tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post1554953257525613788..comments2024-02-23T10:53:19.705+00:00Comments on Dare to Know: A Typical Reply from DCSF and a Typical Response from a Home EducatorCarlottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-33403226981690452442009-02-20T05:05:00.000+00:002009-02-20T05:05:00.000+00:00Hi,Am pretty sure that the DCSF aren't saying that...Hi,<BR/><BR/>Am pretty sure that the DCSF aren't saying that overall we are more likely to abuse our kids, just that the rates of abuse are likely to be higher in the HE community. I don't think they said this directly though. I think they merely implied it by suggesting that some parents think HE would be a good way to hide abuse, which again would suggest that the rate was higher in the HE community.<BR/><BR/>Plus, Anon, it isn't a "complete" misunderstanding of what the DCSF are saying, because I myself understood what they were saying as you describe it, and have been spending a reasonable amount of time since then, explaining to the DCSF why it is unnecessary to change the laws in order to solve the problem of some parents withdrawing their child from school as a cover for abuse.Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-81083759305450345602009-02-20T01:24:00.000+00:002009-02-20T01:24:00.000+00:00Anonymous said..."There also seems to be a complet...<B>Anonymous said...</B><BR/>"There also seems to be a complete misunderswtandingof what the DCSF are saying. They do not say that home educators are statistically more likely to abuse their children, simply that HE could be a cover for those who do it."<BR/><BR/><B>Of course they are saying that home educators are statistically more likely to abuse their children!</B> Think about it (go, on, try): if there are about 150,000 HE children (an upper limit) and at least 8,000,000 in school, then HE children have to be more than 50 times as likely to be abused for the two groups to have equal numbers of abused. The insinuation is that it's much more.<BR/><BR/>Now do you see why HE parents are (a) annoyed and (b) superior?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-5391931615602382972009-02-12T11:10:00.000+00:002009-02-12T11:10:00.000+00:00Anon,"What is annoying is that you all appear to t...Anon,<BR/><BR/>"What is annoying is that you all appear to think you are superior to those of us who send our children to school."<BR/><BR/>That's because I know I am.<BR/>I could care less if I annoy or please people that send their children to school.<BR/><BR/>"I have read the posts on Facebook and find them insulting and patronisg to those who send their children to school."<BR/><BR/>Nevermind how the posts make you feel. Are they right or wrong? Do you have a good counter argument?<BR/><BR/>"If you all didnt have such a superiority complex then the general public might not have such a tainted view of home education."<BR/><BR/>I have no reason to be humble in this regard. People that send their children to school, against their children's individual will, are morally inferior to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-56817199795445834472009-02-07T14:58:00.000+00:002009-02-07T14:58:00.000+00:00CarlottaI am sorry if this appeared to be a person...Carlotta<BR/><BR/>I am sorry if this appeared to be a personal attack on you, it wasnt. I know the majority of HE parents simply want what is best for thier children as you appear to do. However,within the HE community there are those who see school educated children and to some degree their parents as lesser beings and they do little to advance the cause of HE in general.<BR/><BR/>I still think that individual responses from HE parents with their own thoughts would have more weight than hundreds of responses containing lines prepared by Education Otherwise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-77757549086585857162009-02-07T13:47:00.000+00:002009-02-07T13:47:00.000+00:00Oh, and as to answering your question, if we are i...Oh, and as to answering your question, if we are individualists, we are unlikely to defer to others or to the authority of EO.<BR/><BR/>However it seems to me that the HE community has been listening to each other remarkably well. We draw ideas from one another all the time, and are getting very good at listening to criticism and taking it on board when it proves good and useful. <BR/><BR/>I personally have used an awful lot of the ideas of others, eg: in my consult response, and in letters to MPs.<BR/><BR/>As I said, please do point to the bits I've missed. EO's campaign site refers back to this blog as one example of a consult response, so we can't be too far apart in approach, I would have thought.Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-25993793561495483482009-02-07T13:42:00.000+00:002009-02-07T13:42:00.000+00:00Hi Anon,I can't speak for other HEors...we are a d...Hi Anon,<BR/><BR/>I can't speak for other HEors...we are a diverse bunch, with wildly varying views on many things, but I personally have no problem with people who send their children to school who are happy there. Heavens, huge numbers of my friends use schools and most of the children are happyish there. <BR/><BR/>I am sorry if you have ever read anything here that gave you any other impression. <BR/><BR/>I do however, have real problems with the idea of leaving miserable children in school where they are bored and find their education irrelevant as huge numbers reportedly do....see<BR/><BR/>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/4297452/School-is-boring-and-irrelevant-say-teenagers.html<BR/><BR/>Education under these circumstances is surely less efficient than when you have highly motivated, interested learners, and to that extent it is not a suitable ed.<BR/><BR/>You are also wrong with regard to me and authority...I do not have a problem with authority per se. I have a problem with authorities when I think they are wrong about something. I also think it is wrong to force someone to do something when they think it is the wrong thing to do. <BR/><BR/>I don't like our local public school motto..."serve and obey". Must have been dreamt up during some era when they needed cannon fodder in one form or another. I don't want my children to do this; I want them to think for themselves and do what is right.