Is Home Education just for rich people?

[LilMissHissyFit]

Damn! My sinister underbelly uncovered!

Terrible affliction an underireable underbelly. We both have one of those alledgely and our education dept would just ADORE it if they could find even the slightest thing to pin on us so they could identify the 'home circumstances' they attribute her problems to so they don't have to pay for help for her.

Keep fighting VM and do your best with teaching your son yourself in the meantime, your son will know you are doing all you can.

 

[thought]

Im glad you have an uber indigo child though, well done.

Wtf is an uber indigo child?

 

[subversplat]

Wtf is an uber indigo child?

Bonkers

 

[thought]

Bonkers

In that case i think hissyfit needs to offer an apology to mungy for slander towards his daughter.

As I know for a fact that mungy would not view his daughter as an indigo child. Just a bright happy sociable child... Which is what she is. by all accounts

Professional and personal

 

[vauxhallmum]

Nearly on the subject, anyone know about this all night vigil at Parliament held by parents of kids with SEN? A friend heard about it on the radio yesterday but i know nothing more..

 

[quimcunx]

My friend who home educates passed me these sites.


http://www.education-otherwise.org/

http://www.heas.org.uk/

http://www.home-education.org.uk/

hope they help.

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Nearly on the subject, anyone know about this all night vigil at Parliament held by parents of kids with SEN? A friend heard about it on the radio yesterday but i know nothing more..

Nope
I 'd be interested though

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

In that case i think hissyfit needs to offer an apology to mungy for slander towards his daughter.

As I know for a fact that mungy would not view his daughter as an indigo child. Just a bright happy sociable child... Which is what she is. by all accounts

Professional and personal

Slander? get over yourself-Given that mungy is comparing his 2 years 8 mths old child as far more wonderous in the 'sociable and advanced' stakes than a school age child and insists on doing so even when its pointed out that its not really a valid comparison.. then yes it sugguests he does view his child as indigo

Terrible to be confonted with an uncomfortable truth isnt it?

 

[Mungy]

i was comparing her to other 2 / 3 year olds in this area who go to pre school. her being an indigo child is your claim, not mine.

yeah i think shes special and i am very proud of her. how she understands the world around her amazes me every day. i've never been a parent before, nor spent any time with kids.

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

and you know them all yes??
Thats what Im getting at- Im glad you think shes special but your comparison isnt valid- either that or you think you have an exceptional indigo child-because you believe shes more advanced than any other child in your neighbourhood ( who happen to attend preschools)...

 

[Firky]

You know how everyone thinks that their dog is smarter than most dogs? Same thing.

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

But is your indigo dog home educated... you see thats the difference

 

[Firky]

My dog wrote a paper on home education amongst the bourgeois, it is called, "Educating Edward."

 

[Mungy]

and you know them all yes??
Thats what Im getting at- Im glad you think shes special but your comparison isnt valid- either that or you think you have an exceptional indigo child-because you believe shes more advanced than any other child in your neighbourhood ( who happen to attend preschools)...

at no point have i claimed she was indigo or more advanced than any other child in our neighbourhood who happens to attend pre school, only those i have come into contact with. you told me that i couldn't make a comparison. well i did. as to the validity of my comparison, it wasn't meant to be taken as a scientific study that could be measured empirically - it was simply my opinion, formed from observation and feedback from other parents - none of which to my knowledge were conducting a scientific study either.

 

[Mungy]

You know how everyone thinks that their dog is smarter than most dogs? Same thing.

my dog was smarter than me

 

[Mungy]

But is your indigo dog home educated... you see thats the difference

you seem obsessed with this indigo thing

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

at no point have i claimed she was indigo or more advanced than any other child in our neighbourhood who happens to attend pre school, only those i have come into contact with. you told me that i couldn't make a comparison. well i did. as to the validity of my comparison, it wasn't meant to be taken as a scientific study that could be measured empirically - it was simply my opinion, formed from observation and feedback from other parents - none of which to my knowledge were conducting a scientific study either.

so your mates kids are a bit fick then?

 

[Mungy]

so your mates kids are a bit fick then?

dunno. ain't iq tested em. i might have a problem getting them to sit still and concentrate on something for longer than 2 minutes. unless its on cbeebies

 

[vauxhallmum]

dunno. ain't iq tested em. i might have a problem getting them to sit still and concentrate on something for longer than 2 minutes. unless its on cbeebies

My son has ADHD. Let's all point and laugh at him.

