Home schooling

[John Little]

Since the 1997 Education Act we in England do not have to send a child to school. More and more people are choosing to educate their children at home

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/parents/schoolslearninganddevelopment/choosingaschool/dg_4016124

Truth to tell I do not know if this applies in Scotland, but the duty is for a parent to ensure that a child receives an education, not that they go to school.

My step-son decided that one of his daughters was at a school which was so dire and so bad for her, that he had no choice but to take her out and teach her himself. So for 2 days a week my step-grand-daughter comes to me and work on History, Geography and Method. We also read books out loud to each other and she cooks and sews with my wife. All that she does is written up and reported on with comment and opinion.

PE - she is to go to classes with my wife at the local leisure centre and we take her for walks and out on the bikes.

Science, Maths, Art, RE she does with my step son.

Educational visits she will get in plenty.

In this way she does not have to go to an unimaginative sausage machine run by box tickers only interested in test results.

I will probably put her in for a few IGCSEs in a year or so and see how she does.

Anyone else out there schooling a child?

[TAFKAL]

How do you tackle the sciences and practical sessions?

[John Little]

I don't. My stepson does that.

In her school they don't do much practical anyway.

My stepson is heavily into all things scientific and is particularly fond of Chemistry- quite enough to supply what his daughter needs to know.

He's very clever - does Fractals for fun.

Weirdo!

[secrets in symmetry]

My physics teacher friend reports that the kids do very little practical work in her school - which is one of the most desirable schools in the north east. They do far less than we did at school, and she is appalled by this.

[*Martin*]

Sorry, but what is method?

It sounds like your grand daughter is going to be getting a cracking education. How old is she?

Does she go to any social groups with people her own age? There's more to school than just books and teachers.

[John Little]

That is true and it is in our minds. She has friends who she does see.

And as my stepson says, she has been educated in Egypt and the UK, been in several schools, and may be in another in a couple of years. Our immediate aim is to see her through GCSE and then review whether or not she goes to 6th form college.

Method is something that is lacking in many lessons in state schools. They throw information at you and tell you to go and do an assignment.

How do you research?
How to you plan a piece of writing? I mean actually physically plan it out. Writing an essay, instead of just vomiting the contents of one's brain onto a sheet of paper?
How do you analyse evidence?
How do you critically analyse and investigate, drawing on data, evidence and opinion?
How do you form a hypothesis?
How do you reach a conclusion?
How do you actually revise best for an exam?
How do you remember stuff?
How do you inculcate good use of language?
How do you demonstrate progression to a student and make it crystal clear how they can improve their thinking?
How do you set your thoughts out logically to consider a problem in many aspects?

It's not enough to teach a subject. It's not what you know but what you do with it.

That's Method.

[linnie612]

How old is the girl and is she happy to be home-schooled? I think unless the school was diabolical, that would have to be an important factor.

[John Little]

She is 13 and more than happy.

The school was giving her nightmares.

As to what the school did to push us to this I will not say, save that you are right - it was diabolical.

[secrets in symmetry]

Writing an essay, instead of just vomiting the contents of one's brain onto a sheet of paper?Hey, that's how I write!

Vomit, edit, ..., vomit, edit, .... Then restructure. Then more vomit, more edits, .... ad nauseam!


That's Method.
Would you like another pupil? :cool:

[John Little]

Hey, that's how I write!

Vomit, edit, ..., vomit, edit, .... Then restructure. Then more vomit, more edits, .... ad nauseam!


Would you like another pupil? :cool:

LOL! Well that's one way to do it. I wish I had a pound for every student I have had who has never been shown how to plan an essay in their whole time at school.

Or even better, a pound for every teacher you find in January who has not marked a single exercise book since September.
If you don't mark kid's work then you send them a very clear message - you don't actually consider what they do is important. Yet non-marking is endemic.

As to planning I suggested to one student who was planning a major piece of coursework that he do it as a staged burr diagram on his bedroom wall. He actually did it - and his Dad was over the moon about it.

[linnie612]

Your original question was 'Anyone else out there schooling a child?', so I would have to say I have neither schooled nor been schooled at home.

It would appear to me that as long as (a) the child/children were happy to be taught outwith a regular school, and it was in their best interests, (b) any 'teacher/teachers' - whether it be parent, extended family or whatever - were up to the job, (c) a well-rounded education was taught/received, and (d) the child/children did not miss out on interaction with their peers, then it could be very rewarding to all concerned. That may be a very simplistic approach, though.

[John Little]

I don't think so.

To me that seems a sensible and grounded approach that I agree with entirely.

[Phill]

Providing the ones delivering the education can actually impart knowledge in an effective manner then, what is effectively 1 to 1 education, should be fantastic.
As what has been touched on above is the social side, interaction with her peers and doing whatever groups of 13 year old's do. This is quite important as could throw up problems in later teenage years or in later life.
It can be difficult to gauge how kids interact with other kids whilst their parental figures are around, they behave differently than when in the care of a school or youth groups etc.
Obviously by 13 she may have had plenty of social interaction but I would think it still needs as much focus as the education.

(and yes, vomited onto the 'page') :)

[Tilly Teckel]

I home educated my son for a year before we moved from Wales to Caithness. He had finished primary and would have had to do the first year of high school in Wales then move up here and repeat the year because of the way the high school is structured. I didn't see the point in him struggling to settle into a new school for a year then having to repeat the process again so I just didn't register him for high school and kept him home. The LEA said that as long as he was receiving an education that was appropriate and adequate (very subjective terms!) I could teach him whatever I wanted.

