Performance Enhancing?

It is the case that most of us discover just how insightful and generally all round brilliant we really are after a couple of glasses of something or other. And yes, it turns out to be completely true...for yesterday night, in the interests of science, and after about four units of red wine, I increased my score on Big Brain Academy by a whopping three whole notches - which may not be good news for my liver, since the next day, I was back to my previous sober best.

Perhaps this is why I find the news from Future Pundit that human brain cells can replictate in culture so very inspiring. Brain cells or liver cells, either would be good enough for me.

Costs/Benefits

By way of consoling myself as regards the expense of home education, I regularly compare costs with private schooling. A recent estimate from Charles Moore of the Spectator set the price of putting a child through private school at approximately £250k, so there aren't too many worries there.

However we do have to concede the case with regard to state schooling, with current parental expenditure estimated at £14,000 for a school-life. But of course when you take value for your money into account, home education wins hands down.

Pearl Update

It seems that the number of bloggers and their commentators who will no longer tolerate the child beating teachings of Michael and Debi Pearl continues to grow. See here by way of an example.

Pot Calling Kettle Black?

With what is becoming a bit of a theme here - following on from the last post about ill-educated nursery nurses, we now hear that tests of teacher trainees show that one in 10 recruits has trouble with the spelling of words such as "receipt".

Just wondering what a Nursery Nurses Union would make of that? "Benny Hawkins in the Staffroom" would seem only fair.

HT: Tom Morris. (Bother...don't seem to be able to link to you right now.)

Vicky Pollard, the Nursery Nurse?

This story from the Guardian seems to have arrived courtesy of a press release from the Professional Association of Teachers - yes those them ones with a fairly recent notorious history of unresearched HE bashing and other frankly dotty suggestions, so perhaps all in all, one needn't take this story too seriously.

But whichever way you look at it, you wouldn't want your child in the school system since either the story is true, in which case, you don't, or it is not and you still don't, given that the voice of teachers would therefore be so out of whack.


HT: Jonathan

The Home Educator's Town Square Test

Home educated Lulie stands up for what she believes in and wonders whether Britain is really a free society. Hmmm...looks like the jury might be still out on that one.

Moral Equivalences

Gil posted this a while back but it comes to mind on a daily basis atm, and seems as pertinent as ever...so here it is.

What's Going On?

DS's sense of humour is getting in the way these days. For example after watching me beavering away as quickly as possible to get some work at home done, he chimes in, not awfully helpfully,

"You servants are all the same. Taking money from the rich and keeping it for yourselves."

The thought that he may be mutating into Eric Cartmen has completely put me off my stride.

"Bully"

This new game from the makers of Grand Theft Auto looks set to cause a stir. Not only does it contain scenes of violence (which will result in the usual splurge of outraged condemnation), but the violence takes place in a school, which will doubtless also result in school advocates getting in a tizz at being so represented.

Note, I didn't say mis-represented since from the little that can be gathered from the blurb, it doesn't look as if it is far removed from at least two of our local senior schools, where we know of children who have been headbutted, knifed, pushed downstairs, had their heads slammed against walls and mirrors and fingers slammed in doors as well as having all their stuff repeatedly nicked.

But that is only a tiny reason why we HE. We HE because HE is a fun and great way to learn!

Muddle Puddle

Hey, it's happened...I'm there, on the Muddle Puddle Early Years Blog Ring! (See side-bar). Yippeeee...and thanks Jax for sorting this.

Costs of Creativity

Daniel at Key Words coincidentally almost exactly duplicates a conversation I had yesterday with someone who has just completed their physics doctorate. Daniel and this person both maintain that intelligence is often perceived, particularly in early stages of education, to be linked to the replication of accepted dogma and that more lateral, creative and critical thinking (of the kind that best serves post-doctorate researchers, for example), is often regarded very poorly during this same early stages.

I suppose I did have an inkling that this was the case, but it's nice to have it confirmed by people in the field.

What We Do in the Countryside

We had a fantastic night out in a beautiful local pub not so long ago. Sounds rather peculiar when you know what it was exactly, but it really was one of the best nights I've ever experienced, for a number of completely unforgettable reasons.

It happened to be the first time that I have managed to get to the local Philosophy Circle...format: one hour lecture, followed by discussion from the floor. I have never listened so attentively as I did that hour. (The first memorable thing). It felt as if my life depended upon what was said, so intriguing was the subject, and so relevant with regard to what is currently going on with the terrorist threat.

Second memorable thing: I simply basked in the reflected glory of accompanying two people who's minds quite clearly don't fit easily into their skulls and both of whom spoke with such intelligence, clarity and humility.

Third memorable thing: there were other people there whose precision of thought and expression rocks you to the very core, almost as if someone had held a very pleasurable source of electricity to your stomach.

