First there was home education through the eyes of the Liberal Conspiracy.
Then we had a response from David Semple in Scattered Thoughts about Home Schooling.
"Firstly, as a teacher, I’m not willing to be told what I can and can’t empirically examine by a political lobby. Those who provide education in schools are in a position to examine the education provided by home educators."
(...all of which rather suggests that an awareness of one's limits of knowledge and experience, a sense of fallibility and an openness to new knowledge aren't in David Semple's curriculum.)
Thankfully, a response to David's piece by the good Bishop.
5 comments:
That Semple text is so nonsensical it's ridiculous! Thanks heavens for Bishop Hill telling it like it is. Let's hope Semple has a read of that.
From the comments he's certainly read it but hasn't gained anything from doing so. Seems the poor little flower is upset at being called a fascist and thinks it's unfair. {snerk}
oh, he obviously wasn't ready to become involved in the discussion then. I guess I should go and read the comments!
How do you counter-argue this:
"Collectively, as a society, we have a responsibility to our children - who are not the property of their parents and shouldn’t be treated as such."
"This is at the core of my problem with home schooling; parents have replaced the absolute authority of the State with the absolute authority of themselves - and both need to be a lot more open to democratic regulation."
As a quick snipe, I would tell Mr Semple that it reveals how little he knows about many home educators and how they run their lives.
By way of a slightly longer, though still sketchy explanation:
Since we are asking that someone (the state or parent) be answerable for the education and welfare children, who is it ultimately that the state and the parent should really be answerable to?
Since a suitable education takes place in the mind of the individual learner, it is important to weigh the effectiveness of it on an individual basis and since it would seem that the child is best placed to know if that education fits his needs and whether they are being suitably cared for, it is to him that the state or parent should be answerable.
Out of the choice of parent or state, Mr Semple must concede that it is almost always the case that parents are far better placed to be answerable to individual children.
Mr Semple could also benefit from being aware that apart from sheer proximity and other motivations such as love, home educated parents in the UK often make it a point of principle to listen to children and to take what they have to say seriously, so we have in these cases at least, and even more exaggerated method of democratic feed back.
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