The advantages of new legislation and better regulations...

...As far as I am concerned.

WARNING !!!
I am about to get on a soap box about something, avert your eyes if you are of an easily offended nature.

The 3 R's. Simple, basic and lets face it, essential if anyone is going to get anywhere in life these days.

Reading:- I love to read, so too do my children. It took some patience and some determination to get them to agree that reading a story as opposed to watching it happen in front of them on a screen, was fun, but eventually the joys of the written word were opened up to them.
We read a variety of material, from fiction, to research papers on just about anything that takes our fancy. The kids may not always understand what they are reading about, but then that naturally opens up a whole opportunity to find out about something new. To teach themselves something. To EDUCATE themselves.

Writing:- I absolutely abhor bad grammar and poor writing skills. It took hundreds of years for that basic privilege to reach the masses and I am not about to let such an important skill fall by the wayside now as far as my children are concerned.
I can remember as a child myself, being taught how to say 'schedule' properly, and how the beginning of the word starts with shed..not sked. Now, every time I hear an American or even worse, an English person utter skedule...it sends a shiver up my spine.
Therefore, I have instilled the same methods into my own children.
Ekscape, is another one..so too is haitch, for the letter H. There are others, but in truth there are too many to document here, and the listing of them isn't important to the point I am trying to make, which is this...I read other blogs. Other Home Educating blogs. Sometimes with ease and interest, other times with a squint developing in my right eye as I try to decipher exactly what the writer is trying to say.
It truly is a sad thing when ones poor speaking skills translate so literally into their writing skills. 

Arithmetic:- Learning how to use numbers and their relevance in everyday life, is vital. End of story. If I need to elaborate, then you have completely missed the point, and should indeed consider going back to school yourself. You certainly should not be contemplating the task of educating the next generation of society.
For this opinion, I offer no apologies. 


I was thinking about making some dramatic point here, about how I have seen other parents supposedly educating their children at home, but showing quite clearly that they are incapable of even teaching grass to grow. Their inability to string a coherent sentence together with correct spelling and grammar, is astounding.

Now, before someone gets all windy with me, I do in fact know about and accept that there are some who have a language barrier to overcome maybe, or even dyslexia to cope with. But it has to be said that these people are generally in the minority. (This is not a sweeping statement, and I give no impression of supporting evidence to my 'claim' which in fact is not actually a claim...so again, don't go there).

I will say only this in conclusion. If you are adamant that you are going to take on the responsibility of teaching your child everything they will need to know to become valued and useful members of society..then please make sure that you can accurately do so, without leaving any gaps..no...chasms in their education.

I think for anyone reading this, who absolutely gets what I am talking about, will also get why perhaps new legislation and better regulation of HE might not be such a bad idea, and perhaps why some who are obviously lacking in the above areas, might feel the need to get defensive when such a proposal is mentioned.


Loz