Sunday 23 May 2010

Hothousers

In an email to the Guardian a few days ago, Mike Fortune-Wood claimed that only a 'vanishing few' among home educators were of the 'hothouser' type, people like Harry Lawrence. He may well be right, although it is hard to know where he gets his information. After all, the vast majority of home educating parents belong to no support groups or other organisations. However, whether or no, it set me thinking upon this subject.

The year before Education Otherwise was founded, a parent began home educating his daughter. Following in the tradition of John Stuart Mill's father, James, Harry Lawrence wished to turn his child into a genius. Fathers like this, for such people almost invariably are fathers, have seldom presented any particular problem for the authorities. It is always quite obvious that an education is taking place and the proud parent is rarely reluctant to talk about the project or describe his child's achievements. The provision of highly structured and carefully planned education of this sort, delivered in the form of one-to-one tutoring has never alarmed local authorities in the way that the softer and less rigorous teaching which many mothers favour does. Whether this is due to sexism is an open question.

Until relatively recently, this sort of intense education was probably the commonest form of home education. This is partly because it is a form of education readily recognisable and accepted by local authority officers. The academic results of the home education which Ruth Lawrence received were astonishing. Like John Stuart Mill, she was kept by her father from contact with other children. At the age of eleven she began studying Mathematics at Oxford University, completing her degree in two years rather than the more usual three. Her final marks would have been enough to earn her two Firsts! Her father lived with her while she was at Oxford and when she was offered posts first at Harvard and later at Michigan University, he went with her to the United States. While there, she fell in love with a man almost thirty years her senior, about her father's age in fact. They married and moved to Israel. There are rumours that she actually resents her childhood education and feels that it was not a good idea.

I think it fair to say that this sort of highly structured and academically demanding education is the exception these days, at least in British home education. I don't know whether or not I would go as far as Mike Fortune-Wood in describing it as being limited to a 'vanishing few', but one certainly does not encounter such parents as often as one does the more laid back autonomous educators. The Internet list HE-Exams has a lot of people who enter their children for GCSEs and A levels, but even there, few of them seem to be the hothouser type. I can think of two possible explanations for the relative rarity of this breed of home educating parent.

In the first place, the great majority of home educators now seem to be women. These schemes, where young children are crammed full of knowledge and their skills accelerated, simply do not appeal to women in general the way that they do to some men. Perhaps they don't often regard their children like racing cars which have to be tuned, tested and raced round the track faster and better than anybody else's kid! It could be that that attitude is simply a male trait.

The other reason for the decline of the hothouser is of course that it is very hard work. According to the available research in this country, the majority of home educating parents are keen on home education because of the lifestyle and freedom which it provides for their families. Hothousing is most definitely not a relaxing lifestyle; it is far more taxing than sending a child to school. It is easy to see why a parent would avoid this way of life if lifestyle were the deciding factor in choosing to home educate. Of course, it may be that both Mike Fortune-Wood and I are quite wrong about this. After all, there are tens of thousands of home educators unknown to their local authorities and not belonging to any support groups. For all we know, the majority of them could be loopy and eccentric men who are busily engaged in trying to turn their young children into geniuses.

13 comments:

  1. sinon -After all, there are tens of thousands of home educators unknown to their local authorities and not belonging to any support groups.

    This is very good that they are so many home educated children not know to the Local authoritiess! that is good news Simon LOL

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  2. I have occasionally come across a few families who could be perhaps described as "hot housers" - and yes, it does seem to be the fathers who are doing the educating. That may be merely because (sexist comment here) men seem to get away with doing one thing well, where as women still seem to have to cope with all the housework and other aspects of child rearing, which makes it difficult to spend the large amount of time on one childs detailed education that they really need to in order to go at a much acclerated rate. Even this morning (with a daughter faced with a C2 maths exam on Friday that she needs a lot of support with) I am trying to hoover/clean kitchen/ hang out washing/ answer this post - and if I had to do all that really full time at the sort of rate an acclerated learner would need, I could never do it. I found full time HE for a slower child hard work enough! My calculus is improving, however!

    So I do think such families do exist, but they are concealed under the vast heap of the sort of families like mine - who took an SN child out of school to do better. Then there are the ideaologically non-school families, who have completely different views on formal learning and so look very diffierent again from the Ruth Lawrence type of family!

    Back to the hoovering and integration!

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  3. Julie says-Even this morning (with a daughter faced with a C2 maths exam on Friday that she needs a lot of support with) I am trying to hoover/clean kitchen/ hang out washing/ answer this post

    dont you think your daugher exam is more important than hoovering/cleaning?

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  4. Monumentally awful comment, even by your standards Mr Williams.

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  5. Simon says-Monumentally awful comment, even by your standards Mr Williams.

    whats awful about pointing out that an exam is more important than hoovering?

    glad my comments annoy you Simon! no word from uncle Jim? cant you phone him to urge him to do one of those school attandance orders? your feel better once you spoken to him you want his number?

