers don't raise each other effectively. And it's not like fully that they're raising them, but when you think about how much time a kid spends in school, their exposure is to their peers, then you add social media and phones. And the way that most parents are navigating that kids are getting phones and stuff like that earlier and earlier. So it is so compelling to kids to have access when you ask kids, Sure. There's lots of kids that pursue academics in school. Are there some, but the majority are going to be with friends. And if you ask kids, do you like school? And I know some of it's hyperbole, but there'll be like, I hate school. I hate school. They all say that, right? Some mean it, some are just saying it to be cool or whatever but. They constantly want friends and it's different from you and me, man. We didn't have a cell phone in our pockets. You can be connected to your friends. All day long, so when they're at school, like if they're coming to a classroom, they'll sit down, or like on the bus, like on the bus to Saskatchewan, Jacob just went to Saskatchewan, he's there now. On the bus there, kids are all on their phones, there's a few exceptions to that, but they're all on their phones, a lot of times they're playing the same game with each other, and then all of a sudden after a half an hour of silence, The bus will erupt in laughter and somebody will be like, ha, he made that move or whatever. I don't even know what they're doing. And and that's how they socialize today. But the idea is that you're connected constantly. Your music is constantly connected. It's just I'm not saying they're in the world, right? You can't remove them from that. But the quicker they get to that, the less of childhood they have. And I think the less prepared they are to be healthy mentally. Why is anxiety, depression, turning to drugs, alcohol, increasing constantly? Pornography, obviously. It's because, dude, they got that in their pocket. Could you imagine having that in your pocket when you were in high school? Yeah, it's wild. Let's say your 13 year old goes to school when she's 14 or 15, you're watching kids, and when you're the only kid that doesn't have a device, because your parents have some boundaries for that, good luck with that, man, good luck every kid you're on the outside the kid's on the out, and then the parent, Is now you're thrown into that world where you are going to have your kid. Why won't

Eli Dehghani:

you give me a phone? Oh,

Timmy Eaton:

good luck, man. And we've experienced it. And I think a lot of parents have. And that's the reality of parenting today.

Eli Dehghani:

So in our experience, like we're for sure benefiting from that. Like I look at our oldest who's 13. And like she, she's like in between. Sometimes she hangs with the adults and we'll have, conversations and enjoys that. And then say you're at a park setting, our example's the beach, we're at the beach, some friends are visiting with us, we're just hanging out, having a good time. And she'll hang out with the adults and just enjoy that, right?

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

And then sometimes she's playing with the little kids running around and full on playing. Yeah. And she's 13, and other 13 year olds do not do that. And I love seeing that. I know at some point it's going to end but the fact that we've been able to have her be. Like free and be able to play like that this long is something I'm super proud of.

Timmy Eaton:

It has to be a good thing for her. I think the fruit of that is so underestimated. I'm saying the fruit of that in the rest of her life. Cause think about it, the next four years are fast, but there's so much that can happen in the next four years. Like these are crazy important years. So anyway, I don't know. I, again, each family will take what we just talked about in their own way. But for me I'm getting more bold and I'm saying, I don't see the purpose of school. I just don't even see the purpose of it. I think the schools, I don't even think they need to exist. I think they're archaic and I don't think the positives even come close to outweighing the negatives and I just don't want my kids in it at all. Even though we have totally got them involved in sports. And so when I hear people, I, it's not like I'm trying to dissuade them. But I just wonder if people have considered it all the way through. I would just say, know what you're actually getting into. Because, yeah, you're not going to try to hide your kids from the world. They're in it. Because guess what? When you graduate, nobody cares about high school. Nobody cares how popular you were or what you did on the weekend. You're now you're onto stuff and it's like, can you make money? Can you get work? Can you form relationships and make them last? Are you mentally healthy? Who cares what you did in high school? Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, you're, I think you're right. With the internet and with AI and just all of the knowledge available to anyone at any time, I do think schools have become outdated, like we can teach our kids so much more effectively, so much deeper outside of school. So learning wise, they're far better off in a homeschool environment. And then, so then what's the benefit of public school, socializing? But again what you're bringing up, we're probably better off to put them in situations where they're interacting with, other groups of homeschool kids or sports teams things outside of school. Music yeah, so if the learning is better outside of school, and the socializing is better outside of school Um, yeah. I wonder why we, what's the problem anymore, Maybe they're just basically become like babysitting services.'cause to live in well, for a lot and it still in Canada, both parents have to work,

