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There is a huge community that home educates. There are a lot of kids on the spectrum that really can’t cope in main stream school and home Ed it’s their only option in order to develop healthy. The idea of a formal education seems to be so ingrained but it’s really not that necessary. School it’s really overrated. Subjects in schools today are no use in our society etc. Kids should learn about home finance, sustainable ways to live, ecology and day to day life. How to choose a career or a trade and not pitagoras theory. As for the drama that a 8 year old didn’t know how to read or write it’s just that cheap tv drama. Most of Europe has kids going to school at 7. I went to school at 7 and now at 30 I speak fluently 3 languages, went to university, run my own business and am a mother. At 8 I could barely read. if My child couldn’t cope in main stream school I wouldn’t hesitate to home Ed. So far he is only 3 and really enjoys being around kids and in pre-school.
 
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Sandra_1984

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This whole home schooling lark is just that. An execrable lark.

This info is second hand, but i have no reason to believe it is untrue: a child of mixed nationality parentage was withdrawn from her state primary bcs of alleged bullying. In their wisdom (sic) the parents decided to educate the child at home, where my informant (psychologist) considers the whole thing an unmitigated disaster. Dad is clearly a loner, who resigned from his job to help educate his child. Does OFSTED cover this scenario? And if it does, what are the remedies if it considers the system to be a failure? Because if I understand it correctly, a home schooled child cannot be admitted into the state system again - is that correct? Because it seems to heap disaster on disaster?

What then is the ultimate remedy for failed schooling at home? Take the child into care?

I disagree. Home school can sometimes be better for a child than mainstream school. I completely agree with the other poster who commented that mainstream school is extremely overrated, where the child's welfare and education comes secondary to the school's standardized testing. Ofstead...whole new can of worms so I won't even begin with them.

Anyway, I live in Australia and although my children do attend a school here, I wouldn't hesitate in considering homeschool should their needs ever require it. Homeschool here is widely recognised both in the cities and for people living in very rural areas, where attending school would not be an option due to their location.
I teach law at university level and there is a stark difference between some of the young adults who attend who were home schooled compared to the ones who attended schools. I'm finding those who were home schooled take more responsibility for their independent learning, whereas those who attended schools need everything broken down into bite sized concepts, need constant reminders about assignments and need me to hold their hands throughout their four year degree. Those who attend school are so used to being tested on information that had been handed to them, but have no idea how to research for themselves or think outside the little standard squares they have been conformed to fit in to.
 
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Sp20191

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I
Are (predominantly) state schools the only way? I would accept that as the starting point for my current state of mind, subject to the qualification that allowances may need to made for a small number of children with mental health issues.

As, however, you may be aware, not only is mental health support severely lacking in the NHS/education sectors owing to austerity cutbacks, but also the fundamental questions remain as to how to deal with mental health issues for children, even if such funding were available, (which currently and sadly is not the case). To that extent, the argument for home education is clear: it is better than nothing at all. However, there are charities for some such issues e.g. autism, which provide educational support., albeit not universal.

You invite me to open my mind. Open it to what exactly? I mean, we can all lounge on Bondi Beach and send cheery messages back to the homeland we might seek to abandon. It is more profound than that, as you must know. You seem to invite a spree into comparatively uncharted and unmonitored waters of home education .

Doubtless I have misunderstood you, and if so, please correct me on my misunderstanding. I will be particularly interested to see how your state deals with failing home education - there must be some/many - and how this compares with England.
I know a lot of home schooled children and most are way ahead in education, I know a 7 year old who is working at the same level as my 10 year old who is top of his class! There’s no right way to learn, some kids learn better in a classroom, some are more hands on and some are better left to learn on their own! There are schools all over the country who are failing their students, school is not the only way or best way to educate!
 
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Definitelyme

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Are (predominantly) state schools the only way? I would accept that as the starting point for my current state of mind, subject to the qualification that allowances may need to made for a small number of children with mental health issues.

As, however, you may be aware, not only is mental health support severely lacking in the NHS/education sectors owing to austerity cutbacks, but also the fundamental questions remain as to how to deal with mental health issues for children, even if such funding were available, (which currently and sadly is not the case). To that extent, the argument for home education is clear: it is better than nothing at all. However, there are charities for some such issues e.g. autism, which provide educational support., albeit not universal.

