Home Education: My Questions Answered Featuring Katie
This post is part of a series of posts about home education. I’ll be looking into the advantages and disadvantages of home education in a bid to find out if it for us.
In my post called ‘Is home education the way forward?’ I talked about some of my concerns with regard to an education at home and I introduced you to two wonderful home educators, Katie and Prudence.
During my research into home education, I found that the more I learnt the more questions I had.
Both Katie and Prudence kindly agreed to answer my questions. As there are quite a lot of questions, I have included Katie’s answers below and Prudence’s answers to the same questions will be published in a future post later this week.
You can read more about Katie and her experiences of home educating at Happiness in Learning.
Where did you first find out about home education?
Until recently I was a primary school teacher and I still work in a tutoring center so I have always been aware that children could be educated out of school.
To be honest though, I assumed (quite wrongly) that it was an option only available for certain children; I’m not sure who I thought those children were.
As I became more disenfranchised with the school system, I began to research other options online and came across Education Otherwise. This website is full of information for parents considering home educating their children. It discusses the law on home education (Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act) and gives advice for anyone considering home education.
There are also ideas for how to meet other home educators, of which there are much more than you might think. The website gave me enough information to be able to start researching home education in more detail and deciding whether it was right for us.
What you made decide to home educate your child? (I totally understand if you don’t want to answer this question)
I believe that children should be allowed to be children. The majority of their time should be spent playing, having fun and exploring nature.
Einstein himself said that play is the highest form of research and I firmly believe this to be true. Sadly, it seems to be the case that the politicians who decide what our education should do have all but removed play from school time.
Children are constantly tested and assessed; they are pushed towards reaching the next level, the next target – almost to the extent that they are treated as robots rather than children. Additionally, I feel that there is so much pressure from OFTSED and the government to raise standards that good teachers are forced to follow prescribed and un-stimulating lessons – children are bored and consequently not learning.
I feel that the new curriculum (to be obligatory in state schools from September 2014) is far too rigid whilst also being extremely basic. My son is very bright; he has a reading age of almost 7 (he was 4 last week) and is keenly interested in science and history. I want him to have a strong academic foundation but also be free to follow his own interests and be given time to play and enjoy being a child.
How long have you been home educating?
We made the decision to home educate in the summer of 2013.
Do you know any other parents who home educate their children? How did you meet?
When you tell people you home educate, they tend to assume that your child will be isolated and socially awkward when, in fact, the opposite is true. We sometimes have to turn down social occasions because we are just so busy! My son has more friends now than most school children I know.
We first met home educators through local yahoo groups – we live in Manchester so are members of the Manchester, Bolton, Lancashire and Prestwich groups. It was through these that we first heard about regular social events and other organised events of which there are many. There are regular museum visits; farm walks; opportunities for older children to complete certificates such as first aid training and the Duke of Edinburgh award; tours of factories and plants – to name just a few. We have also joined several groups on facebook through which we have met many other families.
We now attend several weekly groups where my son is free to play and interact with other children. Before we decide what to go to, we try to think about what we want from the meetings. To us, it’s socialisation. Jasper learns at home so our focus is ensuring that he has enough chances to make friends. People have said that this isn’t making real friends – at school, children choose who they want to play with whereas this is apparently a forced situation. Well, no. We choose where to take Jasper (as he is 4 but when he’s older it will be up to him) but when there he is free to play with whoever he wants.
This is just like a parent choosing which school to send their child to.
He has made several strong friendships and so continues to meet up with these children outside of arranged groups.
Do you think home educating will set a precedent for when your child becomes a parent? i.e. do you think your child will automatically home-educate their children because they were home educated? Do you think your child would be more concerned about sending their child to school because they haven’t experienced school themselves?
I hope not. We want Jasper to grow up being secure in his own convictions and able to make up his own mind. If he feels that school is the best thing for his children, I hope that he will send them. Home education isn’t for everyone, just like school isn’t. The focus should be what is right for the individual.
I am conscious that if Jasper only has friends who are home educated, then he will perhaps have a skewed view of the education system, but this is not the case. He has lovely friends – some go to school (or will when they’re of school age) and some don’t.
We’re not anti-school, we’re not anti-establishment – we’re just doing what we feel is best for our child in our circumstances. I hope we will bring him up to do the same!
How old was your child when you started to home educate them?
I suppose, since birth! But consciously since he was about 3 and a half, although of course at the moment, the amount of formal work we do is limited. We are not an autonomous family, we will work with quite a lot of structure – just with plenty of time for outdoor play and exploration of the world too.
Did you give your child a choice between going to school or staying at home to educated by you?
No. He is only just 4 and not capable of making that decision. So many parents tell me that he should have been involved in the decision, but do they involve their children in deciding whether they go to school or not? Why should it be any different because we are taking a slightly unusual path? We are the parents, he is the child – we will do what we think is best.
How do you motivate your child to take part, learn and engage in what you are teaching them?
