View Full Version : home educators
are there any on this board?
I don't have any children yet myself but this is something I would really like to look into for when I do.
Why do you wish to home educate? Just curious.
for us there are very personal reasons why some of our kids are home educated, but there's a myriad of reasons why parents do it. have a look here http://www.education-otherwise.org/Legal/faq.htm
it's not for everyone, or every child. our son is in school and we find that is the best place for him to be educated, some of our other kids are a different story. our eldest is in college after being home educated and not taking any gcse's. she's just finished her first year with a distinction so we're pretty proud of her :D
Why do you wish to home educate? Just curious.
i would be quite happy to home educate because we both are are degree level educated, (missus is a teacher), school is 10 miles away (carbon footprint), child peer structure is a shambles (kids learn bad behavior) and teaching is done to suit our child's requirements ( ie no religious instruction until 18 years).
changilass
27-Jul-07, 00:44
Rheg, can I send mini Changi along please
rockchick
27-Jul-07, 06:54
i would be quite happy to home educate because we both are are degree level educated, (missus is a teacher), school is 10 miles away (carbon footprint), child peer structure is a shambles (kids learn bad behavior) and teaching is done to suit our child's requirements ( ie no religious instruction until 18 years).
Just curious, but how would you propose to cover the wide berth of secondary school subjects if you home-schooled? Not many of us could teach at Highers level both Physics and English.
Both my husband and myself are degree-level educated, and there's no way we would contemplate this.
you don't need to cover the whole range of subjects taught in secondary school. you teach children what they're interested in and what they'll find useful in life. everything our kids have needed to find out we've got from the library or the internet. if they don't need to learn something they don't. i for one don't remember one word of my economics class in school and hated sewing an cookery classes, yet still had to endure them for many years. we have one child who loves science and is always involved in expreriments and fact finding missions for her subject. she also devours maths with gusto and along the way i've learnt maths subjects that no-one could ever manage to explain to me in school. our other child has no interest in science at all but is a computer nut. she's taught the basics of science to get by in life but her education revolves mainly round computers, and at 10 years old she;s a whizz at programming and makes her own videos on the computer. most of that she's taught herself, and learns it because that's where her interest lies.
if they want to find something out they will - it doesn't necessarily have to be 'taught' to them.
I have met some children who are home educated and they are severly lacking in social skills, which can be learned from being in a presence outwith your family circle. I know there are pros and cons with regard to home education - I am degree educated also and would not contemplate home education, but I am able to offer assistance at home in order to help my children progress, but thats as far as I go.
I have met some children who are home educated and they are severly lacking in social skills, which can be learned from being in a presence outwith your family circle.
This would be my concern - how can you compensate for them not having to deal with people outwith the family circle.
socialisation isn't a problem, though it is for many children who are stuck in school all day with only their peers for company.
home educated children get out and about in society, are adept at mixing with older and younger children and with adults. it's lovely to go to a home-ed meet and see the older children helping out the little ones and sharing their knowledge with them. you don't find that in most mainstream schools - children in the playground stick with kids of their own ages, and only really get to mix in the short playtimes. bullying is unheard of amongst home ed kids, and if anyone tells me you need to be bullied to toughen you up for the real world i'd ask them when they last put up with having their head smashed against a wall or robbed of their dinner money daily at their workplace - we don't put up with it as adults so why should our kids?
i'm often complemented on how mature our eldest daughter is, and the college are often amazed at how much worldly knowledge she has compared to her peers, and it's purely because she hasn't been cooped up in a class learning by rote for all of her childhood.
there are some kids who are home educated who do lack social skills, but that's usually the fault of the parents for not giving them a wide range of experiences in life to equip them to cope when they're adults. thankfully this seems to be in the minority in my experience.
i could go on , but i really only wanted to see if there were any other home educators on the board, not have a discussion about the merits of home education.
as i said before, have a look at the education otherwise site for some answers to these questions. there are some lovely essays on the site by children and parents too which are well worth reading.
:D
I have met some children who are home educated and they are severly lacking in social skills, which can be learned from being in a presence outwith your family circle.
but home teaching isnt stopping a child having a social life! social skills are learnt out of school too.
isnt that what out of school activities are for e.g Brownies,scouts,cadets ect
I think my main concern about this reflects my feelings about private education - that it restricts the type of people children meet and therefore learn how to deal with and understand during their school life and i belevie that this is one of the MAIN and BEST aspects of schooling - how do they learn that there are people who dont have anything, money parents a home, how do they meet children with disabilities, from different ethnic backgrounds, children who are not academically clever, not sporty or very sporty, children who arent competitive are are very competitive, bullies and retiring wallflowers. it is learning to understand and appreciate others which comes from our exposure to them at an early age which is a valuable thing and which helps us to question opinions and values.