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  6. The gender question is interesting. Hothousing certainly makes me feel very uneasy. I would worry that the child in question may develop a sense that they were loved only for their achievements. Also, that their parent's happiness depended solely on their achievements. A bit of a minefield, I guess.

    Then again, what is hothousing? One person's hothousing might be another person's encouragement.

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  7. Webb you got a duty to report us to Hampshire County council as you belive Peter is not receiving a sutable full time education here is the phone number you need to ring 0845 603 5620 go for it your feel soooooooo much better once you spoken to them LOL

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  8. To be fair Mr Williams, you yourself claimed that he was receiving a second rate education at your hands. I know nothing nothing about the matter.

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  9. No Webb you said i was mad in early post so some one who you think is mad could not home educate? so phone that number and report me dont be shy they be pleased to hear from a like minded person!
    O845 603 5620 its real easy you just phone and say that man is mad and must not home educate or have you not got the guts to do Simon? all talk and NO action! you have a duty to act after all every child matters LOL

    Peter gets a 2nd rate eduation compared to Eton state education is 3rd rate as you know!

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  10. Curious. When I first met you in 2004, you seemed to be quite satisfied with the education that St Lawrence's was providing your son. Your only complaint was that they would only offer you fifteen days a year discretionary leave for Peter to develop his chess. Your plan at that time was for Peter to go to secondary school. It is only recently that you seemed to have turned against the state education system.

    If you really can only provide a second rate education for your son, do you not think that it might be time to reconsider your position?

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  11. Simon says-Curious. When I first met you in 2004, you seemed to be quite satisfied with the education that St Lawrence's was providing your son. Your only complaint was that they would only offer you fifteen days a year discretionary leave for Peter to develop his chess. Your plan at that time was for Peter to go to secondary school. It is only recently that you seemed to have turned against the state education system.

    Get you facts right Simon That is not ture the ex head teacher of St Lawernce allowed Peter to take off as much time as he needed untill Hampshire County Council heard about this and told her that ONLY ten days are allowed off for any school pupil she then agreed with the council! so you had no choice but to home educate if Peter had taken any more time off above the ten days it would be marked down as truancy!

    It was the Hampshire County Councils who caused this major problem we then find out some months later i was searching on HCC web page(now gone but i have a copy!) that you can have as much time as you like off if head agrees which the ex head had agreeded! when challenge about this the council would not reply and started making threats and issued school attendance order which was burnt on councilor Dr Tony ludlow coal fire(he said dont waste it we use it to keep warm!)

    All school in Alton have been told not to agree to time off for Peter by Hampshire County Council! who have told lies as well about the family"

    gives us the 5 grand and igive Peter a first rate education maybe even better than Eton! its only since Peter played chess at private schools have we seen with our own eyes how much better they are than a state school which you know or are you saying state schools are better than a private school?

    why did your daughter give up chess? what was her highest chess grade? peter is 201 and he also has a FIDA chess rating not easy to get of 2085 and it will go up in Aug peter won many adult chess tournamnets and money not bad for some one who taught who you think is mad!

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  12. What actually happened is that you were taking Peter out of school for one day a week when he was seven. St. Lawrence's agreed to this, but was a little dubious because Peter was only doing chess on that day and no other academic work. This meant of course that he was missing out on 20% of maths, science and English lessons. The trouble began when you tried to turn this into a permanent arrangment. It was at that point that the County Council stepped in and put a stop to the business.

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  13. Simon says-What actually happened is that you were taking Peter out of school for one day a week when he was seven. St. Lawrence's agreed to this, but was a little dubious because Peter was only doing chess on that day and no other academic work. This meant of course that he was missing out on 20% of maths, science and English lessons. The trouble began when you tried to turn this into a permanent arrangment. It was at that point that the County Council stepped in and put a stop to the business.

    No that is not correct the ex head teacher of St Lawrence did agree to one day off per work i had talked this over with her and she was quite happy about it! it was only when Hampshire County Council got involved who then claimed it was illegal! i then find out some months later from HCC own web site(page now gone but i have copy you wanna see it webb?)that it is not illegal and head can grant as much time as child needs for off site education!) Councllor Dr Tony Ludlow was very unhappy about this matter and the way Peter had been treated by HCC! he is our friend now and we can go to his house anytime we want.

    They never did science on a friday so dont know where yo got that from? mind you the school never did follow they time table i know cos i helped out at the school bet you never knew that so i see what went on! including children left to fend for they self and problem children told to go away! it was the class teacher who asked me to help out!

    now Peter can spend 100% of his time on chess LOL! bet that hurts HCC!

    Hampshire County Council also tell lies about family and Peter and send incorrect information to each other!

    Bet you like the fact the school attendance order was burnt on county counclor Dr Tony ludlow coal Fire??

    the best bit of course which your like was NO meeting No home Visits and No real evidence sent in to HCC how much that hurt web? and old Uncle Jim was to scared to do anything LOL cant you phone him and get him to take action maybe if you hold his hand he issue a new school attendance order LOL.

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