tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post6449117168377674794..comments2024-03-20T00:30:11.702-07:00Comments on Home Education Heretic: Another ‘briefing paper’ about the Welsh plans for regulating home educationSimon Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-56202528368053273072012-11-12T04:57:39.162-08:002012-11-12T04:57:39.162-08:00HAHAHA!! What a ridiculous post! Where exactly doe...HAHAHA!! What a ridiculous post! Where exactly does Fiona mention homosexuality?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-38735057659056254602012-10-24T02:29:23.445-07:002012-10-24T02:29:23.445-07:00On the other hand, It has been successful for me f...On the other hand, It has been successful for me for 15 years. I have three planned children and no 'mistakes'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-51430309461175823702012-10-23T09:26:29.942-07:002012-10-23T09:26:29.942-07:00Indeed! It failed me twice.....Indeed! It failed me twice.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-75782034876446957342012-10-23T07:28:32.098-07:002012-10-23T07:28:32.098-07:00"Few would disagree with this; which is why s..."Few would disagree with this; which is why some of us didn't send our kids to school."<br /><br />Unfortunately, the kind of idiots who created this mumbo jumbo are now itching to inspect and control the home education of my children.<br /><br />"You will observe that it is also possible to take a GCSE in Preparation for Working Life"<br /><br />Ah yes, I believe this is known, colloquially, as "GCSE in Clues for Morons"; my hypothesis is that, rather than being aimed at the kids, it was created to enable some modest filtering at the botton end of the teaching profession.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-58828946501147065022012-10-23T06:52:19.439-07:002012-10-23T06:52:19.439-07:00""The fact that I am a man and the local...""The fact that I am a man and the local authority officers were all women, obviously has a bearing on the extent to which I was able to dominate the agenda during their supposed 'monitoring' visits!"<br /><br />Are you saying that being a man helped you to dominate the agenda?'<br /><br />Can anybody suggest any other construction which might be put upon these words?"<br /><br />This is quite useful and interesting. Inspections? Bring them on.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-55926512247059400282012-10-23T06:43:22.955-07:002012-10-23T06:43:22.955-07:00'This is the kind of claptrap that makes the s...'This is the kind of claptrap that makes the school system a useless laughing stock. "As a Humanities Specialist School, we can't teach anything more useful than basic arithmetic with a calculator, but we recycle our potato peelings and talk about how we feel about other people's feelings while drinking fair-trade coffee".'<br /><br />Few would disagree with this; which is why some of us didn't send our kids to school. You will observe that it is also possible to take a GCSE in Preparation for Working Life. If only I had thought of that, I could have entered my daughter for it instead of physics or chemistry! <br /><br />Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-68557789002176429462012-10-23T06:36:43.604-07:002012-10-23T06:36:43.604-07:00"In PSHE, as a Humanities Specialist School, ..."In PSHE, as a Humanities Specialist School, we promote ideas of global awareness, human rights, equality and justice, fair trade issues, Amnesty International and how personal involvement can make a difference."<br /><br />This is the kind of claptrap that makes the school system a useless laughing stock. "As a Humanities Specialist School, we can't teach anything more useful than basic arithmetic with a calculator, but we recycle our potato peelings and talk about how we feel about other people's feelings while drinking fair-trade coffee". <br /><br />No wonder we have armies of numbskulls desperate to exert social control, whether it's in Westminster, Whitehall, Cardiff or the local authorities.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-81687545104696652132012-10-23T06:31:35.560-07:002012-10-23T06:31:35.560-07:00"The fact that I am a man and the local autho..."The fact that I am a man and the local authority officers were all women, obviously has a bearing on the extent to which I was able to dominate the agenda during their supposed 'monitoring' visits!"<br /><br />Are you saying that being a man helped you to dominate the agenda?'<br /><br />Can anybody suggest any other construction which might be put upon these words?<br /><br /><br />Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-43185317573628583522012-10-23T06:16:29.318-07:002012-10-23T06:16:29.318-07:00"'Simon, can you confirm that the words &..."'Simon, can you confirm that the words "prepare [children] for the responsibilities of adulthood" cannot be used to include sex education?'<br /><br />No, of course I can't"<br /><br />Many people working in LAs are likely to interpret the words in the sensible manner that you describe; unfortunately, the significant number of 'tards doing the job will use it any any warped way that they think fit, and that's the problem<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-67848349269093968062012-10-23T06:11:12.619-07:002012-10-23T06:11:12.619-07:00"Evidence for the claim that most of us might..."Evidence for the claim that most of us might well think that 'preparing children for adulthood' could refer to useful life skills like handling a bank account, dealing with tax and finding out about interest rates and mortgages? This is the sort of thing which is usually meant in schools and colleges when talk turns to preparing children for adulthood"<br /><br />That hasn't been very effective, if the level of personal debt and the state of our economy are anything to go by. If the same standards were to be applied to home educated children's knowledge of birth control, then "shoo away the stork" would be a satisfactory response in any inspection.