Timmy Eaton:

yeah. And the vast majority of kids are in school still. But that's changing pretty rapidly. There's almost, some estimates are four to 5 million in the US now. It's A significant percentage of kids that are being homeschooled and same thing in Canada. There's at least a hundred thousand homeschoolers in Canada, so it's increasing. Anyway, again, I don't, I, to each his own on that, but I just do not see the point. And when one thing I've realized is when people say socialization, what they really mean, if you dig into that for a lot of people, what they mean is fitting in. To the proximate location. So like in Cardston, you can be like a cowboy and whatever. And that's like acceptable. If you're doing that in Chicago and you're wearing boots, you have like four friends that's just how it is. And that's lame. I'm just saying. And so all it means is can you take the social cues to fit in and I don't know if that's what parents are wanting for their kids, ultimately. I mean, They do. That's the thing. A lot of parents do but I'd rather my kids do what they think is right and lead. And that's hard. It's compelling. And it's a lot harder when they're with peers all the time, you pick up on the cues quick, what's acceptable. Homeschoolers are coming to class. Like the ones I teach and they're comfortable answering questions, but they learn quickly how many you're allowed to ask before it's uncool. Or how many questions you're allowed to answer and you're not allowed to know too much, cause that'll make you look a little too smart. And anyway, I don't know.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, it's interesting you bring it up cause, as Isabel gets older, we're wondering you're going to public school, you're socializing every day, all day, people everywhere.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah, especially with a phone.

Eli Dehghani:

So she's being exposed to way less people, and there, I would say there is less socializing than a public school person for sure. She's not eight hours a day with other kids. And I've been worried about it because I was so social when I was young. And my wife, Jennifer, she's just not worried about it at all. She's they're not missing out on anything that's going to be good for them. And so we've been like

Timmy Eaton:

back and forth,

Eli Dehghani:

She's confident about her position and I've been just I just don't know. Yeah. And talking to you, it makes me feel better that

Timmy Eaton:

but formulate your questions. That's what I would say. Like, when I think of it very common sense way, I go, her parents are Eli and Jen. Like, apples come from trees, and that's probably the most clear observation I can make from kids. And when kids are socially awkward about some things, most of the times, I'm glad they are. Like I'm saying homeschool kids in most situations. I'm glad they are because it's almost like a protection and it's like a I don't know they're not suffering the same mental torture that kids do because they're trying to fit in all the time. And so I'm like way more comfortable that, but at this point, I have no hesitation telling parents, like they come from you you think they're hearing more superior humor at school than what you are exposing your kids to like, give me a break. There's no way. I don't know I just, I have zero, zero worries. And what you care about is how are they going to function. And adulthood, not in high school, like that's not the ultimate goal. It's like how they function on their own. That's right.

Eli Dehghani:

But yeah, that's true. Yeah. We, we expose them to so many good people like Jen and I, obviously as adults for surrounding ourselves with people that make us better and uplift us and we enjoy being with and and they're all successful, good people. Yeah, so they're they're learning a lot from yeah all their cues and modeling are from successful. Socialized people.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. You think about the family as the function, the family as like the laboratory of the, of society. Like the family really is where it was always learned. I just had this last interview, but this lady was talking about Horace Mann and how he's the one who is the father of public education and all his stuff has happened and it's all crappy now. Like it's just crappy and everybody sees it. And that's why so many people are changing.

Eli Dehghani:

It'd be interesting if someone, like a huge leader just rose up and just blew the whole thing up. They're trying to, isn't working anymore.

Timmy Eaton:

I think they're trying to, you and I were talking where? In states

Eli Dehghani:

or right here?

Timmy Eaton:

Oh, I all who don't have a, a certain agenda are trying to, definitely sue for. School choice and putting parents back in charge and not answering to the schools. That's happening everywhere. And right now in the United States, they're trying to destroy the Department of Education. Like they're getting rid of it.

Eli Dehghani:

They're going to move it from federal level to states. I had a question about the whole idea of like how parents want to keep their kids innocent. Like, how is that good for kids? What is that? How does it affect kids when they're super young? I remember when I was super young, like probably in grade six, seven, I got exposed to some pretty, pretty bad stuff.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

And I wonder how that affected me. And I wonder how I'd be different if that didn't happen. What do you think the benefits of keeping kids innocent is?

Timmy Eaton:

I guess they

Eli Dehghani:

have the rest of their lives, they're going to be exposed to the opposite and they'll have some sort of like reference point of Hey, that's not right. This is how I should feel and this is what is right. And and yeah, keeping them, I guess pure and good prepares them to know the opposite when they're older.

