Home schooling

[Jchihuahua]

The Scottish curriculum is quite different to the English one then, in some of the local primary schools here they are working a year or so behind as a class so they don't make the less able children feel flustered, my friend is from Finland and her kids attend that school-she used to home educate in Finland but is unable to here xx

Very sad. We work to the child's ability whatever that may be.

Nope, we are in England and I know my old schools and my childrens schools all work the same way as above.

I have been a teacher in England (senior management level) for almost 14 years, in different parts of the country, and have never heard of or come across a whole class working a year behind. Education is very much personalised to the individual pupil.

 

[RachA]

Okay can i just say i NEVER used the term 'second rate education' that was someone elses assumption of what i said which i THEN clarified (before anyone else decides to jump on it without actually reading the info)

cheers

As for this idea of home schooled kids being unsocial, all the homeschooled kids i know are the most social people i know, they have very cool diverse groups of friends, they go to swimming clubs, sports clubs, home schooling clubs with other people, they spend their days with children of ALL ages and also adults meaning they can approach and communicate with people older or younger than them.

The social aspect is one of the biggest reasons i would choose to home school, because actually it makes for much much more sociable people who are not either quiet and forgotten or sticking out like a sore thumb in a crowd of 100s of kids.

its much more reflective of real life real experiences and real work situations.

Surely all of that depends on the number of children in a local area who are being home schooled? If as a homeschooler you are in a real minority then there won't be many children that you can meet up with.
Also, if there are only say 5 children that you can meet up with on a regular basis and your child doesn't get on with any of them, what happens then? In a class of 30 children a child is likely to get on with at least one of them, but if there are only 5 then it's a lot likelier that they won't get on with any.

Also, the clubs that you mention, do these all cost to go to or as a homeschooler do you get help with costs? There is no way for us that we would pay for both of our children to attend more than 1, maybe 2, activities each week due to the costs involved.

 

[feeble]

There are more home schoolers than you think

again, its a decision YOU have to make based on your own circumstances, but if you are prepared to pay for 2 activities/clubs a week and take advantage of the wide variety of free activities that are on offer, then it really is a diverse lifestyle

there are i think 4 home schooling groups within walking distance of me, and a multitude more within driving distance, If children in certain groups dont get on, then generally there are other groups to go to.

 

[sophxx]

School or home education we all do what we feel is best for OUR children and nobody else has to right to question another womans decision!
My only query about home education is does it affect a child ability to bond with other children? Because thats one of the best parts of school, making friends, so if anyone here home educates do you also make sure your child gets interaction with other kids?x

yeh course children that are home ed will bond with other children they wont be stuck in the house all day. theres loads of honeschooling meets every week field trips tutor session swimming for homeschoolers cinema museum trips ect its also not just children who go to school who have hobbies home ed children have a more flexible time tabke and more time spare for extra activites such a cubs brownies swimming hirse riding gymbatics music lessons ect they have plenty if time to make friends with lots of different children x

 

[RachA]

There are more home schoolers than you think

again, its a decision YOU have to make based on your own circumstances, but if you are prepared to pay for 2 activities/clubs a week and take advantage of the wide variety of free activities that are on offer, then it really is a diverse lifestyle

there are i think 4 home schooling groups within walking distance of me, and a multitude more within driving distance, If children in certain groups dont get on, then generally there are other groups to go to.

That is probably quite true lol. I guess it's one of those things that unless you are doing it you don't know what the numbers are of other people doing it.

From looking on a couple of websites there is a group where i am but there is a much bigger group in the next town along.

 

[feeble]

The group is always bigger in the other town...

 

[RachA]

The group is always bigger in the other town...

so true.

 

[marley2580]

My kids don't actually go to any home ed groups as there aren't any in my wee town (though there are a couple of home ed families) but they go to dancing and gymnastics and, when they are old enough to go out alone, they will get to go out and play with the local children and make friends.

 

[mum22ttc#3]

Where do you all look to see where all the home education groups are? I looked at education otherwise but there doesn't seem to be any where I am. (South east England).

 

[feeble]

is there a community page on facebook for your area? Also churches often have lists of them...

i am sure some others will come along with ideas, i am quite fortunate really that i already know home schoolers

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

The Scottish curriculum is quite different to the English one then, in some of the local primary schools here they are working a year or so behind as a class so they don't make the less able children feel flustered, my friend is from Finland and her kids attend that school-she used to home educate in Finland but is unable to here xx

Very sad. We work to the child's ability whatever that may be.

Nope, we are in England and I know my old schools and my childrens schools all work the same way as above.

I have been a teacher in England (senior management level) for almost 14 years, in different parts of the country, and have never heard of or come across a whole class working a year behind. Education is very much personalised to the individual pupil.

I quoted the wrong bit lol I meant to quote the bit that they are taught as individuals and individual work plans

 

[Jchihuahua]

The Scottish curriculum is quite different to the English one then, in some of the local primary schools here they are working a year or so behind as a class so they don't make the less able children feel flustered, my friend is from Finland and her kids attend that school-she used to home educate in Finland but is unable to here xx

Very sad. We work to the child's ability whatever that may be.

Nope, we are in England and I know my old schools and my childrens schools all work the same way as above.