We learn at his level and we teach in a way that suits him. Some children are visual, some kinesthetic etc and we are always conscious of what works for our son. We are very hands on because that’s how he learns. I was about to say we are lucky that he wants to learn – he wants to read, he wants to find out about history and science, he loves to count and add numbers together – but actually, I don’t think this is luck.
I think all young children instinctively want to learn and discover; think of the wonder with which a toddler looks at the world – our job is to harness that natural curiosity and allow it to develop. It’s all about being flexible and having the freedom to follow child driven interests whilst also ensuring that what you consider the basics are covered.
I know many families who learn only through real life experiences; they don’t sit down to learn Math’s, English, Science or any of the so-called foundation subjects. We’re not like that – to us, a strong academic foundation is essential. But, we balance that with creative pursuits – giving Jasper a chance to follow his own interests. That’s what works for us. It might not for everyone.
How do you motivate yourself? Do you have days where you think you’d rather just sit down and watch TV? How do you manage those types of days (if applicable)?
I’m quite a motivated person anyway. I work part time as a tutor; I write a blog and I’m writing a book based in the slums of Salford in the 19thCentury. I also run a book club for adults. I like to be busy and Jasper is the same. The problem for us isn’t motivation – it’s fitting everything in. Have we done our formal learning, visited friends, played, been to groups, visited museums? Oh, and kept the house clean, the washing done and the fridge stocked. We’re always on the go.
But, if there is an occasional day when we decide we don’t want to do anything, we don’t. It probably happens about once every 3 months and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that at all. Everyone deserves a bit of downtime – it’s when it’s every other day it becomes a problem.
I would say to people that if they’d just rather watch TV every day that home education probably isn’t for them. But then, they’d be struggling to hold a job down too!
Do you think home educated children have less opportunity to socialise than children who go to school?
Not at all. I’ve already mentioned just how many socialisation opportunities there are, so as long as families harness those opportunities, children have just as much – if not more opportunities to socialise than children in school. If we chose to (but we don’t as we’d never learn anything formal), we could spend all day everyday socialising.
Locally to us there are daily meet-ups – at parks to play; board game groups; drama; sports; horse-riding; climbing and just general meeting up for a chat to name just a few. Then there are ad hoc trips which have been organised – farm visits; museums; someone’s organised a course in stand-up comedy!
To those who say that these social activities are arranged by parents and not real social opportunities, I would ask how that is different to school. Parents have a choice in which school to send their children to, just as I choose which groups to take my son to. He makes friends there of his own accord – some children he likes, others he doesn’t. Just like school children. I’m not with him constantly at these events – if he’s off playing, he’s off playing. It really isn’t any different. If anything, I think home educated children have more opportunities for socialising than in school.
If you think about it, in school – apart from talking to a “talk-partner” in the classroom, children are outside for perhaps an hour a day (when you take away actually eating lunch, they don’t get that long outside!) – home educated children generally get much more than that.
Of course, there will be isolated children who are home educated – whose parents don’t do anything with them or take them anywhere, but there are families like that who have children in school too.
Does your child have many friends their own age?
Yes. Lots!
Does your child go to an classes, groups or clubs?
Swimming lessons, football club, board games group, playing, gardening and outdoor club, forest school. He also has friends over to play, goes to friends’ houses and we meet up with friends at museums, parks etc
Do you ever get any ‘me’ time?
Not really, but then I don’t suppose any parent does!
How many hours/days a week do you home educate your child?
That’s a difficult one – formally we tend to do learning to read, Math’s and English every day. Science we do at least once a week and the other subjects at the moment are more topic based – for example at the moment we’re learning about the Normans because Jasper wants to. A while ago it was dinosaurs. My son is only 4 though and this formal learning will increase a lot as he gets older. I would consider all our outdoor activities as learning too though, so it’s difficult to give a number of hours!
Do you have a set timetable that you follow when teaching your child or do you have a more flexible approach?
I have absolute musts – things I definitely want to cover. Priorities at the moment are reading and math’s but other than that, we’re quite flexible because I believe young children should be playing. He isn’t compulsory school age yet so I think it would be wrong to have a timetable at this age. I am planning to introduce one at some point though, as I said, we’re quite structured and will have lots of formal learning so this will probably work well for us.
Have you faced any problems/barriers since you started home educating?
Only in terms of prejudice from others. People are extremely judgmental about things they don’t know anything about. It’s irritating but to be honest, I don’t really care. We’re happy, our son is happy – he’s learning, he’s well-adjusted and has plenty of friends and that’s all that matters to us!
Do you have any concerns about home educating your child? (social interaction/qualifications/
No – because we have a plan for all of these things. Social interaction just isn’t a concern at all – he’s a social whirlwind (see above); he is bright and will complete formal qualifications; his cv will also be packed full of things lots of school children won’t have the chance to do. As for job prospects, he will be fully equipped to do whatever he wants to do!
Will your child sit exams to gain recognised qualifications?
Definitely. He will sit GCSEs or IGCSES and A-levels and hopefully go to University – or an apprenticeship if that’s what suits his needs best. As I said though, he’s academic already, so I’m assuming he’ll go to University.