Timmy Eaton:

I have a thought and I hope the analogy works when I respond to it. But before I do that, when you say innocent, what do you mean by that? Cause that's important. I think cause a lot of people will throw out words and that's one of the big ones like sheltered, innocent you know, no, not exposed, that kind of thing in

Eli Dehghani:

a negative way. Yeah. In a negative way. They're sheltered.

Timmy Eaton:

Some might think that way, but either way, negative or positive, what is, what does innocent mean? And what does sheltered mean?

Eli Dehghani:

Like to me, the example I'll give is like my kids, like hardly even knew most swear words and like when they would see someone be mean to someone that they didn't even understand like what, who would like they don't see people being mean, right? If they were in public school, they'd see some stuff, right? Kids can be mean.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

Kids can pick on people, bully them, beat them up say super hurtful things. So my kids haven't really been exposed to anything like that either.

Timmy Eaton:

What about just with each other?

Eli Dehghani:

No, because we don't allow it. We from day one, if something's not right we squashed it. And by now, it just doesn't happen. Obviously, they're not perfect, but we're not mean, the sort of things I saw growing up that they haven't been exposed to. So those are the examples I would give of

Timmy Eaton:

what I mean by innocent. But one of the things that like, I know you, you have a mischief side of you still, your kids see that and they see Jenny, Jenny loves to get under people's skin. I know it's not mean, I'm just saying they, it's not like they haven't been exposed to that type of thing or something.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah they can goof around and tease. And whatever, yeah, but it's not like crossing lines of crushing kids names

Timmy Eaton:

And swearing at them and threatening them in a text and that kind of

Eli Dehghani:

Picking out obvious, insecurities for them and making fun of it, like that's not the kind of humor that's going around.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah, so I think I get what you mean with like innocent. Uh, I, I had several interviews on this podcast where they said, I like to meet the world with my kids. So the idea is. When they are exposed to those things, whether it's in movies or in reality, like when you're in Hawaii, you're walking around, they're seeing kids do stuff, they're watching stuff. They're watching people, experiment with life and you talk about it, you're meeting the world together and some would say yeah, that's how you're imposing your worldview and you're not really allowing them to. Think for themselves and learn how to think. And I just don't agree with that. I don't know enough about gardening, but When you're trying to transplant something and take it from one place to another, there's a timing to that. I would assume you have to do it at the right time, so like basically as parents, yes, we want our kids to expose to things. But if you do that prematurely, all you're doing is killing the plant.

Eli Dehghani:

So like, with planting a tree or harvesting a tree, so say you have a tree on a tree farm and you want to to transplant it to a project, there's the best time to do it is when the tree's dormant. So like spring and fall. Yeah. But during the growing season, like in the summertime, when it's growing and it's hot out, that's the worst time to do it. You can still move it, but it increases the chances of the tree or plant not surviving. So yeah, there's an ideal time. The transplant for sure.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. And that's

Eli Dehghani:

your, you use that analogy for kids.

Timmy Eaton:

Analogies aren't meant to connect in everything. But one principle of analogy can work. And so what you just said to me verifies it for me and it's gonna be different. So for example, some are like you got to throw them to it because if they don't learn, then they're not going to know how to adjust and communicate when they are on their own. And I'm sure there's some truth to that and some things, but to me, the principle would be, I'm trying to build and strengthen a foundation in a kid that when they are on their own. It's like saying, teach them when they're young. And when they're old, they won't turn from it. And it's not manipulation. It's not brainwashing. It's like teaching them principles, helping them learn how to navigate it, meet the world with them. Then they're actually prepared because what do we watch? Is it normal socialization or normal relationship interaction? When they see a kid rip on a girl because she looks a certain way at school and then, and like the best way to handle that is for somebody to stand up to it. And yeah, so maybe that's good because they get that exposure, but more times than not, it's just damaging kids. Like it's not helpful.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, I think the opposite of our definition of innocent. The kids that maybe grew up being exposed to a lot of bad things they're confused the line of right and wrong is blurred like it's great Yeah, and they might want to is this normal? Is that not normal? Is this good this bad and then you mix all the different ideas They're out there now with social media and yeah kids might be just so confused

Timmy Eaton:

Look at what's going on we got to the point where common sense was thrown out. When the family disintegrates and you're not taught these these simple principles, then you're on rocky ground. And people are like this is the world we live in. You got to get them exposed to it. It's like you get exposed to that enough. So meet that with your parents and get them to the point where you, and it might be a different ages for different kids, but and I'm not saying like the schools are that scary or something like that. But in some cases, I'm sure it is.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, I wonder if we're passing through like a period of time that history might look back and say, yeah, were lost, and some lines were crossed. A lot of the changes that are happening in the U. S. with education are positive. Maybe Canada follows.

