Does anyone home school their children?

pinkclouds

addictedtosoreen wrote: »

Firstly, thank you all for your help, advice, and support
Secondly, with regard to what my son thinks ( i will get shot down for this, but here goes) He has not dismissed the idea but is a bit hesitant about it and i do value his views and opinions HOWEVER, as his parent i feel i need to do whats i feel is best for him. The school he attends at the moment is awful, at best, negligent at worst. He only has just over 2 years left and i dont want it wasted as education is so very important

It is obvious you are trying to do your best for your child... but I do feel his opinion is very important too. Again, obviously, you as the parent have the final say and bear the actual responsibility, costs and effort. But...

Have you investigated alternative schools? If he is currently in state school, have you viewed other state schools in the area? Have you considered "faith" schools, as these are often more academically orientated? As he is 13, there is the option of going to college in a couple of years or so - maybe that could be an end goal? Are there any good private schools in a commutable distance? (Some schools may also have their own bus service.) Are you aware of any local homeschool families that you could meet up with, so he has a better idea of what is involved? As he is a teen, I think it would be really helpful to ensure he *feels* he's had some input into the decision process as he may be more... co-operative and motivated, whatever you finally decide upon.

One final idea, which I hope you will take in the spirit given, is he actually academically inclined? Perhaps he is not keen on the idea of studying full stop? A few reminders that, with some solid Maths and English qualifications behind him, he can always look for an appropriate apprenticeship or other vocational training in a mere 3 years' time might be helpful. Although I do appreciate that is an eternity at that age!

I think, at his age, there is a big deal to teens about wanting to feel "normal" and fit in. The older boys that I am aware of tend to do rugby every week. Some of the "geekier" ones do stuff like computing, chess and some sort of gaming club thing. But they all do things that they would have done even if they were at school. Things where they can chat to other lads their own age and talk about the same sort of "boy" stuff. It may help to reassure him that life really does go on as normal and he won't have a flashing neon sign above his head saying "homeschooled boy - spends too much time with mom!". lol

vax2002

If a lot of folk had a look inside some of these schools they would join the home schooling brigade, my sons has locked detention rooms "cells" and isolation cells, again locked, pupils are placed in these cells for the most trivial matters, talking, unzipping bags, asking for help with work "insolence"
Looking out of the window, forgetting equipment, it is like some kind of a sick gulag fantasy .
I tipped my local fire officer and he made them remove the lock from the door.
But they have since put it back.
It is not a very happy place.

pinkclouds

vax2002 wrote: »

If a lot of folk had a look inside some of these schools they would join the home schooling brigade, my sons has locked detention rooms "cells" and isolation cells, again locked, pupils are placed in these cells for the most trivial matters, talking, unzipping bags, asking for help with work "insolence"
Looking out of the window, forgetting equipment, it is like some kind of a sick gulag fantasy .
I tipped my local fire officer and he made them remove the lock from the door.
But they have since put it back.
It is not a very happy place.

That sounds horrific! Why haven't you moved your child to a different school?

TheEffect

vax2002 wrote: »

If a lot of folk had a look inside some of these schools they would join the home schooling brigade, my sons has locked detention rooms "cells" and isolation cells, again locked, pupils are placed in these cells for the most trivial matters, talking, unzipping bags, asking for help with work "insolence"
Looking out of the window, forgetting equipment, it is like some kind of a sick gulag fantasy .
I tipped my local fire officer and he made them remove the lock from the door.
But they have since put it back.
It is not a very happy place.

I'm pretty sure your 'little darling' isn't in the detention room for no reason and I'm pretty sure your children's teacher doesn't wake up in the morning and think 'Who can I throw in the detention room for no apparent reason today?'.

If your child is talking when they're not meant to be, they deserve to be punished. Putting them into a detention room is punishment and they will learn.

As for it being locked, I doubt it's locked and they're left in there with no member of staff without a key, as this would be a huge breach of safety if there was a fire.

vax2002

TheEffect wrote: »

I'm pretty sure your 'little darling' isn't in the detention room for no reason and I'm pretty sure your children's teacher doesn't wake up in the morning and think 'Who can I throw in the detention room for no apparent reason today?'.

If your child is talking when they're not meant to be, they deserve to be punished. Putting them into a detention room is punishment and they will learn.

As for it being locked, I doubt it's locked and they're left in there with no member of staff without a key, as this would be a huge breach of safety if there was a fire.

