Simon Webb: We must get tough on home schooling
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Independent Minds
Most people, if asked about home education, would probably picture a child being tutored at home by his parents; perhaps working at the kitchen table rather than sitting in a classroom. This was indeed the case with my own daughter whom I have taught since she was a baby. Sadly, this image is very much the exception in British home education.
The most popular educational method used by those who withdraw their children from school in this country is known as autonomous education and involves nobody teaching children anything at all! I believe this peculiar technique is causing incalculable damage to the thousands of home educated children upon whom it is used.
Autonomous education is based on a simple principle: that children alone are the best judges of what they should learn and when they should learn it. If a child wishes to spend the day slumped in front of a television or games console, this is not a problem, the choice is his. Many autonomous educators go even further, asserting that it is for the child to decide on bedtimes, diet and other aspects of lifestyle. To see how this works in practice, we cannot do better than look at "How People Home Educate" on the website of Education Otherwise, a registered charity working in the field.
A mother writes about educating her children, aged 10 and seven, whom she describes as "night owls", at home. They apparently have no bedtimes and get up "later than I would like". She says: "Their days are often filled with television and lots of play". There is no academic work at all. Neither child can read but she says: "They will read one day and will do so because they want to, not because somebody tells them to." As a description of the odd week or so during the school holidays, this is perfectly acceptable; as a long-term lifestyle for growing children, it verges upon the neglectful. Yet this account is quoted with evident approval by the largest organisation for home educators in this country.
No wonder such parents are vehemently opposed to new legislation which would enable local education authorities to check up on the education being provided for children taught at home. The disadvantages of this system are probably obvious to most parents. Our children are most decidedly not the best judges of what is wholesome and good for them. Many children and teenagers, if left to their own devices, would not surface until lunchtime. Following a sugary snack of biscuits and fizzy pop, they might spend the afternoon playing computer games or watching television.
It would be a rare child who chose instead to get up at 7am or 8am, eating a healthy breakfast of wholemeal toast washed down with a glass of mineral water before settling down to teach himself algebra! That is why we as adults assume responsibility for the welfare, physical and mental, of our offspring.
As the law stands, any parent can withdraw a child from school simply by notifying the head in writing. The LEA can make informal enquiries about the education being given to the child, but has no right to enter the home or interview the child. For many, this is the end of their education.
According to the recent review of home education conducted by Graham Badman, there may be as many as 80,000 home-educated children in Britain. Under current arrangements, nobody has the slightest idea what sort of education, if any, many of these children are receiving. This is hardly a satisfactory state of affairs. My daughter and I welcomed the representative of our LEA into our home once a year to show what we had been doing, but many parents are determined not to allow the LEA any access to their homes. Under those circumstances, it is impossible for the local authority to have the least idea what is happening with regard to the child's education.
It is high time that LEAs were given the power to check up on the wellbeing and educational attainments of these children. The furious opposition to any change in the law is spearheaded by autonomous educators who are, not surprisingly, anxious to prevent anybody from assessing the efficacy of their educational provision. While fighting for their own "rights", such people are denying their children one of the most important rights that other children in this country enjoy; the right to a proper education.
The writer is a home-educating parent who works with children with special needs in inner London
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Comments
Well my children are autonomously educated, it's 8.30 now they've been up for an hour, we've read together they've done some maths as they worked out how much we needed to buy milk and picnic snacks at the corner shop, are now having a fairly healthy breakfast with their Dad.
Autonomous Education is a powerful way to learn. No time to tell you now about the research to show how it works off to support my kids in their learning. AE is not about leaving kids to their own devices it's about responsible supportive parenting, providing a rich environment and guiding them as they learn in a natural way.
Well, Mr Webb, I believe that Autonomous Education works. My 5 year old got himself up this morning at just shy of 8am, got himself dressed in his 'Jango Fett' outfit that he designed himself, ate some cereal, wholemeal toast and an egg washed down with a glass of tap water and is now quietly studying his Star Wars book, teaching himself to read. Autonomous education rocks!
Fiona Nicholson
Chair Education Otherwise Government Policy Group
Trustee Education Otherwise
Autonomous education allows my four boys the freedom to be individuals. It allows my ASD child to focus on dealing with the frustrations and resulting temper than comes from his struggle to make sense of the world around him; it allows my son with Aspergers to focus on learning social skills and nuances that the rest of us take for granted; it allows my teenager to enjoy his teen years without fear or peer pressure and to pursue his love of acting; it allows my toddler to be surrounding by an ever changing background of stimulation on which he is thriving.
