Home educated children are at a “severe disadvantage”? That is a ridiculous statement to make. Badman’s argument is fundamentally flawed. How can anyone say “statistics show” that there is a higher percentage of home educated children not being in employment, education or training than children that go to or have been to school? They have already said that they have no idea how many children really are being home educated. You cannot do maths if you do not know what numbers to start with! It’s all just guesswork isn't it?
I believe Graham Badman was chosen to carry out this 'study' because in previous years he had stated that he was against home education. I believe that the Government knew what they wanted in the report/review/study and therefore chose Badman to get the outcome they desired.
Graham Badman states that "although home educators should not be treated with suspicion, we should know that the risk factor is proportionately double". Is that not a contradiction in terms? Basically, Graham Badman is stating that my children are safer with people that I do not know (otherwise known as teachers) than they are with me, their own mother! I find that extremely offensive.
I think every parent in the UK really ought to consider the point that Mr Badman is making, because he seems to be stating that any parent who is home educating or now chooses to de-register their child from school is putting themselves at risk of being labelled as an abuser!
It is the legal right of a parent to choose whether their child/children are educated at school or 'otherwise'. I chose 'otherwise'. My son (now aged 11 yrs) went to school until he was seven or eight years old. I chose to home educate because I was not happy with the two different schools he had been to. My daughter of six has never been to school. My son is anti-workbooks and my daughter loves learning because both are now taught in a way that is more fun than sitting in a room full of other children having to learn at the pace that is set out by the teacher. Now they both learn at their own pace and have fun whilst doing so.
I asked my son his opinion on whether he was at a 'severe disadvantage' being home educated. His reply was, “No”. Why? “Because you don’t get bullied. Work is easier because if you don’t understand something you can find out the answer straight away rather than wait for the teacher who is busy with all the other kids. You can go to the toilet when you want. It’s fun. At school you are always having to be quiet. There is more teamwork with home education.”
They are learning also by watching me build up my own business online (www.TeesOnLine.co.uk). Both my children love the fact that I have my own small business and they like to be involved when they can. They are learning from this experience much more than they ever would from sitting in a classroom for hours on end. I am 48 years old. I went to school. I left school having taken CSE's. The highest grade of which was a Grade 1/2 in Typing. When I left school I worked my way up from being a copy typist to finish my career as a marketing co-ordinator at Rolls-Royce... my experience shows that the world is our classroom!
Today my children did maths work, then went to our regular home education group (they are not hidden away). My son goes to a regular youth club session. I suspect that a home educated child is out and about more than a child that goes to school. We have museum, science, wildlife sessions, Techniquest, the potential of going to a home ed group just about every day of the week if we wanted to. I think if people fully understood home education as they do more so in the USA, it would be more acceptable in the UK.
The Government wants a clearer view of what is deemed to be a 'suitable education' and Ed Balls has announced that they will tell us what that is in 2010. I do wonder why they feel they have the right to continuously tell us what to do when perhaps they should spend more time doing their own maths homework on their expense accounts.
