How much do home ed kids write?

[Colleger]

One of my concerns about dropping a lot of academic work is that my son will get out of the habit of writing and not just creatively but the physical aspect of writing a large quantity. At some point he'll probably need to sit exams and get used to writing at a speed to finish such tasks. How have HE kids who write very small amounts coped? I don't want to get into the computer typing argument as he may choose a profession that requires manual writing.

Probably another dumb question...

There will be more!

We haven't started yet as DD1 is only 3.8 but I'm planning to get her a journal so that she can write about what she's done and add in pictures, photos and any other bits- how old is your DS? Do you think that sort of thing would be appropriate for him?

He's 11 so his volume will drop dramatically. It's just whether AE would make him stop writing altogether.

Not a dumb question - my girls are 7 and 8 and they do write but only when I make up an excuse for them to do it - sometimes I even just ask them to sit and copy a book just to practise the physical process of writing... I'm interested in what others say so thanks for the question!
C x

I don't ask dd to write but now she's 6 she's starting to choose to do it of her own accord.

She occasionally (once a week maybe?) writes in a diary she's started. It's never much as far as I know, a few lines. Sometimes she tells me what she's written but doesn't at other times so I don't know that much about what she's writing in there.

She writes cards and lists and things that she decides have a purpose. Makes posters if she decides to do a show for me (usually involves fancy dress and dancing around) and that kind of thing. She's also started writing notes to people in invisible ink - I think a pen pal might be the next suggestion as she has lots of home ed friends in other areas from camps and people I've met online.

She also does some typing, up to now she was far more comfortable with that than physically writing and can do it quicker. There are obviously some different skills because it's typing not writing, but there are some that it doesn't really matter which it is I think. If she types faster then at the moment that probably helps her to develop more when it comes to figuring out what words to use as you write and altering your planning as you go - things that will be useful if she chooses to take exams.

The other thing I've observed is that she seems to get better at reading and writing in leaps without much actual practice. We've never done them as activities but I suppose with writing that might have been linked to motor skills developing. And obviously now that she is choosing to write more she is practicing and getting better.

Some of that is probably really different to an 11 year old who is coming out of school though. Personally, I don't write much now, but I can still write in big chunks if I need to. All the practicing in school never made my writing neater though, just made me hate writing....

Now she's 6?
That should say now she's 7 but I apparently went back in time a year....

I'm a university lecturer, and I've just marked a whole batch of exam papers. I can tell you for certain that there are many people among the batch of candidates - schooled every one of them - who clearly do no writing at all from exam period to exam period. They take notes on computers, write essays on computers, yada yada. their writing is terrible. I do my best to read it and give them the mark they deserve

My cousins son(schooled) doesnt write because he has a problem with his fingers. He has used a keyboard from an early age and is now 19 and has a good job in IT.

My own DF never learned to write properly (long story - dyslexia unheard of 70+ years ago for a start) and he was employed all his life in jobs he enjoyed but that never involved much written work.

My point? - I think your DS will write if he needs to and it interests him but if he doesnt its not a big deal, especially in the modern world where you can even have a 'desk job' without writing.

As I've said elsewhere my children were 13, 11 and 8 when they were deregistered.

All three have SEN.

One has severe dysgraphia, which is complex difficulties with writing, so would run a million miles rather than take a job that requires a lot of handwriting. She does however write enough to get by in every day life, form filling, list making etc. She didn't do any GCSEs or A levels before going into Adult Education and then onto Uni. She uses the computer to type everything else and her mobile phone contains her diary, lists of things to do etc. She managed to run a small family business where she had started as a Saturday girl, whilst the owner was on Materinty Leave. She did all of the ordering etc, it was writing for a purpose and therefore worth the extra effort.
The dysgraphia hasn't stopped her recognising the need to be able to discuss a subject at length on paper, her critical thinking ability and verbal dexterity hasn't been hampered by not being able to write easily, as she has discussed and debated freely (and very enthusiastically) through out her autonomous home education. She then quickly learnt how to construct essays etc to get good marks in FE College and then Uni level education.

The youngest has been diagnosed as very severely dyslexic and moderate dysgraphia, so couldn't read until she was 14 (she'd left school completely unable to read or spell even her own name) So she didn't really write until she had 'got' reading. It didn't stop her education running ahead though. Her writing speed is still slightly slower than average, but again she writes for purpose-and is writing songs and melodies a lot of the time these days. She too makes huge use of technology-it IS an enormous boon for someone with these difficulties.
She's always said her laptop and now her IPhone have "set her free"
When she was retested at FE college for her dyslexia, she was slightly below average on writing speed, and spelling, average at reading (HOW we danced and cried in delight when we read that) but her comprehension and vocabulary were the highest the examiner had ever come across. Again she constructed essays well-she did an OU starter course and they helped with feedback on essay construction, but said she was already doing well for her age. her assignments at FE college got top marks and she came out with straight Distinctions and top of the class.

