Every time I decide to ignore the HE-UK list and leave them to their own devices, some fool on there twists my tail by recounting a silly and untruthful story about me. Sooner or later it will dawn on these people that such behaviour is counter-productive. The latest example of this occurred yesterday. I have described the reaction to somebody asking for information on HE-UK in a post earlier today. Somebody commenting here on that post reproached me for not mentioning that an explanation for the bizarre response to a few questions had later been made. I must of course put this right. What was the true explanation for the barking mad accusation, that she was asking too many questions, which was made against the mother who wished to find out a little more about home education before she knew if it was the right decision for her and her children? Could it be that some members of that list are paranoid schizophrenics who have been a little remiss in taking their medication? Might it be that some home educators are always looking for a row and are glad of an excuse to have a go at anybody? Or could the churlish and ill mannered reaction be caused by a massive social skills deficit? It was apparently none of these very plausible reasons. It was my fault!
Some readers are perhaps scratching their heads at this point and asking themselves how this could be. I left the list in July 2009, whereas the woman who posted that the request for information had 'set alarm bells ringing' for her, did not even join the list until earlier this year. How could there possibly be a connection between me and the response of this person? Fortunately, Roxanne Featherstone was on hand to explain everything. She told the original poster that, 'There has been at least one example on this list alone of someone pretending to be someone they weren't' Since she follows this up with mention of newspaper articles and select committees, it is not hard to decode this reference to myself. What a mercy that this helpful woman has cleared the matter up so neatly. But hang on a minute, something isn't right here! When I joined the HE-UK list in 2007, I represented myself to be a middle aged home educator called Simon Webb who worked part-time with children with special needs and wrote occasional articles for magazines and newspapers. I have just checked and that is still who I am! The question is, who was I pretending to be, if not this person? I emailed Roxanne to clear this up, but she is evidently too busy to reply.( She is probably writing scripts for Jackanory). I am forced therefore to throw the question out to a wider audience. I claim now and have always claimed to be Simon Webb, a parent who home educated his daughter until she was sixteen. If this is not, as Roxanne claims, who I am then perhaps somebody could help by telling me who I am pretending to be. It is all very perplexing and as an explanation for the awful rudeness displayed to the new member on the HE-UK list seems to be wholly inadequate. If anybody knows who I am pretending to be, or whether or not I am actually pretending to be Simon Webb and am really somebody quite different, perhaps they could share the information with us. I for one am very eager to find out!
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"I left the list in July 2009..."
ReplyDeleteReally?
"But hang on a minute, something isn't right here! When I joined the HE-UK list in 2007, I represented myself to be a middle aged home educator called Simon Webb who worked part-time with children with special needs and wrote occasional articles for magazines and newspapers."
ReplyDeleteYou first posted in 2008 and your first action was to accuse the Listowner of blocking your posts because you expressed doubts about autonomous education. However, your posts were just delayed slightly - moderation of new subscribers is normal on email lists until the Listowner is sure the new subscriber is not a spammer. Quite an impressive rant followed from this false assumption. Despite an explanation you didn't feel it necessary to apologise for your misunderstanding and subsequent rant and slur against the Listowner or even comment on the explanation.
You introduced yourself (twice) as a home educating father of a 14yo daughter who had appeared on "The Wright Stuff". You made no mention of working part-time with children with special needs or that you wrote occasional articles for magazines and newspapers in any of your 2008 posts (I haven't bothered checking more recent posts). So for over a year you read and responded to emails without mentioning your work.
If we answer on a postcard..do we win a prize if we're right? lol
ReplyDeletep.s my answer is supposed to be as ridiculous as Simon being accused of being someone he is not whilst pretending to be someone else entirely.
(and if that didn't make sense...it pretty much explains everything).
'If we answer on a postcard..do we win a prize if we're right? lol'
ReplyDeleteAh Loz, I was actually going to put 'Answers on a postcard to...'!
