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Home ed

Your 3 main reasons for home-edding

76 replies

BeNimble · 25/06/2006 18:23

What are YOUR 3 main reasons? (Please, anyone who wants to talk about something else, start a new thread; or this discussion will lose it's value to anyone who's watching.) x

OP posts:
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dottyspots · 25/06/2006 18:30

Be Nimble.

To enable my children to access the best education possible (grrrrr no.2. chose to return to school, but I'm bringing them up to be able to make informed choices, so can hardly moan when they do!) We plan for no.3 and 4 to never go to school.

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onlinemum · 25/06/2006 20:44

Because I read John Holt when I was training to be a teacher, and it really struck home.
Because once we started it became obvious how well it worked.
Because the more I learn about modern educational institutions, the more obvious it becomes that they are suited to an outdated purpose.

Although I should state at this point that my children (6 yog, 3 yob) are actually flexi-schooled atm, spending three days at a montessori school/ nursery, and I do think that's pretty good. Still think being at home with them would be better though.

Hi dotty.

Jax

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dottyspots · 25/06/2006 22:26

Hi Jax,

You're right, it's about what's right for the family.

'Still think that schools need (another) major overhaul - I much prefer the idea of community learning hubs in the truest sense with families accessing activities as they need it rather than the rigid 8.45 - 15.30 and you MUST attend or you are truanting set up that is school today.

I agree that schools are suited to an outdated purpose.

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HelloDolly · 26/06/2006 08:37

How have you managed a three day week onlinmum ?
I would love that but cannot find any school that will agree to it, because the children wouldn't keep up (I think they would find mine are way ahead but ho hum).

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poetmum · 26/06/2006 09:04

Our family feels home education is the best decision for us because:

  1. We want our child's education to occur in a manner consistant with our educational philosophy. (Strongly influenced by John Holt.)

  2. We want our child to experience and understand the widest variety of subject matters. We also feel that we are best suited to help him learn to analyse, think for himself, question sources, evaluate material critically and develop his own opinions.

  3. We want our child to view learning as a life-long process. We want our child to learn to love learning.

  4. We want our child to achieve his fullest potential - intellectually, emotionally and physically.

  5. Having seen the results of my 20 year old's education both at home and in a school, I have tangible evidence that I have both the better environment and am the better teacher.

    Sorry, that's 5.

    Hi Dotty. Hi Jax.
    Christina
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dottyspots · 26/06/2006 10:17

Hi Christina

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meowmix · 26/06/2006 10:30

because we want him to have an education that he enjoys rather than one that is dictated by need to pass exams
because we want him to explore education fully
because we can't afford the kind of school fees we'd need for that to take place in a school and know that even the best state school can't deliver due to oversubscription

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onlinemum · 26/06/2006 11:03

Hi Christina

HelloDolly - it's a small private school, which only opened last year. At the moment my children going part time is good for them, as it increases their numbers. I do anticipate that as they get more popular, I'll get a problem with the 6 yog, as most other children of that age will want a full time place, and we'll be effectively blocking two days we aren't paying for iyswim.

Cross that bridge when we come to it - we may have sorted out our finances by that point and be able to go back to home edding!

Jax

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sazhig · 26/06/2006 17:59
  1. To enable DS to recieve an education personally suited to him & his needs, not a "best fit" education for a class


2. For the freedom of choice it enables him to have - freedom to choose what to learn & when, freedom to choose what qualifications (if any) to go for & when, and freedom for the whole family to be able to enjoy life & not be restricted by timetables, holidays etc.

3.So that we can have an active role in DS' education & learning & see it & enjoy it with him first hand. Hate the idea about learning about it second hand from his or his teacher's written or verbal comments.
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Blandmum · 26/06/2006 18:09

Very intersting and valid reasons, which are re-assuring to read.

I'm a secondary school teacher and have only 'lost' one child to home ed.

In that case it was because the parents didn't want their children learning about religions other than christianity. In a multi cultural UK, that worried me more than a little.

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dottyspots · 26/06/2006 19:58

It's something that worries me too. I can't understand why people refuse to find out more about other religions - if one is confident that one's beliefs are 'right' then surely one is confident that no amount of learning about other religions will shake that belief - but in learning we might move a step towards understanding something of other cultures.