I envy my children the freedom they are enjoying and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of them which they would never have been able to find - let alone make use of - it they were following a "traditional" education.
One size doesn't fit all - which is why we home educate. Within home education, there is no "one size" but each enjoying their own personalised education. For one person to assert that there is only one way to acheive a "suitable education" sadly misses the whole point of "personalised".
Ann Newstead
Trustee
Education Otherwise
I have not just left them to it I have duly sat at the table with them every morning, they have learnt a lot more than their friends at school but I have also seen so many signs of how they do teach themselves and also how, when they are ready to learn, they pick it up so much quicker. I only wish I were brave enough to say no more maths, no more literacy until you want to do it. I'm not and I accept that as my failing but I also feel that they were spoiled by going to school, they certainly at first, needed to be told everything they had to do, whereas now they are far more independent and self motivated.
I think Mr Webbs opinions are very one sided and ill informed. His child has not suffered at the hands of a teacher or pupil and had to stand back and watch it happen day after day, he hasn't seen his daughter take the lead and learn what she wanted when she wanted so how can he possible comment?
On a totally different note my best friend has suffered in an unimaginable way because of social services, who were called in to help with her just teenage adopted daughter who was having a hard time dealing with the truth of her past. What they have actually achieved is a pregnant smoking 20 a day 15 year old because as they suggest "you have to pick your battles" and apparently sleeping around and smoking underage are not serious battles!!!!
So after our first year of HE I have now a confident incredibly happy little girl whose favourite saying is "because I'm the best" compared to a child who couldn't eat sleep or communicate with anybody except on a Friday and Saturday when she hoped and prayed the weekend would never end.
I have no doubt I have done the right thing for both of my children and now wish I hadn't ever taken them to school and I certainly wouldn't relish the fact that some overpaid nosey parker can come in and judge what I am doing for the very most important people in this world to me. What are they to an LEA inspector? Any more than my friends teenager is to a sociial worker.... a file on a desk that they pick up when they feel like it and pass on when they don't!
And they are the people to decide what my children are doing to grow up to become healthy, happy and contented with life because that is far more inportant then grades on a piece of paper.
Autonmous education is also different from parenting entirely autonmously. Not all children are given total freedom of choice and it would be wrong to presume otherwise.
I can see that obviously Simon welcomes positive feedback from Local Authority staff, if he and his daughter need this for their home educating status to feel okay for them, then that is their choice. All home educating parents can request such involvement if they need it. However other home educating parents, myself included, do not want this interference and as we are simply getting on with taking responsibility for our children's education, as is our right, can we not just be left alone to do so.
For Simon to publicly accuse a significant sector of the home educating community of denying their children the right to a proper education is appalling. For a national newspaper to publish this shows that the ingorance about home education continues. When will people begin to see that the finger of blame is being pointed in the wrong direction, the crisis in education and children's welfare begins in the schools and in the poorly funded local authorirites, not in the houses of autonmous home educators.
''he British government is to put the more irresponsible families under CCTV supervision in their homes – just to ensure their children attend school, go to bed on time and eat proper meals. Private security guards will also be sent round to carry out home checks, while parents will be given help to combat drug and alcohol addiction, Children’s Secretary Ed Balls says. ''
''The media repeatedly highlights stories of neglected children, rotting in their own excrement, scrounging the bins for food, starving to death or even beaten to death by live-in partners of single moms. '' http://tinyurl.com/m84793
A newspaper whist being open to free speech should seek to establish whether the picture they are painting is is worthy of display.
Simon likens autonomous education to a diet, yet studies have shown that given free access to a wide range of foods both junk foods and healthy foods, children will pick out for themselves a balanced diet, the same thing happens when children are presented with a wide range of educational subjects. Simon doesn't believe that children should be trusted to know what is best for them, and yet in my 24 years experience of home education, I have seen just that, many, many autonomously educated children picking out a healthy balanced education for themselves when allowed the freedom to do so.
Oh, by the way, my two autonomously living children are now young adults who choose for themselves to drink only water, and to eat healthy diets, with junk food abhorred - totally their own decision.
But I guess those examples wouldn't have fit quite so neatly into this article, eh Simon?
At age 8 she decided that she wanted to watch an absolute maximum of 1 hours TV and opted for Blue Peter and Newsround above other things.
We have been studying some OU maths with her 11 year old sister (who enjoys maths problems) because I asked if they'd like to and they fancied giving it a go. Their going to have go at their Maths GCSE next year because they think they'll be able to and they think they'll enjoy it.