Fourth memorable thing: towards the end of the discussion, one of my accompanying egg-heads very, very mildly shook the entire foundations of the lecture.

Fifth memorable thing: the lecturer said effectively "Hey, you know what, I think you're right". Good grief, that one blew me away too!

Sixth more embarrassingly memorable thing: I did manage to stumble out a proposed solution to the problem, which being a newbie I imagined would be disregarded. Instead it received the sincere recognition from a very experienced and eloquent philosopher.

Anyhow...just realised what the next two lectures are about...yes...my fav topic: two talks on liberty from two different philosophy lecturers. Can't wait!

Desire of Success Causing Childhood Neuroses

There is much that I agree with in this article - A Nation of Wimps from Psychology Today.

The central argument: that parental hyper-concern for children is inhibiting children's development. Other related themes: that this parental hyper-concern and attendant scrutiny is borne of parental perception of the competitive nature of the world out there, that children must be assisted by their parents to win in this race, that children know about and are diminished by this assistance and that unstructured play is an important means towards developing the qualities that lead to an unneurotic adulthood.

I don't have any complaints here. I agree with all this but there are some problems with the extent of the arguments. For example, I don't think hyper-scrutiny is solely the fault of parents; it comes from schools too. The pressure/hyper-scrutiny that is applied to kids in schools means that children realise that significant weight is given to success in various forms, so that they feel devastated when they cannot achieve. School assessments can be almost entirely responsible for this kind of self-appraisal and damage, leading children to develop the paradigm that the world is indeed relentlessly competitive, that co-operation is not an option, that they must always strive to be on top and yet are forever unlikely to get there. All of which doesn't look like a recipe for terrific mental health.

This does undoubtedly all go on, so what is the answer. Of course I am going to say HOME EDUCATION, but then one of the common criticisms of home education is that the children are over-protected by their parents, therefore giving their child the impression that the world is a dangerous place out there, and generally turning their kids into neurotic messess that way. These claims, though, are usually a load of old hogwash, particularly if children are educated autonomously. Not only are they not clossetted away in a classroom, having a better chance of actually seeing how the real world actually works, but they also have choices over their own life right from the beginning. They can be assisted to make rational decisions when they need the help, but they only rely on their own appraisals to test the success of their own ambitions, which means that very little terrifying weight is given to the idea of success and failure. The autonomously educated child can fail at things and it is only by his own assessment that this failure matters. He knows that he is still safe to carry on, that failure doesn't risk the loss of love, attention, or in anyway compromise his survival.

Because his successes or failures are only measured in his own terms, he doesn't introject the lesson that is implied by the school system, that the whole of life is relentlessly competitive, and that meaningful co-operation is a non-starter. Nor does he have to face the issue of where he comes in the pecking order, since he simply will not know most of the time, nor will it matter. What matters instead is that he solves the problems that he considers important to solve, which is surely as much as one could ask.

Parenting children to facilitate their autonomy is not a matter of being hyper-involved. It means being available to be asked for help, which is a different thing. Also, the play that is mentioned in the article as being beneficial to development is an integral part of learning for the autonomously educated child, there being almost no distinction between play and the work of learning.

HT: Karen at The Thomas Institute,

Leave Us Alone

It seems that home educators everywhere would usually prefer to be left alone. From the Washington Times, Michael Smith of the HSLDA puts a couple of arguments in favour of freedom for HEors.

Am only hoping that he has it wrong in the last paragraph and that we will eventually be able to put this whole tiresome issue aside. Perhaps, when state officials eventually realize that monitoring us when we don't want to be monitored, and telling us what to do when we would rather be doing something else, that this effectively means that parents are absolved of responsibility for the education of children, which therefore means that any family who has been let down by state education will have a righteous grievance and a case in court...perhaps then HEors will eventually get left alone.

Poor old Puerto Ricans...looks like their government hasn't got it yet. Here's hoping the HEors there have the nous to put the case.

HT: Spunky

The Muddles We Make

By way of demonstrating very neatly why it is so important to have a good grasp of ethics and theories of knowledge and to be able to express these as clearly as possible, we have the following:

I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION .
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL .
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC .
" Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT .
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY .
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS .
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM .
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA .
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER .
"This room of yours look's as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY .
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE .
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION .
"Stop acting like your father!"

15 . My mother taught me about ENVY .
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION .
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE .
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP .
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOUR .
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS .
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS .
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM .
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favourite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE .
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you"

Makes me realise quite how wonderful the theories of Taking Children Seriously really are. At least TCS grown-ups shouldn't be making these kinds of mistakes, ie: errors of thinking, judgement and expression!

