Dp and I are discussing the radio program from yesterday – why is it that the stock question is how do you socialise them? And then we rambled on, as you do…what would you get in an ideal world? ‘Cos there are some problems with home ed, there must be. Which led me on to the discussion about the theoretical family who is using home ed as an excuse to keep the children at home and abuse them. I recall at group some time someone saying “Well, I’ve never met anyone who is just using it as an excuse…”
Wake up! You wouldn’t, would you? What, you expect the kids to come out to group sessions with their home made, tie dyed T shirts emblazoned with the logo “I’m abused”?
Well, it made us laugh…
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4 responses to “One of those moments”
laughing aside, there’s then the question of what defines ‘abuse’?
Jonathan’s aunt has some home-edding neighbours, and the mother really does seem to do nothing with the children. She has been involved in getting some qualifications for herself, and the eldest child, about 9, I think, apparently makes wistful comments about how useful it would be to be able to read. The mother has made a lot of use of favours from a friend of J’s aunt who has mild learning difficulties, in terms of childminding while she gets on and does her own thing. Obviously I don’t know the whole story, and whilst it may not be abuse of the children, I think it is an abuse of the freedom we have in this country to choose our children’s education
I listened to the debate too and thought it pretty naff! I thought the ‘host’ was hopeless. The ‘anti’ guy was so NOT well thought through really didn’t make any point of note – not that he really got a word in edgeways! And the ‘pro’ people were so – well one family went back to the state system, so were not too pro in the first place – just had a kid who didn’t know when to be quiet!! The second family had a whizz kid – which is not so ‘typical’ really – and the researcher’s research would haveheld more water if she had kept her mouth shut. She was obviously so PRO it could not have possible been a balanced piece of research!! Scarily it came out as a pro home-schooling report that absolutly failed to sell its product! – Well that was my thoughts anyway 🙂
If you can stomach Real Player and want to hear the article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/ram/youandyours_20040902_4.ram
from the web-page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/index_20040902.shtml