And some of them are repeatedly having to explain and defend home education and the right to do so to people who will not take the time to inform themselves or open their minds. Like this particular Lord for example or indeed this one, who seems to have taken it into her head to fall back on the old “home educated children are locked in their homes day and night” argument.
I am also bored of asking people to take their plates out, scrape off unwanted food, put their shoes on the shelf, pick up their clothes, only put dirty clothes in the washing basket, wash their face and brush their hair and teeth before coming downstairs and saying they are ready to go out, or make sure they have everything they need before they go out to gym/ballet/TKD/drama club.
BUT.
Let me tell you what doe not bored me. I am not bored of the insatiable curiosity of small girls. I am not bored of answering questions, providing books, finding methods or facilitating discovery.
In one stretch of 12 hours, i had these conversations with my 7 year old. We talked, on the way home from dancing, about the reasons for the words Celsius and Centigrade, what decimalisation means, why a Fahrenheit thermometer had different numbers for the same temperature, why one might count in negatives in Centigrade but still quite large numbers in Fahrenheit and why water still turns to ice at the same temperature even if the way of describing it can change.
In the same drive home we talked about the word cinema, why it was pronounced as it was, what influences had brought us that word, what languages and patterns in history had developed the English language as we know it and what other words we could find ‘cine’ in. And we talked about phonics and what the effect of redesigning our language so it was spelt as it was said would be. And whether it would really help us in the long run?
The next morning, driving to drama club, the same 7 year old asked what caused the wind to blow and discussed the global factors that affect weather at length. We talked about gulf streams and cooling of air, the water cycle and the cyclical nature of weather and the circular effects brought on by change. And that night, flicking over from Brainiac, where all of them had noticed that the swimming pool of custard must be the same as the non-Newtonian fluid we made at science one week, we happened on a programme on BBC4 about the recent ‘extreme weather’ -and quick as a flash, the same 7 year old realised that the streak marked in the sea beside Britain on a thermal map must be the current of water we had spoken about that morning.
The next day, after watching an episode on the periodic table from an adult aimed BBC4 chemistry programme, my 5 year old showed me that her balloon fell to the floor when she dropped it. “So it doesn’t have the light air in it then or it would fly away, but it only comes out of daddy’s mouth, so does it have the really heavy air in it or is it filled with our normal air?” And when i said that she was right, it couldn’t really have that very heavy gas in it that she had seen on the programme, she realised that something else must be making it drop and we talked about gravity and the weight of the balloon skin and what we breathe and how it changes – but not enough to become that really heavy gas she remembered seeing the man fill a balloon with.
And it is for those reasons, when i can see my children being delighted and excited by learning, despite never having a formal lesson in their lives, that i will keep on answering and arguing with people who wish to force me to tick boxes about the education my children are getting. I am so, so, so very bored of answering. But for Amelie and Josie, never mind for Frances and Maddy, i will keep arguing. And those people should know, as they try to squeeze me into a box and hold me there, that the only people limiting the quality of education my children are receiving are the people taking up my precious time by making me fight for their rights.
When I think, oh no we have to say all this stuff again I always try to think; oh well, this idiot may have an uninformed opinion that needs to be challenged. Thank God they wrote this on the internet where other people will read everything too. Then it feels like a worthwhile use of time, because even if the original opinion doesnt change, there will be readers who never even gave any consideration to HE at all, who get to see our posts as a part of their first exposure to the idea. And that is probably worth all the repeating we do.
Like me, Anna! I didn’t even know that home education was an option (at least, not without ‘proper’ tutors or something) until someone I know blogged about the Badman report back in June. The only people I knew that were home educating at that time were both teachers, so I’d assumed that was how they were able to do it.
Since then, I’ve been following a number of HE bloggers and it has greatly expanded my ideas about learning and perhaps also parenting in general!
I am ashamed to say that I have put myself into a bubble and not written to a single lord or done anything political for weeks and weeks. I struggle with feeling guilty for not helping fight the fight but at the same time am so disillusioned with what’s happened to date I am finding it difficult to motivate myself to do anything at all.
Fab post Merry 🙂
I’m very glad you keep on answering 🙂 I just keep getting irritated and probably ought to keep myself away from such places.
I read your blog because your life with your girls sounds so fantastic. It is also wonderful to hear your utter conviction and confidence about the way you are educating them. I would love to have the guts to make the break away from the mainstream for my two children, but it just feels like too big and risky a step. I hope you know that reading your blog has been very interesting for me and has made me reconsider many aspects of the education of our children. So please dont feel like it is a pointless exercise to talk about it all. I hope the Government drops this intention to inspect all hope-schoolers…
I’ve replied to both the Lords comments and telephoned my MP to remind him to sign today 🙂
Sometimes I feel that I am boasting, and “showing off” but then I try to remind myself that if people didn’t keep asking, I wouldn’t keep telling!
Great Post.
Lovely to read these comments, just reaffirms that we don’t always know how useful what we share is. It is so worth sharing and you do it in such an accessible way Merry. Great post.
It is so important that we keep sharing the information that combats the booooring ignorance that people like this lovely lord and lady are perpetuating – as well as the positive personal HE stuff, the likes of which you have written here. What fantastic learning experiences! Your blog was one of the first I ever came across and it made me think, yes, we really can and we really will do this 🙂
Awww.. Renegade Parent, what a nice thing to say 🙂
Sigh, i know you are right but it feels so relentless. I just feel so worn out with combating prejudice.
I often have a look at your website and am always blown away by the way you write. How beautifully and effectively put. You speak for so many of us (particularly some of us who dont speak so well!) but remind us why we must speak for ourselves too.
Thank you.
Merry,
I read your blogs and they never fail to give me inspiration. On the days when my daughter isn’t interested in learning, except for learning how to be a vegeatble, i come on here and you give me hope and determination to carry on and not give in to the people who don’t believe. My best friend is now considering Home educating her daughter and i know exactly which blog i will encourage her to read.
Thank you