My personal experience of RE at school is that it was very Christian focussed and in a predominantly white middle class school the expectation was that everyone was Christian or atheist(save for one family), which irritated me no end! Much of that, I think, was due to where the school was though.

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cuddlemonster · 26/06/2006 21:17

I agree with most of the reasons already stated, although I have to admit that I've not heard of John Holt

My sister HE'd her four children in France up to the age of 10 (two youngest still at home) and her decision influenced me greatly. Her children are articulate, polite, well rounded, book-loving individuals and I just hope that I can do as good a job as she has with my two DD's.

Also worried about social issues in school as I am a childminder and have come across numerous cases of bullying at age 4!!

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dottyspots · 26/06/2006 21:24

I'm a childminder too cuddlemonster

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Majorca · 26/06/2006 22:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

jumpingjax · 27/06/2006 00:03

Wanted her to continue to enjoy learning for it's own sake
Wanted her to spend as much time on sticking/cutting/gluing/reading without having to stick to a timetable
Wanted her to continue to enjoy meeting up with her wide age range of friends without limiting them to occassional visits

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poetmum · 27/06/2006 09:24

What I love about the Home Ed community - these days - is that it is such a diverse group of people. When my daughter was being educated at home, it was mostly radical Christians. Most of whom were home edding for the reasons you state Martianbishop.

I was reading on another board recently that several people outside of the home ed community (in The States) have noticed that home ed children fall into two groups. These college admissions officers, teen program leaders, and counselors at NASA's space camp, identify them as 1. remarkably intelligent, well-rounded, sociable leaders or 2. the lunatic-fringe Christian kids who are unprepared for the real world.

I'm only sorry for the kids whose parents are providing a well-rounded, appropriate education and are Christian. Because the Christians home edders are getting a bad name due to a few bad examples.

I'm not Christian. But, I have a deep concern and care for my child's peers. In our complex world with its fluid boundaries - we are strengthened by our comfort with difference. And this is also a critical life skill for all children.

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tensing · 27/06/2006 09:53

My three main reasons, not in any order

School Does not suit my son
I want to provide a full rounded education for him
My son was bullied at school

There are also lots of other reasons.

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Mandbabe · 20/09/2006 16:35

My 3 main reasons (amongst many others) are .....

1 ... My son iy to fas not physically or mentally ready to face school yet

2 ..... He has lots and lots of medical issues at the moment meaning he will require at least 3 or 4 lots of MAJOR surgery (possibly more) during the next few years and I was worried about the ammount of time he would miss from school and him being singled out because of this & getting very behind with his education whilst he was off ..where as at home I can continue to teach him during his recoverys.

3 ..... He will need a colostomy bag as has a serious bowel condition (amongst other serious health issues) and I am worried he will be singled out at school because of this He aso has had (and needs more)) open heart surgery as well as other ops, so had many different types of scaring on his body although this isnt an issue to us and he is still beautiful lil man, I worry he will be singled out by the other children because of it ... lets face it children can be very cruel when someone is in the slightest bit different, I draed to think hat they would do to my lil man ...it horryfies me just thinking about it.

This list of reasons could go on forever lol, I have so many reasons for wanting this.

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maverick · 22/09/2006 15:29
  1. Because he wasn't being taught how to read and write -it was assumed that he would learn literacy skills by osmosis.
  2. He was being bullied because he was small and quiet ...

2.5. We wanted the freedom to go away on holiday or for days out exploring, whenever we wanted.
3(Sorry!)We wanted to avoid any religious education.
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BroodyElsa · 23/09/2006 00:03
  1. Because I want my children to enjoy learning through curiosity for all their lives' not as a chore foisted upon them. I worry about the stress and apathy learnin for exams causes.


  1. I want my children to learn about all sorts of things, which aren't necessarily covered by the curriculum but which are importent for their life in this society.