You invite me to open my mind. Open it to what exactly? I mean, we can all lounge on Bondi Beach and send cheery messages back to the homeland we might seek to abandon. It is more profound than that, as you must know. You seem to invite a spree into comparatively uncharted and unmonitored waters of home education .

Doubtless I have misunderstood you, and if so, please correct me on my misunderstanding. I will be particularly interested to see how your state deals with failing home education - there must be some/many - and how this compares with England.
Dear lord you are a pompous piece of work.
 
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GiggleBee

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I've not watched them all but this parent one with the no rules is shocking. These children are feral and I'm shocked the social aren't involved!
 
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You are talking about Australia. I am talking about England, not Scotland, nor N Ireland, nor Wales. I apologise if that was unclear.

You live in a country which is a continent, with wide open spaces. I do not. To that extent, you have no locus on England's education system, which was never designed to work in Australia, I can see perfectly well why a home education forms a part of your country';s education syllabus in the Outback. England has no Outback. You make no mention of checks and balances, other than to weigh them off as 'a can of worms'. From my point of view, that is obfuscation. You make the case for children who have apparently received a good home education: my interest is in what happens to those who do not. I write that as one social engineer to another.

Here is a link to home education in England, when it goes wrong. It is out of date by 2 years and therefore may be stale. I doubt it, but am happy to be corrected.

Essentially, what the link demonstrates is that a lot of home education results from exclusions, bullying, or mental health problems for a child.

For me, the bullying aspect can be remedied by a switch in schools.

Exclusions are sometimes education-made: these may result in part from the English system with its league tables for schools and OFSTED reports. where schools may seek to exclude pupils who disrupt the overall results, and where other schools are reluctant to accept the banished.

Other exclusions will result from antisocial behavior, which is far more problematic, and more likely to lead to other schools refusing to assist, bcs of the league tables etc Back in the day, when Local Education Authorities had real power, they could move pupils around and insist on inclusion. They could also set up units for pupils who were outside the mainstream, for whatever reason. e.g. what we would now class as behavioural or mental health issues. And there were Special Schools, which dealt with pupils who had severe issues. e.g. home abuse These mostly no longer exist.

Back to Home Education in England: what concerns me is those instances where parents cannot afford tutors, and where the state does not intervene bcs the child has not been excluded.
What a closed minded attitude. Kids like all of us are not one size fits all. And as we all try to be more mindful and inclusive of our differences we should do the same about the kids. Formal education in England starts at 5 and most kids go to school at 4. There are studies that show kids do better when they start later their formal ed. Plus what happened to leaning though play and kids playing and having fun. I assume your set of skills don’t cover child development etc. I have been a professional nanny for 7 years until I stoped a year ago. I believe there is a place for formal education and some kids do thrive in it. Councils do prosecute parents that don’t educate their kids and do check on home Ed kids. My husband is a local government lawyer and has been his entire career ( 17 years) and has taken to court countless of parents that didn’t educate their kids. You talk about checks who checks schools ofsted?? Ofsted it’s a complete bs. I have been ofsted registered my entitled nanny career and have been “inspected” by an ofsted inspector which not only had no clue what she was doing or looking for but undertoodnvery little of what a nanny does and was trying to convince me to become a childminder. I’ve always taken a more holistic approach in my practice and did things like forest school etc and the amount of knowledge the kids in my care got from just exploring a small puddle didn’t get from sitting in a class room for hours. We pour information in our young ones with no idea of why and we end up with a distinctional society that can’t actually accept that people are different and there no one size fits all. I do have hope for the generation that is coming that will be more accepting and open minded.
 
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Blahaha

Active member
Just caught up on the one with the family who unschool. I have zero issues with home education, when it is supplied properly however i feel these parents are bordering a form of neglectful abuse. That their 8 year old son has absolutely no literacy skills is not ok and it is a proven fact that learning to read and write is easier the younger they are. They may live a wonderfully free lifestyle however these parents were raised with the skills to read, write, learn and function in society and they are denying that right to 3 children who will struggle with even the most basic functions.