I appreciate that you have to do the best for your children but i cannot see that home schooling is ever the bst thing IM afraid:~(
but they DO meet all those different children in everyday life, be it at out of school clubs, playing at the park, or most importantly at home ed meetings. there is a hugely wide range of children being home educated and they all get to mix at such meetings.
our son goes to a special school. there is little chance for inclusion to mainstream schools round here, with the result that few schoolchildren round her understand or even come into contact with children with disabilities, which increases predjudice. many people have a vision of home edded children being stuck at home, never meeting anyone and being altogether 'a bit odd'. i can assure you this is not the case.
like i say, it's not for everyone, but it suits us as a family, just as our son attending school suits him and his personality.
Lolabelle
27-Jul-07, 15:11
I have met some children who are home educated and they are severly lacking in social skills, which can be learned from being in a presence outwith your family circle. I know there are pros and cons with regard to home education.
I kinda agree with this, I have met a few people that home school their kids and I believe in these particular cases it is paramount to child abuse. These children have no scope to learn problem resolution and I won't even go into how far behind academically they are. The 13 year old's reading is the equivalent to about an 8year olds, (ok so I did go into it, couldn't help it, its a bug bear of mine)
Now before everyone starts yelling at me, I know not all cases are like this, but sometimes I think that the people who chose to home school are the ones who definately should not. Unfortunately the 4 families that I have met who do home school are like this, and I think it is a shame. :~(
I am not making a judgement on you seren, or your particular situation. If it works for you, good on you. But it certainly doesn't in the cases I have mentioned.
I must say that I know of some kids that go to a normal school and they are lacking in social skills as well, in fact, I wonder sometimes if there are any kids at school that have any at all?:roll:
cuddlepop
27-Jul-07, 16:20
If you can provide a social group for your children eg brownies,scouts,swimming club etc so that they can mix with their peers and be children then home schooling is a possibility.
Children I've meet who are home educated tend to see themselves as an adult and dont have the necessary skills to cope with the "mind games" children play.
NickInTheNorth
27-Jul-07, 16:45
Children I've meet who are home educated tend to see themselves as an adult and dont have the necessary skills to cope with the "mind games" children play.
To my mind that would be one huge plus for home education. Why should children be forced to learn to be as manipulative and downright nasty as some children can be.
Home ed is a constant "background noise" in our life. We have actively considered it for our children, and probably the only reason that we have not gone down that route so far is that we have been fortunate enough to have our children educated in very small rural schools (largest school prior to Pennyland was 25 pupils!), in which the needs of the child have been paramount. They have been educated as they required, not as their age dictated. Having now moved to a larger school we wait to see how that turns out.
So far the noises are all very positive. Our eldest daughter who is just heading into P6 has been put into a mixed P6/7 class, with the intention of allowing her to continue working at a more appropriate level for her. If that doesn't work out and she is not being stretched enough to keep her interest we will look at other posibilities. High on the list in that case would be home ed.
cuddlepop
27-Jul-07, 16:52
If kids dont learn that other kids play mind games then how to do they cope with adult "mind games"?
People whether young or old all play mind games.:eek:.home education just delays the expore to them and gives the kids who are educated at home the false idea that what is said is actually ment.
I agree that home teaching is a good thing, no disruptions from unruly class mates, no bullying, no child to shy to ask the teacher for help & no child overlooked because the teachers overstretched!
On the other hand I find that Scotland doesnt have the same support network for home teaching as England does.
here youre left to it, no checks, no curriculum & if the parents dont teach the child on a regular basis the child misses out on a vital education
NickInTheNorth
27-Jul-07, 17:00
I don't indulge in playing mindgames. I don't have any time for anyone that tries to indulge in the same with me. I am very straight forward. I am brutally honest, and if people cannot cope with that then tough.
I teach my children to be the same. If everyone took the same attitude then mind games would soon be a thing of the past.
cuddlepop
27-Jul-07, 17:03
I don't indulge in playing mindgames. I don't have any time for anyone that tries to indulge in the same with me. I am very straight forward. I am brutally honest, and if people cannot cope with that then tough.