Timmy Eaton:

So we've talked about travel. We've talked about like your guys unique experiences as a family. What are some things that you and Jen definitely want your kids to learn and be prepared about, as they get older? What are some topics that especially that homeschool affords because you're not stuck to a curriculum. You can teach whatever you guys value. So what are some things that come to mind?

Eli Dehghani:

Our kids grew up in an environment where we had a lot of freedom as a family. Being an entrepreneur, being able to do what we want to do, when we want to do it, and go places, and do things,

Timmy Eaton:

and

Eli Dehghani:

just have a lot of freedom, and I would love for my kids to follow, and I think that they're accustomed to that lifestyle, and I know that they enjoy it, so I hope that they can have the same sort of, business and entrepreneurial understanding, so they can have the same sort of freedoms that we've had as a family. So like they're young and when you're in public school, maybe it's changed now, but for sure, when I was in school, there was no life skills, like how to do a budget, how to get a job, how to keep a job, what's important to an employer, how to start a business, how to be self reliant. Think those are things that we want to focus on, and we know our kids so well, and I can already see that some of them like Max, He's so good at numbers and math like it's so good. So natural. And his personality and everything's focused to where I could see him being a really good finance guy like, going into accounting and hopefully being able to maybe be a controller or CFO or an investor And things like that. So we'd want to foster that by getting him good teachers. And

Timmy Eaton:

One thing I was wondering, I wanted to ask you with that is what's more important, just the exposure, your kids don't know any different because they see you operate and they see how your family has operated. The comparison I get is a kid that grows up with a dad, who's a doctor. It's probably more likely to become a professional like that than somebody who doesn't, not always, but I don't know if that's statistically accurate, but it just takes the mystery away. It's that's my dad and he's a doctor. When you were talking about jobs for Max, you were going CFO. I mean, Those are all like high earning. Controller. You know what I'm saying? That's just a different level of thinking. And do you think that you have to be deliberate about, okay, here's how you do a budget and here's how you control banking. And here's how a mortgage works. And here's how you run a company. Or is it like you just let them learn and read I guess what I'm asking is how, what's the line between deliberate and then just like natural?

Eli Dehghani:

Max will be like, I'll be working on email. He's reading it. I've bought businesses and sold businesses and he'll ask questions like why interested in, and why are you doing that? And what kind of business is it? He asks good questions. So that the idea for him would be like, yeah, get him involved with learning how the stock market works, get him involved in reading financial statements of businesses. To understand the balance sheet, the p and l sales revenue. Yeah. Like help, help him understand how a business works. Yeah. And then I could expose'em to we have a controller and an accounting department that he could like, spend time at work come to work with me a few days a week and spend time at that office. And they would like, they would love to teach'em.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

Love to help'em out. Like it'd be a good experience for'em. Even our external accounting guys, if I said, Hey, can my son come by? You can tell us what it's like to be an accountant and what your career has been like. And I think you learn that way, right? And that's a really great education. Imagine being in public school and having a a partner in an accounting firm come by and tell you all about it.

Timmy Eaton:

That's why a university is interesting. Cause it's like, go to the guy who teaches about business or go to the guy who has a business.

Eli Dehghani:

And like Henry, he's super mechanical and we have a heavy duty mechanic or a few mechanics at work. And yeah, I want to get them a toolbox and have them get involved like working in the shop and learning how to fix trucks and equipment and stuff. Yeah. So those are the sort of things I want to expose them to as part of their education. They're still young, so it's been a little bit early, but Isabel is starting to get to that stage where we're going to, like the first business that we've been working on for a while is this vending machine business where the coffee vending machine, and she's been researching which one to buy and where we're going to put it. And we're going to put it at work

Timmy Eaton:

I don't know how much you were tutored in business. You just got a Bobcat and started and then you just learned. Yeah. So the kids need to have a business. Sarah has done that. She's tried so hard and some of our kids have done some things. Giving them so many ideas, and it's hard like when you've done that so much and the kids just don't bite on it because they're distracted by other things. Like I said, school sports is a huge part of that, but go get a job that just pays you or, learn how to do a business and then get that experience behind you and you could do both, but

Eli Dehghani:

It doesn't have to be into too much depth either, like maybe just exposing them to it is enough, right?

