Home Education Advocacy

All of us home ed alumni are advocates for home education, one way or another. We either give a good 'sales pitch' to those who query us as to whether home education is a worthwhile endeavour; or else we might put people off. I certainly seek to do the former!

It felt growing up that by the time I was enjoying home ed reunions with other youths in the same boat, that there was a good cohort of us. But I am the third son, and my parents were (I would argue) home educating pioneers in mid 1980s.

I think my brothers and younger sister from time to time wished for the normality of schooling (what child likes to stick out like a sore thumb?!). I however can honestly say that I was happy with the experience. 

The perennial question is whether home education negatively affects socialisation. Not in our household growing up. Apart from my parents being hospitable (not necessarily us!), we also readily took up the hospitality of friends, family and neighbours.

We were actively involved in sports and music clubs, youth groups at church, and the beavers, cubs and scouts, the latter of which I left because I wasn't too enthusiastic!

Home education varies from family to family, but in my experience, it 'schooled' me (if you'll pardon my usage of words!) in treating everyone with equitable respect; whether young or old, black or white, male or female, Abrahamic or irreligious, or to be honest, whatever other 'protected' characteristic of the Equalities Act. 

Nowadays, people seem to find it hard to agree to disagree. People take offence at disagreeable people. To be honest, thanks in large part to my upbringing, I respect people because I don't see us as simply 'animated clay', but as spiritual beings made in the image and likeness of the God who is.

Like I say, my slowness to take offence is largely due to my parents' 'schooling' of me, but also I think there's a temperamental thing. I ended up studying International Relations at university, which might sound a bit like diplomacy, but in reality is more like modern world history.

Back to my home ed days, and we had a flexible curriculum which allowed us to pursue our interests (and perhaps forget some of the more personally difficult subjects like some of the sciences!). Once we approached GCSEs however, we did start following more nationalised curricula to jump through those hoops as external candidates at exam centres (something that I appreciate is impossible for home educated students at the moment).

I did a couple of GCSEs at a local F.E. college which I enjoyed because I was used to interacting with a wide variety of people and the people I studied with generally wanted to better themselves.

Once I did make the transition from home education to school at 6th form, I didn't enjoy the change. The school I went to is one of the top non fee paying grammar schools in the country, which means partly that many of the students in the 6th form had been there since 11 as precocious children and knew each other (and their capabilities) well.

Thankfully, I found my niche and made it to university which I enjoyed much more.

I think it's worth continuing the story to the present day, because I'm sure home-edders are interested to see where something that might feel like a social experiment might take them!

Just to fast forward to today, since uni I have suffered on and off with mental ill health, so I have never managed to hold down a degree level job.

Could my home education be blamed for my mental illness? Not at all, I think it would be very hard to study my experience and come to that conclusion.

I am currently training to be a history teacher for 11-18 year olds (in case anyone's looking for a history/R.E./Politics/Citizenship tutor!).

Will I home educate my two young daughters? To be totally honest, probably not! Whilst I still hold that home education is better than schooling (having seen things from both sides of the argument now), I am aware that each family has to work out what's best for them and what they're comfortable with.

I'm not dogmatic about home-education, but I will continue to be an apologist for it, to my wife, daughters, colleagues, and anyone else who cares to listen!