What sort of services might you, as a HE parent, be interested in?

[freerangeeggs]

I'm a trained English teacher of a few years' experience and I'm looking to branch out a bit. One of my friends is a tennis tutor who works with HE kids in our area and loves it. It got me wondering whether specialist tuition in other subjects might interest HE parents and children too.

For example, if I were to run (and I haven't planned this or anything) a fun course on Anglo-Saxon literature that HE kids could attend, maybe even along with their parents and in a group - would that interest anyone?

It's not so much the subject that I'm wondering about, more the format of such a course. I was thinking about producing materials that parents could work on with their kids afterwards, too, so such a course would simply provide an introduction into whichever subject was chosen.

I'm sorry if that seems completely rubbish - please just let me know! The thing is, I'm really interested in HE and would love to do this with my own children one day; I'd also like to move into different areas of education and perhaps become self-employed eventually.

If the above sounds useless, what sort of services would you, as a HE parent, be interested in that someone like me could provide?

Many thanks in advance for any responses! My own research is ongoing but I hoped that this board could perhaps point me in the right direction, and tell me if I was barkin up the wrong tree altogether...

I can think of some families in my area who would probably be up for that kind of workshop/course. We are very lucky that our local museum (small though it is) runs a HE session of any courses they offer to schools so we've done Creative Writing; WW2 - being an evacuee; and bridge building with at least one more before Christmas.

We also go to a book club and I've suggested that we have a look at a Shakespeare play sometime, so maybe running one off sessions on something like that might appeal to some home educators.

In our local area there is a drama group for HEers, my children don't go as it is for older ones, but I think it is popular.
Maybe poetry / creative writing workshops. I would imagine (tho may be wrong...) that it would be more the parents of older primary & particularly secondary age children who might be looking for those sort of sessions on a regular basis, although a lively playful drama session could be good for younger children too.

Thanks for the replies! I could definitely do creative writing/poetry/Shakespeare - in fact I never feel like we get to do enough creative stuff within the National Curriculum.

What about other subjects - maths, for example, or science?

Definitely food for thought! x

Hi freerangeeggs!

I suggest you approach a local home ed group and see whether some of the parents would be willing to chat with you about it. The numbers of people HEing in any given area, and their "profile" varies across the country so you really need to find out what the locals want, and what's already available to them. We recently had a tutor come along to our parents' pub night to discuss something similar. Perhaps your tennis friend could ask parents whether it would be all right for you to come chat to them while they're hanging around during their children's tennis lessons? You could also take the opportunity to find out more about people's experiences of HE in case you might like to do it with your own children.

The things that tend to appeal to people I know are hands-on and either accessible to a range of ages, or else held in a venue where siblings can find something to do too. It's nice to feel that parents can sit in or not, as they prefer. Some children like having their parents on hand, and some parents like to know what's happening. On the other hand some parents like to be able to drop the children off and have a break or take the toddler sibling to the park.

One-off workshops can be appealing, so we don't have to fit in a regular commitment. If it's a series of lessons, we expect to have a sample lesson first before committing to anything; the sample lesson can be free or paid-for. It's good to decide whether you'll charge per term or per session attended, because HE families tend to miss some sessions: we're busy taking advantage of the fact we can have holidays whenever it suits us, and also there may be other events we want to go to. Personally, I like to have at least a rough idea what the cost might be right from the beginning: it's hard when my child tries something which she loves and then has to be told that we can't afford it!

Very often the choice of what to attend is entirely the children's, so they are the ones you should be aiming to please. Many of us parents are of the opinion that all educational opportunities are equally valid so long as our children are engaged. My daughter and I go for things that sound unusual and fun, whatever the subject. Creative writing is popular with many of the children round here.

I forgot to say, the thing that draws me to a tutor in the first instance is passion. Choose a subject which gets you all fired up, and it's likely the children will catch your enthusiasm. I don't really care what the subject is, so long as you know it and love it.

That's fantastic advice, Saracen! Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.

I will definitely get in touch with a local group. I'll speak to my friend about it tonight; I've also found a couple of websites with contact email addresses.

I think, at first anyway, all the workshops would be one-offs. Maybe once things are a bit more established I can branch out into longer courses - if I do, I'll definitely take on board your advice about the sample lessons, Saracen.

You've all been so helpful :) I feel quite excited now!