A blog which is mainly about home educating in the UK.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
And Another...
At the risk of becoming tedious, (see two preceeding posts on the subject of DCSF and government falsehoods,) Kelly documents yet another porkie, this time by Ed Balls.
campaign is about to be launched in various places, including parts of the capital, appealing for the public's help in tracking down children who are missing from education. Now all those children who are missing from education have one thing in common, one easily identifiable trait which, like the mark of Cain, immediately sets them apart from all other children. They don't go to school. One cannot expect the average citizen to be a great logician. The fact that all children missing from education are also missing school does not mean that all children missing school are missing from education. Never the less, the thrust of the advertising campaign which is about to hit the streets and television screens will be, "Do you know a child who is not at school?". Confidential telephone numbers will be provided so that such children may be reported to the relevant authorities. I found this on that simon Webb blog this looks very worrying i can nasty people phoning the Confidential phone even though they may will knew child is home educated! I bet home educators where not told or asked about this!
As this campaign has gone on it has more and more reminded me of the "innocent until proven Irish" days we lived through. I did look at Webb's blog briefly. I saw others remember those days well too. He doesn't apparently-so they never happened. If the poster campaign does happen I think a lot of us are in for a rough ride. Now we are innocent until proven home educators. As a wheelchair using Catholic I am getting very very worried.
yes who told Simon Webb about this campaign? maybe Badman did? and mum6kids your indeed right to be worried i remember the hate campaign against the irish in london many innocent irish people where reported to the police i think even the authorthy could see near the end of the camaign that it was wrong and that things where geting out of hand with reports of people being beating up just because they sounded Irish! i think the public likes to have some one to blame? any easy target? most send children to school and we as home educators do not they can spot us? its easy then a quick phone call? we got new neighbours next door who think all children should be in school i wonder if they phone that line?
I posted to the HEUK list about a friend who has just finished the 'adjustments' on a campaign who works for a London LA... this was following a post on that list from someone who was in Cumbria.
So it could be a national campaign. Or it could be a couple of isolated LA's. Graphic design friend above has spoken to their collegues in other london LAs and none of them have worked on the same material they had. Local Library here is not aware of any local posters awaiting posting (they always seem to end up on the library boards here). Our old LA (Sussex) is running something over March, but they always do... and they say that they are going to use the terms 'truant from school' and 'without a school place who wish for one'.
Just one tiny positive about local people reporting home edders to the authorities. Our new neighbour, retired primary teacher as we later discovered, was very cool and sniffy towards us and we couldn't figure out why. Then a couple of months later turned nicer than nice. We couldn't fahom this strange about face until our really nice LA EHE inspector asked us, at our next visit, all innocently casual, whether we got on with them. The penny dropped! They'd reported us, but been told we were OK. I think a guilty conscience forced them to be nicer and more helpful towards us than they would otherwise have been, LOL! Just trying to find some tiny crumb out of this ghastly, horrific prospect.
The penny dropped! They'd reported us, but been told we were OK. What if neighbour had been told by LA man you where not ok? LA may even have asked neighbour to watch and record about your children/education? A neighbour could say all sorts of thing to a hostile LA once these things are said they go down in writing.I think it is very worrying to appeal to members of the public to shop any child who is not at school!
campaign is about to be launched in various places, including parts of the capital, appealing for the public's help in tracking down children who are missing from education. Now all those children who are missing from education have one thing in common, one easily identifiable trait which, like the mark of Cain, immediately sets them apart from all other children. They don't go to school. One cannot expect the average citizen to be a great logician. The fact that all children missing from education are also missing school does not mean that all children missing school are missing from education. Never the less, the thrust of the advertising campaign which is about to hit the streets and television screens will be, "Do you know a child who is not at school?". Confidential telephone numbers will be provided so that such children may be reported to the relevant authorities.
ReplyDeleteI found this on that simon Webb blog this looks very worrying i can nasty people phoning the Confidential phone even though they may will knew child is home educated!
I bet home educators where not told or asked about this!
Not good.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Simon Webb found out about it? Did he reveal?
ReplyDeleteGood point carlotta.
ReplyDeleteIncase anyone wants to read the blog entry for themselves heres the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://homeeducationheretic.blogspot.com/2010/01/children-missing-from-education.html
As this campaign has gone on it has more and more reminded me of the "innocent until proven Irish" days we lived through. I did look at Webb's blog briefly. I saw others remember those days well too. He doesn't apparently-so they never happened.
ReplyDeleteIf the poster campaign does happen I think a lot of us are in for a rough ride. Now we are innocent until proven home educators.
As a wheelchair using Catholic I am getting very very worried.
yes who told Simon Webb about this campaign? maybe Badman did? and mum6kids your indeed right to be worried i remember the hate campaign against the irish in london many innocent irish people where reported to the police i think even the authorthy could see near the end of the camaign that it was wrong and that things where geting out of hand with reports of people being beating up just because they sounded Irish! i think the public likes to have some one to blame? any easy target? most send children to school and we as home educators do not they can spot us? its easy then a quick phone call? we got new neighbours next door who think all children should be in school i wonder if they phone that line?
ReplyDeleteI posted to the HEUK list about a friend who has just finished the 'adjustments' on a campaign who works for a London LA... this was following a post on that list from someone who was in Cumbria.
ReplyDeleteSo it could be a national campaign. Or it could be a couple of isolated LA's. Graphic design friend above has spoken to their collegues in other london LAs and none of them have worked on the same material they had. Local Library here is not aware of any local posters awaiting posting (they always seem to end up on the library boards here). Our old LA (Sussex) is running something over March, but they always do... and they say that they are going to use the terms 'truant from school' and 'without a school place who wish for one'.
Just one tiny positive about local people reporting home edders to the authorities. Our new neighbour, retired primary teacher as we later discovered, was very cool and sniffy towards us and we couldn't figure out why. Then a couple of months later turned nicer than nice. We couldn't fahom this strange about face until our really nice LA EHE inspector asked us, at our next visit, all innocently casual, whether we got on with them. The penny dropped! They'd reported us, but been told we were OK. I think a guilty conscience forced them to be nicer and more helpful towards us than they would otherwise have been, LOL!
ReplyDeleteJust trying to find some tiny crumb out of this ghastly, horrific prospect.
The penny dropped! They'd reported us, but been told we were OK.
ReplyDeleteWhat if neighbour had been told by LA man you where not ok? LA may even have asked neighbour to watch and record about your children/education? A neighbour could say all sorts of thing to a hostile LA once these things are said they go down in writing.I think it is very worrying to appeal to members of the public to shop any child who is not at school!