My seven year old does spend lots of his time playing and I am delighted by that. He plays role play games with puppets he has made, he plays construction games with lego and train sets, he reads puzzle books and story books. He has (through reading Asterix) developed an interest in Romans so we have started getting books about Romans from the library and visiting the local Roman Villa and learning about hypocausts.
My 11 year old loves art and reading and maths puzzels. She has been reading the My Story historic novels and is learning about history from these. She does keyboard and felt making and cycling and swimming. She does like sleeping in late, but we don't mind as if she doesn't get enough sleep she gets over tired, so I like to let her get enough rest.
This is our autonomous education - yes we sometimes spend whole afternoons sitting watching TV or playing on computer games but even the value of these shouldn't be dismissed so lightly. Two of my children would have be defined as late readers they both were helped to read by using the Club Penguin website. My 7 year old saved up loads of change and kept track of how much money he had and how much more he needed to buy membership. Now he plays on there he works out how many points he needs to earn to be able to buy the next thing he wants - he is doing loads and loads of practical arithmetic without it being painful because he is motivated by something he is interested in.
Autonomous education isn't about letting your children go off and do whatever they like while you sit and do nothing. It is about taking you lead from them and helping them to follow their interests. For me this involves lots of research into the things they are interested in so I can give them ideas to help them, lots of trips to the library, to local activity groups, local museums and getting them places. Above all it involves lots of interaction and talking with them. For us autonomous education isn't about one child left in a room alone to do their own thing it's about a family learning together and helping each other to learn.
It is indeed no wonder that such parents are vehemently opposed to the proposed new legislation, and Mr Webb's article provides a perfect example of why this might be the case. Like Mr Webb, LAs frequently demonstrate next to no understanding of the theory (epistemology and ethics) and practice of autonomous education.
Mr Webb would, from his apparent perception of autonomous education, find it hard to explain how every single young person in our area who has previously been autonomously home educated is now either currently in college/university or is employed in some profession. To take the first example I know of of an entirely autonomously educated young person: this child did sit in front of a console or computer until he was 15 till late into the night. He then went on to get the top first class degree at a top university in the UK, was offered the opportunity to do a PhD off the back of this, but has chosen to take up a good position at an IT company instead.
Autonomously educated children are not neglected. Their parents are on hand to facilitate their interests and answer questions the children ask. This works since the learner is genuinely engaged in learning, and better still, the learner finds out, usually with the provision of tentative theories by the parent, about how to manage their own lives effectively as opposed to being constantly spoon-fed and directed and then suddenly left to their own devices as happens with school children.
Autonomous education does work for a large number of HE children, many of whom would be failed by conventional forms of education and Mr Webb should not write of that of which he knows next to nothing.
My son has a range of special eduational needs and( something the state could not cope with) a high IQ, he was withdrawn from mainstream state schooling aged 8 because it did not meet his needs. He wasnt expected to achieve could not read or write, type or use a PC at school. At home we struggled for a year implementing your concept of a suitable and effective education by replicating school. He found this stressful and like school, it did not meet his needs.
Now he is autonomously educated, something I resisted, like you believing 'doing nothing' was akin to no education. Since we took this approach he has learned to read, achieved a KS3 standard in his understanding of various science topics, particularly astronomy and tha natural world, he has taught himself to play chess using a pc, he can now write and spends time on various projects, collecting and collating information and presenting it. He rises at about 8.30, spends an hour or so playing playstation while he gets himself into the right frame of mind for the day- a time when in school or under your regime he would be forced to be doing numeracy and literacy but at home he is allowed that time to wake up, get his brain into gear and adjust. At around 10 he is ready to turn his attention to other things- a wide range of things and gets engrossed in documentaries,politics, news and current affairs. Often we will visit something that we enjoy such as the museum or science centre, or the park. His motor skills are now so improved that the NHS refuse to provide him with Occupational Therapy because he practices them daily with a ball or climbing frame, swing or just walking the dog. Time wasted sat at either desk or kitchen table. Likewise his speech, unintelligible to all but his teacher at school or parent at home has now come on so much he is articulate and just has a slight lisp- the result of two years of attention, patience on both our parts and suitable, spontaneous conversation. SALT is no longer provided, his language skills are now where the NHS feel input is not suitable.
