Real Life Education

Whilst looking at the question of why leap years exist with my youngest son I learned that the term calendar derives from the latin name Kalens

which meant the first day of the month. Had my son been at school we would not have had time to discuss the gregorian and julian calendars and to learn that every four hundred years three leap years had to be removed to keep time accurate. As a parent with a foot in the camps of both home and state education I witness my teenage son being 'educated' at school month after month by being taught how to answer the test papers he is set and the contrast is stark. Since stepping into the realms of home education my attitude towards our state education and its exam system has changed.I now regard home as being the primary educational setting and school as merely an additional tool to enhance my childrens' learning opportunities.I didn't always feel like that but my experience of home education showed me how the current educational system dumbs our children down and fails to prepare them for the outside world by knocking the ability from them to experiment, ask questions, and challenge things. There is just no time, teachers have a curriculum to follow and woe betide those who get behind they may just get a bad ofsted report. By far the most valuable learning experiences my children have received have had nothing whatsoever to do with SATS or GCSE's. As Scouts and Explorer scouts my children have been offered the opportunity to camp, learn cookery, do woodwork and rock climbing. At the age of fourteen my son travelled round Cumbria on our rail system with three other Explorer Scouts, found his accomadation, budgeted and cooked his own food and never missed a train. He even made his way from Windermere lake to Eskdale under cover of darkness as part of a Man Hunt- just walking that distance is a feat in itself, never mind sleeping overnight without cover! Similarly our local Community Choir and orchestra offer opportunities to take part in workshops,play and sing with people of different ages and abilities and go away together. We are teaching our children to 'take control' of their lives. It doesn't start when they leave school. They are living right now and will learn as long as they are enjoying themselves. They don't need to work for someone else, they can work for themselves if that's what they want to do. They don't need to be 'clever' by academic standards. (The current GCSE'S aren't worth much to them anyway) They need to stand out as the people who will'give it a go', will offer to work for free to gain experience and have a positive 'can do' attitude to life which is so often knocked out of our children by a system which continually sends them the message that academic subjects are so much more important than being creative, flexible and adaptable. If what I'm saying strikes a chord then Guerilla Learning- How to give your children a Real Education with or without school by Grace Llwellan and Amy Silver is a great book to read to give you some ideas. It may just change your world! Learning is continuous- it doesn't end at 16 or 18 or after university so no matter what grades your children are predicted to get. They're not destined to a low paid manual job for the rest of their lives as many teachers will tell them. They just need your support and to know you're behind them as they pursue their interests!