I teach my children to be the same. If everyone took the same attitude then mind games would soon be a thing of the past.
You and me both Nick but I'm afraid we're in the minority.:eek:Either that or I've been unfortunate in the people I meet.
I have a few questions and a few observations about this thread and what people have said in it.
If the children are being home taught why is there no expectation to teach a structured and balanced curriculum?
One person says their child is self taught. This will allow them to get so far but how do you expect them to progress without a clear structure and clear expectations?
If children have a strong interest in something they will pursue it during leisure time and still get a balanced education at school.
I think one big issue that is raised is the social skills. Children will develop good manners and social skills from their parents if that is what there parents are teaching them home schooled or not. Pupils spend less than 15% of the year in school the other 85% is at home. If children are ill behaved there is only one main place the are learning it - home!
I have met many school children who are well behaved and others who are not. Two very bad offenders for bullying were home taught, and were very adept at playing nasty childish mind games. Again I think this issue comes back to the home rather than where they are taught.
Most of the biggest plus points I have heard for home schooling come down to good parenting which they will get regardless as to how they are educated.
i thought home schooling was structured?
that their is a set course that each student must take, and exams just like children in school.
they should basically be learning the same things children in public school does.
me personally, the kids are going to public school.
why? because i feel that it will be in their best intrest.
I can not teach them the things they need to know to thrive in their enviroment.
i want my children to be individuals but at the same time to feel at home in their enviroment.
and as we are townies i could not see how they could fit in, if they were ostricised (sp) from other children.
sam now at 4 years old is desprate to be out and play with the other children in the neighborhood.
i take him out and let him play with them while im watching, but hes not allowed out on his own.
He can not wait to start nursery. as it will give him the opportunity to meet other children his age, and be able to interact socially.
and as for how the children older interact with the younger?
well on that score sam made easy and ready friends in a few min. kids from 4 years to 12 years were running about outside the other day laughing and playing. one of the boys who is 8 was keeping a keen eye on sam making sure he didnt stray! and when i had to drag a screaming child back into the house for bed time said 8 year old, told him not to cry that they could play another day.
at the end of the day we do not live in a nice world.
there are many bad people in it.
i personally feel we can not sugar coat it for our children.
all we can do is try and teach them better, and make them aware that in general that there are some nasties out their who enjoy others suffering.
their are circumstances why homeschooling is much better than public school, and there are times that public school is much better than homeschooling..
right now im thinking boarding schol as they are running mad and screaming!!
footie chick
27-Jul-07, 19:50
right now im thinking boarding schol as they are running mad and screaming!!
Me too :lol: can't wait until they go back to school!
rockchick
27-Jul-07, 20:24
you don't need to cover the whole range of subjects taught in secondary school. you teach children what they're interested in and what they'll find useful in life. everything our kids have needed to find out we've got from the library or the internet. if they don't need to learn something they don't. i for one don't remember one word of my economics class in school and hated sewing an cookery classes, yet still had to endure them for many years. we have one child who loves science and is always involved in expreriments and fact finding missions for her subject. she also devours maths with gusto and along the way i've learnt maths subjects that no-one could ever manage to explain to me in school. our other child has no interest in science at all but is a computer nut. she's taught the basics of science to get by in life but her education revolves mainly round computers, and at 10 years old she;s a whizz at programming and makes her own videos on the computer. most of that she's taught herself, and learns it because that's where her interest lies.
if they want to find something out they will - it doesn't necessarily have to be 'taught' to them.
I find this a bit confusing - are your children "home taught" or "self-taught"?
Exploring an area of interest that one has, whether its a subject at school or a hobby, is a joy and a pleasure that should always be encouraged and never be lost. Teaching, however, sometimes requires emparting information into a mind that isn't necessarily adept at picking up that information. A child who is a "whizz" at writing their own computer programs should still learn the rudimentary elements of algebra and english, in order to stretch their minds and give them more options later in life.
If I was given free rein at 11 to learn only the subjects I was interested in would have severely hampered me in later life, and I would never have picked upon the career that I've been lucky enough to find myself in.
Please don't misunderstand me - I'm not against home schooling in principle, certainly it can be very successful in primary school. However, once children reach secondary school levels, any area they want to study in requires specialist teaching. Are you a computer "whizz", and can you critique your child's programmes to the extent that you can pick out areas she's going wrong and where she can do better? Do you know the principles of good science and can you teach your other child them? What about communicating their findings through effective use of English?