If he decides that there is a programme on at 10pm for an hour about space, as there recently was on the moon landings then this isnt a problem, we can renegotiate his bedtime to accommodate this without this extra learning happening late in the day impacting upon his learning at other times. It would after all be a criminal waste not to harness this extra learning opportrunity His ASD means he feels the need to watch at that time and is able and allowed to do so. He certainly does not dictate his own bedtime but finds it difficult to sleep so does have a library of DVD's of documantaries ( all self chosen) he is allowed to indulge in at night rather than disturb the rest of the house
All rather remarkable that this automously educated 10 year old written off as a failure by the state system despite input from professionals can do that all wouldnt you say? ( particularly engaging at KS3 and open university standard in some areas at the age of 10) I have no particular specialist skills, I am his committed parent and focused on his needs.. and we have achieved what the state school system and NHS could not and did not
Why can he do it and how can he do it? because his education suits him and his talents and abilities... So sad that I wasted a year not seeing that because of attudes such as yours that instructed me to 'do it this way or its not an education' How glad I am that I started to see the benefit in everything he did and how it impacted on his achievement.
Well we are off to continue our day filled with supportive learning and parenting.
Every child is an indidiual and so each child needs an education suitable to their needs and abilities not the conveyor belt system that is in place. Our children are educated for life not for doing exams.
Home Education rocks.
And why should they, autonomous education is about letting them learn their own rhythm, in your world there would be no nightshift workers or astronomers or musicians who perform in the evening.
Do you think Einstein stuck rigidly to rules like this.
What is it about stepping out of modern societies rigid norms that frightens you Simon. I know that you have evidence of autonomously educated children acheiving more and earlier than the high flyers in the state system yet you choose to ignore or dismiss it.
This is a very sad betrayal of your fellow home educators who have chosen to share their stories with you in the hope of helping you to understand.
But like Badman himself you are not convinced so you go for the jugular. Shame on you.
As an author of over 230 books for children and their families, a qualified teacher reported as 'outstanding' by OFSTED, and as a PGCE lecturer, I am seen in some circles as an educational expert. I can see from my experience of HE families that autonomous education works. However, I would question Mr. Webb's statement:
'The most popular educational method used by those who withdraw their children from school in this country is known as autonomous education and involves nobody teaching children anything at all!'
Not just for the value laden content ('You don't do it my way? Then you are wrong and feckless!') but also for the accuracy. Could Mr. Webb please cite his sources for the claim that autonomous education is the most popular method in HE circles?
Thanks
Lynn Huggins - Cooper
I feel very sorry for Mr Webb, still needing to be controlled and supervised by the Education Authority. I feel proud and confident in my ability to ensure my children are getting THE VERY BEST education they can. A broad, creative and rich learning and life experience, and will look back in my old age and know I have given them the best start in life possible. They are confident, happy and intelligent children and will be able to fulfill their dreams because they want and are allowed to.
My daughter couldn't read until she was nine but what is the problem with that? If she is not at school and doesn't have to jump through the hoops it makes no difference. She's just 12 now and we are waiting for her English Language GCSE results. She completed her coursework at 11yrs with an 'A' grade. She chose to take the exam as a personal challenge. Sorry Simon but what point were you trying to make?
I noticed this headline also on this page (scroll down to the bottom).
'I'm doing A-levels and supposed to be focusing on university, but I just don't care about what I'm doing. How can I find some motivation?
It is true that too much teaching when a child is not interested just kills their motivation. I'll stick with what we're doing thanks.
This week (school holidays mark you), 2 of them have had to have an operation, one schedules, one as a result of going in to do voluntary extra gymnastics at her club and being over enthusiastic. They've all been up since 7, somewhat earlier than me. They've all helped each other to make a healthy breakfast, including the one armed one & one of them has invented a page turning device for the self taught on armed 7 year old reader.
The 4 year old is drawing geometric patterns in her "maths" book, using a technique i taught her a few weeks ago which has fascinated her, the 9 year old is learning perspective from a drawing book having decided that she wanted to understand why large vehicles have small wheels at the front and large at the back. Once she'd found it out, she got side-tracked into something new.
The 7 year old, 2 days post operative, is watching Horton Hears a Hoo and we've made up about 10 different rhyming verses to suit the Dr Seuss style. The 4 year old has explained to me the difference between having a film on in the background and the background of a picture and then asked why the 2 words were the same. Ironically, it is the first time in about a year we've had tv on at this time of day.