It also seemed hugely hypocritical to allow the children to be glued to ipads much of the time.

The Dads decision to not work irked me. I have zero problem with those who rely on the system because they have a genuine need. I have no issue paying tax to support people who are unable to genuinely work themselves however Matt can work and he is hypocritically relying on a system that he claims not to believe in! If everybody did that then society would completely collapse.

The vaccination issue i find personally challenging and finally a dog has no grasp on the idea of fasting. That is bloody animal abuse.
 
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Sandra_1984

Well-known member
You are talking about Australia. I am talking about England, not Scotland, nor N Ireland, nor Wales. I apologise if that was unclear.

You live in a country which is a continent, with wide open spaces. I do not. To that extent, you have no locus on England's education system, which was never designed to work in Australia, I can see perfectly well why a home education forms a part of your country';s education syllabus in the Outback. England has no Outback. You make no mention of checks and balances, other than to weigh them off as 'a can of worms'. From my point of view, that is obfuscation. You make the case for children who have apparently received a good home education: my interest is in what happens to those who do not. I write that as one social engineer to another.

Here is a link to home education in England, when it goes wrong. It is out of date by 2 years and therefore may be stale. I doubt it, but am happy to be corrected.

Essentially, what the link demonstrates is that a lot of home education results from exclusions, bullying, or mental health problems for a child.

For me, the bullying aspect can be remedied by a switch in schools.

Exclusions are sometimes education-made: these may result in part from the English system with its league tables for schools and OFSTED reports. where schools may seek to exclude pupils who disrupt the overall results, and where other schools are reluctant to accept the banished.

Other exclusions will result from antisocial behavior, which is far more problematic, and more likely to lead to other schools refusing to assist, bcs of the league tables etc Back in the day, when Local Education Authorities had real power, they could move pupils around and insist on inclusion. They could also set up units for pupils who were outside the mainstream, for whatever reason. e.g. what we would now class as behavioural or mental health issues. And there were Special Schools, which dealt with pupils who had severe issues. e.g. home abuse These mostly no longer exist.

Back to Home Education in England: what concerns me is those instances where parents cannot afford tutors, and where the state does not intervene bcs the child has not been excluded.

No, I'm talking about England too. I've only lived in Australia for a few years, prior to that I lived and worked in England, where my experience was pretty much the same. However you seem to be conditioned to the fact that schools and institutions are the only way? Perhaps open your mind. I've known some excellent, home educated young people in the UK who all now have great jobs or their own businesses. School isn't the be all or end all.
 
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Sandra_1984

Well-known member
Are (predominantly) state schools the only way? I would accept that as the starting point for my current state of mind, subject to the qualification that allowances may need to made for a small number of children with mental health issues.

As, however, you may be aware, not only is mental health support severely lacking in the NHS/education sectors owing to austerity cutbacks, but also the fundamental questions remain as to how to deal with mental health issues for children, even if such funding were available, (which currently and sadly is not the case). To that extent, the argument for home education is clear: it is better than nothing at all. However, there are charities for some such issues e.g. autism, which provide educational support., albeit not universal.

You invite me to open my mind. Open it to what exactly? I mean, we can all lounge on Bondi Beach and send cheery messages back to the homeland we might seek to abandon. It is more profound than that, as you must know. You seem to invite a spree into comparatively uncharted and unmonitored waters of home education .

Doubtless I have misunderstood you, and if so, please correct me on my misunderstanding. I will be particularly interested to see how your state deals with failing home education - there must be some/many - and how this compares with England.
I have absolutely no idea what planet you even live on, but I'm not going to even bother continuing this conversation with you. I know you'll think that's because "I'm losing my argument" or I've nothing else to contribute. Reality is, I just can't be bothered writing to a misinformed, ignorant and closed minded person when I could be enjoying my two weeks off in the sunshine. No where near bondi beach. Good day! :)
 
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Definitelyme

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Because if I understand it correctly, a home schooled child cannot be admitted into the state system again - is that correct? Because it seems to heap disaster on disaster?
That is completely incorrect. A child who has been home schooled can move in to the local educational setting at any point (obviously based on the assumption a school has room for them). I have taught children who have previously been home schooled. There is no “heaping disaster on disaster” at all. They are generally much easier to work with and better rounded than many of the students the education system fails time and time again.
 