I have been a teacher in England (senior management level) for almost 14 years, in different parts of the country, and have never heard of or come across a whole class working a year behind. Education is very much personalised to the individual pupil.

I quoted the wrong bit lol I meant to quote the bit that they are taught as individuals and individual work plans

I knew that's what you meant hun. I wanted to comment on summer rain's comment but accidentally quoted the wrong bit myself !

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Hehe

 

[summer rain]

The Scottish curriculum is quite different to the English one then, in some of the local primary schools here they are working a year or so behind as a class so they don't make the less able children feel flustered, my friend is from Finland and her kids attend that school-she used to home educate in Finland but is unable to here xx

Very sad. We work to the child's ability whatever that may be.

Nope, we are in England and I know my old schools and my childrens schools all work the same way as above.

I have been a teacher in England (senior management level) for almost 14 years, in different parts of the country, and have never heard of or come across a whole class working a year behind. Education is very much personalised to the individual pupil.

I quoted the wrong bit lol I meant to quote the bit that they are taught as individuals and individual work plans

I knew that's what you meant hun. I wanted to comment on summer rain's comment but accidentally quoted the wrong bit myself !

The school is in Newham, and it isn't the only school in Newham I have heard of with very, very poor standards and basically dumbing everything down for the whole class (and there are similarly awful schools in neighbouring boroughs as well) xx

 

[Jchihuahua]

I taught in east London for 10 years and thankfully never came across that though.

 

[summer rain]

There are more home schoolers than you think

again, its a decision YOU have to make based on your own circumstances, but if you are prepared to pay for 2 activities/clubs a week and take advantage of the wide variety of free activities that are on offer, then it really is a diverse lifestyle

there are i think 4 home schooling groups within walking distance of me, and a multitude more within driving distance, If children in certain groups dont get on, then generally there are other groups to go to.

Most homeschooling groups/activities I know of are either free or they ask for a small voluntary donation to cover costs, I am talking less than £5 a session here and it is usually voluntary. Also my children mix with non-home-educated kids as well as home-educated ones, outside of the usual school hours. I don't restrict them to mixing with other home-educated kids or to activities designed for other home-educated kids only xx

 

[summer rain]

I taught in east London for 10 years and thankfully never came across that though.

Well thats great but it doesn't mean there aren't some really failing schools in this area and in many other areas of the country as well. As I have mentioned though poor standards and inflexibility in learning are not my only reason for home educating; there are some excellent schools in this area including there being a primary school behind us with one of the highest SATs pass rates in London, where my boys could go but as it is a strongly Christian school, and has only a handful of ethnic minority and Muslim pupils, I don't feel it is suited to them. We don't feel it is fair on our children or the other children to take them out of lessons we don't approve of for religious reasons. Learning at home the children can make valuable use of time they would be using sitting in an empty classroom feeling excluded or different. We just feel home education is so much more flexible in so many ways as well, in terms of what hours we do the work, what subjects and what materials we use-not to mention all the out of school activities we can do at a moment's notice xx

 

[lhancock90]

School or home education we all do what we feel is best for OUR children and nobody else has to right to question another womans decision!
My only query about home education is does it affect a child ability to bond with other children? Because thats one of the best parts of school, making friends, so if anyone here home educates do you also make sure your child gets interaction with other kids?x

yeh course children that are home ed will bond with other children they wont be stuck in the house all day. theres loads of honeschooling meets every week field trips tutor session swimming for homeschoolers cinema museum trips ect its also not just children who go to school who have hobbies home ed children have a more flexible time tabke and more time spare for extra activites such a cubs brownies swimming hirse riding gymbatics music lessons ect they have plenty if time to make friends with lots of different children x

Thankyou, i wasn't being rude, i was genuinely wondering.

 

[summer rain]

School or home education we all do what we feel is best for OUR children and nobody else has to right to question another womans decision!
My only query about home education is does it affect a child ability to bond with other children? Because thats one of the best parts of school, making friends, so if anyone here home educates do you also make sure your child gets interaction with other kids?x

No, if anything it helps my children to be able to bond with and interact with a wider range of age groups of children and adults than I have seen with children who attend mainstream schools. We went to a healthy eating activity day organised by the housing association of where we live and the head of the local branch of the housing association came over to me and said she had never seen such well behaved, thoughtful, calm children as mine and she said it seems I have brought them up very well. I took that as a compliment. My children do attend a part time religious school every evening as well as many formal and informal activities so they do mix with other children from many age groups and backgrounds; but they tend to be children who we know well xx

 

[mum22ttc#3]

Sorry another question.

How many hours do you actually spend working i.e on textbooks? When DD1 was out of school for year I mentioned earlier, we probably actually only spent about 1.5 hours and sometimes even less on textbook work.

Alot of the other time was spent on practical bits i.e arts and crafts, science bits we found on the net etc.

I just worry that if we was too choose this option then it wouldn't be adequate, I would have visits from the education authority's as 2 out of 3 are already in the system. We only had one last time but she did seem pleased with what we had been doing but did say that it would be followed up with another appointment with somebody else.

I know that the time spent was plenty for DD1 as even now she is above average in all areas but am just worried the authority's wouldn't see it this way iykwim?

Sorry for all the questions.