Does it bring you pleasure ? the thought of children been punished ?
you sound to be getting very "off" on it

TheEffect

vax2002 wrote: »

Does it bring you pleasure ? the thought of children been punished ?
you sound to be getting very "off" on it

Maybe your deluded self can explain which part of my post emphasis that I get 'off' on children being punished?

bestpud

If your son is reluctant for social reasons, it may help to visit some local home-ed groups before you take him out, OP.

DD and I did this and her school were happy to mark her down as being educated elsewhere while we checked out the local home-ed scene. I don't know if it's common to find supportive schools though - you'd have to judge whether or not to let them know you are planning to home-ed.

I also found it helpful to talk to home-ed parents before making the decision. If you can find your local email list or website, there is usually someone wiling to have a chat.

Lunar_Eclipse

TheEffect wrote: »

Maybe your deluded self can explain which part of my post emphasis that I get 'off' on children being punished?

I didn't read your post in quite that way, but there was definitely something in the tone used that I understood exactly what this poster meant.

I think statements like they deserve to be punished (for talking) and if they are isolated in a room as punishment they will learn made me very uncomfortable. I don't like to think of anyone being treated like that, particularly not minors by adults that are there to teach them. I appreciate that children do not all go to school with respect for their teachers, a willingness to learn and role model behaviour, but I wouldn't like my child to so much as be in an environment where that sort of behaviour (by teachers as much as pupils) was considered acceptable. It's not. Two wrongs springs to mind. You can't expect respect from people whom you don't treat with respect; it's a two way thing and of paramount importance in schools.

TheEffect

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

I didn't read your post in quite that way, but there was definitely something in the tone used that I understood exactly what this poster meant.

I think statements like they deserve to be punished (for talking) and if they are isolated in a room as punishment they will learn made me very uncomfortable. I don't like to think of anyone being treated like that, particularly not minors by adults that are there to teach them. I appreciate that children do not all go to school with respect for their teachers, a willingness to learn and role model behaviour, but I wouldn't like my child to so much as be in an environment where that sort of behaviour (by teachers as much as pupils) was considered acceptable. It's not. Two wrongs springs to mind. You can't expect respect from people whom you don't treat with respect; it's a two way thing and of paramount importance in schools.

I do believe children should be punished if they do wrong. I have not defined what punishment is. When I worked in a main-stream school last year, punishment for talking was 10 minutes of the pupils break or after-school.

I believe the original poster was over-exagerating when stating her son is locked in an isolated 'cell' for unzipping his bag. If her son was locked in a 'cell-like' environment and she was not over-exagerating, I apologise and suggest she calls the police immediately and report the school.

I downgraded her 'isolated cell' to more of a 'divided section where a child is placed' with a member of staff as seen in the background on this clip from a recent documentary filmed at a school in Essex.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dukr6SV8uFY

Pragmatic_Helen

addictedtosoreen wrote: »

Hi all
I am thinking of home schooling my 13 yr old son. The school he goes to is terrible and I have been having so much trouble with them. I feel i could give him a better education at home. What are peoples thoughts on this? any advise gladly taken x

I have done partial home schooling in the past.... I took both my children out of school for six months to give them specific and detailed 11 Plus help.

I think in my case it was OK because we had a goal. It was OK because the work was mostly on core Maths and English skills and we only started really applying this to the test in the latter stages. In my view it wasn't teaching for the test, it was radically improving core English and Maths skills. It was also OK because it was only for a specific time.

In your case the problems will be the breadth of the curriculum you need to cover.. Maths, English, History, Geography, Sciences, a Language etc etc. Equally your child will not know how long this is for.. is it forever ?, and finally of course there are the issues of what to do about exams.

I would suggest it might be better to source additional work for your child to do at home first. Do about half an hour with them every evening and see what it's like. I suspect this in of itself , if you use good materials and a proper structure will deliver fantastic results or you'll find it too much work to get a schedule of work together.

When I did this I had the benefit of sourcing a very good supplier so everything was delivered on a plate , fully structured and put together so in effect all I had to do was sit down and go through it and then extend it etc. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to have a proper structure. I simply could not have done it without that. The guys I used were not cheap, but way way cheaper than a Private Tutor and I suspect cheaper than someone like Kumon would have been but I am not sure they could help you as I seem to remember they don't do secondary school, only primary... they were lessons in the post.... I am not allowed to post the link apparently but you can find them if you search I'm sure .

Taking children out of school works for all sorts of parents for all sorts of reasons but it is not something in my view to be entered into lightly. Please don't underestimate how much hard work is needed. Sometimes parents would be better off just adding a little more work themselves at weekends or evenings to give their kids a boost and some confidence.