Fighting the dumbing down of our children

Education is a popular subject for politicians of all shades to opine upon, especially when there is an election due or at times when exam results are announced, such as the GCSE results. Each announcement seems to result in another round of accusations regarding what is perceived as the dumbing down of the education system and, as a result, the dumbing down of our children. Amongst the latest pearls of wisdom to fall from ministerial lips is that lessons in lifestyle are of more use than those that teach the 3 R's. Students, of course, insist that their results are brought into being by sheer hard work. So what is the answer?

I'm impressed by the number of parents in the USA who homeschool their kids, and so I stated to investigate the system here in the UK. Certainly, the Moms that I know of in he States who are involved in homeschooling swear by it, and are certain that their children are better of because of it. Additionally I think that one GREAT benefit to homeschooling is the increased closeness between parent and child, and also the greater parental control over their children's lives in general. In my (albeit limited) experience of children who have been homeschooled I have found that the children tend to be brighter, more alert to the world around them, better mannered, and with a greater interest in things beyond an endless round of video/computer games.

One thing that is not perhaps generally known is that here in the UK whilst education is compulsory, school attendance is not, and so the way is wide open for more parents to consider home-schooling. A great website to find out more about the subject is familyonwards.com, and there is a lot of advice offered by Jill Curtis, a senior psychotherapist working in the UK, who is the author of many books helping people to find the answers to family problems, including Does Your Child have a Hidden Disability?

There are many reasons why parents might consider home-schooling their children, including the fact that they are not happy with the education system that's on offer. Equally it may well be that their children have particular needs that they perceive are not being met by the current system, especially if they have a child with a learning or behavioural problem.

The following extract is advice given on the familyonwards.com homeschooling page:

If home schooling is something you are considering you should contact the Home Education Advisory Service (www.heas.org.uk). Members of the charity HEAS have access to an advice line for curriculum guidance, and a specialist Dyslexia Helpline. The Department for Education and Skills sets out conditions parents have to fulfill in order to educate their child at home; these can be seen on their website www.dfes.gov.uk. In the US look at Homeschool Internet Yellow Pages at http://www.homeschoolyellowpages.com/

I wonder what you think about it, dear reader. Do you perhaps have personal experience of homeschooling? Perhaps you were homeschooled yourself. Why not share your experiences through the comments section of this post. Maybe you just disagree with the whole idea. Whatever you think, why not let me know about it.