I home-educate my four kids,AMA

[wiziliz]

Used to be a primary school teacher, now I home-educate my kids . Ages 12,8,6&3 (no special needs)Ask Me Anything.

Just looked up Ambleside - it looks very old fashioned?

I’m sure she did reference tutors at one point. And she does sound clever - how rude.

That's a lazy post - clearly we live in a world where children with special educational needs ARE disadvantaged. I don't want that to be the case but clearly that is the case and it would be disingenuous and dishonest to state anything else. So I would reluctantly accept the OP's choices if that were the case.

But it isn't the case. She's just playing at being teacher at home. Those children are being adversely impacted by her choices and it is a worry. It's not the case that I disapprove of her choices in the sense that I like my steak rare and she likes hers well done. Those children are absolutely and clearly being adversely impacted.

I’m not a home edder but I liked the look of bookshark as a basic curriculum (albeit a bit American). If it wasn’t so expensive I would have bought the books for Ds3 just to read (it’s his sort of thing).

Those are pearls I absolutely disagree with your assertions. For every way you've come up with that her children are being disadvantaged, I can assure you there are just as many ways children attending mainstream schools are being disadvantaged in return. You are awfully close minded and ignorant if you think school is the only route to a fulfilling education. I agree there are many home schoolers who are being failed just as there are many in school education suffering the same fate. Your children, from what you've said, are having a positive school experience. So are many home schoolers. Many employers seek out pupils who have been affective home schooled as they are proven to be independent thinkers, resourceful etc. Why do you have to be so flipping judgemental? Your posts are frankly horrible.

So if children with SN are disadvantaged then it’s even more important that their education is excellent.

FWIW I think home ed can be excellent and I think shool ed can be excellent (think both can be crap as well). Your posts sound rather like you think it’s fine for kids with SN to have any old education, but kids without it must attend school.

If kids with SN can be taught well at home, then so can kids without (& having both types of child - it’s a darn sight easier to provide an excellent home education for kids without SN - because it is far far easier to find resources they can access).

It was me Ivymaud - for pointing out that since the mid 80’s children with SN have also been entitled to an education (yes it was that late).

• effectively home schooled

Why would the law be different for those with SN? We’re not back in the 80’s when disabled kids weren’t entitled to an education

There are slightly different legal requirements around HE when one or more of the DC have SEN. These include requiring permission to remove them from a special school (though this cannot be unreasonably denied); and the requirement to inform the LA about your intention to HE if your DC has an EHC plan.

This is supposed to ensure that parents know what they are taking on and are prepared to do this and their DC to thrive, but in practice it doesn't always work out that way

Oh report away - note no posts have been deleted - I'm sticking firmly with the idea that the OP is disadvantaging her kids by home-educating.

You've already been provided with a list of subjects that the OP doesn't or cannot teach. You understand that the OP cannot effectively teach the subjects that she is professing to teach. You all get the socialisation point and the sports and music points.

You all clearly think that it's absolutely fine to limit kids in this way. They're your kids. Up to you. My kids are doing just fine :)

Yeah 1981 - until then some children were classed as ‘uneducable’

The main issue is this

Do you believe the kids will be disadvantaged by this frankly bonkers scheme of home educating secondary aged kids

If you think there is no disadvantage to the kids that's fine but it would be interesting to know why not

If you think there is an issue, do you think that parents should be allowed to home-edd secondary aged kids?

I think there are some advantages to home education. I think some parents are very good at providing it and I think some circumstances mean it is the best, most viable option.

How do you think your daughter who wants to be a doctor will cope with the emotional aspects of being a doctor (conflict, acute stress, dealing with people from different backgrounds, needing to self regulate to a high level) if she’s never socialised with her peers or been exposed to other peoples challenging behaviour?

I’m a medic. She’s probably better off being a scientist who can work at their own pace if she’s not have a social education. I’ve never met a home schooled medic

Wouldn't 6th form and unversity iron out those issues?

I do think a very insular education may be an issue for a medic.

But tbh a lot of medics have had very privileged upbringings and education, so they must face similar issues (which the medical schools don’t see unduly worried about)

I doubt they would. I learned much of my emotional regulation in years 7-11, how to deal when being shouted at in public, how to self regulate emotions so you can get on with work, how to focus when all hell is breaking out around you 😂

Incredibly useful skills for say, working in a&e! Being a medic is 1st and foremost about appropriateness of behaviour and managing stress and conflict in my opinion. The academic stuff most intelligent people could learn IMO. The challenge comes when being shouted at by a group of relatives on a ward round/dealing with the fact you’ve made a mistake/coping with the workload of 4 people. And these are the reasons people drop out of med school/leave medicine

Whether you’ve been to Eton or a failing comp, you have a social education where you learn the things mentioned above.
Sitting at home with your younger siblings doing a workbook with even having a phone and going on long walks are not sufficient in my opinon