Wednesday 26 November 2014

Why I Home School

I have had a lot of positive and negative views on us home schooling.

Every body has their views on topic yet since I started adding home schooling posts to this blog I have had a lot of questions about it.

I have never been one for forcing my views on anyone (but isn't that the great thing about blogs, you can post your views and people make a choice to read it, agree or disagree and comment) but that being said I wanted to take some time to explain why I, and his mum, home school.

William, 5, is a gentle and thoughtful boy. He has his rough moments but he is a boy so I expect nothing less. His educational intelligence is high ( and that isn't from a boasting parents perspective but from a trained teachers view)


First day of School happy and smiling


His first year at school,  Reception, was terrible for him. 28 children in his class, of which, 18 of them were boys. Although William can be a social child he also thoroughly enjoys his own space, whether it be through play or work, a large class made him quite uncomfortable.

Being a class of majority of boys there were a lot of fighting which often got out of hand.

Within his class his teacher was off sick or away a few weeks per half term and his only consistent support was the teaching assistants. One of these teaching assistants were assigned to two children who had extra educational needs, and of which I am only aware of one, where they wore nappies and we're not toilet trained. From a teachers, as well as a parents, it is upsetting to see a class missing the extra support that is initially assigned to them because either the school or council would not fund an assistant for those with extra non educational needs.

Fighting continued, either from rough and tumble or bullying (some children were teasing him about the fact that I was disabled)  until finally William fought back; with a few bruises, black eye and a cut forehead, he finally snapped. I don't believe that violence is an answer, but in regards to the school not supporting and understanding as well as a continued amount of bullying,  I did believe that you should stand up for yourself, even if I didn't agree with William retaliating. Subsequently; William soon showed, a very unnatural side of his character, a violent and aggressive streak that was being shown on the playground as well as at home.

By his last half term there wasn't a day where he didn't become hysterical,  crying, screaming and panicking every morning about going to school; at 5 years old a child shouldn't hate school to this degree.

It was truly heart-breaking witnessing his anxiety and upset for something that we were forcing him to do.

So was it achievable or possible to undertake?

Being a stay at home dad and a trained and experienced teacher Home schooling seemed the way forward.

How many parents truly get the opportunity to do that? Because of the 50/50 custody of the boys both his mum and I are Stay-at-home parents, yet we do still get the opportunity to work as well. Best of both worlds in some ways. Being scrunchy parents it seemed like a natural transition for us.

 

Being a qualified and trained teacher, who was prominently teaching Key Stage One I had all my previous lesson plans, guidelines and resources, subsequently, all the bits that we needed were available without a lot of worry. I have also taken the parental responsibility for Williams education, mainly, to make sure that we are covering all bases. However; A schooled and educational background isn't necessary and you can see why in some of my other posts about planningmaking lessons fun and required expectations.

I understand that it isn't for everybody though. Personal situations and your own individual point of view may not be something that you are able to do or want to. However; I truly believe that we, his Mum and I, have made the right decision on for William. His attitude to school and work has improved massively, his own personal experiences through learning have been a pleasure to see.

A friend, whose child is a week older than William, recently returned from their parents evening for their daughter; She spoke to me as a concerned parent, as she felt that their daughter has achieved very little in school, she seems to be struggling at completing the work that is asked of her. When asking more questions and enquiring she was setting her standards by what she had seen by what we had achieved as part of home schooling.

This for me is a massive compliment, the work load doesn't seem any heavier than when I was teaching a class, but the difference in the freedom of where we can divert to and extended and explore work is far better as we are not limited by lesson guidelines and hour restrictions. If something is working we just don't stop because our times up.

The most important thing though is Williams well-being. He is a happy child now, with no worries, who is thriving in the home schooling environment.


William concentrating hard in ICT and Literacy

Later this week I will post my opinions on the advantagesof Home Schooling.

In the meantime I hope you have enjoyed our account and can see why we made this decision.


9 comments:

Unknown said...

I had a similar experience in my family where my cousin was much better in a home-schooling enviroment. I would love to home school but I think I would be too leanient haha

Martyn Kitney said...

Home schooling is great and there are lots of different ways to do it. I'll be posting for the rest of the week on it. Tomorrow are the pros and cons of doing it and Friday about structures. That one will probably interest you if it is something you would consider, especially if you think you'd be too lenient ☺ as it'll cover that side of it. 😉

Spidermummy said...

This is a really interesting read. Good luck on your home schooling journey. As a Mum of a boy in year 1 who is currently undergoing some bullying, home schooling looks pretty appealing right now x

Martyn Kitney said...

Thank you Spidermummy on both counts. Sorry to hear that. It is difficult to see and really does put the education system into question when your child gets bullied, even more so when they're young. Hope the school is recognising is and will help Spider boy. Home schooling is a great route. Tomorrow i will be posting the advantages of it that might help and interest you and offering a Q and A with it, including disadvantages.

Mummybexm said...

Thank you for sharing this post with me, Martyn. It has been interesting to read. As a Secondary school teacher - I can imagine (too easily) how that class of 28 might have been too much for your little one. There are many students I see who would benefit from being in a different setting to learn. I don't think I have the capabilities to home school - I would worry that I don't know enough! You're brave to do so. Well done :)

Martyn Kitney said...

Thanks! I was worried and didn't think I could do it. But I just did what I thought and tried to extend and make it flexible for a different environment. Our inspection the other week met us with amazing results so was a weight lifted off my mind.
I think some children, as you said, do just suit a different environment for learning.
Thanks for reading and commenting.

Unknown said...

I think your boys are so lucky to have parents so in tune with them that are then qualified, willing and perfectly able to make their world easier. It's people like you that really make a difference to children and when those children happen to be your own....what a dad.

Martyn Kitney said...

Aww thank you so much for your kind words. To see them engage and laugh but also learn makes suck a difference.

Unknown said...

Hi Martyn, it's really interesting to hear the reasons behind your decision and makes complete sense. Having both parents as qualified teachers who can give them one on one attention is amazing. It's a shame the school couldn't provide for William's needs and that it was causing him anxiety. How horrible and devastating to watch as a parent.,My little girl starts school next year after just turning four. I'm sure she will be fine but this does make you think.