When first I became interested in home education in this country, twenty years ago before my daughter was born, I was hugely impressed by the variety of people involved and their different reasons for adopting this peculiar course of action. I observed a similar diversity of aim and opinion in the early nineties and even after my daughter was born in 1993. Some parents were home educating because they wanted their children to have a better and more structured education than that on offer at the local school, there were "Hot-Housers" like Harry Lawrence, others were hippy types, some opposed formal education altogether, there were various religious types. In short, it was a very mixed group of people with a large sprinkling of eccentrics and mavericks and no unifying ideology whatsoever.
Today, things seem quite different. There is a stifling orthodoxy about the whole business which, were I to be embarking upon the adventure rather than bringing it to a close, would certainly put me off. Imagine somebody on the EO or HE-UK message boards complaining that schools were too child centred and that they wanted a more rigorous education for their child! Or somebody who welcomed inspections by the LEA as a means to maintain standards among home educators. These sort of views were certainly around in the past and expressed openly. Not everybody agreed, but then getting home educators to agree was always a bit like herding cats! Today, those holding such views tend to keep their mouths firmly shut if they are involved with home educating groups. Even parents who do not object to an annual visit from the LA are attacked on the grounds that they are setting a dangerous precedent for the rest of the home educating community.
I find it sad that home education has changed in this way. I have always been a bit out of step with those around me; in politics, religion, culture and educational practice. I suppose that it was inevitable that as home education became an accepted and respectable way of life that my views on the subject should cause irritation and even anger. As those old Party members like Doris Lessing said when they tore up their membership cards after the Hungarian Uprising,"It is not me who is leaving the Party, but the Party who is leaving me...." I suppose that I shall have to take up some other cranky and outlandish lifestyle now that home education has become respectable. I can't decide what though. Even things like Scientology and Paganism seem to be mainstream these days!
Home education has not become the norm most people send there children to a state school.Your views do cause irritation Simon because you want other home educators to do home education the right way and also to do what ever the LA/Badman/Balls DCSF tell them to do such as home visit seeing child on its own if you do not do this your not doing home education in the right way.
ReplyDeletePeopele who home educate do not want to be told by you that we must have home visits or allowing our child to be interviewed by a stranger in our own house.Of course if you or a few home eudcators want this then you can but respect our right not to allow meeting or forced home visits etc
You all so never mention the fact that many home educators do not get on with they LA this is because it is often the same officer who looks at home education who sided with the school when the parents children had problems at school. LA man sides with school but still thinks he came come round for tea? nice chat oh forget about what happened at school never mind if you where treated bladly just bad luck still i am here now hey wait a minute you where the officer who agreed with the school? i appoached you about what was going on at school but you agreed with the school and where rather off hand about it trying to blame me! so i think i pass on the home visit thanks! the funny thing is the LA officer think he done nothing wrong!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who see’s this; I feel this has been happing for a long time. Like you said several years ago you could walk into a home ed group and freely talk that you follow a structured path and you welcome help and support from EWO/LA or HEA’s.
ReplyDeleteI now find that people not so much lie but are very cautious about what they say in groups and I must admit one group we joined I LIED and said I was autonomous because you get a feel for people and I felt we would fit in better .. should I have to, NO but I did it for the children.
Now where we live I make a point and say I’m semi-structured and I have no objection to home visits or even help from the HEA’s in fact the HEA has been great with my youngest and provided books and even extra help with his writing skills as he’s dyslexic.
I think the problem is that you join these sites and then read countless horrors stories and then you ask for advice and you can guarantee the number one question is “ the LA been calling” and the replies are always “don’t accept run away hide” ok exaggerated but pretty close then the fear stories start.
I’m sure most county’s if you enquire as a parent you can request a different LA and most now have HEA’s, you just have to stand up and insist you want someone impartial, I know several people who have had LEA brought in from other counties to give an impartial view but you never hear about these stories.
Army Our LEA does not bring in anther LEA to give an impartial view.Nor does it provide books or anything else.
ReplyDeleteif you want home visits good luck to you but also respect our right not to allow home visits or to have a stranger attemting to force his way into our home as Badman wants.
I suspect you like to force people to home educate the right way? like Badman wants? forced visits interview child on its own? All for your own good? i dont have visit if you want meeting only if you want have a nice chat with LEA officer if that helps you but do not expect others to be made to do this I think it is called freedom of choice Simom?BadmanDCSF want to take away that freedom.I want freedom of choice for home educators.
Amy said,
ReplyDelete"I’m sure most county’s if you enquire as a parent you can request a different LA and most now have HEA’s, you just have to stand up and insist you want someone impartial, I know several people who have had LEA brought in from other counties to give an impartial view but you never hear about these stories."
Well I will admit that this if the first time I've heard of this possibility, but why should we have to waste time better spent with our children trying to find someone who will accept our approach? There is no evidence to support the need for home visits. You are welcome to have them if you want, but why should I have to have them if I don't? The education authorities in New Zealand have just stopped routine home visits because they are an unnecessary waste of time and money, I wonder if Badman looked at evidence from there when he looked at the Tasmanian model.
Maybe you have been particularly unlucky with the groups you've attended. I've attended groups in about 4 areas (including holiday visits) and all have included a mix of structured and autonomous home educators and discussions have been open and friendly. Personally I only object when other people try to limit my freedoms without providing good reasons, supported by evidence of need and effectiveness of the measures they intend to introduce. I've seen no evidence to support the changes in the Badman review or this blog and I've seen plenty of evidence to contrary.