It is possible that one of your children have hidden talents in the areas of economics or sewing to use your examples of bete noirs; how would you nurture those talents if you admittedly lack competence in these areas?
I have to say that this thread holds great interest for me. As an ex-homeschooled kid (never spent a day in school my whole life) who is now qualified with a BSc and two HNDs, I feel I can share a fairly balanced view of some of the opinions that have been voiced so far.
To answer a few in particular:
i would be quite happy to home educate because we both are are degree level educated, (missus is a teacher), school is 10 miles away (carbon footprint), child peer structure is a shambles (kids learn bad behavior) and teaching is done to suit our child's requirements ( ie no religious instruction until 18 years).
I would agree, in the main, with you on this. I feel that it is important that the parents doing the teaching have a grasp of the subject and are able to provide a semi-structured teaching plan.
Just curious, but how would you propose to cover the wide berth of secondary school subjects if you home-schooled? Not many of us could teach at Highers level both Physics and English.
Both my husband and myself are degree-level educated, and there's no way we would contemplate this.
There in lies on of the main differences in home education. In schooling the whole thing is built up as a massive tactical campaign that targets the final exams--the highers! I don't have a higher to my name, yet still got into college fine. In home-education the emphasis is on what you get out of a subject, not the exam.
As for the wide range of subjects, how many kids enjoy, and thus later use all the subjects they are forced to study? If the kid identifies what interests them regards the main core (english, maths, physics, chemistry, biology) then you can base it around that.
I happen to be practically minded thus chose English, maths, physics (also happened to do ancient history, Latin, computing/html etc).
I have met some children who are home educated and they are severely lacking in social skills, which can be learned from being in a presence out with your family circle. I know there are pros and cons with regard to home education - I am degree educated also and would not contemplate home education, but I am able to offer assistance at home in order to help my children progress, but that’s as far as I go.
There is a danger that the kid can become isolated. Fortunately this was not a problem in my case and I have a lot of friends/acquaintances that I have grown up with. It depends how you define social skills. Is it being able to join in with a group of kids paying football, hold a conversation? Our family are quite, err diverse, and you picked up a lot of social skills damn quickly. Personally I don't think school teaches kids social skill, it teaches them survival.....
I kinda agree with this, I have met a few people that home school their kids and I believe in these particular cases it is paramount to child abuse. These children have no scope to learn problem resolution and I won't even go into how far behind academically they are. The 13 year old's reading is the equivalent to about an 8year olds, (ok so I did go into it, couldn't help it, its a bug bear of mine)Now before everyone starts yelling at me, I know not all cases are like this, but sometimes I think that the people who chose to home school are the ones who definately should not. Unfortunately the 4 families that I have met who do home school are like this, and I think it is a shame. :~I am not making a judgement on you seren, or your particular situation. If it works for you, good on you. But it certainly doesn't in the cases I have mentioned.
Ahhh problem resolution! Let me see... so that means teaching our kids to learn to lie and deny they are in the wrong? Good parenting is the problem there, not the education. That comes under essential skills all kids should have.
As for being academically behind, that is only if you compare it to the school system where all kids, whether fast or slow learners have to learn at the same speed. I did not learn to read until fairly late by school standards, yet I can still polish off a harry potter in less than a day, so I have more than made up for it.
If kids don’t learn that other kids play mind games then how to do they cope with adult "mind games"?
People whether young or old all play mind games.:eek:.home education just delays the expore to them and gives the kids who are educated at home the false idea that what is said is actually ment.
Or if like me you are taught to tell the truth, not try and cover your rear with lies. It makes people squirm, but it has not got me into trouble compared to lying about something.
Adult 'mind games', i.e. learning to manipulate others for your own benefit. Since when did we always have to be #1? What's wrong with getting off your own lazy backside and doing the job yourself. Deception, lies, tricky, just watch the downfall of the politicians if you need some examples of why it is obviously a waste of time.
To cover a couple of other things:
I do think that it is a good idea that the local education authorities visit and monitor the families, but they should not be allowed to intervene unless in extreme cases of neglect.
My education was a mixture of sitting down with text books and getting out to see the real world. Thus half a day I would study, then half a day I would go out or stay in and experiment/built/design all practical things.
Involving the whole family in the education is vital, one parent should not be given the entire burden or the education will be unbalanced.
