Back in June 07, I realised that I only had roughly 18 months left of being with Lillie, without having strangers providing her education on a weekday basis. This filled me with dread! I begun the quest to research some local primary schools - only 1 stood out to me! However, this school being too far away had to be ruled out. What was I to do?
While washing up on a summer morning, I wondered if it was legal to educate her at home! I ignored the chore at hand & soon found myself typing away on my computer, researching as much as I possibly could. The first port of call was the Education Dept, (within my local council) who supports the rights of parents who want to educate their children at home - Education Otherwise (EO) was one of their recommended website addresses regarding the legal requirements & other useful information. The other website was the Home Education Advisory Service (HEAS).
Before I knew it I was in a different world - to be honest it was alien to me at first as my education was provided by 'the system' as was my son Louis' education. It was indeed Louis' education that had given me food for thought on how little input I was 'allowed' to actually have when he was in primary school. There was no such thing as 'zero - tolerance' when it came to bullying. Some of the teaching staff were patronising when I approached them with a query. Discipline was not satisfactory - In fact one particular teacher approached discipline with a degree of military tactics! Of course he was approached by myself regarding this matter after he had disciplined my son. I threatened to take it to the Head if it ever happened again - he never punished my son in such an humiliating manner again. However, this does not mean he stopped altogether. Finally, I was not happy with the testing of such young minds that were to single them out into groups within the classroom. I would just like to clarify here that Louis does not speak of his primary school years in the way I do. He feels that those years were good & that he has fond memories & has maintained some of the friends he had made during that time.
I can honestly say that I do not harbour any negative emotions regarding Louis' secondary school years - My son was offered excellent opportunities within this sports college - he had the 'choice' on whether he wanted to put the work into the academic side of school life. He did just this with the subjects he enjoyed & didnt with the subjects he didnt enjoy! Louis knew he could still do very well in life without needing to pass all his exams! The pressure was not put upon him! Louis left school with exam passes & enrolled on a part time Electrician course. He also works 3 days as an Apprentice Electrician & 'earns while he learns!' My son has grown into a considerate & wonderful young man who enjoys his life to the max - this is all that I ever wanted for him.
Back to the Home Education research - it was a relief to discover that there are many parents opting for this alternative all over the world! I ordered 3 books from Amazon, became a member with Education Otherwise & got some advice from a HEdding forum on The Open University website. It didnt take me long to 'know' this was the way forward for Lillie & me. Of course I had to run it all past her Dad - our marriage is over but our friendship isnt, so discussing the issue was not difficult & to this day he is 100% behind me on this.
I have not ruled out secondary school for Lillie, as I believe she will be informed enough by the age of 11 to make the decision on whether or not she would like the opportunity to try school. If she chooses school & its a success, so be it. If she chooses school & decides to return to HE, so be it! I am flexible - isnt that how education should be? In my opinion, a definite yes from me!
Well thats my first Home Education blog completed!
Before I knew it I was in a different world - to be honest it was alien to me at first as my education was provided by 'the system' as was my son Louis' education. It was indeed Louis' education that had given me food for thought on how little input I was 'allowed' to actually have when he was in primary school. There was no such thing as 'zero - tolerance' when it came to bullying. Some of the teaching staff were patronising when I approached them with a query. Discipline was not satisfactory - In fact one particular teacher approached discipline with a degree of military tactics! Of course he was approached by myself regarding this matter after he had disciplined my son. I threatened to take it to the Head if it ever happened again - he never punished my son in such an humiliating manner again. However, this does not mean he stopped altogether. Finally, I was not happy with the testing of such young minds that were to single them out into groups within the classroom. I would just like to clarify here that Louis does not speak of his primary school years in the way I do. He feels that those years were good & that he has fond memories & has maintained some of the friends he had made during that time.
I can honestly say that I do not harbour any negative emotions regarding Louis' secondary school years - My son was offered excellent opportunities within this sports college - he had the 'choice' on whether he wanted to put the work into the academic side of school life. He did just this with the subjects he enjoyed & didnt with the subjects he didnt enjoy! Louis knew he could still do very well in life without needing to pass all his exams! The pressure was not put upon him! Louis left school with exam passes & enrolled on a part time Electrician course. He also works 3 days as an Apprentice Electrician & 'earns while he learns!' My son has grown into a considerate & wonderful young man who enjoys his life to the max - this is all that I ever wanted for him.
Back to the Home Education research - it was a relief to discover that there are many parents opting for this alternative all over the world! I ordered 3 books from Amazon, became a member with Education Otherwise & got some advice from a HEdding forum on The Open University website. It didnt take me long to 'know' this was the way forward for Lillie & me. Of course I had to run it all past her Dad - our marriage is over but our friendship isnt, so discussing the issue was not difficult & to this day he is 100% behind me on this.
I have not ruled out secondary school for Lillie, as I believe she will be informed enough by the age of 11 to make the decision on whether or not she would like the opportunity to try school. If she chooses school & its a success, so be it. If she chooses school & decides to return to HE, so be it! I am flexible - isnt that how education should be? In my opinion, a definite yes from me!
Well thats my first Home Education blog completed!
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