Note Given your concerns about religion I feel I should mention my philosophy about learning about religions. Children should have access to people and places of all faith, with the decision about their own not to be assumed or enforced. People should make their own informed choices about philosophy and faith. I do not believe that schools provide this unbiased environment - generally teaching 'world' religions with little respect whilst enforcing a flavour of Christianity on them (prayers, services etc). I wish to introduce our children respectfully to other beliefs with gentleness and genuine interest - speaking to people of 'Religion X', learning about their beliefs, reading their books, visiting their places of worship and perhaps (if it feels appropriate) joining in a celebration/prayer/occasion of theirs. Meanwhile at home I will allow the kids to join in the Pagan celebrations my husband and I observe as much they desire/are able to. I want our children to make informed choices about their spirituality.

  1. I want to enjoy my children growing up. Why let someone else have the pleasure of most of my children's waking hours? I want to know them as people, by spending time with them and learning from them as much as anything else.


  1. (sorry) Concerns about the school method of socialisation and it's perpetuation of bullying. (I don't think dumping 30+ children of the same age in an enclosed area with little or no supervision/guidence is 'socialising' I think it teaches them bad social habits (bullying, low self-esteme etc). I would rather that my children socialised with people of all ages who have shared interests or experiances and learn from the social behaviour of (polite and kind) adults at a pace which suits their own confidence.


  1. (sorry twice) Individualised learning with plenty of one to one time.
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redshoes · 23/09/2006 09:04

BroodyElsa, what a fab post. That's exactly how I feel (tho' I haven't 'jumped' yet).

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BroodyElsa · 23/09/2006 14:29

I haven't either, still TTC my first but thank you for the complement anyway.

Another reason is more personal. Both my father and sister are teachers, they bullied me relentlessly when I was little. I am all too aware of the fact that teachers are real people, and do not place their abilities on a pedastal.

Out of the tens of teachers I had at high school, only a handful were 'good' teachers both in terms of their ability to handle a class and to enthuse and empower their students to learn. Others were wonderful people (teacher's daughters do get to know the staff better generally) but not good at teaching. I appreciate that different schools have different hiring criteria but I think that my standard of education is a bit out of my price range.

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prairiemuffin · 24/09/2006 12:22

Well, as a Christian home-edder, I will say that's a significant part of our decision.

Firstly, it's because we want them to love learning and have a chance to explore the world in a less synthetic environment than school

Secondly, it's because we want to be able to let them have a childhood, rather than be forced into a peer-led straight jacket. I want them to have the confidence to be different.

Thirdly, it's because we want to have more control over certain aspects of the curriculum - and yes, RE would be one of those aspects. I'm quite happy that as part of learning about the wider world, our children will come across other faiths. But I'm afraid I'm not happy to present those faiths as a series of 'options' for my children. I'm sure everyone here may well disagree, but that's the joy of home-edding - there is no one-size-fits-all way of doing things.

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Mum2FunkyDude · 24/09/2006 13:22

Oh a decent, brilliant and thought provoking post for a change!

My ds is only 10months (today) so I still have time to make up my mind. I was never really pro home-ed up until we had FunkyDude and are now living in a country that is very far removed from our culture (white, south african).

If I am to consider it I think my main reasons would be the fact that I know my child better than any stranger (with 30 other lo's to look after) ever will, therefore I will be more sensitive to his needs.

I believe a child should learn about life in parallel to academic subjects, I have not heard once of anyone thinking that the school system addresses this issue successfully.

And I would like the freedom to move around with my children, I do not think we will settle here and if I can home school we can live anywhere in the world really.

Do I have any concerns? Yes, how do you make sure that their social development keeps up?

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Saturn74 · 25/09/2006 00:28

1: Because the provision of an appropriate education for dyslexic children in mainstream English schools is non-existent.

2: Because I want my children to learn as they live - not read for 40 minutes because someone tells them to, then do maths for 40 minutes because someone tells them to. I want them to learn about things because they are genuinely interested ie: not just because the government wants them to take dozens of tests in order to try and fulfill some dodgy election promise.

3: To show my children that their dyslexia is not going to hold them back from being whatever they want to be, or doing whatever they want to do. To get back the happy, bright, enquiring and loving boys that almost disappeared once they went to school.

OK, that's more than three reasons really, but that's as much editing as I could do at this time of the night!

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