I have to say it was the most fun we have ever had together. It was liberating to be able to follow things he was interested in, for as long as he wanted. One memorable occasion we were walking home from playing tennis in the park when he spotted a gorgeous butterfly and asked me what it was called. I had no idea but said he should find out. He used the internet and went to the library to find out more. He then went on to draw a scientific diagram of the butterfly, naming it's parts; write a creative story about how it may have come to be in our local park; have a discussion with me about the ethics of keeping butterflies in captivity; and paint a lovely picture of it. All the while, he was enthusiastic and excited about what he was doing because he was choosing to do it!

We joined a local home education group where we went one day a week and mixed with children and adults of all ages, played sports, learned new skills and generally had fun. My son was able in his own time to pursue his interests in Maths and Computing. I bought the GCSE teachers guides and pupils workbooks and he flew throught them both within a few months. We cooked together, talked about everything under the sun, and built a volcano in the garden (much to the neighbours' surprise!).

When we moved to Caithness we both thought it would be better for him to go to high school to make new friends and we're glad he did. I do miss home education though!

[roadbowler]

John, sounds like a good thing you've got going for your granddaughter. Well done! This subject has been chewed over a few times I've seen in the past. The same things are always brought up. Namely, home educated children are socially inept, how can parents teach properly if they aren't certified teachers or similar and a few others. However, as home educators are in the vast minority, we get a few stereotypes bandied about in the media then they are just regurgitated by the majority without having actually looked into these issues. If they did they would see that there has been much research into these issues and home educated children out perform their schooled peers on standardised tests in every study as far as I can find. In socialisation studies they find that home educated children are better behaved, well adusted, better socialised and more mature than their schooled peers. To me, it is a no brainer on the socialisation issue. It is not normal or natural for 20+ children all the same age to sit in a classroom for 8 hours a day all through their formative years in my view. So, linnie points out that yea, sure, great if it is in the best interests of the child. In my view, if parents start from the outset and decide they are going to spend their childs school age years dedicated to educating their child and provide that education, it is in the best interests of the child and even the studies into it agree with my view on it. That is also my interpretation of the legislation as well. The parents have a responsibility to see to it that their children are educated appropriately and that includes making sure the school educates your child properly. As for a well rounded education, I personally do not believe the average school does give a well rounded education nor do I believe the school environment provides an individual developmental stage / age appropriate education especially early on. Home education can and does. Good luck on your home education journey John! (sorry the one paragraph, mobile phone does seem to want to allow line breaks!)

[Phill]

I don't think anyone is screaming out that home educated kids are socially inept, but pointing out that the socialisation is just as important as the education. This can be achieved by afterschool / youth clubs & groups like scouts, guides, beavers etc. and sports clubs like football & swimming etc.
Being able to work, function and cooperatively interact as part of a team or within a group of your peers is just as important as the knowledge and skills one may bring to that group.

[RecQuery]

My one concern with home schooling is the social aspect. I admit that children - and a lot teachers - are capricious and cruel and I probably had a better education that most being in a rural area, though the only part of my education I enjoyed was university. It does seem to me that there's a certain skillset picked up at school regarding group dynamics, competition, team working and socialisation that may be missing in a home schooled environment or even in after school clubs. It's also possible that only exposing children to one opinion or view could be damaging. Whenever I've heard about home schooling it's always related to ultra-religious people in US.

[fortyfiveproject]

I was home educated for a total of three years during my schooling – one when I was about seven and we were moving house and two years at the end of secondary school as I was badly bullied at school and actually reached the point one lunchtime where I walked out of school and headed home, refusing to go back!

It probably helped that both my parents are trained teachers with years of experience, but that’s not to say that parents who aren’t teachers can’t do a fantastic job of educating their children at home. I was able to take classes like Latin (as well as both French and German) which I really enjoyed and which is still surprisingly useful in this day and age. I also studied English grammar, which is not taught in secondary schools at all really.

We were fortunate to have a big garden so “PE” lessons would often take place either out there or in the form of a ‘ramble’, usually around 5 miles, to the next village where my Dad would tell us (my little sister was H.E. too) about his childhood during WW2 (history!) and would also take in a lot of the natural world (science!) – something that is widely ignored in modern schooling.

As for ‘socialisation’, by the time you’re 14 (which I was) you have probably already got a good idea of the things you’re interested in. During the time I was H.E. I was doing something every evening – usually music or drama based as that’s where my interests lie. By the time I had finished, I adjusted very easily to my sixth form college and progressed from there onto university. I didn’t take any GCSEs, but took a sample of my work to a meeting with the principal of the college. I took my college decision far more seriously than my friends at school did – I had interviews at four different sixth form colleges so I had the opportunity to really think about the options that were open to me.

@John Little – when we were H.E. we were a part of something called Education Otherwise – it offers support and advice for the parents and also introduces children to their home educated peers through a little newsletter that a different child edits each month.

I hope this has been of some help :)

[John Little]

That is a good link - thank you. I shall have a look at Education otherwise; my stepson is very busy in his job so that side of things is probably down to me. And what you say is very encouraging.

[midgemagnet]

My wife and I home educate our son (now 8). So far so good, we have a timetable of activities and things to cover, but try to keep things interesting and flexible for him. We cover what the schools cover and more besides, including values / behaviours to instil a good work ethic in the future. He's not a genius, but by all accounts is doing fine, is articulate, and asks amazing questions.

I was concerned when we started about his socialisation, he goes to various clubs, visits friends often and they visit us, a very social little chap now ! I'm not sure we will home educate him beyond 11 or 12, we will see how it goes.

Best wishes

[John Little]

I just had a look at Education Otherwise and they seem to be a good organisation. There are several groups in our area including a swimming group. It seems to me that this could help get over the socialisation problem so I shall investigate further.

Result! As they say...