Our son (the eldest) doesn't have a problem with handwriting, didn't really write anything he didn't 'have' to when he was in school. However as an autonomous home educator, he wrote when he saw a useful purpose.
He loved Warhammer, and then got into Fantasy Role Play Games, and began to write his own story lines and characters as a Games Master for his own games. He wrote reams and reams!
He's doing just fine now, with his degree. Just yesterday he told me about the last of the second year exams he'd done and said they were brilliant questions for him, he said he wrote plenty, and could have stayed writing about it all day!

We didn't 'make' them do any writing/practise essays-or anything else.

I've known quite a few Autonomous home educators, write stories and now know of one or two have written novels. I know a couple who are disciplined enough to do that National Novel Writing Month

I guess I am trying to say, where the autonomously home educated youngster sees the need/finds the useful purpose, they can and will write loads.

My son is 11 and we have been HEing for a year. At first I tried to make him write resulting in screaming, arguments and tantrums (from both of us), then I discovered AE!
Now he writes if he needs to:) Surprisingly his handwriting is sooo much neater now. Not being rushed and pressured has made such a difference in his attitude towards written 'work'...and I guess doing something he wants to do means he does it to his best ability.

Interestingly, after two terms of no work at his music school - OH thinks he's already deschooling - that when he does write it is very neat!

Ds never writes unless he absolutely has to. It can be reasonably neat in a birthday card (short bursts) but otherwise it's dreadful, often illegible. He has hypermobile fingers and it hurts him to write so it makes sense that he would avoid it.

Since being HE he handwrites much less, though we still do some strengthening exercises and practice a couple of times a week. An SEN teacher who I met through HE felt that the problem was too ingrained (should have been addressed years ago) and it's unlikely to get any better now (he's 13).

He uses a keyboard for 'written work' in his IGCSE courses and has exam access arrangements at the exam centre where he sits them so he can use a keyboard there too. Candidates don't have to handwrite in exams if there's a genuine reason for needing to type and it can be demonstrated as the 'normal way of working'.

I guess it depends on the reason for a child's reluctance to write. If there's a problem you can solve then try to, but otherwise I'd be encouraging the use of a keyboard.

Are there still professions which require a large quantity of manual writing, Colleger? I've been unable to think of any.

If there aren't, then I guess the challenges are 1) getting through exams and 2) being able to write small amounts legibly. I am guessing your son can already manage to do the latter because if he couldn't yet write small amounts then you wouldn't be concerned about his ability to write large amounts...

So this is purely about getting him through his exams, right? Not that I have anything useful to contribute - I just wanted to clarify the issue.

There are some jobs and professions where handwriting is important; many medical, midwifery, nursing, physio, etc require you to write copious amounts of notes. I agree that it is less important in many jobs than it was though.

If he does any exams that require lots of writing then presumably he'll do a fair bit of writing when studying and revising for them. I think it will sort itself out.

My 11 year old had never written much, and had pretty awful writing, but he's off to school in September and so has been practising. He did quite a lot of copying - half an A5 page at first, then a full A5 page - and was really impressed with himself at how quickly it got easier and visibly neater.

My point being, that with all skills, they will learn them when they need to :)

I have very little experience of 11 year old boys, but from what I've read about unschooling I wonder if you might find that you have a very different child in a few months who might actually start to take an interest in these things once the negative experiences are put behind him.
Writing essays for the sake of it may not appeal, but how about hand-written clues for treasure hunts, shopping lists for ingredients for a recipe or instructions for a game? Just letting him learn who he is again sounds like a great idea to me- I'm sure that the rest will follow.

"There are some jobs and professions where handwriting is important; many medical, midwifery, nursing, physio, etc require you to write copious amounts of notes."

Oh, OK, I didn't realise. I thought anything lengthy would now be done on computer for ease of access and legibility. All of our doctors seem to do assessments and letters etc on computer, and so do our physio and OT, but maybe it varies. Thanks for explaining!

I think you learn it when you need to. DD2 did an IGCSE Physics last year. We don't normally do very much writing. She knew the science inside out but the amount of writing in the short time available floored her at first. The first past paper she tried - an hour paper - took her 3 and a half hours to complete.

She knew she had to get faster - and so she did. Within two or three weeks she was easily completing the paper in the time.

I think you learn things when you need to learn them. I don't see wasting hours and hours on something you can probably polish up in a few weeks when you absolutely have to.

I don't see wasting hours and hours on something you can probably polish up in a few weeks when you absolutely have to.

and when they have to, they do.

As many other HE'ers my son is SEN, but he writes far more now than he did at school, because we can take our time and choose the right time to do so. He'll need to write, but he'll need keyboard skills more - those are as, if not more important, I feel. I also believe that writing, just because its expected to have 'stuff' on paper to 'prove' an education is happening is pointless. All written work needs a purpose. You can learn so much without putting pen/pencil to paper - and he does. I just need him to be able to get by as well as he can, given his disabilities. So we practise, but at a level suited to him.