<BR/><BR/>As to why hide...I am not hiding. I just don't want to have to show my life, in it's entirety, all its intricacies and intimacies to a complete stranger who is likely to know next to nothing about it, or next to nothing how it works and yet who has a complete power of judgement over it. <BR/><BR/>HE takes place in the intimate sphere of family life and is not separate from it, so inspection amounts to having the state examine your most intimate life. This rightly should only be done when there is due cause, otherwise all parents everywhere will relinquish the right to privacy. <BR/><BR/>If the state insists that LAs have a duty to ensure that children reach the 5 "outcomes", that your child achieves and makes a positive contribution for example, this will in effect apply to all parents everywhere. Parents will have relinquished what should rightly be their freely chosen parental duties.Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-22824773509142028582009-02-07T13:24:00.000+00:002009-02-07T13:24:00.000+00:00I don't appear to have answered my question, nor h...I don't appear to have answered my question, nor have you. What is annoying is that you all appear to think you are superior to those of us who send our children to school. I have read the posts on Facebook and find them insulting and patronisg to those who send their children to school. My childrens school is a place of fun, enjoyment and laughter and they also learn a graet deal. If you all didnt have such a superiority complex then the general public might not have such a tainted view of home education. However you seem to have a dislike of authority. There also seems to be a complete misunderswtandingof what the DCSF are saying. They do not say that home educators are statistically more likely to abuse their children, simply that HE could be a cover for those who do it. If you ahve nothing to hide then why hide?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-57562019841932842542009-02-07T03:40:00.000+00:002009-02-07T03:40:00.000+00:00Err, haven't you answered your own question, anon?...Err, haven't you answered your own question, anon? <BR/><BR/>However, slightly more constructively, could you tell us which bits we've missed. Am quite prepared to think that I have missed something of importance, so do tell.Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-70274945713221255982009-02-06T22:21:00.000+00:002009-02-06T22:21:00.000+00:00Why do you home educators witter on about individu...Why do you home educators witter on about individualism and freedom of thought yet seem unable to write a response to a government department without seeing what others have written and getting guidance from eduction otherwise?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-4551421608808337992009-02-05T21:56:00.000+00:002009-02-05T21:56:00.000+00:00I think it is better, but nevertheless I know youn...I think it is better, but nevertheless I know young people who have had pretty bad experiences at boarding school, even if they might not be as bad as they were.<BR/><BR/>DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-26349439942242888292009-02-05T19:57:00.000+00:002009-02-05T19:57:00.000+00:00"That's interesting. In boarding schools in partic..."That's interesting. In boarding schools in particular, it is extremely difficult if not impossible for a child to feel 'safe and well'! If they identify these risks accurately, as they should, and then don't close the schools down, they will be exhibiting the most appalling hypocrisy."<BR/><BR/>Couldn't agree more. I dunno though, perhaps it has got better since the old days, when you could be raped by other children and no-one ever spoke of it again.Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-42917720705369171922009-02-05T13:13:00.000+00:002009-02-05T13:13:00.000+00:00"The Department has recently announced a review of..."The Department has recently announced a review of safeguarding in independent schools, non maintained special schools and boarding schools..."<BR/><BR/>That's interesting. In boarding schools in particular, it is extremely difficult if not impossible for a child to feel 'safe and well'! If they identify these risks accurately, as they should, and then don't close the schools down, they will be exhibiting the most appalling hypocrisy. <BR/><BR/>As you have said, 'a *right* to health, safety etc' is an asinine concept. What they actually mean, perhaps, is a right to be free from the harm caused by supposedly well intentioned carers and parents. But, as you remark, enforcing this is potentially interfering with parents' and children's autonomy. The whole five outcomes and their enforcement needs to be seriously revised in my opinion. Where's the consultation on the this?<BR/><BR/>DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-69984078749358185442009-02-05T12:34:00.000+00:002009-02-05T12:34:00.000+00:00I actually think your response is very very valid,...I actually think your response is very very valid, your reasons and points are soun unlike theirs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-62085357704496329092009-02-05T09:37:00.000+00:002009-02-05T09:37:00.000+00:00Am still feeling furious, despite the very angry c...Am still feeling furious, despite the very angry construction of a reasonably sized snowman! What else can I do to calm down???<BR/><BR/>Am off to look for your response. Perhaps that will help!Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-1068288599528782702009-02-05T09:17:00.000+00:002009-02-05T09:17:00.000+00:00ahh, you were very angry! I have sent a slightly m...ahh, you were very angry! I have sent a slightly modified reply off. await answers!!HelenHaricothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11272384373030929713noreply@blogger.com