Why do people fear Home Educators so much?

[sebumfillaments]

Not a TAAT but inspired by the other thread, I was stunned by the level of vitriol aimed at home education. Is it all borne from fear and ignorance?

Home Ed isn't about replicating school. And education isn't (in our case) about gaining qualifications from an institution to increase their value in the workforce!

So why so much animosity?

I have been home educating my year 8 since September due to medical issues. Fingers crossed these will be resolved by Christmas. I have had a lot of help and support from the LA, school and hospital school. I am under no illusion that I can teach my daughter what she needs to learn at secondary. It's been hard and I've struggled a lot and I know she has. Maths and science are the hardest. She has a tutor for those. When I listen to them I know there is no way I could teach her these subjects.

Her missing the social side is awful. She has sleepovers and friends round but it's not enough. She misses her independence and the social side enormously.

I certainly don't fear it, having read a few blogs on the subject and looked at internet schools I feel a little informed (not a lot but a surface understanding) and I actually admire those who do it properly. When it is done well with interested and invested parents I think it is a great thing especially for children who find the school environment challenging for whatever reason. I think people tend to look at the worst element of it - when it isn't done in the child's best interests and judge from there.

Given the demographic of MN I imagine that the majority of Home educators here are well informed and do a good job.

I think the HE people saying "none of the people I know are HEing for religious reasons therefore it's not a major group" are extrapolating from their social circle and HE group. Clearly if you're HEing to protect your child from the evils of modern secular society then a hippyish HE meetup also falls into that category. And if you're sending your son to an unregistered school (rare but it does happen) where he will study religious texts ten hours a day to the exclusion of all other subjects then you will have no need to go to HE groups.

The research, such as it is, shows that religion is one of the largest drivers for HE in the U.K., though its still a minority of cases because there's a large range of motivators.

I'm quite pro home education. I think there is a lot of wasted time in school in that school is an incredibly efficient way to teach lots of children at the same time, but really inefficient for each individual child.

I suppose my negative feelings are around it being a bit claustrophobic having no outside force in a child's life (when home was bad for me, school was a haven) but I appreciate other children find home a haven and school bad.

We do all of those things anyway and of Course there is learning but that's just everyday life

Well I can see potential for Science, Maths, Biology, English, Physical development and social skills in all those activities. As a H/E your science lesson could take place on the beach, your geography lesson could be made up of planning the journey to the beach, the maths lesson is working out costs of travel to beach, buying an ice cream, your English lesson is reading three pages on the beach.

Think about learning from home as a moving the classroom experience to the location. To learn, you don't have to be stick behind a desk for 5 hours.

I've never met anyone who fears it. I think it isn't an option for many because we actually have to work and make money.
I actually believe the majority of home schooling parents (who have enough money and knowledge to do it properly) will have better educated children. That's because I don't think school provides a real education, merely what you need to pass the exams. To be well educated takes a lot more than a school could ever provide.

zzzzz 25% of UK children are non-White-British. The home ed groups in our area (which is pretty representative) are 100% white.

**The JW kids - that's so sad. And that's why home ed is banned here. Because for every loving parent trying to meet the needs of a child outside the mainstream, there's one taking their kids out proselytising. Which is child abuse in my book.

This. That's the risk. At mainstream schools teachers get the opportunity to notice when things are wrong. I've read the stories of the children who survived the abuse of Eunice Spry. That's extreme, but it's possible because of the lack of contact with children who are being home educated. There need to be more checks on what the parents are doing.

I don't know much about it, bit o don't have any negative views on it. I would do it myself if DD was horribly bullied or hated school. I think anyone who takes on a task like that must be pretty dedicated to doing their best for their child.

Brits but that's exactly what primary schools already do, and way too basic for secondary.
Also close to what a lot of parents do at the weekend/in the holidays.

Also worth noting that the LA have no right whatsoever to ask for or see lesson plans. They don't even have the right to visit. If they have due reason to believe a child is being neglected then under a SS remit they have a right, and within that a SAO can be ordered or discussed. At that point obviously a parent has to prove various things. But you have to be fucking up quite badly to get to that point.

@Witsender, the above is a big part of the reason I am suspicious of home ed. Why are you presenting it as a positive?

Well I can see potential for Science, Maths, Biology, English, Physical development and social skills in all those activities. As a H/E your science lesson could take place on the beach, your geography lesson could be made up of planning the journey to the beach, the maths lesson is working out costs of travel to beach, buying an ice cream, your English lesson is reading three pages on the beach.