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-45470932639732543752012-10-23T06:08:15.213-07:002012-10-23T06:08:15.213-07:00Here is the sort of things that Welsh schools curr...Here is the sort of things that Welsh schools currently teach children about preparing for adulthood. Sex might perhaps form a tiny part of it:<br /><br />Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) provides a vital foundation for the personal development of young people in preparing them for adult life. PSHE is important in combating social exclusion and disaffection and can equip young people <br />PSHE aims to help pupils lead confident, healthy and responsible lives as individuals and members of society:<br />We aim to enable pupils:<br />Develop skills of enquiry, communication and participation. <br />To take increasing responsibility for their own learning behaviour, <br />Actions, views and decisions. <br />To help students live healthily and safely and deal with the spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues they face as they approach adulthood <br />To reflect on their experiences and how they are developing <br />To understand and manage responsibly a wider range of relationships as they mature <br />To show respect for the diversity of, and differences between, people <br />To develop pupils well-being and self-esteem, encouraging belief in their ability to succeed <br />To enable them to take responsibility for their learning and future choice of courses and career <br />In PSHE, as a Humanities Specialist School, we promote ideas of global awareness, human rights, equality and justice, fair trade issues, Amnesty International and how personal involvement can make a difference. <br />PSHE lessons include a range of methods both in Form Tutor periods and timetabled PSHE lessons. We use technology, discussions, activities which enable students to work out solutions and problem solving techniques in addition to working with others and improving their own learning. We integrate Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL), the Every Child Matters agenda and cross curricular themes to provide a balanced and varied experience.<br />At Key Stage 3, students will investigate a range of areas including relationships, bullying, citizenship, healthy lifestyles and peer pressure. Students will engage in projects such as the Giving Nation scheme in Year 8 which enables them to help the community. At the end of this key stage, in year 9, students will work towards an accredited ASDAN PSHE award which is externally certificated and can be put into their Progress File.<br />At Key Stage 4, students will work towards GCSE Preparation for Working Life, an accredited GCSE which will be added to their results after year 11. This will give students the best opportunity to maximise their potential and offer more choice in their post 16 pathway, whether it be in further education, employment or training. Included in this course are exercises to encourage greater citizenship amongst students<br /><br />I cannot see anything there to which even the most devoutly religious home edcauting parent might object! It is quite irrelevant in any case, because we already know that even if the Welsh legislation goes through, parents will not be expected to teach according to any particular curriculum.Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-32165825140947905352012-10-23T05:59:45.247-07:002012-10-23T05:59:45.247-07:00"The fact that I am a man and the local autho..."The fact that I am a man and the local authority officers were all women, obviously has a bearing on the extent to which I was able to dominate the agenda during their supposed 'monitoring' visits!"<br /><br />Are you saying that being a man helped you to dominate the agenda?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-33777906556118547062012-10-23T05:56:58.639-07:002012-10-23T05:56:58.639-07:00'"Now most of us, when we talk of ‘prepar...'"Now most of us, when we talk of ‘preparing children for the responsibilities of adulthood’ might well think in terms of things like teaching about income tax and mortgages"<br /><br />Do you have any evidence to substantiate this claim?'<br /><br />Evidence for the claim that most of us might well think that 'preparing children for adulthood' could refer to useful life skills like handling a bank account, dealing with tax and finding out about interest rates and mortgages? This is the sort of thing which is usually meant in schools and colleges when talk turns to preparing children for adulthood and so I would guess that this is the sense in which a local authority would be thinking of the matter. Perhaps readers might like to ask their relatives and friends about this and see how many people come up with the idea, without prompting, that this expression might entail teaching children about contraception by a certain age!<br /><br /><br />Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-28815673498671659292012-10-23T05:51:47.089-07:002012-10-23T05:51:47.089-07:00'Simon, can you confirm that the words "p...'Simon, can you confirm that the words "prepare [children] for the responsibilities of adulthood" cannot be used to include sex education?'<br /><br />No, of course I can't; any more than I can confirm that it refers to learning to visit the dentist regularly, open a bank account, enter further edcuation or any one of a hundred other things. I can say that the expression is generally used to mean life skills and it is possible that not having unprotected sex would be one of these. That is a long way from suggesting that parents would be compelled to teach their children about contraception.<br /><br />Let us be clear about this. An extraordinary claim is being made here. The claim is quite specific; that in a year or two, we might find ourselves in a situation where a man from the council is entering homes and questioning children about what they know of contraceptive methods. When an extraordinary claim is made, the onus is upon the one making the claim to provide evidence to back it up. All I am saying is that this sounds very improbable and that I would like to know the grounds for believing such a thing. Nobody seemes willing or able to provide me with them and so I must regard the whole thing as a nonsense. If anybody has any sort of evidence for this, then all that is needed is to cite it here and I might be convinced that there is something in it.