This is what I am thinking.
With all theses nasty consultations imposed left, right and centre, and more radio interviews on HE gathering momentum; protraying a more positive image of our secretive and mythical HE world is even more crucial than ever. The public probably think we're all 'middle class' (Tony Mooney's doing!), being delusional in thinking we're educating our children in the best way, when in fact, we're only capable of churning out 'laughable quality'. To anyone who's never been near a living and breathing HE family, we must be like a cult-like community. Exist, but not seen, heard of, but not spoken of. They probably think we have green horns, heads full of snakes(or rather lice), live in labyrinth, and we congregate during the full moon LOL!
And every so often, some lucky 'common' folks get a sighting of such an elusive HE Family and if they'll give their “common mind” a rest, they'll see that we are ordinary people (or rather extra-ordinary, which is what divides us and them), and intelligent (that we are and we shouldn’t be ashamed to advertise it!), who've just decided that we ain't going to follow the pack! That we're straying away because we can see the light! And if they are any smarter, they'll follow suit too!(Last laugh on them??!! Ha Ha Ha!)
Most of the decisions to HE are generally a "re-active one, a last resort, against the school failings". Undeniable fact. But it also seems, it’s a “majority working class” thing, and that also means you don't have much options and brains, according to Mr Mooney, to educate to an acceptable standard, and I’m sure he’s not the only one of this belief! But we know this is not true, as we are aware there are families de-regging their kids from private school. And that a lot of HE parents either have diplomas or a Uni degree and quite a lot of us used to be high income earners. And you don’t become a high income earner by having no brains! Just because we go round in scruff jeans and T shirts doesn’t mean we’re un-educated!
I can't help but think maybe we should start thinking about how to portray HEing in a more pro-active light. Isn’t it possible, that for some of us, HEing is a lifestyle decision instead of a ‘rescue mission’ from school?
Currently with all these - Open University, Internet, etc; HEing is a very viable path to education, and should be highlighted as so. Some of us did made a very Pro-active decision to HE because we want to - not because we're forced to- again should be highlighted as so!
No dis-respect intended here as I’m aware some families really had to, simply because they had no choice. But there are also some families who has chosen to HE simply because they are aware that they are legally allowed to and choose to exercise that right, like my family.
So is HEing really all about re-active decisions ? Are we saying that if the school were any better, we wouldn’t even consider doing homeschooling in the first place? And that should schools get their act back together, we’ll consider sending our children back to school? I’m thinking NO.
Could it not be possible that HEing is a subconcious pro-active decision? That our decision to HE is not an act of desperation but merely just the catalyst of our thoughts and beliefs in how life should be. Especially now when all of us are so aware of positive parenting, organic living, green environment, fresh air and country life – basically just trying to have a more wholesome family life. HEing is just another piece of the jigsaw. When I think back to our decision to de-reg our son, his unhappiness about school served ONLY as the catalyst that helped us cement our beliefs that HE is the only way ahead to provide him with the 'edge' when he grows up (I'm sorry if I'm beginning to sound like a pushy mum now, but I assure you I'm not, I'm more of a mushy mum in reality, but it's an undeniable fact that to get a job nowadays, you have to 'stand out' from the crowd!). This is how me and hubby see it. We Humans went from no education, to self education (HE), from small classrooms, to private schooling for the rich, to mass schooling for every citizen. We believe that education has evolved again and now needs a new direction. And that our decision was not a last resort, but is based on our beliefs that mass education has lost it's effectiveness, so we’ve moved onto a different path. And that our son will benefit greatly from the HE approach through out his life. Even better because it’s a legal alternative.
We're talking of a totally different way of living and educating our children. Call it Holistic, call it New Wave, call it anything but the fact of the matter is, it is a viable way of giving our children a head start, gives them time to grow and develop a confident mind as a foundation, which in turn, an opportunity to shine out from the crowd, not just in the work arena but also in life! Isn't this already obvious with our HEed kids nowadays??!! The mind is a very powerful thing, and a very difficult thing to control, never mind teach it! To make it listen, first you'll have to earn it's respect. You can’t tune it up like a car engine, but you can convince it to bend to your will!
HEing is another viable path, other than mass schooling. As many young parents are now even consciously deciding to not even start playschool, which I suppose is based on their own bad school experience. But it's not that they should be seen as they are afraid for their child, not at all, in fact I can see they've learnt and are now wiser and has the experience to weighed their options properly, and decided that HEing is a more effective choice for their child.
So I’m thinking wouldn't it be a good PR angle to stop focusing on school failings as a common reason to HE but highlight instead that HEing is a viable choice, on it's own merits? (I am thinking far ahead or is it just me being my delusional self?)
I would like to think that our choice for our son is more of a Pro-Active one ,considering that the last school was not a bad school, but rather we didn't want to progress down that path anymore, because it’s not the type of lifestyle he wants. I would say our decision is not a re-active one because we didn't HE because we have no choice. We did have the choice to allow our son to continue school, or if it didn't work out, search for another school or even a private school. But we decided we are going to do even better, we're gonna provide him with his own tailor made education.
So the question is, was your's a Pro-active or Re-active decision?
