School curriculum more complex than it needs to be?
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Re: School curriculum more complex than it needs to be?
No need to disappear - just saying that sometimes HE may be a solution for some people. It is not an easy decision to make for any family but sometimes it is correct for the child.
Re: School curriculum more complex than it needs to be?
As an aside from the home ed issue, I think there are big dangers in encouraging parents to keep children who are being bullied at school whatever. A child needs to know its parents will do everything to protect it, and if that means keeping it at home to make it feel safe, then that is absolutely what I would advise them to do. Without going into any details, a family known personally to me lost their child in heartbreaking circumstances attached to bullying. I doubt a day goes by when they don't wish they had not sent that child to school. An extreme example, but I would always say that if your child is deeply unhappy to go to school, then please do not send them in.
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Re: School curriculum more complex than it needs to be?
I wasn't encouraging anyone to do anything, just reiterating my experience of bullies. In point of fact we are friends with a family whose daughter chose to take her own life also because of her troubles at school - the cause wasn't necessarily bullying, but she had difficulty establishing relationships with her own age groups, and it was terribly, terribly sad, and we have all been affected by it .
I was merely trying to get to the bottom of why anyone would home -ed a teenager, seems very hard. As the parent of a bullied child, it wouldn't have been the right answer for us
I was merely trying to get to the bottom of why anyone would home -ed a teenager, seems very hard. As the parent of a bullied child, it wouldn't have been the right answer for us
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Re: School curriculum more complex than it needs to be?
I don't think home ed will be easy in practical and emotional terms but then school is certainly not easy in emotional terms. DS has some undiagnosed mild form of SEN that is now affecting his progress at school. He went from being years ahead but each year he seems to be making less progress and if it continues then he will fall behind. He has some concentration and retention issues and I need to work on a one to one basis with him to fill in the gaps that are missing. I don't intend to do most of it myself though. I'll get tutors and hopefully find a tutor who can act as a mentor and role model for him in other ways and not just be an academic tutor - this may take time to find the right person. Some may ask why I don't get him some tuition on top of school. Well there are not enough hours in the day and if we did that then there would be no time for his music.
Socially I have no issues. He sings in two choirs where he has 30 mins social time twice a week with one choir and hours of social time with the other as they are always touring. He swims three times a week and believe it or not he manages to socialise there too, which surprised me. He's joining sea cadets in September, goes to a church youth club, orchestra and does numerous residential courses throughout the year. Home ed in London/Herts is thriving and there are even flexi schools that run two days a week in our area if I want a break. The subjects they cover tend to be the ones that would be difficult to implement at home - arts, crafts, team building, debating, bushcraft etc.
I have had a gutful of schools when it comes to DS2. I'm fed up apologising for his quirks and I'm fed up of him being treated like marmite. Some teachers adore him and would move heaven and earth for him, and others take a serious disliking to him. He has had some positive experiences with his music school but the environment has it's flaws and is ridiculously expensive and it is not right for him at this moment but in time but may well be right for him when he's older. Rather than moving him to another school I feel he needs time to find himself, get to grips with his academic issues and enjoy a period in his life where he is not being bullied or criticised or viewed as an "enigma" - a comment that has been used by more than one teacher.
Amber, thanks for your post about English. I may well pick your brains in the future. G55 is already on the payroll!
Socially I have no issues. He sings in two choirs where he has 30 mins social time twice a week with one choir and hours of social time with the other as they are always touring. He swims three times a week and believe it or not he manages to socialise there too, which surprised me. He's joining sea cadets in September, goes to a church youth club, orchestra and does numerous residential courses throughout the year. Home ed in London/Herts is thriving and there are even flexi schools that run two days a week in our area if I want a break. The subjects they cover tend to be the ones that would be difficult to implement at home - arts, crafts, team building, debating, bushcraft etc.
I have had a gutful of schools when it comes to DS2. I'm fed up apologising for his quirks and I'm fed up of him being treated like marmite. Some teachers adore him and would move heaven and earth for him, and others take a serious disliking to him. He has had some positive experiences with his music school but the environment has it's flaws and is ridiculously expensive and it is not right for him at this moment but in time but may well be right for him when he's older. Rather than moving him to another school I feel he needs time to find himself, get to grips with his academic issues and enjoy a period in his life where he is not being bullied or criticised or viewed as an "enigma" - a comment that has been used by more than one teacher.
Amber, thanks for your post about English. I may well pick your brains in the future. G55 is already on the payroll!
Re: School curriculum more complex than it needs to be?
Good luck WFG, I'm sure that's a great way to nurture a multi-skilled boy
Re: School curriculum more complex than it needs to be?
I have found the thread at last. Well done WFG, sure it is a good decision. I am starting to wonder if ultimately I may end up down that route too. The only fears I have about home ed are:
1) I don't think I could do it for both my children but working with both of them together just doesn't seem to work, and doing it for just one of them would not be fair as one of them would end up better educated than the other (the home ed'ed one hopefully)
2) the thought of not having a job for the next x years (x is bigger for me than you)
3) not being able to provide the science facilities if they turn out to have a scientific bent. However, I do get the impression that many fewer experiments are carried out up to GCSE than when I taught science GCSE in the early days
Good luck. I'm going to PM Sherry_d now about home ed groups in Kent.
1) I don't think I could do it for both my children but working with both of them together just doesn't seem to work, and doing it for just one of them would not be fair as one of them would end up better educated than the other (the home ed'ed one hopefully)
2) the thought of not having a job for the next x years (x is bigger for me than you)
3) not being able to provide the science facilities if they turn out to have a scientific bent. However, I do get the impression that many fewer experiments are carried out up to GCSE than when I taught science GCSE in the early days
Good luck. I'm going to PM Sherry_d now about home ed groups in Kent.