I've not seen anything on the lists to suggest that others take a vastly different approach the the current situation. I've not seen anyone suggest that you should be stopped from accepting visits or stopped from following a structured approach. Yes, I've seen the suggestions that if some people accept visits it may raise expectations within LAs that this is the norm and as a result, put extra pressure on those that do not want visits. To me it seems a logical statement of a likely reaction though you are of course entitled to disagree. But this is very different from asking the government to stop you having visits even if you want them or an attempt to force you to educate autonomously.
Anonymous – there is no right or wrong way to home educate as I stated I use a semi-structured approach as that works for my children, everyone else I associate with is total autonomous with their education .. that works for them and I respect that, like you Sharon I don't agree when they start telling me I shouldn’t do things a certain way unless they can convince otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThe point is I’ve seen a shift in people attitude with regards this now that people are getting divided rather than standing together and Simon noticed this as well.
It seems gone are the days where everyone respected others education philosophies you now have to fit into one camp or the other .. Structured or autonomous no in-between anymore.
As for LEA I can completely understand why people don’t want them, I respect that I’m afraid one or two we’ve have had, shall we say I’ve wondered what’s between their ears and I agree Sharon there a complete waste of time and money..
But I do think people have a fear of the LEA because of the stories they hear, the point I was making that not all LEA’s are bad, I know a lot of area’s now are getting HEA’s[ Home education advisors] so that you don’t have to deal with LEA’s which why very small is a step in the right direction I think. I don't know if this is happing everywhere especially England but in Wales.
I said,
ReplyDeleteI've attended groups in about 4 areas
Tell a lie, on further thought it's more like 9+, I'd forgotten a few We've attended with friends during visits around the country!
"The point is I’ve seen a shift in people attitude with regards this now that people are getting divided rather than standing together and Simon noticed this as well."
ReplyDeleteIf a person publicity states that they think that autonomous education fails children and goes on to supports measures that will end autonomous education, maybe you can see where a division might arise? Can you suggest how autonomous educators should have reacted to Simon's responses to the review and government plans?
"It seems gone are the days where everyone respected others education philosophies you now have to fit into one camp or the other ..."
I agree. Seeking to end an educational philosophy certainly does not show respect for it.
"Structured or autonomous no in-between anymore."
Well all I can say is that we must move in very different circles. The majority of home educators I know are in-between structured and autonomous!
"As for LEA I can completely understand why people don’t want them, I respect that I’m afraid one or two we’ve have had, shall we say I’ve wondered what’s between their ears and I agree Sharon there a complete waste of time and money.."
If it were just a waste of time and money I wouldn't be so concerned. But we have the concerns about which departments within LAs will have to lose money to pay for an extra 400+ inspectors (because no extra money is planned), how many children and families will be harmed by false positives (we think there are signs of abuse so this family should be investigated further), abused children being missed because of a false sense of security (they've been checked so they must be OK), the end of autonomous education as I know it, the list goes on. Before they do this they should have to prove a need, they should have to prove that their approach is safe, they should have to prove that it is effective, and they haven't.
"But I do think people have a fear of the LEA because of the stories they hear, the point I was making that not all LEA’s are bad, I know a lot of area’s now are getting HEA’s[ Home education advisors] so that you don’t have to deal with LEA’s which why very small is a step in the right direction I think."
I'm not particularly concerned with the current system. We are talking about giving large numbers of new, untrained or at best poorly trained staff (where will training money come from), much greater powers and the responsibility to check specifically on the safety and welfare of home educated children. Until now Local Authority staff have only had to "exercise their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children". Presumably this will still be the case for teachers in schools and other Local Authority staff. This is a huge change and increase in responsibility for the LA employees.
Amy but our LEA does not respect autonomous education notr does it repect our freedom not to have a home visit or meeting.All i want is the freedom for home educators to have a meeting or home visit or not have one.Do you agree with a forced home visit by an LEA? of course if their are concerns about a child then soical service should look into it? we are not respected by our LEA.
ReplyDeleteI still see the diversity you describe in the home-educating circles in which I move, both local and national. The only intolerance I can recall seeing is from a small proportion of the people who share your opinions about autonomous education. I certainly know parents who openly express their wish to give their children a more rigorous education than schools provide, and they don't seem to receive any adverse responses.
ReplyDeleteI am not an autonomous educator, and I have never experienced anything remotely like the "stifling orthodoxy" you describe. Perhaps there is some other reason why you feel "attacked".
We are not respected by government LEA Simon and Graham Badman/Ed Balls DCSF.We are feared by these people because we are free thinkers.The Government seeks to destroy home education by using the full wait of the state.using smears lies about home education they hope to destroy us.Well we can tell them/simon you will never defeat us you will never stop us home educating you will never destroy us we are free and will never give in.
ReplyDelete"We are feared by these people because we are free thinkers"
ReplyDeleteSomeone has a high opinion of themselves.
Ad hominem
ReplyDeleteWe are feared by Uncle Ed Balls/DCSF/Graham Badman and Simon there can see the flow of children slipping away from state schools that is why lies/smears have been used to attempt to destroy home eudcation but these people can never stop us home educating the horse has bolted it is to late to shut the door the idea is out and all on the internet Balls left it to late! schools have failed people can see this 1 in 6 leaving school unable to read or write Balls/DCSF Badman/Simon should be doing something about this what action wil you take over the failings of state schools Simon? or do you not care about children at state schools who are being failed every day.
ReplyDelete