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Educational Philosophies/ |
Example 9 |
Dear Ms C RE: A (**/**/**) - Home Based Education In response to your letter dated xxx. Much of what we are doing is the same or similar to what we were doing the last time I wrote, just on a different level and our educational philosophy remains the same. Bearing this in mind I have recycled parts of the letter I sent to the LEA last year and amended other parts. This letter, as a whole, is not the same letter I sent last year; as I said then, I have better things to do with my time than spend weeks composing a letter and so the bits that needed changing have been changed and those that remain the same have remained the same. I am using an autonomous approach to education, or rather A is using an autonomous approach to education and I am facilitating this in every possible way. I believe that autonomous education is about allowing a learner to have their own learning experience which belongs to them. It is neither about producing product for inspection or having it tailored to woefully narrow limitations of any sort of school curriculum. LEA Inspections are not therefore relevant to the autonomous approach to education. If a person understands autonomous education they will also understand that a parent who is providing an autonomous education will not suddenly stop this provision. Once the LEA is convinced that a child is receiving an efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude then it can be understood, in the case of autonomous education, that the child will be receiving an efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude for the rest of their life. I hope I have explained my educational philosophy to your satisfaction, now I will talk about our life. We do not assess, judge, work to set time-tables, have work put on display for other people to judge or assess; how can a mere mortal assess emotional and creative intelligence? We do not work to a timetable, we do not have set hours in which we learn, we do not see learning as the prerogative of the under 18’s, we do not study things that are not relevant to our lives, we do not limit ourselves to learning only what is on the national curriculum, we do not limit our physical activities to half an hour one day a week, we do not spend time with groups of people who have no respect for us, we do not have to follow peer group pressure. What we do is:- Learn from life – A has developed into a charming, well adjusted person who can hold her own with children and adults alike. She has the confidence to travel on her own, to visit other home educators in Dorset and South Devon. A and her home educated friends are planning to go on a weekend trip to London soon to see the sights. I have complete confidence in her as she very sensible and yet still full of fun, a typical teenager without the tantrums! Read a selection of both fiction and non fiction – A reads adult fact and fiction, ie A first course in Psychology-third edition, Gone with the wind, The Pianist, Bridget Jones Diary, About a boy, White Teeth by Zadie Smith and the latest Harry Potter book, over 700 pages read in under 36 hours. Research things which are of interest to us – A’s Grandparents’ roles in the WW2, fashion and computer technology, the Geography of towns and countries we are about to visit - we are going to Madeira later this year, and much more. Watch programmes on C4 and BBC2 that go out during school hours - Most often we watch programmes of interest featuring Geography, History, Science and Media studies which lead us to further research through reading our own books, visiting the library or museum and visiting places of interest further afield. Science experiments - many and varied with results that are remembered. Cooking and baking - the results of which are devoured by friends and family. Swimming - at one or other of the local public pools with other home educators and friends. Ten pin bowling - as with swimming but taking advantage of lower rates during school hours. Planting and watching the growth of living things - resulting in beautiful flowering tubs and a working herb garden. Activities - A goes to a Tap Dancing class, a Drama/Improvisation Workshop and is about to start going to a Karate Class, she does these activities with friends and other home educators. Craft work – card making, candle making, rug making, glass painting, paper making (recycling skills!) soap making, making musical instruments, sewing - making clothes and toys and many other craft activities too numerous to mention. Arts - we paint with oil paints, watercolours and acrylics, we also use pencil and pen and ink to draw with and experiment with pastels and other mediums, most often we make cards and presents for friends and family. Music - we both play the piano (A is self-taught) and A has weekly Flute lessons, we also have a house full of percussion instruments and A is starting to learn how to play the guitar. Attend meetings with other home educators - I actually contacted all other home educators in Devon when we first started to home educate and instigated the first meetings for a long time in Exeter. There are now weekly meetings in Exeter and Crediton, some concerned with a more structured form of education, others being informal get togethers. We feel that it is quite an achievement as the meetings are in their third year of running and are still as successful as ever. Media studies - A is still interested in all aspects of media and is going to try to get some work experience with Radio Devon or another local radio station later this year. Computing- A uses both Microsoft PC and Apple Macintosh computers daily has an Apple iBook laptop. As I said in one of my earlier letters, she knows far more than most adults when it comes to computer use and is always helping me out of sticky situations. Amie continues to work on her digital photography and is excellent at digitally re-mastering images. Creative writing – A is still writing stories for younger children and for herself based on her experiences and the experiences of friends, she continues to write magazines for her friends and has edited several editions of the Children’s Pages - a supplement to the Education Otherwise Newsletter. Languages - we both like to speak a little French and Spanish, enhanced by a recent and future visits to the Canary Isles and Paris. Use practical mathematics in everyday life. A has progressed and continues to learn through life, she has chosen not to work for GCSEs this year and if she wants to follow an academic path may go on to do A levels at college in a year or two. As I said at the beginning, we learn from life. There are probably many things that have not been included but that are done and learned from all the same. I cannot say that we will do exactly the same things every year, for instance, we may go Ice Skating or use the Dry Ski Slope instead of going Ten Pin Bowling, A may decide not to have Flute lessons but to learn how to play the guitar or saxophone or to do all of those things. The world is our oyster and we don’t have to work within a strict guideline or timetable, in fact we learn more outside school hours than was ever learnt between 9am and 3pm. I believe that the LEA has a duty to support efficient education. If the LEA hamper or obstruct the efficient autonomous education provided then they are in breach of their duties. My daughter, A, has already attended school and been failed by it, was this the school or the LEA failing to provide an efficient, full-time education suitable to my daughter’s age, ability and aptitude? Going back to my educational philosophy; I am aware that educating autonomously can bring difficulties for the LEA, as it is not simply a modified form of education at home but an entirely different philosophy of learning and life. LEAs in general are not equipped to understand or support autonomous learning. I know that LEAs have no authority to impose a particular style of learning, more importantly LEAs actually have a duty to support efficient education and if they hamper or obstruct efficient autonomous education they are in breach of their duties. If this were the case then I would have every right to complain; no government body has a right to behave in an intimidating manner, the moment they do so they are in the wrong regardless of other issues. Yours sincerely |