'You made no mention of working part-time with children with special needs or that you wrote occasional articles for magazines and newspapers in any of your 2008 posts (I haven't bothered checking more recent posts). So for over a year you read and responded to emails without mentioning your work.'
ReplyDeleteMy word Anonymous, don't tell me that you have really ploughed through every one of my posts for 2008? Now that's dedication. The subject of my writing for magazines came up a few times on the HE-UK list when I was posting there. For instance in March 2009, I posted;
'22 March 2009
>
> Yes, I truly have had hard cash from The Lady! See "In Search of the
> Unicorn" in the 20/12/95 issue, under the name Simone Webb,also "Mermaids,
> Menacing or Mild" on 21/11/95, to mention but two. I stopped writing for
> them though a few years ago, because they hang onto stuff for ages before
> making a decision. You seem to be surprised? An awful lot of men write for
> women's magazines under a female name; I had my own series running in
> Nursery World years ago under another name. For some reason or other, women
> seem to be more comfortable reading articles that they think are by other
> women, particularly when the topics are things like children, sex, health
> and nutrition. I've never understood this but there it is.'
There was certainly no secret about my writing for newspapers and so on. Nobody batted an eyelid when I talked of it; I can certainly not be accused of falsely representing myself! there was no suggestion that writing books or having stuff published in magazines should mean that I was barred from membership of this list. If this were really the rule, I am sure that we could come up with a few more people who should be ejected. (I think that Mike Fortune-Wood knows who I'm talking about here!)
I might mention that when I joined the HE-UK list, I did so under my own name, as opposed to those who post as Flower Fairy or Lotus Blossom. Had I wished to pretend to be somebody else, I could have simply acquired a hotmail account and used a different name. I have never felt the need to use a false name. Had I done so, then I could have saved myself a lot of trouble!
ReplyDelete"My word Anonymous, don't tell me that you have really ploughed through every one of my posts for 2008? Now that's dedication."
ReplyDeleteThere were only 10, it didn't take long.
"There was certainly no secret about my writing for newspapers and so on. Nobody batted an eyelid when I talked of it; I can certainly not be accused of falsely representing myself!"
You were on the list for well over a year without mentioning that you are a writer and it certainly caused some consternation when it cropped up. The first mention of being a writer came in mid March 2009 when you gave a link to a Telegraph article written 'a few years ago'. This is the article in which you claimed to be a primary school teacher.
Later in March you wrote the post in which you claimed to be a third rate hack; the first mention of articles in addition to the Telegraph piece. In a post the next day you make your first mention of your current job, providing advocacy for parents of children with SEN and that you also write.
People immediately became upset and worried that you were not a genuine home educator and were only there for research purposes (journalistic research). There we also concerns that you worked for an LA or the government (I remember the term, 'government plant' being used!). Don't you remember posting the The Wright Stuff YouTube link to reassure people that you really were a genuine home educator? How can you claim that nobody batted an eyelid?
So your were 'open and honest' about your journalism for less than 4 months out of a 20+ month membership of the list and were then thrown off as a direct result of a newspaper article written by you? And despite this you still seem to be an avid reader. Nice one, Simon.
ReplyDelete'People immediately became upset and worried that you were not a genuine home educator and were only there for research purposes '
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of nonsense. Mike Fortune-Wood was mildly curious. he said;
From: HE UK Subject: RE: [HE-UK] Re: Tasmanian modelTo: HE-UK@yahoogroups.comDate: Saturday, 21 March, 2009, 11:38 PM
Simon You now say you are a writer but you have also I think said you work in anLEA. I'm confused Best wishes Mike F-WYour man in a hammock
So at the time he believed that I was working for an LEA and was not at all bothered about it. I couldn't say for sure that nobody was upset at the idea of my writing for The Lady, but I don't recollect anything of the sort. There was certainly no suggestion that writing for newspapers or magazines would make me persona non grata on the list.