This always sounds fine for learning basic skills, and is what my parents did anyway - I went to school. My dad taught me about molecules this way when I was still in primary. But it gives you only the basics. You have to move beyond that for a decent education.

I do think HE education can work. I also think it can be a disaster. IME HE are so busy defending HE that they deny that it can also be a disaster. And it is this I think that always makes these discussions so polarised.

If children are being abused, and sadly many children are, HE is a disaster. HE is also a disaster if parents are doing it to stop their children being exposed to alternative views e.g. religion. I have also seen on MN people encouraged to HE when it was in appropriate. A woman who was struggling to get her kids up in the morning and to school was encouraged on here by some to think of HE instead.

Also the insistence by some that socialising with others the same age is irrelevant, is misguided. Young children can not be equal friends with older or younger children, or adults. That does not mean they can not be friends. But there are power differentials involved. Older children for example may put up with behavior that your peers will not tolerate. Socialising with children your own age matters. Of course that is done by the the best HE.

Because there are a lot of ways to skin a cat. Who gets to determine which is the best way for an individual child? Given the number of complaints we see another schools and Ofsted, why would replicating that at home be seen as a positive? Without due cause for concern, it seems right that the assumption be that parents are doing the right thing by their kids. I haven't had any experts knocking on the door to see if we are feeding them right, or brushing their teeth etc.

I don't have anything against visits per se, but can understand why many do.

I am surprised that you don't understand that OFSTED don't always get it right. Indeed some of those schools that OFSTED says are not good enough, are brilliant at supporting children with SEN.

This is the reason why I think the occasional visit might be helpful.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/illegal-jewish-schools-department-of-education-knew-about-council-faith-school-cover-up-as-thousands-a6965516.html

"Many of the home-schooled children I've known have been odd, too, but I think that's why they ended up being home-schooled - they were odd and struggled in school"

This ^^. I don't see how the Swedish model would work for these children, or do they receive a lot more support than their counterparts in the UK?

"but I was totally burnt out.mental health down the toilet..so they had to go to school..I didn't give any time or attention to myself or my husband."

This is one of the reasons I never wanted to home educate. With younger children there is no child free time unless you have a good support network (which we didn't have)

"Look at the schools cutting GCSEs like music and arts because they don't fit in the narrow band of the English baccalaureate"

I doubt very much if that is the main reason. It is to do with the serious problem of underfunding in education.

"As a H/E your science lesson could take place on the beach, your geography lesson could be made up of planning the journey to the beach, the maths lesson is working out costs of travel to beach, buying an ice cream, your English lesson is reading three pages on the beach."

Which is fine for primary age and excellent life skills, but not enough for GCSEs and A levels.

I kind of get the impression that most of the home educators I have read about on here and elsewhere tend to be teaching children of primary age. When it comes to KS4 and KS5 outside agencies become more involved because of the level of learning or resources required, but I am happy to be corrected.

Home educating wasn't for me, but I wish all the luck to those who do.

So why so much animosity?

Because many people are uncomfortable with those who don't follow the crowd. I'm considered distinctly "odd" by some as I don't have a TV.

My children were not home schooled but we opted for private education instead. Had they had to go to the local comp (which was in special measures) then I'd have seriously considered homeschooling.

Im not scared of hs ... i just know its not something i could do for a number off reasons.

I think it can be marvoules and i take my hat off to thouse who can

There are children for whom being HE is a disaster. I do think visits should be mandatory. I think HE can be brilliant, but there needs to be an overview of it.

www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/policy-issues/abuse-and-neglect/educational-neglect/

I just flat out don't think it's fair to the children to miss out on the experience of school and everything that entails.

I also think home educated children miss out on all the other stuff you get from having a multitude of teachers. Teaching isn't just about sharing facts, most of the things I remember most about my favourite teachers has nothing to do with the textbook facts they gave me, it is the guidance, wisdom, humour, extra-curricular activities and greater world view they gave me. A child being taught by one parent is missing out on that big time.

Also someone mentioned secondary school aged children being HE. They are taken out of school in pretence of HE, but are being trained to be wives and home makers. Totally wrong.

However, I never voice these opinions in real life to people who home school. I just feel really sorry for their kids.

There is not even any proper research on HE. All the HE research, which is often quoted, relied on families volunteering to take part. As you can imagine, it is those who are doing HE well who would be most likely to volunteer. This is like doing research on schools and asking schools to volunteer to take part, only the best will.

I babysit some HE kids.

And it may be biting the hand that feeds me - but as Imamouseduh says - a lot of these kids would benefit from being taught by a variety of people from different backgrounds, rather than the narrow views given often by only one parent.