There are plenty of times when you hear the odd person talk about how they went to school with someone who went on to become famous . But you don’t really hear about that kind of stuff when it comes to the kids of people who are already famous .
Unsurprisingly, most celeb kids have educations that differ from most of us everyday folk. In fact, like the kids of the celeb parents in this list, many end up being homeschooled.
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Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner.
Kris Jenner made the decision to pull her two youngest kids, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, out of traditional school in favor of homeschooling, because they were falling behind. The two had been missing a lot of school because of their careers .
Kris also said that traditional school wasn’t allowing them to be creative.
“The girls also weren’t able to fully be creative in the typical school setting, which kept them disinterested,” she said in a press release.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Like many other celebrities, the decision for the Smith couple to homeschool their kids, Jaden and Willow, was based partially on the pair’s busy work schedules, which saw them traveling quite a bit.
But they also didn’t love any of the alternatives.
In a 2005 interview , Jada said, “The school system in this country – public and private – is designed for the industrial age. We’re in a technological age. We don’t want our kids to memorize. We want them to learn.”
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
Back when Pitt and Jolie were raising their 6 children together, the pair felt that homeschooling was the best approach to the kids’ education, stating that traditional school was far from the best for their situation.
“I do think we live in a different age and the education system hasn’t caught up with our children and our way of life,” Jolie said.
“I’d rather them go to a museum and learn to play guitar and read and pick a book they love.”
Michael Jackson.
Before his death, Michael Jackson was very protective of his kids, and chose to homeschool them. His daughter, Paris, opened up to Bazaar about her experience as a homeschooled kid, which kept her away from most of the world.
“The first 12 years of my life I was homeschooled. Which means that the only interactions I’d ever had were with family members or other adults.”
She said she “didn’t have social skills. I had to force myself to learn so fast. For the past six years, I’ve been learning how to communicate. And I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”
Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise.
There was a time when Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ names were pretty much everywhere, and daughter Suri’s birth was as huge news as a royal baby. The then-couple was, understandably, very busy, which made homeschooling a good choice.
Holmes talked about how they loved Suri’s “one-on-one education.”
“I’m happy that my daughter is strong-willed and determined. You really have to go with what the child is wanting,” she said .
With each of the pair flying to different filming locations at the time, it made the most sense.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin.
When their kids were much younger, Paltrow and Martin wanted a private tutor to help teach them various subjects that you wouldn’t find in a conventional school, like Ancient Greek or Latin language classes.
They advertised for a tutor who could travel with the pair and their kids all over the world.
They moved toward private tutoring because in their eyes, the British school system “lacks traditional elements of classical thought and learning.”
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.
Unlike other celebrity children in this list, the twins shared by Jennifer Lopez and ex Marc Anthony do attend more traditional school settings. However, Lopez has admitted to pulling her kids out of school in favor of homeschool on occasion.
This is because of her busy work schedule, which takes her around the world.
“They are super happy, well-adjusted, loving, caring kids, and that’s the most important thing. We’ll get them educated – homeschool is great for them, when we have to do it,” she said .
James and Kimberly Van Der Beek
The couple wanted their five kids to have more freedom than what they believed school would allow. “I think way too much is put on kids. I look at school, to be honest with you, as a form of imprisonment, where they spend hours of their day being told what to care about and what to learn,” Kimberly said .
Kimberly Van Der Beek cites the Finnish school system as one of her inspirations.
She states that in Finland, “most kids are ready to start learning the alphabet at the age of seven yet we’re trying to get them to already be reading at the age of seven. I really took to the Finnish school system as an example of how I personally wanted to teach my kids.”
Mayim Bialik
Bialik, who has a PhD in neuroscience, felt that homeschooling her two sons was the best decision she could make for them. She’s opened up about the decision several times on her website, Grok Nation , as well as on YouTube.
For Bialik, the decision made sense because she could teach her kids the way she wanted them to be taught.
She cited several reasons, including allowing her sons to learn at their own pace, and being able to instill values in them.
Richard Williams
Coach and father to tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, Richard Williams decided that homeschooling his daughters would be the best move, because it would allow them to focus on tennis. He still put a priority on their education , though, and the two attended public high school.
It’s pretty clear that the move to homeschool the sisters was the right one here.
With both Williams sisters being some of the most accomplished professional tennis players of their time, that focus on tennis training in their youth really paid off.
