Saturday, 14 July 2012

A final word about Maire Stafford…


I dare say that readers are now growing heartily sick of this subject and I promise that this is the last time that I shall be posting about it; unless that is, I am actually arrested! Normal service will be resumed from tomorrow and there will only be posts about home education.

As I have explained, Maire Stafford is, with Mike Fortune-Wood’s help, trying to find people who will claim that I have harassed them here. She is also claiming that she herself was harassed by things that I have said about her on this blog. I want to point out two things that will be considered if Maire Stafford tries to put herself forward as a victim of harassment or is instrumental in instigating somebody else to make such a complaint.  The first is that a government department has already decided that she has been guilty herself of harassment and causing distress in connection with home education. See;



http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/21994/response/55614/attach/2/Document.pdf



This cannot but tend to weaken any case of harassment in which she plays a prominent part. The second point is that, as this letter makes clear, she has a history of encouraging people to make complaints and take legal action. I have dozens of posts and emails in which she does precisely this; urges people to make allegations against others.

What all this amounts to is that if Maire Stafford comes across people whose views on home education are different from her own she has a history of harassing them and also encouraging other people to harass them by making complaints and accusations against them. It is in this context that her latest campaign against me must be seen, because of course it contains just these elements.

And with that, I leave the topic of Maire Stafford and her unfortunate dupes and return to home education!

29 comments:

  1. Hello,

    Moving away from the potential legal case (!), can I ask you to consider writing something akin to 'a day in the life' of your experience of home education at different points in your daughter's life?

    For example, with your daughter at age 3, what were you doing? How about at age 5 and as she grew older? I am particular interested in the primary years.

    Did your own educational background have focus on child development and education? If not, what was it that you used to 'guide' you in your home education adventure to give you confidence that your method (structured?) would work? Were you monitoring progress and setting targets? If so, how were targets being established and how were you monitoring her development educationally and in other aspects?

    I am a relatively new reader to your blog (couple of months probably) and often read about what things which are quite negative rather than more positive things about home education in your experience. I understand you may have strong views and so on, but I would welcome even just a small overview of your technique.

    I understand if other matters are requiring more attention at this time. I also appreciate it is your blog and not for me to 'create' content. However, it would be welcome.

    Thanks.

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  2. 'I understand if other matters are requiring more attention at this time. I also appreciate it is your blog and not for me to 'create' content. However, it would be welcome.'

    I am more than happy to oblige and will do this in the next few days. It might perhaps be more interesting than reading a lot of ancient history about some person you have most likely never heard of!

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  3. Old Webb says-The first is that a government department has already decided that she has been guilty herself of harassment and causing distress in connection with home education

    That was because she was agianst crazy Badman and his mad ideas on Home education any one who was against him and wrote in to complain was told there where harassing the deparment and Badman

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    1. But...Rational adults knew that 'crazy Badman' was nothing more than the official response and reaction to the crimes of seriously f*cked up home educators when they killed their children.

      Delete
    2. This simply isn't true. Badman was not a response to the rare cases of people who used HE as a cover for abuse. If it were it would never have failed and would have been implimnetnted under the next giovernment. You don't have the complete picture, I'm afraid.

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    3. 'implimnetnted' Ooops -implimented-.

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    4. You know it's true...
      Eunice Spry and Angela Gordon were using HE as a cover for abuse.
      Lianne and Martin Smith were another serious concern. He was a sexual abuser and she a murderer and co ordinator for EO.

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    5. Yes, I know about these cases. However, this was NOT the reason for the Badman Enquiry. Get your facts right. I suspect that you were not involved with this situation at the time or you would know that.

      Delete
  4. He also had concerns about the type of f*ckwit that train their children to be chess grandmasters.
    Making children endure prolonged sessions using chess software packages until it affects their speech development.

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  5. Did he? Evidence for this assertion please.

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  6. He also had concerns about the type of f*ckwit that train their children to be chess grandmasters.
    Making children endure prolonged sessions using chess software packages until it affects their speech development

    That is horse crap Peter not been trained to be a chess grandmaster who told you that crap?

    Your kid have problems talking? why did you spend so many hours in at the doctors over the injurys your child kept geting?

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    Replies
    1. You told everyone that Peter is a grandmaster.
      There is a television series that features Peter talking exactly like a chess software package.

      My children never kept getting injuries, I've never spent many hours at the doctors with them.

