Steve Wood wrote: > Trevor wrote: > >> Steve Wood wrote, under the subject line of <<Re: [canals-list] Re: Re: >> Re: Re: proposed new posting rule >>: >> > > It wasn't my text you quoted actually, not that it matters as it was an > interesting digression. Educating children, at home or elsewhere, is > fortunately not something I've ever had to think about! > > It is interesting to read your views on the subject and loads of > practical questions quickly come to mind, such as how you acquire > teaching materials for hands-on subjects like physics and chemistry. It > sounds an expensive option to me! Also how do you get your child into > examinations. Presumably the examination bodies will not allow you to > run these at home. As someone who is basically supportive of the > comprehensive education I received I'm not immediately convinced the > advantages of one-on-one teaching would outweigh the disadvantages of > being outside the system. > > Dragging it briefly back on-topic (!) I do know that my boat was > originally registered to carry a couple of children, but noting your > comment about education Inspectors I can't quite believe anyone > seriously thought that children on boats could receive any kind of home > education given the hours that their parents would have worked. > > Steve > NB Bream Hi Steve,
Ooops, sorry about the mis-quote :( Physics was fairly easy and you'd be surprised at how much chemistry you can do from items about the home - but both subjects have been severely dumbed down since I went to school (as have Geography, History, English and Biology in terms of reaching the standards required for GCSE). Some colleges now run science practical courses for Home Educators - at a cost of course, but when you have a course shared between ten keen children, all of whom *really* want to do it, this is really quite reasonable (and was less than the cost of buying a uniform for a year!). The resources available on the Internet and early morning TV (the Beeb, Channel 4, etc., plus the revision guides such as 'Bite-size' as well as normal documentaries) are *huge* once toy tap into them - and mostly free as well :)) Examinations were a different matter entirely when we did it - expensive and you often had to beg for a place as well. We got around this by putting Alexander back into the system at 16 (because of his birthday being late August he was only *just* 16) but he was offered immediate places, on interview, at two really *good* sixth form colleges, and the local college, based on the work he had already done and talking to the Head of Department. In the end he went to the local college and did an access course AND five or six GCSE plus a couple of NVQ in just seven months. Taking this path meant that the costs were borne by the LEA and not the family - although some take the International GCSE route which does not rely on coursework. It probably helped that he had already passed his Amateur Band radio examinations (and was on the local club's management committee at 15), had a social life to be envied .. lol .., and was very confident in his own abilities without being cocky enough to claim he knew everything. If he had one negative point it was the one that caused him most problems at school - he never stopped asking questions .. lol! There are several real differences between home and school education - one to one is better than one to 30+, children learn best at their own pace rather than in 45 minute blocks where they have to stop doing something interesting just as it gets interesting, their questions are always answered 'at the time' (you'd be surprised at what we learned ourselves from the experience!), and if it is a nice day you can do something more appropriate outside rather than sweat in a stuffy classroom and fight to stay awake .. We didn't do everything that a school has to do, for example no foreign languages as he simply wasn't interested in them - so we dropped those (but there are good interactive ones on the Internet) That said, it is horses for courses and I am certain that it would not suit all children (or their parents)! We were 'lucky' in one way as I was disabled through my cardiac problems (amongst others) and my wife was disabled following a serious accident when she was struck by a truck whilst waiting to cross the road - between us we were able to always be around to guide him in his studies (about three to four hours on an average day - the average school child puts more hours in but gets less than 6 minutes of personal tuition a week, if they are lucky!). Trevor [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
