Looks as if we may be seeing if we can draw some useful lessons from Oregon in the near future.
From one part of their campaign section:
"Regulation does not help home educators. Home educated students' test scores are the same in states with no substantive oversight of home education as in states with high control. "
That's interesting, since in the UK we hear reports of instances where the learning of some home educated children was actively damaged by insensitive state oversight, with children ceasing to learn effectively for extended periods of time as a result of the anxiety that the interference caused.
I'm wondering if we can put some sort of statistics package together on this, or whether it would just be ignored.
ReplyDeleteI feel very strongly that it is a topic that is worth investigating fully and presenting it as an argument against interference.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, the 2004 Children Act gave LAs the duty to consult with children about their needs, and implies therefore that they should take these needs seriously.
If children's learning is damaged by anxiety and improved in the situation where they can learn effectively without stress, would it not be better to create a such a situation? If children can say that this is indeed the case, how are LAs not going to be regarded as abusive and damaging to their 5 outcomes, if they do insist on monitoring HEing children who would prefer and gain from not being monitored by them?
Isn't Rothermel good enough for this?
ReplyDeleteI think it is definitely a start, but that the particular emphasis on the damaging nature of unwanted scrutiny is something that could be fleshed out in argument much further I think.
ReplyDeleteI recall reading an article in some journal about MRI scans revealing how it could be that anxiety impeded the ability to calculate...the same parts of the brain were seemingly involved...and there was another recent article in New Scientist which suggested that multi-tasking in many areas is actually pretty impossible...all these sorts of arguments could be collated and presented, I think. In fact, I feel there is a book in this, chaps? Anyone game on?
Definitely up for helping in any way possible :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gill. Will be keeping a look out for relevant stuff from now on. If you come across anything, do let me know.
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I will xx
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