I home educate - my DS has never been to school - AMA

[OvertheUnicornRainbow]

My DS is almost 13, always been home-educated and is thriving. Ask me anything

What I am asking you is what I would ask any teacher, it has nothing to do with HE. I have a particular academic interest in pedagogy and have been involved in national initiatives supporting teachers in specific subjects. The fact that you don’t even seem to understand my questions is deeply worrying.

@Whattheother2catsprefer - that is where the time factor comes in - home educators can do a lot more of the big trips, loads more local trips and lots of 'in class visits' too. It is one area I do feel my DD misses out, tbh.

The amount of times you have called other posters "ignorant" on this thread is shocking OP. Posters who have far more teaching qualifications, knowledge and experience than you in fact. You have spoken of schooling as an insult whilst forgetting that you yourself have benefited from a school education.

It is one area I do feel my DD misses out, tbh.

Can you not take her anywhere during the weekends or her 13 weeks of school holiday per year then?

@Whattheother2catsprefer - mind you none of our local schools do that many trips. One big one and 2 local is more normal. And probably 3 in house visits per year.

I asked many hours ago but it obviously got lost in the discussion of other topics but how do you ensure that children following their own interests don't end up following false information? There is so much misinformation on the internet and often the more contentious something is the higher it will feature on search engines.

@Booboostwo - I understand your question but the answer would be too long. However as explained I'm a nurse not a teacher!

Hey, we’re all fed up with experts aren’t we?

@OvertheUnicornRainbow

Brilliant - I’ll cover your shift tomorrow then and when they ask me to do a bit of CPR I’ll roll my eyes and tell them I’m a teacher, soz...

CPR can't be that hard surely @Shineynew. I reckon I could give it a go, don't you?

Brilliant - I’ll cover your shift tomorrow then and when they ask me to do a bit of CPR I’ll roll my eyes and tell them I’m a teacher, soz...

Well you could do that but you need to be qualified to be a nurse. You don't need to be a qualified teacher to home educate. As much as you don't like that, and you clearly feel your teaching skills are superior, the law is not in agreement with you.

@cantkeepawayforever - pretty accurate. However I am in contact with most of the parents in our local area (one LA). But I know many others in a lot more LAs. I have a much wider perspective than a EWO seeing a small percentage of families in one LA - and a skewed set at that.

As I said at the beginning of the thread I do actually have contact with our LA. We have an Elective home ed team. The EWO deals with a small set where there may be issues. Other members of the team build a relationship and dialogue with the home-ed community. They have listened and provideva service more fit for purpose. That is because they work with us not against and are willing to learn from those with actual experience of home-ed. They don't have the awful attitude of the EWO on here.

@Shineynew - I didn't ask for your qualifications - though thanks for providing them - was enlightening! I asked if you had had any training in home-ed to prepare for your role. You blustered that with all your qualifications you certainly didn't need to learn about home education! Big mistake. You then went on to show quite clearly that you indeed knew nothing about home - ed not suprisingly. On what basis did you ask for my teaching qualifications? Where did I say I was a teacher? I said I was a nurse

home educators can do a lot more of the big trips, loads more local trips and lots of 'in class visits' too only if they can afford it! As I said earlier between school and family we have visited everything near us, the in-laws and my parents (three different parts of the country) plus loads of London museums so I'm not convinced that weekly/daily would have a lot to add. At 8 my son already rolls his eyes when another military history trip is suggested. My DH is in the military and is passionate and knowledgeable and our son shares the passion but feels that another tank museum is one too many (I rate th by the quality of the cafe). We knew Romans were on the curriculum for this school year so incorporated Hadrian's Wall on the way back from a trip to Scotland, a visit to a Roman villa while on the Isle of Wight and revisited the couple of local Roman sites (oh and called on a Roman group we know through reenactment circles to watch their display and get a good chat and hands on with their kit and eating some Roman recipes) plus his own research/ reading I can't think of a lot more that could be done without a visit to Italy.

@atankofskunks - I plan stuff to learn about - I wouldn't call it lessons - I'm not teaching a class. I do different schemes for different subjects. But we now follow the NC. I use assessments to look for gaps and then work out how to fill them. I set tasks that will enable my DS to practice a skill/learn content and tasks that show he has mastered the skill/content.

I agree that a really good, expert, well-informed advice / regulation system for HE would be of benefit. It would support and validate the (many) who HE conscientiously and well (and perhaps be able to suggest ways of filling any gaps). It would also be able to challenge the (fewer) examples of genuinely poor HE practice that harm children and also unfairly sully the good name of all HE by association. Furthermore, it would be able to collect the data and examples so desperately needed to challenge the schools who fail to provide adequately for children with SEN or other needs whose parents then feel they have no option other than HE, an situation which is a scandal.

This makes a lot of sense to me. If HE families are so confident in the education that they are providing for their kids, I really struggle to understand why there is so much resistance to the notion of mandatory inspections from suitably qualified and trained inspectors. Yes, I get that you want to do things your own way, and that you don't want to be inspected by someone who thinks that HE is inherently wrong, but it wouldn't have to be like that. Surely, constructive criticism is a good thing, and would help you to reflect upon and improve your practice.

Nobody has yet answered my question about who is in a position to advocate on behalf of the HE kids whose parents are failing to do a good job.

So you are planning tasks, or are you getting those from a text book? Where are you getting the assessments and marking schemes from? The National Curriculum only gives an outline of content, it doesn't tell you how to teach it- but then you don't consider yourself a teacher do you?

@atankofskunks - it is the ignorance I find shocking. And as has been proved having a teaching qualification does not mean you understand home-ed why would it? And please read my posts carefully I have not used school as an insult! Enough with the hyperbole, honestly!

@atankofskunks - as has been explained many times a museum trip at the weekend is not the same thing! Please read the thread rather than keep repeating something I have answered! You are derailing from genuine questions.

Disagreeing with someone does not make the other person ignorant OP. I worry about your teaching of philosophy and ethics if you don't appreciate that. I disagree with most of what you have said and my experience and knowledge, not to mention my qualifications makes my opinion valid. I have not, despite my opposing views, at any point referred to you as ignorant.

As a teacher, I think your way of educating sounds effective and suits your child well.

@Userwhatevernumber - sorry I didn't answer that! It's a really interesting question, actually. I think this is something you need to teach all children not just home ed ones. Obviously firstly make them aware just because it's on the internet doesn't make it true. Teach them to be critical and analyse their source. Teach them about how to find trusted sites. Find loads of great resources for them and let them explore the library. Show them how to research.

@Shineynew - oh dear...you're just starting to look ridiculous now.

Out of interest, OP, why did you choose to send your younger dc to school? Did you consider HE as an option for this child as well? Sorry if this has already been asked and I missed it.

@atankofskunks - CPR actually isn't very difficult - everyone should know how to do it. Your starting to look rather silly, now.