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. It doesn't mean if they're lifetime business that, forever, but just some experience with it.

Eli Dehghani:

Takes a lot of effort to really get a business going. If you just started an online business or something, it takes so much effort.

Timmy Eaton:

It does, but there are simple things. Like for example, when we lived in Edmonton, Jane learned how to face paint. Dude, she made 80 to 120 bucks an hour as a 14-year-old in we're talking what, 2016? 2017. She

Eli Dehghani:

had a lot of gigs. Jen was impressed by that. And whenever we talked to your kids'cause Charlie was teaching piano at a high level. And he was getting paid a pretty good bucks for that too. And like your kids, they wouldn't work for 20 bucks an hour, they were like 16. It's 20 bucks! I need 80 bucks. I need 50 bucks. Yeah,

Timmy Eaton:

that's what I'm saying. And what I was trying to use with that example, and I don't know how many examples there are like this. It's what are kids willing to do? And you never know which kid is going to be like, I want to do that. There are kids in the schools that are kept back from doing that because they're in school. Like this kid with this surf business. That's so awesome that he knows what he's going to do and he's not wasting his time on other stuff. And he's getting enough learning from that. That it's going to fuel him, but like the face painting thing was very simple. It's like you put out a little flyer, you put it on like any kind of buy and sell and especially in big places like Edmonton, that

Eli Dehghani:

business probably could have continued the face painting business.

Timmy Eaton:

Oh, definitely. The reason I said that it's cause you said that it might be too involved, you're not that focused on earning as much as you are learning what you have to consider in a business so that it's not such a mystery and 21.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah. So I would love to find a basic business like that, that my kids could do, like from starting, make it a website, come up with prices.

Timmy Eaton:

I'm with you. I think that a part of their learning has to involve how are they going to do it in the world we live in?

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah. So in school you learn about like when the university learned about business, but imagine actually doing business like, Hey, When I was in junior high, I started a face painting business.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

This is how it went. Yeah, what a great experience.

Timmy Eaton:

And you know how to do it. And you deal with people. So that, that ties into I just have two questions left and then we can wrap up. But when you're looking to life after homeschool, kids are 18 or 19, whatever, they're going out on their own. What do you see for them and what do you want them to pursue? Depending on what they're going to do, unless they really need a certification or become a doctor, lawyer, that kind of thing. Like university is an extension of public school in a lot of ways, and it's way expensive. So what have you guys talked about? The other side of that though, is like you can network, it's a centralized. localized place where it's really concentrated and you can network, you can have a ton of fun with your peers and find, potential marriage partners, that kind of thing. So what do you guys think about with that?

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, I don't think if I think it'd be a good thing for our kids. And at this stage, they're obviously young, but at this stage we want them to go. We'd encourage that. Um, Just cause like, you know, to go right into the business world uh, when you're 19, 20. I guess you're so young still, right? So there's, I think it'd be good to take some time to, to go to university.

Timmy Eaton:

So more about learning or more about relationships?

Eli Dehghani:

Using Max again as an example, if he wants to pursue accounting or finance or whatever, and he enjoys working with numbers and that sort of thing. It'd be good for him to go to school and get a degree in that. And while he's doing that, he could be socializing and having a good time at university and all that stuff. I think I'd be in favor of university. I'd be in favor of traveling. If they wanted to take some time off, do some serious world traveling, that'd be cool too. And if they already know what they want to do then I'd be good with them not going. Jen's always talked about she doesn't care about the kids going to university. If they wanted to, she'd support it. If they don't, then for sure it's not necessary for their success.

Timmy Eaton:

Cool. Yeah, more and more. That's how I'm feeling. I really am. And I think before I would say that, but not with a lot of confidence. And now I say that with a lot more confidence. Again, especially the day we live in, they can learn a ton. And there's so many online. Like just Jordan Peterson's University alone is a good one. Yeah,

Eli Dehghani:

exactly. Yeah. And you look at I know I've heard Elon Musk talk about it. A lot of really successful people just saying how it's so unnecessary now. Yeah. You can tune in to any university now and just take any course you want. You look at the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and you look what's happening with all the waste and fraud and abuse and government. Like it's probably a really good thing to shake it up. It's it's so natural, like even in, in say a forest, they get overgrown. Like it's part of the cycle to have these like big fires that kind of cleanse the forest and get new growth. So for sure. I think it's a great thing. Like how many stories have you seen in the news where like kids come home and tell their parents what they're learning and the parents are like outraged.

