A Physics Analogy: Homeschooling as a Force in Motion

I, together with the volunteers behind the scenes, built the homeschooling movement in Hong Kong from the ground up. What you see today — the growing acceptance, the expanding community, the rising credibility — is the result of immense effort, much of it invisible to the public eye.

In physics, an object at rest requires a net external force to overcome static friction and begin moving. I and the volunteers were that initial force — pushing against societal inertia, outdated norms, and skepticism. Static friction is always greater than kinetic friction. That’s why the beginning was the hardest — we had to push with everything we had to get homeschooling moving. Now that the movement is in motion, it’s like a body sliding across a surface. It still faces kinetic friction, but it’s easier to keep going — as long as we all push in the same direction. If you join us and apply your energy in the same direction, you add to the net force — accelerating progress. If you resist, criticize without building, or pull in a different direction, you create friction — slowing the movement, or worse, stopping it. Moreover, each of us is a vector. When our directions align, our magnitudes combine. When we oppose each other, we cancel out.

So I invite you (all homeschool educators) — learn to see our effort, embrace gratitude, and join in force. Everything you see today is built on immense effort behind the scenes. Let’s be a team that adds momentum, not resistance. Let’s accelerate homeschooling forward — together.

Dr. Lai