In my case:
Dad- covered maths/Latin (have to admit I have forgotten most of it in the uni years)
Mum-physics/english/chem/history/geography/computing
Granny-cooking (and I am a darned good cook too now)
Granddad - garden/house maintenance/car maintenance/photography
Lots of cousins -social skill/street fighting (jk).
So I had most things covered. Did I miss school? Not one bit! Personally the idea of being in a building all day, herded round like sheep did not seem like my idea of fun.
I am happy to answer the (many) questions I know you folks will have!!
Cheers,
Sam
George Brims
27-Jul-07, 20:40
no religious instruction until 18 years.
Wow Rheghead, you certainly wouldn't fit the profile of the typical home schooler here in the US. They mostly home school because they want to teach their kids little else. They are frightened their kids might meet people of other persuasions, be exposed to the concepts of Darwinian evolution in science class etc etc.
NickInTheNorth
27-Jul-07, 20:43
Riffman, interesting post. Good to hear from someone that has been through the home ed process. Certainly sounds like you had a good experience of it.
This thread has really got me focused on the whole subject again, and I've just revisited a website which I have found a good source of information on the whole subject in the past:
http://www.education-otherwise.org/index.htm
Riffman, interesting post. Good to hear from someone that has been through the home ed process. Certainly sounds like you had a good experience of it.
This thread has really got me focused on the whole subject again, and I've just revisited a website which I have found a good source of information on the whole subject in the past:
http://www.education-otherwise.org/index.htm
Yup I consider myself fourtunate in that I got a very sound and wide ranging education. I have met other home-educators who have not done as well as myself also. It is a complex subject and all depends on the individual situation.
Thanks, yup I know all about EO, practically used to run it, lol! ;)
NickInTheNorth
27-Jul-07, 20:51
I mainly posted the link for others benefit :D
changilass
27-Jul-07, 21:01
Whilst I like the idea of home ed, it is not something I would consider at the moment for a couple of reasons:
1) The most important at the moment is that my son is behind in his speach and benefits greatly from being amongst other kids who are talking a lot more than him.
We do however work with him a lot at home, but I class that as the role of a parent anyway.
2) I don't feel as if I have enough all round knowledge to give him a fully comprehensive education. Folks train for years to teach one subject, let alone the whole curiculum. Having hated history at school, I would find it very hard to teach it.
Should our situation change for some reason, I am not saying it is something I would totally dismiss out of hand, but I do think I would have to pay someone to teach his certain subject.
At the end of the day, I will do what is best for my son having looked at all the options.
This is the best any of us can do.
thats a very generalised statment george and not necessarily true.
the states are full of christian schools for children for parents that want them to be brought up in a religious upbringing.
there are many many reasons for home schooling and i think that bullying is one of the main reasons for it. religious intolerance does swing both ways you know.
my children are going to go to public school and be raised in my beliefs. at the same time im teaching them that it is fine for others to belive what they want. and its OK for them not to think or belive the way we do.
I have a simple rule in my house.
I will not tolerate intolerance.
you do not judge someone by what they look like, what their faiths and beliefs are, or where they are from or even if they are from "good" or "bad" families.
its amazing what you learn from your parents, and how easy it is to either like a person for the person inside.. or only see whats on the outside.
in all honesty.. i learned that lesson from my God-parents. not from my family or from school.
i can see both sides of the coin on this issue.. as my God-parents were Jehovas and their childrens lifes were a nightmare in school.
they were ostrasized and ridiculed for their beliefs, the way they dressed, and because they were not allowed to participate in school activities during holiday seasons.
even the teachers sat them aside and made them noticed.. i do remember very clearly.. my best friend my whole life.. mike smith.. same age and in every class together.. year after year in primary.. ok children today we are going to make nativity scenes.. every one except mike.. who cant because hes a jehova..
it made the other children belive that being a jehova was bad, and so they then picked and made fun of him.
i was raised a southern baptist.. we were not suppose to associate with other religions or even denominations.. i personally never understood it.. and still dont.
in my book God is God and people are people.. you belive or you dont.. your you and im me. its not hard. I have friends who are atheist, i have friends who are die hard religious nuts and tell me im gonna be damned for associating with heretics..