 

[vauxhallmum]

and his speech and language problems make him seem like a proper thicko. Oh stop it it's all just too funny

 

[Mungy]

and his speech and language problems make him seem like a proper thicko. Oh stop it it's all just too funny

i wasn't talking about your son. you don't know anything about me or my family or what has motivated us to want to home educate our daughter, so please lets not get into name calling.

it is up to the parents to educate their children - that is what the law says. that many people choose to send their children to state school is their choice. just like we have chosen to home educate our daughter.

it is sad that you are in a position where you may not have a choice. i hope you can find some help, financial or otherwise so you can make a choice that is right for you and yours.

good luck.

 

[vauxhallmum]

dunno. ain't iq tested em. i might have a problem getting them to sit still and concentrate on something for longer than 2 minutes. unless its on cbeebies

I wasn't calling you names but your post sounded like you were taking the piss

 

[tuesday's child]

one thing's for sure (and apols for the derail), if your child is advanced, gifted, above average, or any other way of saying that they are way ahead of their peers in one or many areas, you are NOT allowed to talk about it or you risk the wrath of some who will snap your head off for being some sort of deluded/hothousing/stage-parent nightmare, when in fact you might just happen to have a particularly clever child. You can talk about problems, you can talk about achievments (but only if they're in line with what your friends' kids are achieving/have achieved), but if you dare talk about something that makes another parent feel that their child is not doing as well as yours, you will be accused of boasting (at the very least). It's really quite nasty.

My daughter is a bright, normal child. My friend's daughter is unbelieveably advanced, physically and mentally. At two and a half, she can swim proficiently, can ride a bike, she's been talking since just over one, she can read 3-letter words, she's just amazing. My friend is hated for it. She makes a special effort NOT to boast, but sometimes she'll answer if someone asks her a direct question about her daughter's progress, and then she gets slated for it. Very unfair.

 

[vauxhallmum]

one thing's for sure (and apols for the derail), if your child is advanced, gifted, above average, or any other way of saying that they are way ahead of their peers in one or many areas, you are NOT allowed to talk about it or you risk the wrath of some who will snap your head off for being some sort of deluded/hothousing/stage-parent nightmare, when in fact you might just happen to have a particularly clever child. You can talk about problems, you can talk about achievments (but only if they're in line with what your friends' kids are achieving/have achieved), but if you dare talk about something that makes another parent feel that their child is not doing as well as yours, you will be accused of boasting (at the very least). It's really quite nasty.

My daughter is a bright, normal child. My friend's daughter is unbelieveably advanced, physically and mentally. At two and a half, she can swim proficiently, can ride a bike, she's been talking since just over one, she can read 3-letter words, she's just amazing. My friend is hated for it. She makes a special effort NOT to boast, but sometimes she'll answer if someone asks her a direct question about her daughter's progress, and then she gets slated for it. Very unfair.

Yup, OK fair point. This is such a thorny issue, though, especially for parents of children with SEN who have to spend their life defending them and shielding them from accusations of being 'a stupid bastard' etc. Sadly, from adults as well as other children. On top of that, the school system does not adequately support them and they run the risk of getting no qualifications and rubbish jobs. It may not be fair to jump on parents of gifted children (forget the indigo children people- they are nutters best left alone) but it happens because we are frustrated and anxious.

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

one thing's for sure (and apols for the derail), if your child is advanced, gifted, above average, or any other way of saying that they are way ahead of their peers in one or many areas, you are NOT allowed to talk about it or you risk the wrath of some who will snap your head off for being some sort of deluded/hothousing/stage-parent nightmare, when in fact you might just happen to have a particularly clever child. You can talk about problems, you can talk about achievments (but only if they're in line with what your friends' kids are achieving/have achieved), but if you dare talk about something that makes another parent feel that their child is not doing as well as yours, you will be accused of boasting (at the very least). It's really quite nasty.

My daughter is a bright, normal child. My friend's daughter is unbelieveably advanced, physically and mentally. At two and a half, she can swim proficiently, can ride a bike, she's been talking since just over one, she can read 3-letter words, she's just amazing. My friend is hated for it. She makes a special effort NOT to boast, but sometimes she'll answer if someone asks her a direct question about her daughter's progress, and then she gets slated for it. Very unfair.