So you don't remember posting a link to the YouTube video in order to prove that you really were a home educator? Memory failing?
ReplyDelete"'People immediately became upset and worried that you were not a genuine home educator and were only there for research purposes '
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of nonsense. Mike Fortune-Wood was mildly curious."
If that were the only enquiry about you, why did you need to write so many posts protesting that you really were a genuine home educator? All of the following quotes are from different emails.
"Sorry, am I missing something here? I am a government plant?"
"Mu daughter has reminded me that there is a clip on Youtube featuring us in
action on a television programme about home education. Does that count as
evidence?"
"Well to be fair, I rather assume that everybody else on this forum, including
you, is home educating. Why should you doubt my word on this? Of course I can't
prove it, what sort of evidence would be likely to convince you? "
"I have never said that I work for an LEA. Others have made this assumption, but
it is completely unfounded."
"I am absolutely baffled by everything that you say. I am not a teacher."
'If that were the only enquiry about you,'
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the only enquiry, but I had no reason to think that those asking about me were upset or worried.
As far as I am able to apprehend, the supposed ethics of the situation are as follows. Anybody joining the HE-UK list should publicly declare as soon as they join, if they have ever had anything published in any magazine or newspaper. If they fail to do this, then they are in some way deceiving the other members of the list. So although I had not had anything published anywhere between 2004 and 2008, when I began posting on the list, I should at once have mentioned that I had written the odd piece for various magazines, even though it was all years ago. It was the fact that I did not present my CV at once in this way that led Roxanne Featherstone to claim that I was pretending to be somebody else. This sounds a bit loopy, but it does seem to be the view held by some people who comment here.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the same must surely apply to other people on that list. Paula Rothermel, for instance, has been a member there for years and has not yet told other members there about the pieces she has had published in magazines and newspapers. This means, I suppose, that she too is pretending to be somebody else? I have remarked before that the world of home education reminds me sometimes of Alice in Wonderland. I know another seven members of the HE-UK list who have had things published and not admitted to it on the list. Are they also pretending to be somebody other than who they actually are? Is it me, or does all this sound raving mad?
I have no intention of getting into the rights and wrongs of abiding by list rules, I just wanted to point out that your memory appears to be failing. Either that or you choose what to remember and what to forget as seems convenient at the time. You claimed to have represented yourself as a journalist throughout your time on the list, yet it was only know for the last 4 months out of 20+. You further forgot that quite a few people questioned your identity as a home educator when this issue was raised on the list, claiming falsely that, 'nobody batted an eyelid when I talked of it'.
ReplyDeleteI will say though that there is obviously a difference between writers who are supportive of home education and those who attack aspects of it. Obviously you are entitled to your views and to express those views, but really, should you be surprised when the people whose education choices you have attacked so strongly choose not to have you on their discussion lists, do not want to share information about their lives with you and resent your continued reading of list messages despite being asked to leave?
'You further forgot that quite a few people questioned your identity as a home educator when this issue was raised on the list, claiming falsely that, 'nobody batted an eyelid when I talked of it'.'
ReplyDeleteNobody did bat an eyelid at the news that I wrote for magazines and newspapers. There was consternation when a couple of idiots tried to promote the idea that I was working for a local authority; it is my response to those concerns which are quoted above. There was certainly interest in the fact that I had written about education and other subjects, but nobody was upset or worried. Here is a typical response, from Wendy Crickard;
'Simon, I realise you can't resist playing devil's advocate or giving the pot a vigorous stir or three but, on a serious note, did you truly get hard cash from The Lady? How did you manage it? WendyC'
Does this sound like somebody who was worried or upset?
Someone was quite concerned that they had to take your word that you were a genuine home educator after you had disclosed that you regularly lied in newspaper articles. This was when you resorted to the YouTube link as evidence that really were a home educating parent. That link could hardly be used to prove that you did not work for an LA. Memory failing or are your purposely misrepresenting the conversations you had? You obviously still have copies so I suspect the later.