(whispers) i just try to make sure they are never together!
i would never have been happy being home schooled.. i liked school up till high school.. then it just went to wreck and ruin *grrr* bullies bullies everywhere!
if my children ever came to me and said.. mum i cant take it anymore.. for waht ever reason.. and it was really damaging them ..then yes they would be pulled out of school, and i would do everything in my power to help them.
but at the same time i want to give them that chance of belonging.. of being part of the community and school activities.. just to be "one of the boys"
life is never easy.. not every child in public school turns out bad.. and not every home school child is a prodigy.. it all balances out.. and all i can say at the end of the day.. what ever is best for your child is the right answer.
and only you as a parent can determine that ..
zenmaster
27-Jul-07, 22:28
I think my main concern about this reflects my feelings about private education - that it restricts the type of people children meet and therefore learn how to deal with and understand during their school life
As a parent of two kids in private education I would agree that there is not the same range of kids. However I would say that any detrimental effect this may or may not have is insignificant compared to the hugely positive educational and social environment they have experienced. You can't generalise with kids whether they are educated by the state, at home or in private institutions. All individuals !
This is an interesting article about modern curriculum
http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/featuresopinon/display.var.1566588.0.0.php
Yup I consider myself fourtunate in that I got a very sound and wide ranging education. I have met other home-educators who have not done as well as myself also. It is a complex subject and all depends on the individual situation.
Thanks, yup I know all about EO, practically used to run it, lol! ;)I think you are fortunate Riffman. I've worked with a good number of home educated kids and I'm afraid they've all fitted the stereotypes: all were socially inept, poor communicators and incapable of dealing with many aspects of life away from mummy, daddy and a carefully chosen set of like minded friends and family. Contrary to what you might expect, very few were capable of independent unsupervised work. Most came to me as high flyers at age 16 or 17 but almost all had already peaked and were quickly overtaken by their traditionally educated peers and only one ever made anything of himself as far as I know. Mummy's darling little boy was usually lost once he'd left mummy's nest. I tend to avoid them like the plague nowadays, which is kinda sad because it's not their fault.
On a more positive note, it's good to hear from you Riffman and it's heart warming that seren's daughter is doing well at college. Perhaps I've been unlucky, perhaps the precocious high flyers are the ones to avoid.
I have to agree that is it a shame that some kids who are 'home-educated' have been done so becuase perhaps the parents were afraid of school, not the kids.
As regards unsupervised work, to be brutely honest I think that most kids are not good at it. As the leader of a team project in the final year, getting degree students to do their own un-supervised reseach was like getting blood out of a stone. From my team of five students, I only had two that would get on and work without me always having to guide them and check up on them constantly.
So regards the myth that home-ed kids are good at working on their own, its all false I'm afriad. Most need average, or above average supervision--which itself is sometimes a reason why kids are home-educated.
I am sad to say that I can think of other home-eder's that fit your stereotype, the local education authority should be doing more to encourage them, not discourage. With a bit of guidance and help, it should be possible to home-ed up to high school no problem.
Best regards,
Sam
i obviously can't comment on the home educated kids of northern scotland as i've only met the kids in the thriving home ed community here in the south of england. the kids here are a totally different kettle of fish - well adjusted, good communication and social skills and certainly don't miss out on anything. if anything, they gain so much more than the kids who are in school from 9-3 learning what the education authority says they have to learn at a pace that matches the authority, not the child's ability. (our son is an exception - his school concentrates on the child's ability, not whether they can tick all the right boxes on government forms.
i've seen many of those kids grow and go to college/university and into work and i wouldn't have said any of them are lacking in any skills, rather the opposite. they are far more confident and able than their schooled peers. if my kids want to go to school at some point then they can and i won't stop them. it's their choice. with the exception the youngest they've all done school and detested it. i watched my normally outgoing kids become introverted, frustrated at being held back in school or not being able to keep up, bullied and ridiculed for having ideas that didn't fit in with the norm (for example - one of my kids being sent out of class for saying the teacher was wrong for teaching the class that the swastika is only a nazi symbol, when our daughter knew the ancient history of the swastika - that's just one tiny example. i've got many more).
i'm getting into the home ed vs school discussion again though which i don't want to. i just want to find others in the caithness area. if anyone else home eds in caithness drop me a line as i don't want to continue with this discussion :D
rockchick
29-Jul-07, 15:58
Seren,
I know of at least two families in Caithness that homeschool (and that doesn't include Riffman), but I don't believe they're on the Org. If they are, perhaps they'll "uncloak" and send you a pm.
