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Listed below are comments made by parent between Friday, 27th February 2009 and Tuesday, 3rd March 2009.

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Home schooling... 3:10pm on 03 Mar 2009 philtblog said "I don't think we're moving forward and I don't think we will since I don't share the belief that all HE is inevitably done well and cannot be improved and you don't share my belief that it could be improved without interference in what is obviously excellent HE in the case of the majority."

Perhaps we can help philtblog 'improve' with some 'interference'. Widen your horizons, think blue sky, be free. The discussion might then move forward... As for home edders, well, we are constantly moving forward :-)
Home schooling... 1:52pm on 03 Mar 2009 philtblog, you say:

"My point is simply that child A under parents B and C might have a better HE experience, be guided better, encouraged better, achieve more of what they want to, get wider exposure etc. if parents B and C were supported/assisted by HE expert D. And further that parents B and C may not be aware of this. And further still that child A certainly won't be aware until they are old enough to understand this."

Your default model is based on experts giving advice and teaching the ignorant. HE does not necessarily rely on this model. Learning is a shared experience, it happens through searching and seeking.

Let us say you substituted 'parent' for 'teacher' and 'HE' for 'school' in your formula, we could change the face of schooling as we know it. Are you saying that schools must allow parents to choose a particular teacher so that their child would have the best outcome? What if the teacher your child has is rubbish, and if they had teacher X they could end up at Oxford? I'd like to see your model applied to schools. I don't think you'd even get through the door!

But, as we all know, education (read schooling) is a lottery. Some of us are not gamblers, we opted for HE.
Normal childbirth... 1:56pm on 02 Mar 2009 'Normal'? What is normal now? My daughter was born after I had everything medically available, including an epidural. She survived, I survived, I am grateful. I had planned a thoroughly 'natural' birth - something I thought was 'normal'. Things went wrong. Thankfully, she is wonderful daughter and I am happy we survived the ordeal.
What have YOU done for your children's education? 1:53pm on 02 Mar 2009 We chose to home educate, and opt out of the rat race :-)
Home schooling... 01:31am on 01 Mar 2009 Relevant Petition to the PM

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Homeedreview/
Home schooling... 01:23am on 01 Mar 2009 ARTICLE 8
http://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html#C.Art8

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

(Posted for information, just in case some of the readers think that it is fine to just object to HE and enter our homes on a whim.)

- We are not breaching national security, public safety or economic well being
- We are not criminals
- We are not a health hazard or morally reprehensible
- We are not a threat to the rights and freedoms of others

- We are tax payers, paying for schooled children to be educated, saving the Treasury considerable sums of money, while not entitled to claim any of it to educate our own children (we pay twice for education)
- We enjoy and contribute to the diverse community
- We wish to be allowed to legally and legitimately carry on with the joyful task of raising our children to be upright citizens, free from threat or harm
- We take our freedom, rights and responsibilities very seriously

So, for anyone threatened by this, please ask yourself whether you would like to be treated in the same way as you are expecting us to be treated.
Home schooling... 9:42pm on 28 Feb 2009 Hi cooljumblesale

Are you suggesting that this 17yo would have fared any better at school? Sounds like he was disaffected anyway and lacking a proper family supportive environment... Perhaps that's why he ended up at home, to escape his worse fate. If he was 'escaping' school, do you think the 'authorities' would have bothered to find out whether he was bullied or abused in school? And would they have sued the school if he were? No.

Like you said, he was not really 'home educated'. He was 'at home'. Not 'home educated'. Full stop. If all parents were aware of their real rights about education, this family might have approached matters differently. Additionally, some families are so fearful of the 'authorities' that they just hide and cover up all their worries, because of the threats to take children away from them.

Are you also saying that you would have fitted into school? Probably not. There is no guarantee that school would have saved you and made you someone you are not. Accept that you are who you are, use your experiences to change your life. Perhaps you would have complained and blamed someone anyway. Quit dwelling on the past and move on.

Don't tar all home educating families because of your own experiences. Most home educators are magnanimous enough to accept that home ed is not for everyone. Home educating parents have to be 100 percent committed, love their own children and take full responsibility for their welfare and education. Not all parents are willing to do that. Schools are ideal places for them.

As has been mentioned, your manner and information sounds interesting. Are you sure that you are not breaching data protection and discussing the case of a real person? I wonder....
Home schooling... 5:33pm on 27 Feb 2009 There seem to be some people posting here who like the idea of home education (HE) but lack the confidence. Many HE parents take the approach that our children can achieve anything and we can empower them to do it.

The approach that necessitates the use of an 'expert' to deliver a 'curriculum/content' is the school model. It is not necessary to use this model when children learn through daily life. Children learn so much through life, their questions can be answered, they can explore, they can search and study - sometimes to a far greater depth than imaginable. In general, the model used is not one of enforcement (which is the school model). Additionally, most HE parents choose not to see their child in comparison to the norm.

Each child is unique, individual, has their own needs, gifts, talents and will make their own contribution to life. So, if you are a parent lacking confidence to HE, go for it! What a powerful example you will demonstrate to your child if you take on this challenge. That is the best model of all. As a parent, the way you approach problems and challenges is actually the most important message they will glean. You are a child's most important role model - for life.
Home schooling... 3:30pm on 27 Feb 2009 I am not driven by feelings on this matter. This is how it is....

At the magical age of 5 (or thereabouts) parents can CHOOSE how they want their child to be educated. We CHOSE home education. This is a legal and personal family choice, not fuelled by emotion.

Most parents CHOOSE to hand over their children to be educated by a school - the state. That is their CHOICE. Some parents CHOOSE to educate their own children themselves. That is our CHOICE.

Why are home educators being persistently harangued about their legitimate CHOICE?

Ultimately this is about more government interference in our lives. I hope I have made myself clear.
Home schooling... 11:06am on 27 Feb 2009 Please do not confuse education with schooling. It is obvious that there are many schooled posters here, but they are not necessarily educated. There is a world of difference.

Schools have not necessarily much to do with education... they are mainly institutions of control, where basic habits must be inculcated in the young. Education is quite different and has little place in school.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Hmmmm.... think about it.

A home educator and teacher

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