Times Online – Newspaper Edition
On the off chance that any of you have somehow missed any part of this current debate (I’m getting it at least three times over as it’s raging on three of the lists I’m on!) this seems to be a reasonably balanced article, and also offers the chance to respond. Both the Guardian and the BBC have had similar offerings, of varying levels of accuracy over the last day or two.
Click the links below and scroll through my collection of ideas, workshops, excursions, and more to discover practical everyday activities you can do together in and around your home classroom.
Need support for your home ed journey? Looking for tutoring for your young person? Have an idea for a collaboration? I’d love to hear from you!
After 20+ years of home educating my four children (two now adults), I’ve gathered a wealth of experience that I’m passionate about sharing. Beyond blogging and guest writing, I offer several services designed to support families on their home education journey.
I’ve put together a collection of resources that I’ve genuinely found useful over the years—things that have actually made a difference in our home education. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to freshen things up, there’s something here to help. These are the tools, guides, and materials I’d recommend to a friend, because they work.
Comments
9 responses to “Teachers want curbs on Home Education”
Well thanks for posting that, I’m no-mail on most lists atm so I *had* missed it. What do you think about it all then, Jax?
The BBC news article is a bit sloppy.
‘Kim Tomsett, a monitor for West Sussex local education authority (LEA), said it should be compulsory for parents who chose to educate their children at home to ensure they were present during official visits.
At the moment, they have the legal right to refuse a home visit or, if they do consent, not to have the child present, even though the LEA has a legal duty to check up on them. ‘
Me thinks the LEA does not have a legal duty to check up on our kids. It’s clear from what PAT were saying that they think that it most cases there is no problem and their concern is around a small number of families who might be abusing the right to HE as a way of hiding truancy for example. The issues is whether it is right to subject an entire group to monitoring in order to find the small number of problems. I’m not sure it is.
I think that teachers organisations want home ed monitoring out of a motive for more power rather than anything else (apologies to any teachers reading, I am not including individuals in this). There is a perception that there is a group of ppl somehow escaping from society, which is silly in the very least, as all that is happening is a group of ppl are exericising their rights within society, no more, no less. It’s got little to do with the education we are offering – if they really monitored all home edding families, they would soon be against the idea according to the Rothermel research, as we’d be showing them up horribly!
We are rocking the boat, and they want us to stop, and it seems to me that we must be getting to a critical mass as I do not recall this type of story reaching the press in previous years. This may be a make or break time, and I think we should all be ready to fight out corner, by letters, meeting with MP, whatever it takes (peacefully, I do *not* advocate anything other than legal, peaceful protest!)
That the sort of thing you expected to hear Sarah?
Yes 🙂 I’m just interested … and I think I agree with you. I’m not very good at thinking my own opinions through though, or taking action on these things, which, in this case, as you say, may be crucial. Because if we don’t, then ‘they’ will pass some horrid piece of legislation or other and it will be too late, and we’ll lose the freedom that is the whole point of HE.
One thing does strike me, EO has, I believe 6,000 members and there are 100,000 children being HEed. EO seems to be the only HE org that gets a look in when the consultations are done and its point of view can be blithely dismissed at any point on the grounds that it has no mandate to speak for over 80% of us (even if the average is 3 per family).
Given that this Government, which apparently, “plans to be in power for decades” has demonstrated that it has no regard for individual rights (and was prepared to invade a foreign country without any grounds, ahving taking the decision in advance of gathering the evidence), without a very powerful lobby, backed by a fat wad of votes to wave around and overwhelming media support HE could end up being brushed aside on a ministerial whim.
I guess it’s would be a bit like doctors asking for some monitoring of people who don’t go to the doctor and self-prescribe themselves over the counter remedies rather than getting a ‘proper’ service. And yep I agree with you Tim that the lack of powerful lobby seriously threatens the ability for the community to defend its rights.
have up to now resisted getting involved in the ‘politics’ or wider issues associated with HE, being of the opinion that as we have nothing to hide we would not be concerned about being ‘monitored’ however it is something which with these recent press storiess, the fact that we live in the same town as Kim Tomsett and various other things including the HE group I was with today have got me thinking. We are not official HE age yeat but I think we are ready to start fighting to ensure that by the time we are the right to do it in gthe way we want to has not already been taken from us…will reply to thhe debate when I have time to make a considered reply – and it will be headed up by the point that the debate should surely be entitled can home education ever replace school instead of home teachinh!
Make sure you read John Taylor Gatto, if you have not already.
Incidentally, I have already written to The Times along the lines that trying to do replicate school teaching at home makes as much sense as serving school dinners at home.
Have sent my reply in now, fairly mild I suspect compared with some, but still challenging a few of their assumptions. Have also asked if there is anywhere to view it online. We’ve got a John Taylor Gatto if you want to borrow at some point Nic.