tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post4713680662449267341..comments2024-03-20T00:30:11.702-07:00Comments on Home Education Heretic: The reactionariesSimon Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-7954037005630311352009-09-28T14:39:07.682-07:002009-09-28T14:39:07.682-07:00We all of us, including me, want less state interf...We all of us, including me, want less state interference. The problem is that we all have different ideas as to what constitutes a bare minimum! Until 1968 it was possible for anybody to walk into a shop and buy a shotgun. No firearms certificate, no questions asked. Would we like to see a return to that state of affairs? Is that unwarranted state interference? What about the law that prevents the sale of fireworks to children? Is that the nanny state gone mad? We all accept thousands of laws and regulations like the two above. They are part of the background of our lives. Some would say that the laws regarding the safety of children should be a similarly natural part of the background.Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-59018831325358518052009-09-28T14:25:39.969-07:002009-09-28T14:25:39.969-07:00The alternative is less State interference.The alternative is less State interference.gizziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06298018309846277527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-86495070917337883982009-09-28T07:15:02.078-07:002009-09-28T07:15:02.078-07:00Ah Allie, you are quite right! I'm not sure th...Ah Allie, you are quite right! I'm not sure though what the alternative is. All laws can be, and are, misapplied.Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-81725318329033418292009-09-28T07:00:28.791-07:002009-09-28T07:00:28.791-07:00Simon says,
"Or is possible that a government...Simon says,<br />"Or is possible that a government composed of fallible men and women are struggling to pass imperfect laws, some of which will be misused, with the honest aim of improving the lot of the nation's children?"<br /><br />Perfectly possible I reckon. But then, you know what they say about good intentions and the road to hell...Alliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07432518528835330361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-25854818474946783972009-09-28T06:59:11.148-07:002009-09-28T06:59:11.148-07:00Yes, you are quite right about this. The Children&...Yes, you are quite right about this. The Children's Minister is furious as well and has already been yelling at Ofsted about it. All laws are open to misuse. This does not mean that we should have no laws; simply that we should think carefully while framing them. In this case, the law was worded like this so that unregulated childminders, of whom there are still many, could not get round the law by being paid in cigarettes, bottles of whiskey or favours. It was never meant to encompass informal arrangements of the sort which those police officers had.Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-52425986556415739492009-09-28T05:53:59.206-07:002009-09-28T05:53:59.206-07:00An example of how poorly written legislation can h...An example of how poorly written legislation can have unforseen and negative results. Over 8,500 have signed against it so far, http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/reciprocalcc/ Even the government is having second thoughts and has ordered a review and children's charities have spoken out against it, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8277378.stm. Seems a lot of support for the views also expressed by the home educators you mention.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-92036360344554700542009-09-28T00:21:41.258-07:002009-09-28T00:21:41.258-07:00That's right Julie. There are always idiots wh...That's right Julie. There are always idiots who will misuse any law. Luckily, the Children's Minister had now intervened and is going to read the riot act to Ofsted about this. Obviously the law was not intended to prohibit babysitting ! The trouble is that when, as in this case, a nosy neighbour reports somebody, then an investigation is made and the minor official then says something stupid.Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-80700479907686127462009-09-28T00:13:48.008-07:002009-09-28T00:13:48.008-07:00Yet however good the original intention, "the...Yet however good the original intention, "the innocent" always get trapped in the fall out...and some of the rules are plain silly. Take the case of the policewomen in todays press; whatever the rights or wrongs of them having to register as child minders, under current law they could happily and legally look after the children in the childs own home without needing to be registered at all - so they would then count as nannies. It is the obvious inequalities which make people mad....Julienoreply@blogger.com