Home schooling

I went to music lessons outside school. I have distinction in all my theory of music exams, to quite a high level. I was excellent at it because I am good at maths and it is logical. I could find augmented 7ths, diminished 5ths, transpose music, but I haven't a clue what it sounds like or even why you would do it! Therefore I am rather sceptical about the need to be able to read it.
However, I am used to schools where they all play the recorder, so I suppose it has a practical use.

I'm all for dance - all those girls who hate slogging round a wet hockey pitch and are therefore put of sport for ever will get the chance for healthy exercise whilst - heaven forfend! - actually enjoying themselves.

What is our school doing? - all children are playing recorders or ocarinas for the first 15 minutes every morning, during which they learn to read music; employing a music specialist one day per week, during which he brings the class teachers up to speed on what they should be doing with those instruments for the next week, upskills the teachers on the use of music in the classroom to enhance core subjects, teaches music in class, runs a choir, runs a singing assembly; using the Pupil Premium to fund instrument lessons for eligible children (these are the children on free school meals or in the care system); fund-raising for outdoor static musical instruments which the children will be able to use freely in break times and also as a focus for music sessions - and for much more: they have used their singing skills for the choir to raise some of the money for this, and I have found grant funding - the instruments will form part of a day workshop during which the children will have to assess the merit of each instrument and discuss how best they might be used, work out the costs of each instrument and think about what we can afford, be involved in the decisions about siting them and looking into the safety and construction issues; using the instruments as a focus for lessons on the physics of sound - I could go on! (and frequently do! ).

It is pure chance that this is happening - the lobbying of several governors and the receptive and open-minded head are what have brought this to fruition. The parents are thrilled with it all and the school has a real buzz around performance and making music, which has enhanced the cohesion of the school.

The presence of music in schools should not be a matter of chance, with children in schools that have enthusiastic heads getting opportunities that are denied others.

If my son could not read or write music, then he would not be able to teach it to pupils to go to the Royal College of Music from a state school in Sunderland.
He can listen to a piece of music, then write the score for others who do not have this ability to be able to play. He also has to write music for all instruments for all levels to play.
How would orchestras cope without the ability to read music?

My grandson started recorder lessons last September. He can now play 3 notes. Our local authority has just announced that it is axing all funding for instrumental teaching. Parents had to contribute and, as in little grandson's case, teaching was very patchy, but in future only the children of well-off parents will get any music lessons at all.

How did your son learn to read and write music, durhamjen? Was it at school, or was he home educated?

At school. In those days, all schools had lessons and could borrow instruments. I am talking about a comprehensive school where he took music as an option. He always wanted to study music. He borrowed a clarinet first, and we bought him a saxophone because we could afford it by then, with both of us working full time. But he never had a private lesson.
But if the primary schools had not encouraged music, he might not have chosen it. His brother is also musical, and took music in a different school, but again never had a private lesson.
Bring back music for all.

Music is a National Curriculum subject as I expect everyone already knows, but it appears there is a huge variation in the way it is taught throughout the UK.

Schools are more and more constrained by budget limitations and external government pressures to meet targets. Parents can also be limited by time, and money to home educate well.
Our personal experience of schooling (loved it/hated it/did well/ failed etc) will forever colour our opinions!
Can we agree that there are great school and not so good schools, well rounded home educated kids and unhappy home educated kids. Pros and cons in both situations.
The policy for children with DSE Needs to be educated in mainstream schools has also raised expectations ..some absolutely reasonably but sometimes not. What matters is making sure that children's needs are met as best as they can be. Sometimes it is a mainstream classroom that is right & sometimes a special school is a better place. Occasionally a child's particular needs are best met being educated otherwise.

leticia^"And home schooling parents are not obliged to do anything at all!"^

Really? Do nothing at all?

I prefer not to comment in future on any post you comment on as you seem to have no understanding of anything apart from the type of life you lead.

Obviously as a teacher you have your own views but don't paint all us home school parents as ones who sit on our backsides letting our children get away with doing nothing. I have worked damned hard at educating my son.

You are insulting. I prefer to keep my distance.

You do have a wonderful nack of making out that I am saying something quite different from what I am saying, rubylady! I don't think I can be bothered to go over that one, as I don't even understand how you could interpret it that way.