I think thats valid also. However thats not what mungy did- he made a direct and overly favourable comparison between his child and others and put that down to his 'homeschooling' ( such as it is- I dont know anyone who didnt 'teach' their child at home at 2 1/2) and even when challenged insisted he was correct.( hence the term indigo- his child being far far more special and advanced than any other child he knows- esp those at preschools)
Thats not about having a gifted child necessarily. I think genuinely Gifted children probably face the polar opposite of kids with SEN and wind up at times with the same outcome- bored, demoralised and anxious because the state system doesnt often meet their needs properly

 

[Mungy]

I think thats valid also. However thats not what mungy did- he made a direct and overly favourable comparison between his child and others and put that down to his 'homeschooling' ( such as it is- I dont know anyone who didnt 'teach' their child at home at 2 1/2) and even when challenged insisted he was correct.( hence the term indigo- his child being far far more special and advanced than any other child he knows- esp those at preschools)
Thats not about having a gifted child necessarily. I think genuinely Gifted children probably face the polar opposite of kids with SEN and wind up at times with the same outcome- bored, demoralised and anxious because the state system doesnt often meet their needs properly

we are all entitled to our opinions.

you told me i couldn't make a comparison when i already had, which means that i can and i did

 

[rewritable]

@vauxhallmum - Have seen a good few friends home school their kids and none have been wealthy, all low earners, mostly couples but one single mum.

It definately seemed to work best with good networking and a good bit of kid swapping, "you teach them maths I'll teach them english " type of thing.

I've seen a bit of trouble in home schooling networks with parents who have some pretty iffy (IMO) no reprimanding policies leading to nasty behaviour.

The other thing that seemed prevelent was the kids going to lots of 'out of school' activities, sport, drama, martial arts, visual arts, crafts, type stuff which gets them with other kids outside the home schooling networks and adds stuff you can't do yourself.

I've seen a bit of chaos from people underestimating the time and effort involved, trying to work from home, train for another proffesion and home school all at once thus making a shit job of everything.

It sounds as if it could give you the opportunity to play to his strengths rather than wading through the huge amounts of pointless shite often doled out in schools. You could maybe get into growing vegetables together and cooking and stuff. Save cash and learn useful skills at the same time.

Benefits wise, isn't there currently some dicussion about lowering the age your child has to be to be allowed not to work from 16 to 11 or something? That'd mean you'd be cool for a few years even if it did change (stating the obvious).

Good luck with your decision!

ps. If you try for DLA definately seek experienced advice about filling in the forms as they can be a minefield.

 

[scifisam]

Yup, OK fair point. This is such a thorny issue, though, especially for parents of children with SEN who have to spend their life defending them and shielding them from accusations of being 'a stupid bastard' etc. Sadly, from adults as well as other children. On top of that, the school system does not adequately support them and they run the risk of getting no qualifications and rubbish jobs. It may not be fair to jump on parents of gifted children (forget the indigo children people- they are nutters best left alone) but it happens because we are frustrated and anxious.

Of course, being 'Gifted & Talented' is also an SEN, in that kids who really are gifted need different treatment or they will be failed by the school system.

I taught one boy who is far, far beyond his years in every respect; he's 11, building his own websites (from scratch, not using front page, and they don't seem like those of a young boy), writing fiction which looks like it was written by a skilled professional adult, understanding complex topics in humanities and working at GCSE level in maths (those are the subjects I know about).

Yet he will not be allowed to sit his GCSEs early. He cannot move up a year. He can have extra classes after school, which he will love, but it's not really fair, is it, to expect him to, quite literally, sit back and twiddle his thumbs in some classes, and then do extra lessons. When he gets a bit older there's a good chance that he will start to reject school altogether, not get qualifications, and 'fail' in all sorts of ways.

My daughter's also on the G&T register. She also has SEN of the ordinary kind, though she still doesn't have a full statement after 7 years of meetings and assessments which have said 'yes, she must have a statement of SEN because if she doesn't have help she will not cope with school.' She has autism. So G&T can go hand-in-hand with other types of SEN.

Most people you meet in the school system are out to help all sorts of kids (a few aren't, but most are), and the system does have some measures to help, but they still aren't enough.

 

[Dhimmi]

Don't forget the hard right racists!

Hmmm, do any examples spring to mind?

But then you also have to question some folks non-home education...



"Hey let's form a blues band and call it Prussian Blue..."

 

[Fruitloop]

Interesting article here about the possible negative effects of group-education at an early age that might be pertinent:

Dropping baby off at nursery has become a standard part of British family life in the past decade. It is now the most popular form of non-parental childcare in this country, providing almost double the number of places offered by childminders. It is estimated that in England more than 800,000 children up to the age of four are in group-based care for at least some of the time - that's nearly a third of the age group.

But over almost exactly the same period, several studies in different countries into the adverse and long-term impact of group-based care on children have reached strikingly similar conclusions. They make uncomfortable reading for parents. Now it's happened again. In the US, the latest tranche of the world's biggest study into the impact of childcare on subsequent development finds that children who have been in group care such as nurseries in their pre-school years are more likely to be aggressive and disruptive once they reach school, and that this persists to the age of 12. What is most disturbing about this new research is how enduring these negative effects are proving to be.

from here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2049653,00.html