Friday 3 August 2012

Home Ed Grows Up

I am always interested in hearing what becomes of home educated children in later life. Here is one such, whom we must hope is not typical...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/11/casey-kearney-murder-hannah-bonser?newsfeed=true

33 comments:

  1. This woman was only home educated until the age of 9.

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  2. 'This woman was only home educated until the age of 9.'

    True, but then one often reads lists of formerly home educated people who were only home educated for the same length of time. You will see scientists or authors who, it is claimed, were home educated. When you look closely, it turns out to be like this; only a few years of home education. I thought it interesting to look at a less successful case!

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  3. Interesting but I dont feel that its really relevent to home education. She has mental health issues just as any person, schooled or home educated, might.

    'This woman was only home educated until the age of 9.'

    Hmmmm, So?
    Is this how people try and excuse people who are essentially bad. As Simon says, usually we attribute even small periods of home ed to the brilliant scientists, but not the psychopaths.

    My opinion is that HE is irrelevant in both cases. People are as they are and a dose of HE or time at school rarely change that.

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    1. >>>>'This woman was only home educated until the age of 9.'

      Hmmmm, So?
      Is this how people try and excuse people who are essentially bad.<<<<

      Sorry, but I don't understand this comment at all. As I said to Simon, whenever people claim a 'successful person' for HE when they've only experienced a couple of years of it, it's very irritating. He has blogged about this silliness in the past so I know he finds it annoying. However, you can't have it both ways.

      'As Simon says, usually we attribute even small periods of home ed to the brilliant scientists, but not the psychopaths.'

      I'm only guessing at what you are trying to say here. How many psychopaths do you know who have been home educated? Or are you referring to some research? Links please?

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    2. There's plenty of homicide and abuse incidents in America that were commited by home schooled/ing psychopaths.

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    3. You want us to take your word for that? A list of home educated murderers would help your argument.

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    4. Look up charles and Marilyn Long, murdered by their 12 year old.

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    5. David Ludwig

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    6. Patrick Armstrong

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    7. There are more..
      and then there are the cases of the homeschooling parents who lost the plot.

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    8. To be fair, given the high homicide and homeschooling rates in the US it would be strange if there weren't a few that do both.

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    9. Good point. Perhaps it is interesting that so few do?

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    10. Then there are the homeschoolers that abuse or murder their children. Some of those publish books and websites that explain the methodology of abuse for other homeschooles to follow.
      Some indoctrinate their homeschooled children with dangerous religious fundementalism and race hatred.

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  4. Yes, I know and it's really annoying when that happens and you always complain about it! LOL!

    This isn't a case of 'unsuccessful' home education because most of her education was at school. In any case, the poor woman was ill!

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  5. There is a growing contingent of home educated children with mental health issues and/or learning disabilities.

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  6. 'There is a growing contingent of home educated children with mental health issues and/or learning disabilities.'

    References please for that assertion.

    What CAN be said is that there is a growing proportion of children with pre-existing mental health isssues and learning disabilities being home educated due to a lack of appropriate care or suitable education within schools.

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  7. That's what was said...
    without the aggressive anti school rhetoric being added.

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  8. No, it was NOT what was said. Re-read it and you'll see the difference, I am sure. I am not anti-school. I am pro-school. I am a school teacher.

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    1. Contingent: group of people united by a common feature.
      You extrapolated an anti-school spin.

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    2. You clearly don't spend much time with the parents of children with special needs, at their wits end because the school system can't help them. The fact that so many children are let down by the school system and turn, often reluctantly, to HE is not 'aggressive anti-school spin'. It's a generally well known fact, especially within education.

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    3. What was originally posted on 4/8/2012/23:27
      was
      'There is a growing contingent of home educated children with mental health issues and/or learning difficulties'
      The statement meant that....

      There are a growing number of children with mental illness and or learning difficulties being home educated.

      There is nothing at all written blaming or praising schools.
      The reply did claim that schools were failing in their duty of care and that might be construed as anti school generalised bias. Some schools have a very good reputation for SEN education. Some don't.
      HE spin is recognisably prejudiced and that's quite widely recognised within the education profession.

      Which raises the questions as to why you can't comprehend what was written and why you react so aggressively?

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    4. I think we have the pot calling the kettle black here. The aggression and hate fair oozes out of your posts.

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    5. No hatred or aggression involved.

      I'm merely responding to the anti-school misinformation that you are spreading.

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    6. I think you're confused by the number of anons in the thread again.

      I'm the one who said that I'm pro-school because I am a school teacher. However, I'm also the parent of a child with SNs which were not adequately responded to at school. This provides me with a very particular perspective. It is that perspective which you are presuming is 'anti-school' and 'aggressive'. It is neither.

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  9. apparently home or whatever education isn't teaching the difference between 'psychopaths' and psychotics

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  10. Poor woman. Awful story. As she both went to school and was home educated, it seems unfair to blame either circumstance for her mental instability.

    Are you suggesting that HE causes mental health problems? Do you have any evidence?

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    1. Maybe she was more suited to the school system and needed the regimen of a school day. It's possible that home didn't provide the stimulus or discipline that her condition required and that she didn't aquire skills and good habits at a young enough age.
      Mum isn't always the best teacher.

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    2. Family can be too closely connected to be effective. Often SEN learners do respond best when they have a role model or mentor that they like and when acheivments are recognised. They may need the impartiality of someone in a position of mentor to explain where they're going wrong, they often need repeated instruction.
      Some don't get that at home.

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    3. If this is the case, then why didn't going to school at 9 fix her problems? The fact that her mother died seems to me to be a huge factor.

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  11. 'Often SEN learners do respond best when they have a role model or mentor that they like and when acheivments are recognised. '

    Fortunately, those children who do not find this at school can find it in their families through home education.

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  12. People with special needs aren't always better off out of the home:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-19162516

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  13. 'Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation said they had received 260 reports from families concerning abuse and neglect in institutional care since the Panorama programme was broadcast.'

    Sadly, children with Special needs, as with vulnerable adults in care homes, treated badly at school, are often not listened to, until undercover filming takes place.

    Many parents supect what is going on though. The sensible ones take them out.

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  14. Any chance people could stop being anonymous and at least put a name - I can't follow these flipping comments and who has said them!

    I don't know any of the people commenting, although you all seem to know each other - just a name (anonymised) would be helpful.

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