PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF HOMESCHOOLING

This is the 7th in my series of articles on homeschooling, my experiences as a secondary school teacher, tutor and trainer in the public school system. Please read my other articles.

So you've made the choice to start homeschooling your child. Now you must make practical arrangements for you to homeschool and for your child/ren to study. Even if you are raring to go and feel that such arrangements will take care of themselves, they will not. Firstly you need to purchase a large box file or a Lever Arch File with file dividers and plastic pockets to go in the binder for correspondence to and from the Local Education Authority and any other agencies regarding the subject of homeschooling.

You must firstly send 2 very important letters that must be worded and spelt correctly and then photocopied, the originals are the one's to be mailed out. It is best if you send these by Recorded Delivery, so that you have a record of the letters sent and don't be surprised if that file is bulging with correspondence before you even start homeschooling.

Homeschooling requires time and you need to set aside a certain amount of time each day and each week for it. This should be a time when you know you will not be disturbed. To start with, at least, arrange a flexible timetable at the beginning of the week for the following week's program of study for your child and what subjects you will cover. Otherwise it will be very easy to go through a complete week meaning to study one particular subject but never quite getting round to it.

It is essential that you perform some preliminary research. If you live in the UK The Department of Education and Skills website details are:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/Schools/ExamsTestsAndTheCurriculum/ExamsTestsAndTheCurriculumArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4015959&chk=EboSyO
The National Curriculum for five to 11 year olds : Directgov - Education and learning

Or if you live in any other part of the world, your local school board's website, or indeed there are many websites that will provide you with the information that you require, for the level that you are to teach your child/ren. Find out as much as you can concerning the National Curriculum for your country because the Local Education Authority/Schoolboard (from now on being referred to as the LEA) will have to satisfy themselves that you and your child/ren are able to achieve the educational standards required by law. They would also need to ensure that:

1. That the homeschooled child/ren would follow the same set of
subjects that would be taken in a public school; and obtaining
guarantees from you that no part of the curriculum would be 'left
to chance.
2. You as the teacher, would set attainment targets or benchmarks
that your child/ren had to reach by certain ages. This would be
to ensure that your teaching was and would become more purposeful
and the use of time was made for each subject and subject area.
3. That you would be following a broadly similar curriculum for the
age of your child/ren as was used in your public school and to
show evidence of your intention to provide continuity in your
child's education.

You will have to compose a study programme spreading each subject and study area over a number of weeks. This will normally be as a minimum approximately 2.5 hours per week for each of the core subjects, English, Maths and Science. 2 hours each for Technology, History and Geography and 1.5 hours per week each for Music, Art, P.E, Environmental Studies and Personal and Social Education (PSE). This would last for a period of 36 weeks. However, you may want to homeschool your child/ren for longer periods each week, reading books to and with your child, you and your child/ren attending a discussion/support group of homeschoolers and their children, with your child/ren having the opportunity to interact and socialise with other homeschooled children.

You may immediately be able to think of when you will be able to spend 21 hours homeschooling your child. However, you may be unsure of the amount of time you can devote to structured homeschooling. Below is a way of working this out in some detail and to enable you to think about homeschooling and the subjects and subject areas to cover, fill in for each day the amount of time in each of these sections. Then add up the total number of hours of homeschooling time that you have available in the week.

_____________________________________________________________________
MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING TOTAL
_____________________________________________________________________
Sunday
_____________________________________________________________________
Monday
_____________________________________________________________________
Tuesday
_____________________________________________________________________
Wednesday
_____________________________________________________________________
Thursday
_____________________________________________________________________
Friday
_____________________________________________________________________
Saturday
_____________________________________________________________________
Total Time
_____________________________________________________________________

Look at your chart and think about the following questions.

* Is anything going to happen in the next few weeks in you or your
child/ren's life that would alter the number of hours that you
have noted down? eg are you going on holiday etc... if there is
something like this then fill in the chart again with a different
coloured pen or pencil for a week during that time.

* Do you have a full 21 hours noted down for the week's homeschooling
on your chart? If not then you need to consider how you can make
21 hours up. How many hours are you short from the 21 hours?
Perhaps you could find some half hours you have not considered
before.

* Have you noted down any periods of longer than 1 hour at a time for
your child/ren to study? It is advisable not to spend too long at
any one time working without a break. 1 hour or 1 and 1/2 hours is
long enough. Longer than that and your child/ren may well find it
hard to concentrate. You will then find that you are spending a
lot of time homeschooling, but getting very little done and your
child/ren will soon get fed up too.

* In which sections of the day is the most time available? You may
find when you begin homeschooling that your child/ren are better
able to study at one time of the day than another and you will only
be able to find this out by trial and error; but it is worth
keeping it in mind. If you do find your child/ren preferences for
study time, then you can adjust your homeschooling plans
accordingly.

The Content of each of these subjects is outlined in your state/country's documents. These basically have 2 major elements.

ATTAINMENT TARGETS What your child/ren should know and be able
to do at each stage;

PROGRAMMES OF STUDY What your child/ren should be taught in order
to reach the attainment targets.

The work in each subject should be parcelled up into groups of related attainment targets (ATs).

In the many documents researched, it does not specify how individual subjects should be taught, or how lessons should be organized. Many country's curriculum's do not specify how much teaching time should be given to each subject, although the attainment targets and programmes of study do reflect general assumptions about the amount of time appropriate for effectively teaching the core and foundation subjects. To meet these requirements, this could be met through such subjects as craft, design and technology, home economics and information technology. This is a matter for you to decide.

