Questions

Questions

Two of my aunts have asked interesting questions about home education. Thank you! What’s interesting is that they, like most people, are less concerned about the academic aspects of school and more about the social aspects – friendship, developing social skills, fitting in and, as one of my aunts alluded to, the sanity of the parents! There’s less concern about how children will learn to read and write and learn history and science and maths, and so on. I guess it points to the fact that we value school as much for its social as its educational role.

I’m not sure I can answer your questions. I’ll take a ‘let’s wait and see’ approach. All I know is that there are plenty of people out there who have been home educated, and they have turned out to be well rounded, socially adept, capable individuals. I suppose one of the misconceptions about ‘home’ education is that it takes place at home. That children sit at home all day, learning at the feet of their parents. Nothing could be further from the truth. Home education is about learning wherever and whenever, on the go, in all sorts of places, in the company of all sorts of people. My kids might end up taking art or dance or music classes, or taking classes to learn languages or other skills, or joining sports clubs. Or they might do none of those things. Right now I’ve no idea what they’ll do. But they will have ample opportunities to meet people, to make friends (whether those people are the same age as them or different ages).

I could recommend some good books to read about the philosophy of home education, but far more fun is Robyn Scott’s memoir of growing up in Botswana, Twenty chickens for a saddle. It’s a great read!