Even though he’s only 4, we’ve spent a lot of time researching how he will access these qualifications and get the grades he needs/is capable of and we’re confident that he will be able to.
Of course, the procedures may change as he gets older, but we are committed to being up-to-date with the format and content of recognised qualifications.
Do you think there is enough information available for parents who are thinking about home education?
I think there’s a lot – it’s just not all in one place. The difficulty is getting past assumptions and finding out the realities.
What do you enjoy most about home educating your child?
That’s a tough one! All of it!
What do you like least about home educating your child?
Erm – the mess? I don’t know really, there aren’t really any negatives as far as I can see. He’s only young still so perhaps this will change.
What do you think are the benefits of home education? Are there any disadvantages?
Benefits: Tailor-made, personalised education; time to play and enjoy childhood; freedom to follow own interests.
Disadvantages: We haven’t found any but I suppose some people might find access to qualifications difficult. Perhaps if you live somewhere rural, it may be harder to access the vast social networks that we’re part of.
I’m trying to work out how to say this without sounding arrogant (because it isn’t how I mean it at all) but I’ve met people who have worried whether they’re able to teach their child to a high enough standard. My husband and I are both academic and I trained as a teacher after my original degree in law so we can easily ensure we’re aware of what’s going on in school.
We don’t like the national curriculum, we consider it to be restrictive and basic, but we’re aware of it so that we’re always sure we’re doing “at-least” that! Between us we have a very broad and in depth knowledge of a lot of subjects so we’re very lucky in that respect. To be honest though, as long as you know how to find things out and are prepared to put the time in to ensure that you’re giving your child an efficient education, then there aren’t many disadvantages.
I have teacher friends who say that what we’re doing is very insulting to teachers – that home educators can’t possibly be as able to educate their child to the same standard as someone who is qualified. There are some wonderful teachers out there who have an excellent and unparalleled knowledge of how children in general learn and about the curriculum that they’re required to teach. No one knows the individual child better than the parents though and they aren’t bound by the same restrictions that bind teachers. I’m sure there are some very ineffective home educators, but there are some very ineffective schools too!
Have you joined any local schooling groups? What has your experience been? (good/bad/friendly/supportive)
Yes. We found out about them originally through yahoo and Facebook groups but as we have made more friends, we tend to just tell each other what we know!
I’ve been to one group which was very cliquey and I wouldn’t go again, but apart from that, every group and every person I have met has been really supportive.
How do you think home education will affect your child’s further education? (college/university etc)
Positively. I have spoken to admissions departments at various highly regarded universities (early I know, but I like to be thorough) and have been informed that their experience of home educators generally is that the children are mature, intelligent and not the socially-awkward being they’re assumed to be. Employers and universities have said that they like to see such a breadth of experience on a cv in addition to formal qualifications.
My son will take formal, recognised qualifications and hopefully excel in them.
There are some home educators I know, who have no desire for their children to do this as they don’t like to put pressure on them. They insist that there are alternative routes. I’m sure there are but in my opinion, that’s just making life more difficult for the child. If you receive 1000 applications per place, why would you even consider the one who doesn’t have the necessary formal qualifications because they wanted to take an alternative route? That’s just my opinion though and I have heard of many people who have still been successful in this way.
What are your favourite online resources for parents who are home educating?
I like to read home educating blogs. An Ordinary Life is brill but generally, we find our own resources.
Education Outside School Magazine is also very good – it’s available online at educationoutsideschool.co.uk.
The community is generally very supportive!
6 Comments
Laughing Owl
April 21, 2014 at 7:25 am
Something I've always wondered is if home educated kids follow the same routine 52 weeks of the year or if they follow the school pattern of terms. Good post, thank you
Emily
April 24, 2014 at 9:06 pm
That's something I wondered about too, along with the motivation side of things for both the parent and child. Glad you enjoyed this post.
Prudence Clarke
April 21, 2014 at 10:06 am
We don't tend to stick to school holiday patterns. The learning just continues but not in a structured format all the time , Laughing Owl.
It's a lovely post and like Katue, we are fairly structured although we are sometimes autonomous depending on how we feel or what topic we are covering. It would be good to look at some autonomous info as well if you are considering home ed as there are many different approaches.
As you will read later, my kids have active social lives as well – it really isn't a concern. We haven't come across any cliques luckily but just lots of lovely people. There is a big support network online as well so even kids in rural locations can make friends. There are homeed Minecraft servers etc for example.
Emily
April 24, 2014 at 9:07 pm
I think an amount of structure would help me to know where I am and what I'm doing as I'm quite an organised person, but I love the flexibility that home educating offer x
Hannah
April 21, 2014 at 1:56 pm
I'm very open to the idea of home educating (even though bump isn't even born yet!) A friend of mine home educates her 8 and 6 year old, she's only recently started but it's working well. I've worked in various education settings for nearly a decade and am concerned by the restrictions placed upon schools by the government/Ofsted etc. Thanks for a friendly and informative article xx
Emily
April 24, 2014 at 9:08 pm
Hi Hannah, thanks for your comment! I'm glad you enjoyed this post and I help it's helped answer any questions you may have had x