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Also the kids were not feral. The little boy was clearly on the spectrum and the little girl seems a very social well rounded 4 year old which I bet will be choosing to go to school. I think what shocked most people was that kids were allowed to have a say and make their own choices about their own lives. Something that most of us don’t do( I am guilty of it myself) but that encourages independence the part of their brain that does problem solving will develop faster and better. Over all as adults those kids will do better then my own for instance. Don’t get me started on ofsted or schools ofsted obsession. Time and time again I’ve seen schools focusing on getting outstanding to an inspection but completely loose sight of the kids and their welfare. Trying to tick the box and fit everyone in the same box when we as humans are so diverse. The only thing I strongly disliked about that family is that they didn’t vaccinate which is not only dangerous to their kids but to the rest of us as well. For someone who understands her kids needs so well the woman( can’t recollect her name) seems very closed minded and stupid when it came to vaccinations and modern medicine. As for the dad’s claims that the sister should support him he was clearly very left wing and also he was right he doesn’t actually ask that much from the sistem £190/week is nothing. There are family that have multiple kids in school and both parents with addictions and on multiple benefits and have been for generations. He wants to have a sustainable life style which is really not bad. Very closed minded attitude from Stacey herself who didn’t do well in mainstream school either and left school at 16.
 
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Definitelyme

VIP Member
Just caught up on the one with the family who unschool. I have zero issues with home education, when it is supplied properly however i feel these parents are bordering a form of neglectful abuse. That their 8 year old son has absolutely no literacy skills is not ok and it is a proven fact that learning to read and write is easier the younger they are. They may live a wonderfully free lifestyle however these parents were raised with the skills to read, write, learn and function in society and they are denying that right to 3 children who will struggle with even the most basic functions.

It also seemed hugely hypocritical to allow the children to be glued to ipads much of the time.

The Dads decision to not work irked me. I have zero problem with those who rely on the system because they have a genuine need. I have no issue paying tax to support people who are unable to genuinely work themselves however Matt can work and he is hypocritically relying on a system that he claims not to believe in! If everybody did that then society would completely collapse.

The vaccination issue i find personally challenging and finally a dog has no grasp on the idea of fasting. That is bloody animal abuse.
What I struggle with with the boy and his literacy is she is saying he isn’t interested in learning to read. But how can they be ok with him missing out on the enjoyment of reading? My 6yo ADORES reading, she reads every chance she can get. By not teaching him to read they are really limiting him in his potential enjoyment of books.
 
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Snickers

New member
I watched the first two with an open mind. The Throuple episode was quite well done, the bloggers just wound me up and this family 😬 it’s not a life I could opt for. They just seemed a tad unaware of how there children will be disadvantaged when they start their adult life.
 
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GiggleBee

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I watched the first two with an open mind. The Throuple episode was quite well done, the bloggers just wound me up and this family 😬 it’s not a life I could opt for. They just seemed a tad unaware of how there children will be disadvantaged when they start their adult life.
They really did. How on earth does she expect a child to learn to read and write if she doesn't teach them 🙄
 
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JodieGreen123

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I love the instagrammers who are #ad promoting it at the moment ‘I was thrilled to be asked to get involved with it’, then people ask ‘oh wow are you going to be on tv then?’, ‘nope, I’m just getting paid to say it’s a good show’ 😂😂😂😂
 
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motherofdonkeys

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I love the instagrammers who are #ad promoting it at the moment ‘I was thrilled to be asked to get involved with it’, then people ask ‘oh wow are you going to be on tv then?’, ‘nope, I’m just getting paid to say it’s a good show’ 😂😂😂😂
DMBL40 had a poll about the show the other day, I almost answered asking how she felt about cold showers. I bet she's miffed there's no goody bag. When they were all promoting Riviera for Sky they all got a goody bag with a Loewe wicker bag in it.
 
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