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  7. any one who wrote to object to Badman ideas on home education was told there where harassing him after all if he said something it must be right!
    loads of home educators wrote in to tell him he was wrong and he did not like that!

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    1. you seem very well informed about people who wrote to 'crazy old Badman' perhaps you could tell us all how you know so much about what he did. There need to be told there do.

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    2. There was an online campaign to harrass Graham Badman.

      Delete
  8. 'There was an online campaign to harrass Graham Badman.'

    Indeed there was and also attacks on his daughter at the same time.

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  9. Indeed there was and also attacks on his daughter at the same time

    Old crazy Badman could not take the heat and cry foul when to many home educators wrote in and told him there did not agree with his odeas on home education.

    if a few words on an internet site up sit crazy badman well it shows what fool he is! he

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  10. you seem very well informed about people who wrote to 'crazy old Badman' perhaps you could tell us all how you know so much about what he did. There need to be told there do.

    any one who wrote in to complain got a standard letter back if you then wrote back and said NO i still dont agree with Badman many where told that you where harrassing him

    the blunder there made was not to listen to a large group of home educators there would only listen to home educators who agreed with Badman!

    Badman Balls thought there could just force it all though and you have to obely i have often found with this type that there have no answer when you say say NO i wont do that!

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  11. 'the blunder there made was not to listen to a large group of home educators there would only listen to home educators who agreed with Badman!'

    This is absolutely untrue. Badman attended several ordinary groups of home educators. One group was composed mainly of friends of mine who were totally opposed to his views, which were prejudices based on assumptions and hearsay.

    It was this group meeting where, after hearing the fantastic things the parents were achieving with their children, he uttered the memorable phrase, 'All beautiful gardens need a florist'. I still shudder...

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  12. You told everyone that Peter is a grandmaster.
    There is a television series that features Peter talking exactly like a chess software package.

    My children never kept getting injuries, I've never spent many hours at the doctors with them.


    bullcrap the tv programme was a cut and paste job it did not show Peter playing with mates of with his ex gf or going swiming og going to see a tutor for a private lesson for maths! yet all of this was filmed!

    you took you kid to the doctors loads of times coem on tell the truth how did there get thos injurys?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Always a cop out.

      With you it's always sombody else's fault, they're always to blame. The School,LA,EWO and now the television production company.
      No mate..the ball stops with you.

      BTW...we've never met, and never will, you've never met my children.

      Delete
  13. Stop it, Peter and Anti-Peter! Stop boring the rest of us! You've both said all there could possibly be to say.

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  14. ' he uttered the memorable phrase, 'All beautiful gardens need a florist'. I still shudder...'

    I don't think that Graham Badman can have been firing on all cylinders that day! The image of the gardener with his secateurs and scissors, wandering amongst the children is, I agree, a ghastly one. It puts one in mind of the childcatcher.

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  15. The gardener image would have been, in some ways, understandable. That is the role of the parent, to nurture and grow tender seedlings, providing nutrients for the soil, defnending the plants from weeds etc. But a FLORIST?

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  16. This is absolutely untrue. Badman attended several ordinary groups of home educators. One group was composed mainly of friends of mine who were totally opposed to his views, which were prejudices based on assumptions and hearsay.

    crazy old badman did attend one meeting with a group of home educators but did not like what he saw and went in to his educatinal welfare mode and after that refused to engage with any more home educators Badman report into home education shows what he really thinks of parents who home educate and he just does not trust them hence is mad ideas about forced entry to see the child and to interview it on its own
    the good thing is he lost and his report was thrown into the bin where it belongs

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  17. ' One group was composed mainly of friends of mine who were totally opposed to his views, which were prejudices based on assumptions and hearsay. '

    Would this have been the famous meeting in Kent, by any chance?

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    Replies
    1. No. There were several meetings with groups, I believe.

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  18. Badman also refused to answer letters from home educated children.
    Badman report has done untold harm plus trust has been lost due to the under hand way he went about his work Badman is a faliure and will never be asked to do this type of work again!
    his view was that only force by law can solve home education thats all he knows threats force a bully but if yuo stand up to a bully there often run away like he did claiming he was fouled!

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  19. You're an aggressive man too.
    You harrass Simon.
    You make threatening remarks.
    You sound very controlling.

    Some might perceive you as a bully.

    ReplyDelete