It might be better if you didn't comment because I didn't mean that you didn't expect anything from your children and I didn't mean that you did nothing!

I will clarify one last time. Home educators are not obliged to teach anything. Personally I thought that was the joy of it- not being obliged to teach the National Curriclum, not being obliged to teach whatever new scheme the government comes up with, not being obliged to teach to read music- they are free to choose and tailor it to the child.
If I was to HE one if the main reasons would be that I was not obliged to teach anything- I would have complete freedom to do it my way to suit my child.

I do not think that is true, Leticia. Not obliged to teach the National Curriculum is not the same as not being obliged to teach anything.
You have to let your local authority know what you are doing. They can come and check on you, and if they do not think you are teaching the child according to his age, ability and aptitude, they can send the child to school. Or rather they can put him back on the school register. Many of the teachers that taught my grandson in the high school see him around the village and ask him how he is getting on. He has not been abandoned by the school or by his family. If he decides he wants to see what school is like again and if he can cope, he will be able to go back.

Anyway, even children who like freedom also like boundaries. They want to learn, just not necessarily what is deemed to be taught at any particular stage in the curriculum.

Even in schools where there was complete freedom, such as Summerhill, lessons were provided and pupils could decide whether they wanted to attend or not. Many did because the option was boredom.

Why do you have a thing about not having to teach the reading of music? Some people enjoy it. Some children like to learn it.

Leticia, I understand what you're saying. I'm not sure why your posts seem to be being misinterpreted.

Of course the local authority can send someone to check on HE children, but as has been stated before (if not on this thread, then another recent one) they rarely bother. So in reality, parents can choose their own curriculum.

Why does everything have to fall into one camp or another?

There are some schools that are pretty awful, some that are brilliant and others somewhere in between, likewise, I would imagine, those that home educate.

There are arguments on both sides. School is good because it is a social as well as an academic environment. I am sure, though, that good home educators ensure that their child/children engage in various activities with other children.

School is good because there are all sorts of teaching aids and facilities such as sports fields and equipment, science laboratories, etc. etc. But home schooling can provide a more individual style of learning to suit the particular child, and potentially more opportunity to engage with the outside world rather than be absorbed into an institution.

I think there are advantages on both sides but I feel that if a child is really having difficulty at school then it might be kinder and ultimately more productive for them to be home educated - provided it is done properly and carefully monitored.

Frankly, I would not have felt I had enough knowledge, energy and aptitude to take on such a huge responsibility - and I couldn't have afforded to stay at home anyway - as I think is probably the case with many parents.

You are still misunderstanding me, durhamjen - at no point have I said that home educators can get away with doing nothing! Why would they want to? I merely said that there was no obligation to teach anything. If the child had no interest in learning to read music then you can leave it or try again later when they might be ready. If you thought you might do some work on Tudors, but your child gets terribly enthusiastic about the Romans you can do that instead. You have obligation to do anything in particular- at a particular time.

LEAs have no right to go into the home and check- parents can and do refuse. The most they can have is written report on what you are doing. They cannot insist on a visit,unless they have definite grounds for thinking there is neglect.

At no point have I said that I am against home education. I can see circumstances where I might have had to do it myself.
I agree entirely with Eloesthan's post.

Schools have the whole range from excellent to dire, as do home educators. Wanting to home educate doesn't mean you are any good at it the same as wanting to be a teacher means that you are any good. When I was training to teach many people were weeded out over the three years and told they were not suited. They were upset- they wanted to do it. No one appears to weed out parents who are not suited.

I think that home education should just be an additional choice, if you can afford it, and that those doing it should be registered and visited- to give support and access to resources- in addition to checking the provision is adequate for the child.

The misunderstanding is in the use of the word 'obliged*. I am not 'obliged'' to get up today, but it doesn't mean that I won't bother! I am not 'obliged' to go to my Zumba class today ( and it is only pay as you go so I won't be charged if I don't go) but I shall be there, as I am most weeks. However since I am not 'obliged' I can do something else one week if I wish. Home education is similar- very flexible.

I am glad that you understand me Ana. I have read back and I can't really see how I can be so misinterpreted.

I have no idea why it has to go into one camp or the other- especially when the reality is that many have spells at home and at school, or they have one child at home and one at school.

