General Chat

if i had a choice myself i would have prefered to be taught at home....

Hi Mel

I am a passionate believer in reading...if a child can read well it opens the door to being able to learn whatever they wish to in the future.

One of the reasons i decided to home educate was that my son at age 7 had been a fluent reader for several years and loved books bothreading them and being read to, but was growing to dislike it as at school he was held back... the kids were given a book (simple) on a Friday . and expected to still be reading it at reading time all through the week.... he had finished his and had to sit and reread it until his classmates had got through it... imagine you had to read the back of the cornflakes packet every day for a week...boring beyond belief!

In his first week of home ed he was reading anything and everything he wanted to...and more to the point enjoying it :)

something like on 1 in 5 children leave primary school unable to read.... and miss out on one of the most life enhancing pleasures there is :)

xx

xx

And that is a really good point Hoff!

Education is not all about literacy...nor should it be all about academic qualifications....

My nephew failed his exams...but is in a good job and good at what he does...because he has practical abilities, my mum left school at 14 but was one of the most intelligent people I have met. Artisans, craftsmen, gardeners etc have skills and intelligence that are just as valuable as any amount of A levels qualifications .

btw Pete Waterman the record producer didn't learn to write till he was 15, and still only 'prints'..he has done ok for himself I reckon...

THANKS ALL
FOR YOUR VIEWS AND A GOOD DEBATE

rose thats what happened to mine, my granddaughter to thankfully she loves school, she forgot her book one friday morning , and was put back to the first one,
which to me was totally wrong ,, it work out the class was way behind her in reading ......she now is top of her year and teachers have high hopes for her As for all her subjects , thankfully she loves to learn.....

Hi Rose thats fanstastic I feel priveledge to make such a difference in a child's life, but to do it for for your own child must be a blessing indeed

My daughter learnt to talk and consequently to read two years ago she's almost 11 ~ she now as a reading age of 9 most of it as been done at home ~ we are all big readers now she is addicted ~ we always say "books are all friends, old, new and yet to be"

I particularly work with dyslexic pupils ~ av drawn stregnth from my own inabitilies ~ it can be hard work at times but "the harder they try the greater the reward"

this thread is also on Gen
thanks
keith

its scary on gen

IHi JGee... I love to read myself so it was something that I wanted my son to enjoy also, not make it a chore to be got through but a real pleasure . I was so disappointed that the school spent money on (to me ) the wrong things and 'made do' with books that were boring, and in the main badly written when I know from my previous job with an educational toy and book shop that there are so many fantastic books for young readers .

Schools can be great, I had some of the best teachers myself, whose interest in the children and passion for their subjects gave me my interest in so many things... but also so much of what I know was learned 'naturally' by virtue of my family's curiosity about the world in general :)

xx

as somone who has experienced home schooling when little "for a short time

i actually went back ahead of the rest of my class!
so yes its defo got its pro's

Well well well.

My initial thought on reading the start of this thread was "no way, it couldn't be as good as going to school. They'd miss out on too many things especially the socilaisation side."

However, I've changed my mind after reading through this, and I now think that if home schooling is provided by the right person/people there's no reason why it wouldn't be just as good if not better than a school education. In just the same way that there are wonderful teachers and schools, and (unfortunately) very poor ones too.

I take my hat off to you Rose, and to all good educaters.

Maria xxx

Hi Hoff,

I believe home education can be very beneficial, especially when children dont conform to the normal education route,

Caz xxx

thanks all great debate and good input from you all

hi Caz hows you

Hello hun,

Life and all that, am sure you get my meaning

xx

you know me Caz

Good thread Hoff well done xxxx

It very much depends on the child and the educator.

I taught in a primary school before marrying and having my own kids. I then did a lot of pre-school things with them.
They were able to go to the school where I had taught and where my husband still taught. For them it was an extension of home for the first few years. Some of the teachers they knew as friends at home while calling them by their more formal surnames at school.
The school had a lot of advantages over home as well as over some smaller schools in the area. I did supply teaching sometimes in tiny schools and saw that there could be limitations due to lack of resources and space.
For example the school where mine did their primary education had a large gym and a pool and things like gymnastics and swimming went on there without us having to go elsewhere to find all these activities. There were enough kids in a class to do things which needed a lot of children and there were a variety of children to choose friends from.

However........my husband became very ill as my older daughter reached the end of primary school. He had to retire due to cancer (fortunately now in remission) and we had several years of real stress in the family.

The school changed head teachers at the same time as well as some other members of staff. The place became very different and the teacher who replaced my husband was rubbish. She was probably the worst I have come across.

I wish I'd taken my younger daughter out and taught her myself but at that point I was spending so much time in the hospital with my husband and couldn't do it.

I have seen some children who ought to go to school though. I knew a mother who really smothered her daughter to the extent that she went everywhere with her even in to ballet classes. The child never played with others unless her mother came too and joined in. My heart sank when this mother asked me what I thought of the idea of home schooling. I knew she had already made up her mind.
The mother herself admitted the daughter would only be good at the same subjects as she herself was. Mother was a very good linguist and a qualified interpreter I think and last I heard the child was indeed a clone of her mother.
In that case I feel the child missed out on the opportunity to be inspired by someone else and perhaps find her own subjects which fascinated her.

Sue

THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS SUE

I believe childrens education isnt just about reading and writing and arithmitic its about socialising, learning to interact, share, debate etc and home tutoring limits this. On the other hand the child who ends up labelled naughty just because hes bored might benefit from alternative form of education.