I have been thinking...(a rare but often momentous occurrence)
... This continuing debate about HE is beginning to bug me.
There are those who Home Educate because they believe it to be the best and only option available to their children. There are those who Home Educate because of circumstances beyond their control. Sadly, I have recently discovered, that there are those who Home Educate because they believe it affords them some kind of social status.
It is this misguided belief that some have, which has started to irritate me.
Also..just for the record, I am not in the habit of name dropping, or indeed leaving a bread crumb trail behind me large enough for anyone to decipher whom I may be talking about. So lets not even attempt it.
Firstly, I need to state that I do not like what I have seen recently from some HE families.
It would appear that Home Schooling is about how well some parents can 'do it'.
It is this ethos of competition which bothers me greatly.
Is it not enough that when attending mainstream school, our children are constantly compared to each other and constantly expected to reach certain targets against each other? Why then do I find that exact mentality occurring within the supposed safe environment of HE?
When I attend a quiet get-together, for a nice cup of tea and a chance to watch the kids playing together, I do not expect to be bombarded with talk of comparisons...I quite honestly do not care how many iGCSE's another parents child has. Or indeed, how many college courses they plan to take in the next year, or how many degrees they expect to have gained before their 16th birthday.
And another thing, if I choose to work with my LA..that is my choice, and I do not expect to be told that I am making a mistake, and that I will regret even letting them in through the door.
I do not happen to have a problem with the LA. Because I have nothing to hide.
Actually, I quite enjoy the opportunity to show them exactly what we have been doing, and what else we plan to do.
I like to have things to show them because with that evidence before them they have absolutely no reason to suspect that I am not providing an adequate education for my child, and that I am in fact providing an education the LA could only wish to provide for children in mainstream schools.
It also gives my son the opportunity to defend his own reasons for being educated at home, and to speak for himself should he feel the need to do so.
This also goes a long way towards proving just how adequate his education is, which staves off the dreaded SAO, which so many other HE families go on and on about.
It seems to me that the one thing I was so desperate to get away from, is still very much present within the Home Education community..and that is the clique mentality, which is especially so with those who strongly advocate child led autonomous education.
Now, just for the record, I have no problems with AE. I just choose not to take that route because it does not suit either myself, or my child. Not because I don't think it works, but because my son actively asked for more structured work to be getting on with.
It would seem that because of this decision, some would class my son as not being properly Home Educated. They would rather class him as being schooled from home. If that is the case, then I hold my hands up..yes, I school my child from home. Yes, I do have workbooks, and pens and pencils and exercise books. Yes, we do sit down at the table and discuss everyday events, politics, geography, history, mathematics and English. And yes...I do make him write things in his exercise books (Boo Hiss)...
..After all, there are only so many uses for willow baskets and weaving skills. And my son has neither, nor does he aspire to gain them.
Therefore, my final note on the subject is this, Home Educators..you must learn to live and let live.
The entire point of HE is that there are no guidelines to follow, no legislation, and no rules. the method and execution of it's delivery is the parents responsibility. Therefore, do not create so many negatives and restrictions which you then hide within the very infrastructure of it.
Loz
This is so well said Loz, I've tried to say much the same on the yahoo but been 'shouted down'!!!! We should be celebrating how different we all are and how 'differently' we do it because that is the beauty of HE in the first place.
ReplyDeleteExactly. It is not a competition. When HE begins to be glory hunt purely for the parents..the very point of it is totally lost, and at the end of the day, it will be the children who suffer.
ReplyDeleteThankyou Loz for posting this. I have been trying to say this for years but keep hitting a brick wall. Slowly there are more of us who feel the same and its lovely too see.
ReplyDeleteWe chose HE so that we could do it differently which, for us, is an eclectic mix of bookwork, groups and clubs, and activities the kids enjoy - but we have found sometimes as much prejudice for this view as we faced when the children where in school.
you say-This also goes a long way towards proving just how adequate his education is, which staves off the dreaded SAO, which so many other HE families go on and on about.
ReplyDeleteits nothing to be scared of an SAO so you dont have to shown them laods of work your son does!
many SAO are issued but not taken before a court becuase the LA knows it has to prove no home education is taking place it can not just say this a court wants to see real evidence not the word of one corrupte LA officer! so SAO are used as threats by LA but if you call their bluff your find their wont enforce it! you can also ask the sectary of state to remove it on the grounds your home educating LA hope you dont know all this!
I do understand how the SAO system works, but thank you for clarifying it for perhaps others who may not.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would also like to say to others that you indeed do not have to have piles of work to magically produce to your LA should they suddenly appear on your doorstep..you dont even have to allow them access in to your home, however, I personally think it is better if you CAN...even if you choose not to.
you say-I do understand how the SAO system works, but thank you for clarifying it for perhaps others who may not.
ReplyDeleteHow does the SAO process work then? we had one so know all the in and outs of it!
Let me clarify...I understand the circumstances leading up to the possible issuing of an SAO. I also understand both the courts stance on them and the LA stance on them.
ReplyDeleteIf you have been unfortunate enough to have received one, then you are more than likely to know the ins and outs of the process better than I, because I have not personally received one, or the threat of one.
Apologies for any confusion.
you say-Let me clarify...I understand the circumstances leading up to the possible issuing of an SAO. I also understand both the courts stance on them and the LA stance on them.
ReplyDeleteWhat are those circumstances leading up 2 an SAO some LA's do not follow the law!
did you know that an LA can issue an SAO but its not thought to be an injustice on the parents if one is issued but not inforced? or if an SAO is left to run out! no LA officer is held to account for this you think that is right?