<br /><br /><br />Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-78811008118222642262012-10-23T05:44:48.434-07:002012-10-23T05:44:48.434-07:00"Now most of us, when we talk of ‘preparing c..."Now most of us, when we talk of ‘preparing children for the responsibilities of adulthood’ might well think in terms of things like teaching about income tax and mortgages"<br /><br />Do you have any evidence to substantiate this claim?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-39394961328493100592012-10-23T05:44:29.463-07:002012-10-23T05:44:29.463-07:00'I do wish people wouldn't whip up unneces...'I do wish people wouldn't whip up unnecessary hysteria about these things.'<br /><br />Which is exactly, of course, what Simon is attempting to do here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-49513252106913765932012-10-23T05:35:45.685-07:002012-10-23T05:35:45.685-07:00Given the shortcomings of some in the LAs (not to ...Given the shortcomings of some in the LAs (not to mention the Welsh Assembly Government), I think it's important that children understand the importance of raising the time limit on abortions - to at least 65 years post partum.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-64336882780502776452012-10-23T04:55:36.476-07:002012-10-23T04:55:36.476-07:00Simon, can you confirm that the words "prepar...Simon, can you confirm that the words "prepare [children] for the responsibilities of adulthood" cannot be used to include sex education?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-28836626699962342912012-10-23T04:53:02.412-07:002012-10-23T04:53:02.412-07:00Given the inconsistency among the LAs that we see ...Given the inconsistency among the LAs that we see already, then it's entirely plausible that some will interpret the rules in this way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-20128881473337991522012-10-23T04:31:11.806-07:002012-10-23T04:31:11.806-07:00I hate the way Simon constantly dismisses this arg...I hate the way Simon constantly dismisses this argument as a cynical tactic when so many people have personal reasons for feeling strongly about this issue. It's especially despicable from one who used to work for a charity and was personally involved in advocating for parents of children with special educational needs. He must have seen the results of a lack of resources many times. And it's hardly a new argument either. Looking back to posts on this blog will reveal exactly the same argument being put forward in 2009!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-17299486104756647362012-10-23T03:55:51.714-07:002012-10-23T03:55:51.714-07:00the money argument goes down well with the public ...the money argument goes down well with the public oos quite rightly there want any spare money sent on schools or colleges not on home educators! hammer it home just keep repeating it you wanna use money tax payers money to check up on home educators where your school needs the money?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-52453988635438208282012-10-23T03:40:10.653-07:002012-10-23T03:40:10.653-07:00Sadly, my experience of my LA is that an idea bein...Sadly, my experience of my LA is that an idea being raving lunacy wouldn't deter them for a second. We currently have talking bus stops for the blind, but you need to read the instructions to work out how to use them, and they're not in Braille. <br /><br />Anne Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00194299468706689614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-7761492592488667912012-10-23T03:21:49.035-07:002012-10-23T03:21:49.035-07:00'You always had a good relationship with your ...'You always had a good relationship with your LA, courtesy of your background, and, dare I say without being too controversial, your gender'<br /><br />It's not at all controversial Anne. The fact that I am a man and the local authority officers were all women, obviously has a bearing on the extent to which I was able to dominate the agenda during their supposed 'monitoring' visits! It is also at the root of much of the irritation which is felt at me by home educating mothers on the internet, although not in real life, I am glad to say.<br /><br />' You therefore think the best of what is likely to happen and believe that they wouldn't do it.'<br /><br />I would not put anything past any employee of either local or central government. This idea would be raving lunacy though! I don't think that anybody really believes that Welsh civil servants are going to be asking children about their knowledge of sex and contraception. It is just a gambit, as I say, to get others on side.<br /><br />Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-29871770984548748302012-10-23T03:15:59.053-07:002012-10-23T03:15:59.053-07:00'You have brought some humour to my morning Si...'You have brought some humour to my morning Simon!'<br /><br />Ah, my life has not then been wholly in vain!<br /><br />'I know the aforementioned method does not work!'<br /><br />Alas, the temptation to tell an exceedingly old Catholic joke has proved too much for me. What do you call a woman who uses the rhythm method of birth control? Mummy!<br /><br /><br /><br />Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-38387596858582141662012-10-23T03:06:26.341-07:002012-10-23T03:06:26.341-07:00I am ROFL! I would just love for an LA personnel ...I am ROFL! I would just love for an LA personnel to come round armed with clipboard in tow and attempt to ask my child about the potential hazards of the withdrawal method. Not only would they be likely to leave with the clipboard clamped around their neck, they would also be assured that I know the aforementioned method does not work!<br /><br />I do wish people wouldn't whip up unnecessary hysteria about these things. You have brought some humour to my morning Simon!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com