Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

Original poster

Would your child choose to be home-educated?

154 replies

emkana · 21/12/2005 20:52

I read an article about home ed today and I find the idea in many ways very appealing. Dd1 started school in September and I think she would be horrified if I suggested to her to take her out of school. She is totally in love with her teacher and she likes being with her friends all day.

But if things change and she becomes unhappy I would take her out, I think.

OP posts:
Harktheheraldcabewillsing · 30/12/2005 00:03

I was home educated for 5 years... through secondary education. It was because my parents could no longer afford independent school fees and didn't want me and my sister to go to the local comprehensive. (YUP! What a crap reason)

In my experience:

  1. All the Education Otherwise parents seemed totally nutty.... one set were teaching their children to showjump (on a bullock !!!)

  2. For home ed to be really successful I think parents would have to dedicate themselves to at least 2 hours of formal education each day and keep it relevant to the age of the child - GCSEs at 11 are wierd - it kind of misses the point.

  3. Nothing would make up for the loss of socialisation that is provided by a school education - any amount of 'extra curricular' activities couldn't take the place of this important aspect of school life.

  4. Home ed does make you independent and capable of using your own initiative - but it can (depending on the parents) give a child an unbalanced idea of how talented or gifted they are... My Mother convinced me that my gifts would lead me to the top! Ha Ha (not funny Mother) Bloody hard work gets people to the top of any profession - I had to find this out ALL by myself... more pity me, it took 'til I was nearly 30.

  5. Denying your children an education within the school system is something you'd have to be very confident of... unless you would like to reap the rewards of years of resentment from your children... I was always lead to believe that I was academically dumb, it took me getting good A level results and getting into Warwick uni in my 30s to shake off the rep!

Sorry for the rant but it's important that people know how wrong home ed can go... Mum thought she was 'protecting' us. God knows what from though!

Socci · 30/12/2005 00:07

Message withdrawn

spacedonkey · 30/12/2005 00:09

I highly recommend any of John Holt's books for anyone interested in the ethos behind HE

Harktheheraldcabewillsing · 30/12/2005 00:15

Jenk1 Have you considered changing schools - Many educators advise against this - My dd (14) was bullied throughout her primary education and when in Secondary School in another area the bullying recurred she refused to go to school - despite bringing in all the relevant people... I let her take 6 weeks off in which she had to decide which school she wanted to attend - we visited 4 and eventually fell in love with the Catholic school she's now at... Very happy, doing very well and loving the social as well as academic side of it.

Really she's moving up through the sets and exceeding her attainment targets.... Moving School was the best decision I let her take

harpsichordcarrier · 30/12/2005 00:18

scummymummy the Mozart thing was a joke but truly I do baulk at the idea of one-size-fits-all education being suitable for all children, let alone thinking that all will thrive under it.
and, for the record, I think any attempt to make Mozart play the recorder at school would have ended in bloodshed
I do agree tho that most of the HE's I have met can be a little, ahem, eccentric

ParrupupumScum · 30/12/2005 00:20

lol at the parents teaching their kids to showjump on a bullock, Harktheheraldcabewillsing.

harpsichordcarrier · 30/12/2005 00:21

actually learning to show jump on a bullock would teach many vital life lessons....

Harktheheraldcabewillsing · 30/12/2005 00:22

sorry Jenk just re-read your post and see there isn't an option to move schools. Poor you and your ds

Harktheheraldcabewillsing · 30/12/2005 00:24

Harpsi... tell me more! I can imagine one would be DON'T try to showjump a bullock!

harpsichordcarrier · 30/12/2005 00:27

e.g.
my parents are loons (important to realise this early)
the difference between a bullock and, say, a heifer or a quey (I am very vague on this point)
my children will be sent to school and not HE
that if you showjump a bullock you will have some considerable difficulty in finding someone to compete against, therefore you could become the world champion really easily
how to hang on for dear life
a really really good story to tell in later life....

ParrupupumScum · 30/12/2005 00:28

Oops- sorry, harpsi! Skim reading. Getting him to play the recorder was a tad tongue in cheek too, as it happens. I do agree that one size doesn't fit all, actually. But don't think that means home education is the answer. I do think Hark's posts are telling. I bet that protecting children (from bullying, poor education, society etc) is the key motivation for home education in a majority of cases.

harpsichordcarrier · 30/12/2005 00:30

yes, I agree, which is a shame. I think it could be a really good positive choice in the right circs but it is assumed in many cases that either your child has been bullied/excluded or you are a religious extremist.
I am considering it for the primary years. We'll see if it is possible/desirable.

Harktheheraldcabewillsing · 30/12/2005 00:34

Harpsi!

It's hard enough to jump a graceful beast (like a horse say) Can imagine jumping on anything bovine would be something like jumping on a cross between a shetland pony and a brick!!!

harpsichordcarrier · 30/12/2005 00:37

yes and as someone who has spent some time in bovine company (all above board, natch) I am boggling at the idea of training a bullock to do anything...
nuff respect

Harktheheraldcabewillsing · 30/12/2005 00:40
Grin
ISawFrannyandZooeyKissingSanta · 30/12/2005 08:24

Yes, well, I expect you were thinking of formally-educated bullocks, HC. I think you'll find that home-educated bovines are far more talented and adaptable...

jenk1 · 30/12/2005 10:04

Why do so many people keep bringing it back to the "socialisation" that school does for children?

I thought that children went to school to learn and be educated, i dont think that throwing 100 or more children together in a playground and expecting them all to "socialise" works very well.

I have nothing against schools, my DS goes to school in the afternoon, we are fortunate the school is less than 2mins walk away and that half of his classmate live on our street which is pedestrianised so Ds DOES get to play and be "social" with his friends but in the right environment.

How many of us only socialise with people of our exact same age?- i know i dont, most of my friends are either older or younger and i have one friend who is the same age.

School didnt teach me about socialisation, being around people of all ages taught me that.

ISawFrannyandZooeyKissingSanta · 30/12/2005 10:16

Agree jen, being in school only prepares you socially for being in large groups of your peers, with 'boss' figures around. It was designed to prepare people for factory work after the industrial revolution.

Real life is hopefully a bit more of a mix than that.

jenk1 · 30/12/2005 12:48

Thats really interesting Franny i havent heard of that before, do you have any more information?

ISawFrannyandZooeyKissingSanta · 30/12/2005 17:08

Jen, I read loads of books on Home Ed recently and it was in one of those but I wish I could remember which one!

These are some of the books I thought were very good:

Roland Meighan - The next learning system
Jan Fortune-Wood - Doing it their way

ISawFrannyandZooeyKissingSanta · 30/12/2005 17:10

Oops - clicked post too soon

Alan Thomas - Educating your child at home
Terri Dowty - Free Range Education
John Holt - Teach Your Own

I think it was probably one of those - they were all available to order from my local library. Hope this helps

jenk1 · 30/12/2005 22:00

thanks

Mymble · 30/12/2005 22:26

If you're interested in HE, can I also suggest joining EO and using their forum?

Yes, there are some right nutters on there but mostly they are very helpful and interesting and deeply experienced people who will patiently answer any question.

I'm a huge John Holt fan. I think his best book is Escape From Childhood, a really radical book about children's rights. I also like "Learning All the Time" about an adult learning the cello. Teach your own is great too. Very insiprational.

John Taylor Gatto is good too.

Mymble · 30/12/2005 22:26

Sorry, "Never Too Late" is the book about an adult cello learner.

Mymble · 30/12/2005 22:27

Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich is also pretty good + I would say covers franny's point re the industrial revolution.