I agree with Eleothan*'s last post. There is good and bad in both scenarios.

Horses for courses is what is needed. The option for home schooling should remain. Better LA support to home educators would be good, but there is plenty of other support out there.

Our school has an option for parents to part home educate and this works well. Very few parents take this up (many of them are both at work) but where they do, the school supports them. It is a good compromise for those children who find full time school a problem or for those parents who wish to have more personal involvement in the children's education. No black and white thinking is a good way forward.

I hope that the OP has been reassured about the viability of home schooling and is no longer concerned about her GC.

Just do not understand how your post could have been so widely mis-interpreted Leticia. Post after post has stated the lack of checking and supervision done by local gvt re-home schooling- and that some children, therefore, are allowed to fall tthrough the net in a disastrous way.

I don't think anyone has criticised the amazingly dedicated and hard-working parents and grand-parents who do a brilliant job of home-schooling their children. But the criticisim is with the lack of supervision- which fails just too many children.

Most of us have had good, bad and brilliant teachers- and yes, they do have an effect on a child, and at times for a long time (I almost became school phobic due to a horrid primary school teacher in my 4th year)- but that only lasts for a year. The teacher the next year might be absolutely brilliant, and the next one too... A child stuck with poor home-schooling (or none) is stuck with it forever, perhaps. Again, does not apply to anyone here- but it would be foolish to think that because many homeschooling parents and gps are dedicated and very able- some are not dire and totally ineffective, no? Why the total denial of this?

As said before, where I live, many areas have outlawed home-schooling. And those who allow it do have very strict guidelines and checks, and only allow qualified teachers to do this. Not saying this is right- but the way it is done.

I support 2 talented musicians who are home-schooled in France, teenagers. They have to follow the official distance learning syllabus- and have private tuition for so many subjects as the parents do not have the knowledge and experience to get them through the official exams they have to take- 9 of them. Without my support for geography, history, English and German- and the support of others for maths and physics- they would not stand a chance. The boy did pass his baccalaureate last year, and is now studying music at Lausanne uni. It was only by chance that we met- I can just imagine what would have happened had they not got the support they needed (and yes, I realise that the extremely narrow English A'Level syllabus makes it easier to specialise in just a few areas).

I am aware of only two families who home school, one is due to their son's extreme dyslexia which made school a nightmare for him despite the schools best efforts. His mother now teaches him, acknowledges that he may never understand words and letters, but takes him out and about, they do experiments, growing stuff, go to HE groups at the library, sports groups etc, animal care(they keep chickens) and she reads for him, and they are both very happy with it. The other family are a disaster frankly, children always tired and grubby, stay up until all hours on consoles, the youngest has mild learning difficulties and the parents have announced they are going to home school. As the only books in their house are the racing form book and the Argos catalogue ( sorry, but true) then it has to be a disaster for this child. This is not a criticism of the many families who are making a grand job of HE, like the first family I mentioned, but surely, it is not right that a child should be 'educated' by barely literate parents in a smoke filled house?

Your way sounds ideal Mishap.
I think it should just be a choice and schools could then share their resources.
Maybe the misinterpretation of my posts comes from me having been a teacher- often seen as anti HE which is a little strange because I bet that if you had a list of occupations of HE parents then teachers would be by far and away the biggest group.

"Home educators are not obliged to teach anything."

Your words, Leticia.

Leticia explained what she meant in her post of 07.19 this morning, durhamjen. Home Educators are not 'obliged' to teach anything, although of course the majority do, and make an excellent job of it.

But home educators are obliged to teach things to their pupils/children/grandchildren.
They have to show that they are teaching/ that the child is learning.
I am a home educator. I know what I signed up to.

As someone who was monitored closely on the education provided for the 220 children in my care I do feel peeved that parents who HE are not more closely monitored.

If it is thought so important for children to reach certain standards at certain times that schools are named and shamed when they 'fail' why is it not important for HE kids to be following the Nat Curric / make progress at a particular rate etc etc?

My solution would be to reduce central government interfering in how education professionals run and manage schools rather than increasing surveillance on HE!

Yes, we know you are a home educator, durhamjen.

But as has been said in previous posts, it is possible to say that you intend to HE your child and then to refuse all access to inspectors. That's the law.