Philosophy of Liberty

We all enjoyed this flash animation explaining the principles of freedom. Simple, straightforward, and triggering some important points of discussion, eg: whether or not it contains a particularly accurate perception of the nature of time, and then some quibbles over the "initiation of force" issue.

HT: Chris O'Donnell

David Deutsch on Fixing the Big Problems

Playing catch-up yet again. Here's an article from the Telegraph from November last, which is characteristic of the writer's work in that it is elegant, precise, informed, visionary and essentially optimistic. What more could one ask?

Big England

Dave at Temperama is continuing his Big England series with a post of mine on the subject. Was very flattered to be asked and have loved reading the other contributions, such at this from Roldy.

Education Research Also Gets a Fail

Continuing with the theme from the previous post, on the matter of the embarrassingly ignorant, misconceived, mis-directed state of thinking in and now behind education policy, we have this from the National Foundation for Education Research, (NFER), a body largely funded by the DfES and LAs.

Every home educating list, (well, all the ones I'm on anyhow) has carried strong objections to what looks like a propaganda piece for LAs. Home Educators are right to object. What more needs to be said when we hear that the researchers were teachers and the four home educating families who were selected to partake in the research were put forward by the LAs? No wonder you end up with this sort of response:

"Parents noted the benefits of local authority officers having a teaching background. A keen interest in, and a connection with, the children was considered key to the development of an effective relationship between the local authority and families. "

Whaaa? Effective for whom exactly? It might serve the authorities very well in their mission to control, but I've yet to hear of any HE family who has been bowled over by the help provided by an LA, teachers or no teachers, and even if we were to be offered all this help, we CERTAINLY don't want to HAVE to have it. The thing is, help will only come with scrutiny and this scrutiny is more than likely to actually damage learning in the situation that families feel the pressure to produce for the LA rather than attending to the specific needs of their children.

At least now we know what the LAs really want. It is out there, in its full awfulness:

"Local authority personnel's legal concerns led them to propose the following: that all parents register their intent to home educate with the local authority; that the term "efficient and suitable" full-time education be more accurately defined; and, because of the local authority's responsibility with regard to safeguarding children, a requirement for EHE children to be seen by professionals (although local authorities are responsible for safeguarding and promoting children's welfare, they do not have powers to enter homes). Other recommendations fell under the remit of monitoring and assessment and included the importance of monitoring the educational provision made for EHE children and the need for regular assessments to determine EHE children's educational progress. "

Ok, so where does all this monitoring actually stop? Perhaps we should monitor the monitors just to make sure that their learning is up to scratch. In fact, by their own argument surely they must see this as essential. Given the evidence so far presented, it is quite clear that the policy makers and the LAs haven't got a good grounding in very much at all that is pertinent here, eg: in how to undertake or read research, or in learning theory, or in the British tradition of freedom for the populace. It looks as if we must set rather a large amount of homework for marking with a final examination on the subjects of the problems of scientism and statistics, epistemology, ethics and including a large section on the reasons for the importance of freedom and the dangers of subjugation of people.

However, I personally would rather not bother. How about this idea: we will leave you alone to get on with stuff that might be useful, and you leave us alone to get on with stuff that will be useful?

Go here to lodge objections with the NFER and to provide further rather more accurate information than they've managed to seek out so far.

Education Policy Gets a Fail Mark

Blimey, if you followed my last post, you were doing well. To be fair, I was in a huge hurry this am, and it is interesting (well to me anyhow) to see what spills out in such a situation. Basically, it seems that my inclination towards pedantry, (a hopefully usually recessive genetic aspergic trait) pops up when I let myself go unedited.

By way of a contrast and as a picture of clarity and good sense, and a more legal viewpoint, please see the ARCH comment for a very satisfactory critique of Prof Archard's piece.

But before signing out, there is more on the matter of what the government is proposing for schools, on this occasion from The Times. Don't worry, I'm not going to start all over again, though GOOD GRIEF, it's tempting - all those hidden genes are bubbling to the surface at this very moment....just look at this for an example of provocation to pedantic criticism:

"SCHOOLS would no longer be required to teach children the difference between right and wrong under plans to revise the core aims of the National Curriculum. Instead, under a new wording that reflects a world of relative rather than absolute values, teachers would be asked to encourage pupils to develop “secure values and beliefs”.

Ummm, eerr....no STOP. What I just want to know is - who is it who's actually confused here? Is it government policy makers or the hacks, or as I strongly suspect, is it both?

Anyhow, whoever it is should go read Popper and get their heads slightly more round this subject matter. They could start with Bryan Magee's very succinct Popper if they have to get their policy or copy out in the next few days. Once they've done this and have got at least a basic grasp of ethics and theories of knowledge, and then visited the ARCH website just to make sure they aren't infringing any current legislation, THEN and only THEN should they start offering up their ideas on these sorts of issues.