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Educational Philosophies/ |
Example 6 |
For ********* SUMMARY This report covers the year to February 15, 2003 and concerns the education provision provided by us to our daughter F. We confirm that we have provided an education suitable to F’s age, aptitude and ability as required by Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act. F continues to enjoy many and varied activities and experiences with both ourselves and others. Her understanding and knowledge of the world continues to expand and deepen as a result. She is also developing and improving a variety of skills, including reading and writing. We are happy with her development over a wide range of areas and are confident that our approach and provision in the coming year will continue to meet her needs. APPROACH We believe that F, like all children, has an innate inquisitiveness about the world. Learning is a natural process and is not a result of ‘teaching’. Indeed, formal instruction and intervention can in fact block this natural learning. She is a thinking and exploring person who is excellent at picking up new skills, finding out new knowledge and learning about the world she lives in. Our role is to facilitate her search for knowledge and meaning. If she wants to know something, we help her discover the information she wants. More importantly, we are happy to discuss and talk about the world, beyond simple facts and figures. We have many purposive conversations about a whole range of topics – moral, political, environmental and social. We practice a few basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics when the opportunity arises and at F’s instigation. We also help her follow her interests through projects, activities and other experiences. Formal instruction plays little part in her education. All her considerable learning to date has come from real experience of the world – learning through doing, thinking and talking. Some people refer to this approach as ‘autonomous’. To us, it involves following F’s lead rather than dictating what she should be ‘learning’. The result is that she is quite self-motivated and keen to find out those things that interest her. She picks up information easily because it fits into her current knowledge and relates to her interests. Her natural sense of enquiry and desire to know more about the world is supported and encouraged by the freedom to explore. Central to ensuring that our provision meets F’s needs we provide a wide range of experiences – social, physical and imaginative. Learning by doing is by far the most effective and efficient method of development. A wide range of sources of information are available when she wants to know more about a particular experience. Learning is not confined to a particular place or time but is an on-going process rather than an artificially separate event. We undertake many activities, all of which allow F to explore and learn about the world. ACTIVITY THIS YEAR We have managed to provide F with a wide range of activity this year, from a variety of daily and weekly events, to a number of trips, visits and holidays. Daily Activity Reading – we have always read books to F, both at bedtime and at other times. She also listens to story tapes. She has an advanced understanding of plots, characters and prefers quite long and complicated books. Her speech and vocabulary are excellent and often commented upon by others. F’s own reading has developed this year. She has started to read simple books and can read and understand most signs we encounter. She has developed her confidence and belief in her ability to read because we have not pushed or coerced her to perform by a certain age. Most days also include physical exercise, either swimming, walking, cycling or simply playing outside. She also uses our rowing machine occasionally but only to do a short distance! Weekly Activity We are involved in two local groups of home educators. They meet alternate weeks, so every week one of the groups is meeting. The groups are primarily about people getting together, although some activities also take place. We recently found out about the Chinese New Year, painted banners, made dragons and models of our birth-year animal. In this last year we have visited Manchester Science Museum, Magna Discovery Centre in Sheffield, Tulley House Museum in Carlisle and made Roman shoes, played ‘cooperative’ games, explored and fired air powered rockets, and several other activities and visits. Not to mention endless games of football and ‘stuck in the mud’. F goes to Brownies, gymnastics and pottery each week, and usually has a swimming lesson. She is working on several badges with Brownies and has made some great items at pottery. She watches a few schools programmes on TV during term time, her favourite being XP – primary science. She is also very keen on wildlife, history and archaeology programmes and recently we followed the Life of Mammals, What the Victorians/Tudors/Stuarts Did for Us, and Time Team. Projects With a local carpenter, she has made a hedgehog house and a bird box. Both projects she designed and built herself. With an older friend, she has started to explore different cultures and national dress from around the world. She is currently putting together a folder of information on wolves. Her Grandparents have provided the finance for her to adopt a wolf at a sanctuary in Berkshire which has excited her. She has made a terrarium and continues to look after her rabbit and gerbils. She has become quite good at identifying the birds that come to our home-made bird table. She has visited Leighton Moss several times and recently saw a Bittern. Visits, Trips & Holidays - Tenerife – wildlife centre, volcanoes and lava tubes, different
sands. We have recently joined the National Trust, and are planning to visit many of their properties this coming year. DEVELOPMENT Our busy year has provided many opportunities for F to grow and develop. As mentioned above, she is now more actively developing her reading. We have no doubt that she will master it and expect good progress this coming year. Her writing is fairly good and we encourage her to write as often as possible. She takes pride in producing neat cards for relations. She is starting to use our computer to practice writing in this format. She exchanges pictures and notes with a friend regularly. F has always been quite numerate, finding a basic understanding of number easy from an early age. She has continued to further her understanding through the practical projects and scientific enquiries we have made. We do quite a lot of ‘scientific’ projects and experiments since this is principally to do with how the world works. F’s thinking and reasoning skills continue to develop as well as her knowledge about the world. Her many experiences and activities allow her to develop in a broad and holistic way and we feel quite satisfied with her achievements. ***** “The easily observable fact is that children are passionately eager to make as much sense as they can of the world around them, are extremely good at it, and do it as scientists do, by creating knowledge out of experience.” John Holt, ‘Learning All The Time’ 1989 |
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