It would be slightly more flattering to the human race to be able to attribute Mr Davies' opinions to self-interest rather than ignorant prejudice, but unfortunately it rather looks like the latter. What is new? Do these people ever think to read the papers or try to research stuff before they make public announcements?
From the Weston Mail:
"...what concerns me is that those children (Home Educated ones) will be missing out on developing their social and interpersonal skills with their peers. Education isn't just about reading, writing and mathematics - it's also about understanding the real world outside the home. Schools provide an enriching menu of opportunities, which fully prepares the child for adulthood and beyond."
Ho hum! We will try to do better, Mr Davies. Our weeks filled with swimming, ice-skating, trampolining, pottery, carpentry skills and all sorts of other arts and crafts, science museums, history museums, art galleries, forestry visits to learn forestry skills, visits to hospitals, historical sites, English Heritage buildings, theatres, cinemas, working farms, scout huts and village halls for just pure inadulterated fun of seeing friends and for games of rugby, football, cricket and skateboarding, visits to beaches, other people's homes and a wide variety of places of work, the camping skills, the drumming and music sessions, the sculpture parks, the visits to the vet, the library, the internet cafes, to cities and countries far afield...well clearly none of this is up to scratch, Mr Davies. Thanks for pointing this out.
From what I later heard, he felt that HE children had problems with socialisation because, in his experience as a teacher, some of them had problems adjusting to secondary school.
ReplyDeleteMy question is: Who doesn't?
Bex
Quite so. And I'd also say, it all rather depends upon the nature of the problems and for whom the situation is actually a problem. (Could it be a problem for the teachers rather than the pupils, say?)
ReplyDeleteIf it is the case that HE kids are way too questioning, are "insufficiently" unthinkingly obedient, continue to seek to satisfy their own learning needs, are not content with a suboptimal environment and seek to improve it through one means or another, then I would say that having problems adjusting to secondary school is actually a rather good sign!
Not that Mr Davies is likely to understand this, and I rather agree with Louise Murray on the UK HE list about this point. She says in effect: don't bother preaching to the unconvertible. Just make a public refutation and get on with reaching the people who do matter, ie: parents whose children are unhappy in school.