Home Schooling

sunset30 wrote:I had a great time at school! For the most part - until something happened that was my parents' fault (NOT the fault of the school)

I also have a very sociable child, so I already have a responsibility to make sure he is socialised. I would continue to do that irrespective of where he gets schooled.

I am concerned that schools don't provide for the individual learning requirements of pupils, they don't equip children for the world as it is, and they don't offer the support needed at ALL levels through the class - how can they?

The education provided to children is certainly of a less high quality than it used to be.

I KNOW that there are fabulous teachers out there, but I also know A LOT who I would be worried about leaving my son with, with a view to them equipping him with knowledge and an ability to think and question.

Education is the MOST important thing you can give someone. But it has to include an element of individual approach, and the time and interest to be questionable, and be thorough. To include a wider goal of achieving people who are ready to be individuals who are ready to try things they are not gifted at and find ways to understand, and also to celebrate their gifts and achievements.

Lx

While I agree with a heck of a lot of your post, I also think education isn't just the responsibility of the Government through sending children to school. My love, some may say obsession, with words and with history came from my parents and my grandpop (mum's dad) and had nothing to do with my school, although I had what I think was a very good education.

It was my father who brought a love of history to me because he loved to visit old churches and castles etc whenever we went on holiday. My grandpop instilled my love of words by letting me look through his fabulous collection of pictorial encyclopedia and my mother used to challenge me to read everything I could get my hands on as a way of improving my knowledge.

ETA: Some other thoughts, my OH went to one of the top public schools in the country (Sherborne School clicky linky) and he hated it, he was extensively bullied, received no encouragement despite showing a flair for languages and ended up going to university and dropping out at the end of his second year of a Computer Science degree.
I went to a former grammar school which only turned comprehensive two years before I went but which was still run along the lines of a grammar by the same headmaster. We were streamed according to ability, disruptive pupils were removed from the class, there were special classes for the "disruptive" kids most of whom actually went on to do something useful with their lives because the special needs teachers were absolutely fantastic.
In fact, not only did one of my teachers at school become one of my best friends, but she will be one of my son's godparents when he is Christened later this year.

I'd also say, if you know your friends are behaving in this completely unprofessional manner, shouldn't you also be trying to do something about that either by speaking to them or by speaking to those in authority at the schools' they work at?