My 11 year old, a week after major mouth and hip surgery, has decided to do a project on fashion; she is currently writing up a page on the Victorian styles of dress, using books from our shelf and the internet and cross referencing with a history timeline. All on her own, self led, self initiated. All i have done is facilitated and discussed it with her. She spent the last 2 days learning to draw fashion models and understanding how to make a drawing reflect the shape of a human body in simple form. She has, without prompting, looked at fabric types, patterns, looked at labels in her clothing and devised a burning test. Typically work done at btec level, as i recall from when i took a similar course as a young adult.
All my children, aside from the emergent 4 year old, can read, write, add up, use the internet, use a library and they are accomplished dancers, performers, gymnasts and members of local groups and clubs. My eldest recently went to school; aside from frustrating boredom, she had a great time and came home with a glowing report about her abilities and talents, her positive attitude, her open, friendly nature and ability to make friends and her wide knowledge base and skills. She sat some practise SATs, her first ever and was on par with the best of her class.
All child led, all taught when she asked to learn things, all with an excited and engaged desire to learn.
Children are people and people, when they want to, will soak up and enjoy learning.
Once done, she got out some books on mosaic-making from our 'making and doing' shelves, as that's what she decided she wants to do with her mum today. By the time I came down at 8 o'clock to get ready for work, she had picked the patterns she wanted to do, and had deciphered the titles of the pictures in the book. She is 6 years old.
Perhaps Mr Webb could meet a couple of school kids and use them as the basis for an opinion piece on what all school children are like.
The second point I'd like to make is that there are laws to protect children where it appears that they might not be receiving a suitable education, or that they might be in danger of neglect. In fact, contrary to the claims of the author, the Local Authorities do have the right to make enquiries, and can take further action if parents do not cooperate - existing laws allow them to have far more than "the slightest idea". (If the author claims that no-one has the slightest idea, how can he also know that "such people" are denying their children the right to a suitable education?) With the introduction of ContactPoint, all children's educational settings will be known, so the argument that there are thousands of children being hidden in cellars all day long doesn't really apply.
Can the author not understand that his daughter is different to other children, so what works for her might not work for others, and vice versa?
Yes, it is true I have never had a structured lesson, or sat down with workbooks, and I have been allowed to choose my own bedtimes and telly viewing (I actually watch very little!), but that doesn't mean that I am not getting an education!
I learn through following my own interests which so far have led me into English (through a keen interest in books and writing, including my having a story published when I won a national competition), Japanese (I first got interested through watching Anime cartoons - I now have a tutor who teaches me and my friends each week through conversation and fun), French (I am going on holiday in September so have just gone through the Michel Thomas 8 DVD course and am now conversing with French people online to get better at understanding), Psychology (I love the puzzle of the human mind, I am reading through the GCSE course book currently with a view to doing the GCSE next year - this took my mum by surprise when I wrote this as I had forgotten to mention I was doing this!), and Maths which is an area where I don't feel confident, but I know I have to do it, so I asked mum to buy me the Maths 2 XL dvd course and I regularly work my way through that, without anyone having to tell me. I am doing these things because it makes sense to me, not because someone else has decided what I should be interested in and is coercing me to do it.
I know I need other subjects at GCSE and I will do them before I get much older, because it is my life and it is my business to make sure that I am fully prepared for adult life. More importantly for now, I am confident, have a humungous social life and I am very happy. I am very grateful to my mum and dad for allowing me the freedom to choose what I want to do for myself.
I don't feel that having a LA visitor would help me in any way, they would probably comment on the fact that I don't do dated and marked work, but why should I, when I know I am learning fine? I don't feel I should have to prove to someone else by doing the things they think I should do, when I am perfectly capable of deciding for myself what is best for me to do.
P.s. I do eat the odd Mcdonalds burger when I am out with my friends, but on the whole my diet is quite healthy, I only drink water of my own free choice - I hate fizzy drinks, blergh :)
Sending this on my mums log in.
Home Educating parents allow their kids to have an experience of learning that is not about the enforced power of adults and the "learn what I have told you to learn" mentality. Learning is enjoyable!Mr. Webb doesn`t seem to understand that kids learn better when they are not forced!
If you don`t see what I mean, think about whether you, as an adult, would learn something if you were told to sit down and learn it? Now, imagine yourself learning something by your own choice...
This examples the reason why so many kids don`t learn anything in school: They simply don`t learn under an enforced system.
Autonomous Education works extremely well. How else do you suppose that top universities can choose between candidates with two or three rote `A` levels? Simple: thinking skills, and Home Educated children have those in abundance. A child from a state school with six `A` grade A`levels can be passed up by Oxbridge in favour of a Home Ed., autonimously educated, child with two !!! The difference can be huge!