Home schooling at secondary level

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fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Home schooling at secondary level

Post by fatbananas »

Is this a completely crazy idea? DH thinks it's what we should be doing if DS doesn't get into grammar (this year applications went above 10 to 1 place). I worry about the social side of things during adolescence but don't really know anything about the potential impact on DC. Can any wise and experienced person out there help me?! :?
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by yoyo123 »

might be worth looking at 'education otherwise' website?

The main problem I see is with formal exams: employers usually look for GCSEa, A levels etc..it would be really important to make sure you followed the syllabuses ( syllabi?)

Have no personal experience ..in fact would rather run a marathon than teach my own children, one of the things that gets you through the day with teenagers is the fact that they are being grunted at by others during the day (other uncaring parent opinions are available)
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by Amber »

Contact the Home Ed advisor at your LEA, if your LEA still exists and, indeed, employs anyone. Mine was brilliant when I home educated a few years ago and came to see me when I was thinking of educating one of mine at secondary level. They know all the tricks about exams, where to sit them, which boards to use etc. Home edders often stagger the exams over several years...and remember you don't need GCSEs into double figures to get onto A level courses or into university. 5 would be enough (I know, I have sent kids with 5 off to good unis).

Socially I would say do not give it a second thought. Schools are terrible places for learning to socialise - said it on here before - but where else in life are you ever stuck in a room with 29 other people of the same age, competing on the same task? Playgrounds and lunchtimes are tests of survival of the fittest; often merciless and hostile to children who aren't 'mainstream' enough to cope. I would not be back in that situation even for a lifechanging sum of money. Home educated children are often more competent socially than schooled ones, in the sense that they will generally come into close contact with people from a range of backgrounds and of all different ages - for example home ed groups will be very diverse, and many parents use others to teach some skills, like for example woodwork, cookery etc. The only thing you might notice is that they tend to be (as a group) more mature than schooled children and therefore might find some of their age peers irritatingly silly.

You can tell I like this, can't you? The downsides for me are no life of my own - this would obviously get better as the child gets older - and a huge sense of responsibility - I like my lot to be independent. That said, of course, I think if you do it properly at secondary level you probably don't find yourself in the role of teacher, but of supporter, as an older child can be self-directed to a large extent and would soon leave you behind anyway on many subjects.

Love the way it's your DH who is keen - is he the one who would be taking primary responsibility for it? A bit like men wanting lots of kids... :lol:
aliportico
Posts: 888
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:19 pm

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by aliportico »

Loads of people do it :-) With or without GCSEs etc. There's a Yahoo group called something like HE Exams (can find the link for you if you want) which is really helpful, and full of great success stories.

But that's for the future :-) Having had one dd start school at 11, and one be HE'd until 13, certainly the first 2 or 3 years are pretty straightforward to do at home. You can follow the syllabus if you like - loads of resources available - but you might prefer not to be restricted to it ;-) For humanities there's not really any building on knowledge, it's mostly separate topics, so you could do as you pleased for them. My dd2 did no formal history ever, and is now doing it at school for GCSE no problem :-)

I was prepared to get dd2 through GCSEs at home - there is outside help available for anything you're not so confident of (for me, languages - we were already going to an HE Spanish group - and Eng Lit - there are a few HEors offering distance learning or group tuition for English courses). The biggest obstacle in my mind was the logistical aspect - finding local/not too expensive exam centres for everything she wanted to do. People do do it, but I was quite relieved when she went off to y9!

The previous years had been great though - loads of ebay-acquired science kit and experiments at home, interesting lectures in interesting places, the Spanish group, Latin, and the pleasure of having an older child doing more challenging work and having interesting conversations.

Socially I found I had to look a bit harder with an older child than when they were young, but this very much depends on your area - there are huge numbers of older kids around in some places.

My dd2 flatly refused to try for the grammar school, and there were no other secondaries that I was happy with her going to at 11. The good thing about going a bit later was that she was confident to travel a bit further, and so our potential choices increased greatly. She was also very clear on what she wanted from a school, and so when we started looking in June when she was about to turn 13, there were about 17 schools to choose from. Because she wanted to do Spanish gcse and have the option if 3 sciences, that was whittled down to 4. 2 had long waiting lists, one had a place but she wasn't that keen, and one she liked and she was put top of the waiting list - a place came up a couple of weeks before school started in September.

So even if you do end up HEing next year, you don't have to go into it thinking that that's it for the next 5 years! I think going a bit later when they're a bit more grown-up can be really good for them, and have seen several HE kids I know go to school at 12-14 and be very successful.
Last edited by aliportico on Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
aliportico
Posts: 888
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:19 pm

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by aliportico »

Have to disagree with Amber on one point - I wouldn't contact the LA! Amber was clearly lucky, but I have honestly never heard of anyone getting much help, let alone useful information like where to sit exams! I've heard lots of LA stories over the years, and the best have been friendly and encouraging, and the worst have been really pretty awful. So deal with them if you have to, but it would be the last place I would go for support.
fatbananas
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Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by fatbananas »

Thank you Yoyo, Amber and Aliportico! All really helpful responses.
Love the way it's your DH who is keen - is he the one who would be taking primary responsibility for it? A bit like men wanting lots of kids...
:lol: Though it is true, he will always earn more than I could!

I feel so cross today that the education system isn't better in this country. I've been ranting all morning on this subject to various people, so I won't repeat myself here!

Aliportico, I'd love the Yahoo link if you don't mind. I have speculated how many people from my area will be making a similar decision in 2 years' time when DS takes the 11+ (and, apparently, his year is a very high birth rate year, so competition will be even more fierce). :shock:
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
Waiting_For_Godot
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Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:57 pm

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by Waiting_For_Godot »

I'm doing and I know loads of HE'ers doing it from Year 7 onwards. You need to stop thinking that school is a social experience. It is not. Children, on the whole, are expected to sit down and shut up for most of the day and only associate with their age group. My son gets more social interaction in one day at a HE club than he for at a whole month at school.

Where are you based. My son has so many social activities that I'm struggling to fit work in!
Jean.Brodie
Posts: 451
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:55 pm

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by Jean.Brodie »

Hi fatbananas! I now wish we had HEd, really do - I just wasn't aware that anybody did such a thing!

Quite simply, you are the best Teacher-Coach-Support your child will ever have. As for exams and stuff, you'll figure it out.

Remember, you are the most powerful Role Models and you have already taught the most important things at home: Love, Laughter,Hugs, Language, Relationships, Resourcefulness, Resilience, Reading, Listening, Family History, Riding a Bike, Crosswords, Sudoku Puzzles ... and, maybe, Swimming, Singing, Spirituality, Healthy Eating, Shopping, Cooking ....
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by yoyo123 »

Jean.Brodie wrote:
Quite simply, you are the best Teacher-Coach-Support your child will ever have. As for exams and stuff, you'll figure it out.

Remember, you are the most powerful Role Models and you have already taught the most important things at home: Love, Laughter,Hugs, Language, Relationships, Resourcefulness, Resilience, Reading, Listening, Family History, Riding a Bike, Crosswords, Sudoku Puzzles ... and, maybe, Swimming, Singing, Spirituality, Healthy Eating, Shopping, Cooking ....


:D :D :D

YES!

So many people seem to think that learning is all up to the school, but we are the product of our whole upbringing

( I'm so sorry young yoyos... )
fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: Home schooling at secondary level

Post by fatbananas »

Thanks for your replies WFG, Jean.Brodie and Yoyo. I'd forgotten you were doing that WFG. I'm now going to 'search' for you on the forum to read what you said!

As the day has worn on, I have really begun to warm to the idea ....
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
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