Proud to be a Hard-core Home Educator

by Beverley Paine

Lately I've been going through a hard-core home educator phase - I know that there are really truly fantastic and wonderful parents who opt to put their children through the school experience and who believe it was and is okay and really good for them, blah, blah, blah. And I know LOTS of young people in their 20s who went to school and are lovely people - as lovely as my wonderful three.

But I am going through this very intolerant phase right now where I think of all the time and opportunities wasted during those school years and of the unlearning that needs to be done to break through those useless assumptions that will dog their lives for years to come...

And these young people are the ones that have a chance of challenging those assumptions because their parents obviously put the time and energy and care that was needed. There are plenty of other young people I know who startle me with their ignorance, apathy, attitude - and sadden me as I watch them fall into despair and harm's way. Far from protecting these children from not so brilliant parenting and giving them choice and a chance, their experience of school reinforced the self-esteem destroying messages these children were exposed to from an early age.

I believe, albeit along with a lot of other factors, school is implicitly responsible for the woes in our society. Which is why I'm going through a hard-core home educator phase at the moment! I usually don't like to be so militant in my approach - I work hard to be inclusive and supportive. However, seeing young people with messed up lives makes me angry. I want to blame someone and so I blame the parents and the schools and the teachers and the whole school system. Humanity can do so much better than this - and does!

Home education, in its modern revision, has proven beyond doubt that there is a gentler, kinder and saner way to bring up and educate young people. It is time the school system started looking at why we are succeeding and natural socialisation is one of the main reasons. Perhaps then I'd feel less angry and frustrated and more hopeful for the future.