Category Archives: General

external validation of home ed is always a difficult idea for me. i am uncertain under which conditions it would actually have any validity, which is why we don’t seek it! i think that the only current people who have a valid opinion on how well we are doing to provide an education suitable for age, ability and aptitude are me and chris. what about SB? well, she obviously has a v great say in the educational process, what she wants to do, as we are child led [a bit autonomous with some formal maths!] I think – defining our hE practice with regards to other peoples is a slippery fish! its easy to say you school at home, sonlight etc, and its easy to be completely autonomous, but we aren’t either. much more on the autonomous side, with lots of educational strewing going on! Anyway, if she likes something,w e do it [even timetabling, which has now stopped!] if she doesn’t like something, we don’t. So, if we assume that we educate in a way that suits SB and she enjoys, it will usually meet the 3 a’s for her. But is it any good?

well, for that we need some goals perhaps to see if we are on a path to achieve? hmm, goal setting then seems much more cagey.

1. i would like her to be in a place to choose what and how and when for exams and further ed, and that I shouldn’t have limited her options. but of course i will have done. school limited mine – what did or didn’t clash etc. so i hope that i can keep a broad base of options until it is clear where she wishes to direct her path. I think that is my present goal. [can't answer for chris]. both of us went to uni, and although i ‘m not saying now she has to go, i want that option to be most definitely there. and its this that muddies my autonomous approach! [maths - and handwriting, though SB has specifically requested that = autonomous perhaps!] . so they are my deepest darkest goals!
2. my more apparent ones are that i want her to see learning and acquiring knowledge fun and interesting, to not lose the thirst and spark about it. At the moment she wants to rampage through the magic school bus books [so i had better buy some then!] and this is what i love, seeing her head in a book, and then proudly telling me facts, and making me guess -testing me! and this goal at present complements the other. what i’ll do if they ever don’t run in tandem waits to be seen!
3. and i want her to enjoy her childhood, that this education and learning stuff isn’t pressurised. that she plays and grows up at her own pace rather than in response to peer pressure

so, i guess by my goal setting we are OK too. but i always think we could do it ‘a bit better’ , that a bit more organisation on our part, of the day, of the resources, of tidyness would waste less precious time and present more options.

Of course, if i did have to submit to external validation, i could talk and present stuff and gloss and spin, and i imagine they would walk away perfectly satisfied even if i’m not. [they might surprise me! we have no written proof of anything except maths] it would be totally irrelevant to me/us though as a validation [or not] of our methods. It could never be more than a tick box exercise. i would ignore criticisms as well as commendations.

BTW, this is not a criticism of those that do have meetings, provide evidence etc. but in a round about way, a criticism of those bodies that think they can measure home ed at all. the only people that can with a true heart say whether the education provided is suitable are those intimately involved. and it is us, the parents responsibility that no complacency or external tick box allows us to not follow up on our niggles and try and iron them out, to be true facilitators of the learning process, however it suits our own family.

The Nuffield Review paper concludes that we should recognise, and value, many different aims for education.

These include: critical thinking and an introduction to knowledge in the physical and social sciences, the humanities and the arts; development of practical capabilities; preparation for citizenship; and development of the ideals and values needed to face the big issues affecting our communities.

Taking us back to consider the big question – “what is education for?” – may seem like an academic frippery compared to the day-to-day hard questions about the curriculum and testing.

But at a time when 14-19 education in England is going through its biggest upheaval for over 50 years, it is an essential reminder of the need to keep an eye on the bigger picture.

i think that sounds like a decent stab at educational though. link to nuffield website