Unschooling?

[Mummyplus3]

Sorry for dragging ther thread back to life but I thought this was a really interesting thread. I have much respect for those parents that home school. I am terrified of putting my 3 r old into school next year. She is so clever and the schools in the area I am moving too are very poor. I wish I had what it takes to home school her, but I think It would do more damage to her to keep her home with me than to go to a not so good school, I hope to find a way of affording getting her into a private school in the area but TBH i do wish I could teach her at home.

 

[aimee-lou]

Personally I'm in a bit of a quandry about education. My husband is currently embarking on teacher training - it's going to take him 5 years including his first degree in biological sciences, and then he'll be able to teach science at KS3, 4 and 5. I'm a history graduate with a love of literature and poetry - between us we probably have the ability to meet the educational needs of a child.

However, I do feel that school is a necessary part of growing up. The interaction and the skills you learn around the classroom as well as the knowledge gained within it. I actually went to boarding school, so maybe I had a different line of sight, but at 15 my school closed down and I went to the local comp, hated every minute, got bullied, barely went, and still came out with 10 A grade GCSEs because I basically only went to school to learn. I probably could have done it at home but my parents weren't supportive/didn't know that they could/weren't willing to do what was necessary.

Earl is obviously bright - and I do want the very best for him. I've researched all of the options, and we do have a montessori pre-school and an 'outdoor nursery' in our area, which I'm keen on him attending before he goes to school at 5. I just don't know what to do after that as I can't afford £10k a year on private school, none around here offer bursaries etc. Homeschooling may actually be an option for us, but I can't help but think that I would be stifling Earl by keeping him at home, despite the obvious benefits of missing out on bullying and any negative educational experiences . We shall have to see how we get on in future years.

 

[Lara+sam+bump]

Im currently in the process of becoming a childminder and so Noah will 100% not go to school or nursery of any kind until he is 5. But I am now considering homeschooling for at least until he is 7, maybe more, although he will defo go to secondary school as I am dyslexic and I will never have the mathmatical ability to be able 2 teach Noah secondary school maths or science. I like the idea of doing some unschoolin but some curriculum stuff as well. But i'd like him to get his GCSE's and A levels and i'd like for him to have the friendships that secondary school brings as I feel they are the ones that last, I dont have contact with anyone for primary school but I still regularily see lots of my secondary school friends and I think year 7-11 were fantastic years for me personally. Just my opinion. Think gembee is being ridiculous in saying homeschooling is detrimental to a childs future and the common sense remark made me LOL xx

 

[morri]

Sounds a lot like free schools to me, Kids decide what they learn and when, I don't mind people using it, aslong as the child doing well in it. Children thrive in different models of education , some are more successful in academic schools and some do better when they are left to do everything at their own pace.

 

[tinkerbellkir]

Love this thread.

I have a friend who does un-schooling, she has to declare to the LEA that she is home educating and someone from the LEA visits every so often to see what shes doing ect.

Her daughter is absolutely 100% thriving through thtis education and if i didnt have to work i would absolutely be doing this for my daughter too. I wish i could do half and half as DD loves school but i do feel it crushes some of her natural curiosity and learning, she has to sit when the other kids sit, listen when the other kids listen, learn what everyone else is learning, i think the discipline is important BUT in moderation not 6 hours 5 days a week. Unfortunately with work i dont really have any choice.

But my friends daughter can do everything my daughter can do PLUS more, she has actual life skills such as cooking and baking and growing her own food. You could give that girl a map and she'd tell you where all the countries are, and she could tell u in a forest what food was edible and what was not, its this that i feel School makes children lack, so i just try to do as much at home as possible, BUt theres not enough time in the day and id love more.

Kirsty