Unfortunately, I don't think you'll find the same level of support for home schooling up here as you did in the south. Best of luck with it.
i obviously can't comment on the home educated kids of northern scotland as i've only met the kids in the thriving home ed community here in the south of england. the kids here are a totally different kettle of fish - well adjusted, good communication and social skills and certainly don't miss out on anything. if anything, they gain so much more than the kids who are in school from 9-3 learning what the education authority says they have to learn at a pace that matches the authority, not the child's ability. (our son is an exception - his school concentrates on the child's ability, not whether they can tick all the right boxes on government forms.
i've seen many of those kids grow and go to college/university and into work and i wouldn't have said any of them are lacking in any skills, rather the opposite. they are far more confident and able than their schooled peers. if my kids want to go to school at some point then they can and i won't stop them. it's their choice. with the exception the youngest they've all done school and detested it. i watched my normally outgoing kids become introverted, frustrated at being held back in school or not being able to keep up, bullied and ridiculed for having ideas that didn't fit in with the norm (for example - one of my kids being sent out of class for saying the teacher was wrong for teaching the class that the swastika is only a nazi symbol, when our daughter knew the ancient history of the swastika - that's just one tiny example. i've got many more).
i'm getting into the home ed vs school discussion again though which i don't want to. i just want to find others in the caithness area. if anyone else home eds in caithness drop me a line as i don't want to continue with this discussion :DSeren, I understand that you don't want to continue to discuss school vs home education but I should point out that a lot of my experience of home educated kids was in southern England and that I found no difference between Scots and English. My experience in both countries is as diametrically opposed to yours as it can be. I wonder whether it's just that our perceptions are different and that you like what you see because you see what you like. I was open minded until experience taught me otherwise. A fascinating topic.
Interesting thread....
When I was growing up until the age of 10, I had a bit of both - Mum & I moved around London so many times, it was hard to remember what school I went to! So, she used to teach me at home as well.
My result was that I was actually a very bright kid - a bit like the tortoise & the hare, I lazed around, resting on my laurels & because I was bored at school, I was quite the rebel!
Saying this, I got 8 O'levels & went onto nurse training. Later in life I got 3 A levels - Physics, Chemistry & Biology, plus my 3 CIT Certs & a Sociology course.... in ONE year. Then went onto Uni for a Chem degree... I am in the UK top 2% in the IQ tests & yet in MY opinion, all this means absolutely nothing unless you have good old fashioned Common Sense!
Anyhow, my 3 & half yr old granddaughter - born with a cleft lip & palate & mild hearing loss - started to blossom VERY early... you can reason with her (when she's in the mood) hold a conversation with her, she counts to 25 now, can read simple words, has known her alphabet for a good year, and has the educational abilities of at least a 5 yr old in a majority of skills.
She then started Kindergarten 6 months ago.......
She outdone herself in the little SATS they do at the nursery, but her personality is already showing cracks - she's a fantastic mimic, & unfortunately for us, she has started to mimic the younger children - she has started going thru the terrible 2's all over again, and copies certain speech impediments in the other kids. OK, this is something we're dealing with & hopefully it's something she'll grow out of - however, we've found that the level of 'education' that she is getting from kindergarten is about a year behind her natural development!
So, the question we face: does my eldest teach her at home from the level she's at now, or allow her to be drawn back with the other kids?
It's nice to have a bright kiddy & she's perfectly happy with her friends outside of nursery, (ages 3 - 9) socially well adjusted, (it can take us over 2 hours to tour the local shops - she chats to everyone & they all know her) she never forgets a thing, (can still recount a trip or event from more than a year ago, in detail) and is better with the CD Player than my industrial robot programming hubby!
She can sing you ALL the current chart hits (fave groups: Gorillaz, Green Day & Bob Marley!) as well as hosts of nursery songs, and is just about there with telling the time.....
School for her? Well, probably yes - but if we were staying in Blackpool, I'd volunteer as a 2nd teacher & press her Mum to home teach!
If nothing else, it'd keep her from the local kids who are being brought up by kids themselves...with no social skills or morals..... a whole other issue....
Julie.
I think you're like all grandmothers, your grand-daughter is smarter than everyone else's grand-daughter. :)
I bet she's cuter too. :D
Don't try to teach her too much too soon, I think this is part of the problem with home educated kids. They get the idea that they are special because they are ahead of their peers in many areas but it's because they've had extra individual tuition from loving caring parents. They get out into the big bad world and they find they're no more special than anyone else and they sometimes can't cope as well as anyone else. Give me a school educated kid with extra loving attention from the parents every time. I think that's the best of both worlds.
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