ReplyDeletesimon.
ReplyDeleteYou are living in the past. Why don't you move on?
You are no longer a home educator. Get over it.
"Anybody joining the HE-UK list should publicly declare as soon as they join, if they have ever had anything published in any magazine or newspaper."
ReplyDeleteWell no, journalists are not supposed to join at all - they are not eligible for membership.
'I have remarked before that the world of home education reminds me sometimes of Alice in Wonderland'
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me a lot of being at school....
'Well no, journalists are not supposed to join at all - they are not eligible for membership.'
ReplyDeleteNot even when they home educate their children and need information and support? That sounds remarkably harsh. And, well yes, paranoid.
'Well no, journalists are not supposed to join at all - they are not eligible for membership.'
ReplyDeleteThat may well be true, but is completely irrelevant because I have never been a journalist. I have written articles on various topics for different magazines, but is was always a hobby. When I started posting on the HE-UK list, I had not had anything published for over four years. Quite a few members there have had pieces published in magazines without mentioning it on the list.
'It reminds me a lot of being at school....'
ReplyDeleteAh, you mean the 'He said, she said' cycle? Yes, the similarity had not escaped me.
We are back to the old cyclical arguments - the real reason that Simon is unwelcome on the UK list is because of his views - not because of his "job". Had he written a favourable article, he would still be there - as he says there are others on HE lists who have done exactly that.
ReplyDeleteAs to who should be allowed on any home ed list - it is a tricky one; we have several social workers on our local list... why? - because they are HE parents. There are rules about use of information, and we do try to enusre that applicants are either home educating or serious about finding out about HE, but in the end we have to trust others or we will all end up paranoid.
Me'It reminds me a lot of being at school....'
ReplyDeleteSimon 'Ah, you mean the 'He said, she said' cycle? Yes, the similarity had not escaped me.'
Yes, that, and all the bullying, the cliques, the favouritism, the telling tales to the headmaster, the, 'Don't talk to him/her. S/he's nasty and we don't like him/her.'
Flashbacks to primary school.
'Yes, that, and all the bullying, the cliques, the favouritism, the telling tales to the headmaster, the, 'Don't talk to him/her. S/he's nasty and we don't like him/her.'
ReplyDeleteOdd that you should mention bullying. I have noticed the playground gangs on some lists and forums. What is curious, and more properly a matter for a psychologist to investigate, is that some of the worst offenders, the most aggressive bullies, are parents who have taken their children out of school because they were victims of bullying. I find this very intriguing. A number of people have been driven off certain lists by bullying.
"We are back to the old cyclical arguments - the real reason that Simon is unwelcome on the UK list is because of his views - not because of his "job". Had he written a favourable article, he would still be there - as he says there are others on HE lists who have done exactly that."
ReplyDeleteWell yes, that's what I said earlier when I said, "I will say though that there is obviously a difference between writers who are supportive of home education and those who attack aspects of it. Obviously you are entitled to your views and to express those views, but really, should you be surprised when the people whose education choices you have attacked so strongly choose not to have you on their discussion lists, do not want to share information about their lives with you and resent your continued reading of list messages despite being asked to leave?"
It's one thing to put an alternative view (and Simon did that repeatedly throughout his 20+ month membership of the list) but completely different to attack those you disagree with in the national press, claiming that they are doing incalculable harm to their children and attempting to end their educational choice when they have no evidence of harm.
Strange how everyone is claiming that any mention of structure is met with censure on that list because I could swear I've seen descriptions of structured education and links to resources recently and don't recall any censuring replies. Maybe it's how the information is put across that counts? If someone pushes structure and at the same time rubbishes AE they are likely to be met with arguments. But maybe I'm mixing lists up?
ReplyDeleteSimon wrote,
ReplyDelete'Ah, you mean the 'He said, she said' cycle? Yes, the similarity had not escaped me.'"
Well you started it, ;-P