Let me get personal

Time perhaps to get personal and real.....

We home educate, our children went to school for a time BUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM FAILED THEM!!

Our children were suffering constant major meltdowns all the time they were in school, we tried working with the school and various specialists but got frustrated that nobody would recognise that the system was damaging our children and it was even implied that it was somehow our fault, that we were doing something to prevent them learning in school!

Our children came out of school unable to read, write or understand maths, our youngest had become so harmed that it has taken us 5 years to get over her phobia of reading to others.

Our education has been totally autonomous, our children learn what they want to learn - we do not push them in ANY direction.

Yes there have been times when we have doubted ourselves, we have feared that we maybe should be pushing them - will they grow up to resent our approach?

I can honestly say that those fears are a thing of the past, within a few months of leaving school barely able to read a sentence our eldest was devouring Harry Potter books, he now reads newspaper articles and criticises their misuse of punctuation. He has played in the junior chess world championship, he writes visual basic programmes for fun and finds higher level GCSE maths papers "easy" - if he was still in school he would have another 2 years before looking at them. Our youngest is enjoying drama and is currently rehearsing for her 3rd public performance, she has come from being unable to read (and terrified to try) to touch typing with a speed and accuracy that few professional typists could match.

Far from being "hidden away at home" our children are out in the community, I am able to bring them in to work to interact with a wide range of adults, they meet many people when we visit museums or are just out and about living life.

There is NO distinction in our family between 'education' and life, we DO NOT plan our activities in advance. If our children want to find out about something we will help them do that in whatever way seems most appropriate at the time. Their education is full and rich with variety, completely tailored to THEIR 'age, aptitude and ability', which just happens to be exactly our obligation under the law.

If the authorities think that we are going to impose some other system on our children, which I think will restrict them or even be harmful to them, they had better think again! I am completely prepared to go to prison over this issue and so is my other half, how many home educators does this government anticipate locking up?

My message to the government - PUT YOUR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER.

Our state schools are failing so many children, it hurts to see so many leaving school with such poor education that they are consigned to menial jobs and the prospect of having to spend yet more of their precious lives seeking the knowledge and learning the skills that should have been nurtured in them during their childhood.

Our children will never EVER attend school unless THEY choose to.