katylyle tell us why you'd not HE your children please

[BeNimble]

my children are preschool yet though i'm serious about HE

Out of 5 year groups, since the upper sixth and year 11s have 'left' us post examination.

This would be 200 out of around 900 children.....to my mind a large number given that they were prepared to give us 3.5 hours of their free time after school. And when you take into account that they had to come back into school, at 5.30, dressed in school uniform, I think that this does show a substantial comittment to the school community. And their rewards were our profuse thanks, and some cold drinks!

I think that they were remarkable in their generosity of spirit, and, yes, I do think that you are getting picky.

DD1s school is like that - there are always LOADS of volunteers for prospective parents evenings, it's seen as quite a cool thing to do.

Even pickier - you did originally say "Over 200 of our kids, from year 7 to year 13 " that's 7 year groups to me

But year 11 have left us, post GCSEs. And year 13 have left school, after their exams. So they could not be asked if they were interested in attending!

The only people who were asked were years 7-10 and the new upper sixth.

they were not in school, so they didn't have thedae. please don't generalise. i have lots of old students come back and vsit me, not everyone has unpleasent memories of school.

the date

Why are you laying into MB? She's an excellent dedicated teacher that I would love my children to learn from if only it were possible.

Its wrong to assume all schools are bad, just as it is wrong to assume all HE'd kids are screwed up.

Thank you peachy, that was a very kind comment. I find the sort of '4 legs good, 2 legs bad' comment that some people make about schooling the single most off putting thing about 'some' HE.

No teacher I have ever met would be so crass as to say that all of school is perfect and that all of HE is rubbish. But a few HEdders do make the same sort of asinine generalisations, that end up helping no-one, lest of all the case of HEdders, when most are well balenced and put their views in a rational way.

I don't think anyone is 'laying into' MB. Maybe not completely agreeing with her and maybe thinking that some of her logic could be seen as slightly flawed but does that count as 'laying into' her?
Nobody is disputing that MB is an excellent teacher. A preference for home-ed isn't a personal attack on a particular teacher. There are some fantastic teachers. People choose home-ed for a multitude of reasons. One of those reasons, for some, is a complete disaffection for the school system due to current or past experiences. If that comes across on a home-ed forum then I don't think it's that surprising. Just as I'm sure lots of pro-school comments are probably likely to appear on non-HE forums.

ACtually i genuinely got the feeling that MB's posts were being pulled apaprt in a deliberate manner, maybe thats not how it was intended but thats certainly how it came across to me as an intelligent, h-ed friendly poster.

MB unfortunately I have met anti-HR teachers 9though they ten to be LEA employed advisory teachers who no doubr have an assigned agenda). Its all very sad whichever way bias is aimed.

But the majority of kids *don't truant. The majority of kids where I teach are happy, for a fair amount of the time. Large numbers support the school in out of hours activities.

I understand that many people HE bevause they, or their children have ne=gative experiences of school, but for many, many kids this simply isn't the case. And the fact that so many of our kids choose to stay on with us, into the sixth form is testiment to this.

I don't think that school is perfect for all kids, or that all children who go to school are happy, but neither are they all deeply miserable. And to suggest that schools can only show that their kids are happy if sixth formers return to open evening , after thy have left school, and have not been given the dates of the even is just plain silly or willfully argumentative.

And I had donr something comparable about HE (which I have not) I would fully expect to be corrected.

I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make now, MB. I don't think that anyone has said that all children at school are unhappy.

Bt riven said many though.

maybe I'm an odd he'er; Ds3 needs it for the while, bt ds2 is ideally suted to school. And when DS3 goes to school I will (I hope) be teaching myself (although am anything but a scientist- world religions are my bag, dudes).

All kids diifer, so we have different educational methiods. how wonerful si that?

Many do.

Peachy, you are not strange for using those parts of both systems which would benefit your children. Choosing one way doesn't exclude the other way at a later date.

My point in that countrary to what Riven has said, our kids do not, in the main, 'breath a sigh of relief and skip off' 20 years down the line even forgetting the name of the school they attended. Most of the child I teach actually like school.

Best days of their lives, some people say....

For me I think the most important issue is that parents have effective choices so even though for my children school was best I would defend the rights of parents to educate their chidlren as they see fit. I was really pleased when Summerhill won it's High Court case (a school where the children largely don't have to go to lessons if they don't want to and which I think the Government at the time was trying to close down).

Summerhill would suit me I think, ds's also attended a Montessor Nursery adn if there was one loal they'd be there like a shot. sadly not though, nor a Steiner.

Where are you Peachy ? (if you don't mind me asking).

We're just outside Newport in South Wales. A place called Caerleon

NO WAY !!!

Lived in Newport until I was 10 !!

Cearleon is nice.

I have been trawling the net (etc) for alternative style schools and thought I may have seen something in your area (although i'm sure you have looked extensively already), but can't think of anything off the top of my head.

We were HE until we moved from Newport, all those years ago....

Doh !!

Caerleon