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?

Just to add ds does a lot of afterschool activities and has friends there but the HE community in our area is not really our cup of tea. We have actually travelled 30+ miles to attend a HE event only to be met by the same crowd of people.

We did attend a day out event a few years ago and whilst the children were doing the activity I got chatting to a group based a couple of hundred miles away from us which I found myself wishing that my areas HE community was this group. When ds came out he out of all the children he could have made friends with came out chatting to the same groups children.

We before then thought it was our fault we couldn't gel with these people but having since met other groups I think it is just the people in our area are just a little insular and don't like new people coming into the group

It's not goady. Your "fistful of certificates" comment is insulting to the likes of children who are receiving their results tomorrow. I'm just amazed at the laid back attitude towards education. Children have one bite of the cherry. One.

And I won't "do one" and I won't "fuck off".

I pay for education too and don't use it. Independent school. Double whammy.

Whatever, James.

Oliversmumsarmy the internet has changed everything I think, regarding HE - the increase in numbers I think is in no small part to the isolation that being connected, eradicates.

Children have one bite of the cherry. One.

Nonsense. There's always the opportunity to achieve education. You sound very rigid in your thinking but rather clueless to be honest.

Children have one bite of the cherry. One.
Really?
Lifelong learning is a thing you know.

I home-ed one of my children. I'm also a teacher who now works with HE children. People comment that HE children are 'odd', struggle socially and have issues with authority. Sometimes this is true and is usually the very reason that they are HE in the first place. They haven't slotted neatly in to the 'system' and have been bullied because of it, or have suffered anxiety as a result of being forced every day into what (to them) is a stressful and overwhelming situation. In lots of cases the children I have worked with were later diagnosed with ASD. There is a very, very clear link between ASD and school refusal. It's not hard to see why. With the current hysteria about school attendance parents feel backed into a corner.

I don't agree that children get one bite but if they do, I'm extra glad I pulled my son out of a system that was failing him.

My BIL and his DW home educated their DCs through primary school, but they transferred to state high school. The oldest DS (17) is very bright and very much into politics; unfortunately his views are very narrow on a lot of issues, he's an ardent right-wing UKIP supporter and I believe he has suffered from limited exposure to alternative views.

We also have good friends who home educated through primary school. Their DCs were the worst behaved children we ever knew; school has an important role in socialising children. I concede that they have grown up into decent and well-adjusted adults, but they went through state secondary education so that may have played a part.

I also personally think it's unfair on children to miss out on the social side of being in school; they don't just learn from being in the classroom.

I pay for education too and don't use it. Independent school. Double whammy.
AAAAAAH so it's ok for you to make use of that "otherwise" in the Education Act but not for the plebs?
No matter that independent schools can employ pretty much who they like to teach, and are outside the realms of Ofsted?
No matter that they are ripping us all off by pretending to be charities?
And children in independent schools are adequately socialised are they? Unless like Katie Hopkins' kids they inadvertently befriend a child whose name begins with 'K'?
Home Education, supported by the internet, is ordinary people demanding their right to do just what you are doing!

One bite of the cherry?

I got an E in Maths at school.

And that was it. Failure. I had no more chances to rectify it.

Oh, wait. I chose to go back as an adult and retake my maths GCSE and pass.

Stop talking bollocks.

I also personally think it's unfair on children to miss out on the social side of being in school; they don't just learn from being in the classroom.

One more time for the hard of hearing.
Home Educated kids 'miss out' on 'socialising' with 30 people born in the same year.
They gain by socialising with the young, the old, anyone in the middle, the world going on outside school, the weird, the wonderful, and the downright normal.
Why in heaven's name would people not socialise?

Some people genuinely think that home education means children sitting at the kitchen table doing handwriting worksheets, baking fairy cakes and going nowhere. Use your imagination people!

Oh and that it all has to happen between 9am and 3pm.

And that they're not allowed out to speak to anyone else.

I totally get that some people's children have been failed by the school system so they've been pulled out to HE and I completely support HE in that situation.

But I find the people who aren't ever trying it because they are subscribing to it as the current trendy fad worrying. A lot of them don't seem to have thought it through much and seem to be setting their kids up to fail, particularly with ideas like 'unschooling'.

I think things like that can only work if you are presenting your children with a lot of stimulation which will lead their interests in productive directions. Unfortunately I know someone who is doing that and her DCs interests are computer games and violent films (they are fairly small). They can't read, they can't write and I suspect are going to end up illiterate because her attitude is that they'll decide they want to do it eventually and just pick it up without having to work at it. They are not numerate beyond counting either. They watch the odd educational TV show and that's it.

We're incredibly lucky our children have access to comparatively good free education and millions around the world would die to get the same opportunity for their children. It's very sad some children are losing that right.

I also feel sorry for children who lose the opportunity for independence because their entire experience of socialising is controlled and overseen by a parent rather than being allowed to explore freely. They may have an opportunity to socialise with others, but only ever via the gatekeeping of a parent.

Sometimes the 'social side' of school can be very damaging. There's a phrase that some of us HEers like to trot out: 'forced association is not socialisation'. It's very close minded to think all those who home educate are the same and have something to hide/don't care about their kids and of course there will always be instances like this but most parents who choose home education do it from their hearts.

Parents don't teach their children, they facilitate their learning. I run home ed sessions and would love to have schools come and visit us and see what we do. As with so many things, there doesn't need to be such division, it is very sad.

A lot of the comments against home ed on this thread are because of someone they know not doing a good enough job of it (in the posters eyes). If I see one poor performing school I don't assume all schools are poor. Can people look beyond their own personal experience or does their reason stop there?

We're incredibly lucky our children have access to comparatively good free education and millions around the world would die to get the same opportunity for their children. It's very sad some children are losing that right

Sorry but what an absolute load of crap. I wonder why your views are so clouded?

*We're incredibly lucky our children have access to comparatively good free education and millions around the world would die to get the same opportunity for their children. It's very sad some children are losing that right.

I also feel sorry for children who lose the opportunity for independence because their entire experience of socialising is controlled and overseen by a parent rather than being allowed to explore freely. They may have an opportunity to socialise with others, but only ever via the gatekeeping of a parent.*

Did you have particularly controlling parents?
Do you not feel everyone you socialise with being born in the same year is restrictive?
Not every home educator is a control freak gatekeeper ! And the aforementioned Katie Hopkins sent her kids to school but controlled their friendship groups with a rod of iron!
HE kids go to Scouts, Guides, Martial Arts, Drama Groups, often to other groups outside the normal range - HE students from 14 can do OU courses and attend the tutor groups.
Actually SCHOOL controls socialisation.

Blimey. Do you spend time in your house, or just theirs?

officer and do you judge all home educators on this one family you know? Do you think they are all like this?

joely!

Loving your posts JoelyB.