Timmy Eaton:

It's

Eli Dehghani:

unbelievable, right?

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

And for sure it hasn't been very transparent. Parents have become leery about, hey, what are the kids learning? What are you teaching my kids?

Timmy Eaton:

I just listened to something today that said way more influential is parent involvement versus parent knowledge. It was Sam Sorbo, it's a lady that I've interviewed here, but she was saying that people are always critical saying, hey, so what, do you have a teaching degree, and how much do you know about science and math and all the stuff and the statistics show overwhelmingly that it's parent involvement that matters, not parent knowledge.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, we've had people ask us those questions being like what do you know about science? How are you going to teach science? How are you going to teach physics? What do you guys know about that? Is Jen a teacher? Is she your background? But you're right we're humans. We can learn on our own, right? We don't need someone with a piece of paper that says they can teach. It is fun to watch my kids. Like Henry, when he's doing math, like he, he has to figure it out. We have a curriculum is going through, but when there's a question he can't answer he has to like. Figure it out. And he'll he knows how to learn, okay, I, I don't know how to answer this equation and instead of asking for help or what's the answer he has learned to, to figure out the answer on his own.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

To learn.

Timmy Eaton:

And they actually form their own little strategies of doing it. I remember Ezra the way that he went about like if you had to put 78 plus 32 or something like that, he had his own way of like how he was going to figure that out without anyone telling him. And I love that because I was like, his little brain was thinking through that and he liked that, he was rounding up to tens and then taking away things. It was an interesting way and it seemed harder to me. But it was like working for him. And I just liked that he was formulating that himself.

Eli Dehghani:

And even if it's not the most effective way, but it still gets to the right end answer took a little longer. He's still problem solved, right?

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah,

Eli Dehghani:

exactly. And that's a good thing.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. We can do a whole thing on problem solving. That is what is conspicuously missing from my adult life is I was such a school kid. And it's good to be obedient by nature, but it was like, so didn't ask the question that I literally am 40, almost 47. And I think I have to ask permission if Sar and I are going to go somewhere together. It's ridiculous. And and I'm not saying it's anyone's fault on my own self, but de schooling is a necessary thing for anybody, not just in homeschooling, but just society. We conform to what's what happens, but list the last question? What would you say to a family that's starting and they're overwhelmed and they're like, how do I do this? What have you guys said to families when people are asking you questions about it? Have you guys had that quite a bit?

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, of course. Everyone asks.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah,

Eli Dehghani:

everyone Like people overthink things. People think it's such a big decision. This is our kids future this is such a big decision and and It's not very common people are nervous about it. I would say I know that if someone tried it and did it, even for, say, a semester or a year, there's there's no way it'd be a negative experience. You're gonna spend more time with your kid, get to know them better, they'll learn way more one on one learning.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah,

Eli Dehghani:

come on. They're in classrooms with 35 kids. So it's going to be a positive experience and I would say try it. Do it. Awesome. Especially if your kids are struggling and having a hard time and like their, confidence is down and it's a negative experience for them. Why would you? The whole thing, to me, it just reminds me of jail. Look at a jail, it has a fence around it. Like, like, I'm serious. If you're like, pop into Gemini and say, please make the comparisons between a school and a jail. And there's like a million similarities. Yeah. The bell rings, recess. Same thing that happens in a jail, right? That's what I'm saying. Everything's

Timmy Eaton:

about permission and Facey, man, just look at the school. It looks like a prison.

Eli Dehghani:

It's a prison. They all look like prisons.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. Interesting, man.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, but I feel bad. Like the kids get up so early, they're up so early and they're on the bus and like with other kids all day. It's sad. Away from their brothers and sisters and family. Like it's just, to me, it's just so depressing.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Eli Dehghani:

So I definitely encourage people to try homeschooling.

Timmy Eaton:

Awesome.

Eli Dehghani:

They won't go back.

Timmy Eaton:

This has been Eli, my brother in law, everybody. Thanks for being with us, man.

Eli Dehghani:

Yeah, no problem.

Timmy Eaton:

That wraps up another edition of this golden hour podcast. If you haven't done so already, I would totally appreciate it. If you would take a minute and give us a review in Apple podcasts or Spotify, it helps out a lot. And if you've done that already, thank you much. Please consider sharing this show with friends and family members that you think would get something out of it. And thank you for listening and for your support. I'm your host, Tim Eaton. Until next time, remember to cherish this golden hour with your children and family.