ASSESSMENT

A great emphasis must be placed on the assessment that charts your child/ren's progress through the various subjects and you as the homeschooler must continually assess your child/ren and give more formal assessments - called Standard Attainment Tests (SATs) at certain stages.

KEY STAGES

Year groups are now classified into key stages and at the end of each key stage you will have to give your child/ren important formal assessments. However, the transition from Key Stage 2 (the end of primary education) to Key Stage 3 (the beginning of secondary education) must move towards more formal homeschooling within individual subjects.

I personally found it beneficial to dedicate a room just for homeschooling that had a large table where he could sit, with plenty of space (and preferably not your best dining table) and 1 chair for each child and 1 spare for yourself. The room should be light and airy, well ventilated and comfortable.

Other essential furniture/equipment to be purchased:

* A large book case - with at least 2 shelves,
with sliding doors at the bottom, the top shelf
being large enough for display a large academic
calendar.

* 5 Lever Arch Files - 1 each for Schemes of Work,
Lesson Plans/Action Plans,
(for each subject)
Continuous Assessment
Reports for each subject,
Formal Correspondence
Daily Homeschoolers Journal

* 2 A4 Ringbinders for each subject, in different
colours for each subject

* 6 Boxes of hole-punched plastic inserts
(100 inserts per box)

* 10 A4 Wallet Folders for each subject
(different colour for each subject) -
this is for inserting project work that cannot
normally be inserted into a ringbinder.

* Stationery for both you and your child/ren.
Pens, Pencils, Rulers, erasers, scientific
calculator and a holder to put them all in,
sellotape, white envelope labels, A4 size
academic diary, student homework log/journal and
large display academic chart, highlighters etc.

* Art and Craft materials

* Text books for each subject

* Laptop/Desktop with at least 1GB of RAM
with speakers, webcam, printer/scanner/fax
combined and associated software both commercial
and educational.

* At least 6 Reams of A4 plain white paper

* At least 6 Colour Sets of printer cartridges

In conclusion, think of how the times and places you have chosen to homeschool will work in practice. If you are unable to find a
convenient place to study in your home, you could consider using the local library, community centre or other local facilities where you and your child/ren can get some peace and quiet. You may not need to do all of your homeschooling there, perhaps just the one day in the week when you are likely to be disturbed.

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Your Choice Whether to Homeschool

This is the 6th in my series of articles on homeschooling of why I decided to homeschool my son, my experiences as a child and a secondary school teacher, tutor and trainer in the public school system. Please read my other articles in this series of why I decided to homeschool. The articles in order are:

ARTICLE 1 - My Reasons I Started Homeschooling
ARTICLE 2 - My Nursery School Experience
ARTICLE 3 - My Primary School Experience
ARTICLE 4 - My Junior School Experience
ARTICLE 5 - My Grammar School Experience

YOUR CHOICE WHETHER TO HOMESCHOOL

There are advantages of homeschooling your child. It is usually more convenient for your child, as he will receive 1-to-1 individual tuition and attention in a loving and caring environment and will not involve long journeys to school or any other negative aspects of public schooling, he can still see his friends from the local neighbourhood and play with them and also meet other homeschooled children, if you effectively network and establish contacts with other homeschoolers within your area or district.

The LEA or School Board will want you to organize your child's education and teach your child in line with the curriculum subjects offered within mainstream schools and this may involve an Education Visit. What will this visitor be looking for? You may be contacted by your LEA or School Board for a visit to your home to take place. That first phone call will create a vital impression of the homeschool environment. Be prepared to welcome a visit at any time and do not attempt under any circumstances to dissuade them from visiting. When or if a LEA/School Board visitor does come around, ensure that your child is with you when they are to visit and when you are in discussion with them, ensuring that you have set your child to do to keep them occupied within the same room. Give helpful directions to the Visitor as to how to get to your home. Devise subject and individual lesson plans with performance critera for each lesson and the attainment level you are planning your child to reach and achieve in a specified time frame.

So what kind of questions might the LEA/School Board visitor ask you about your plans to homeschool and what are they looking for?

OUTSIDE YOUR HOME

- Is your home well cared for generally
- Do the gardens and surrounding grounds look tidy
- Is there graffiti on or around your home?
- How your child behaves when moving in and out of your home
- If your visitor speaks to local people, what would they say
about the behaviour of your child
- Is there a welcome and friendly atmosphere upon entering your
home?

INSIDE YOUR HOME

- Their first impression? Is the place in which you are going
to teach your child bright and clean with interesting
collections of your child's work on display?
- Are they welcomed in a friendly way and are they
made to feel at home
- Have you introduced yourself by name?
- Not being kept waiting, if it does happen, the temporary host
of the house providing an explanation.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF YOUR HOMESCHOOLING CHOICE

- You having a clear idea of the educational aims of
Homeschooling
- Being given some explanation by you on the range of
Subjects you will teach your child and how this will alter
as your child progresses
- To feel that the homeschool is part of a wider community
with you providing a wide range of activities for your child
- Been made to feel that you can make a positive
contribution to the education of your child by homeschooling
- A clear but simple set of rules for your child whilst
Homeschooling them.

AROUND THE AREA YOU WILL TEACH YOUR CHILD

- Been given the opportunity to see around the area in your
home that you have allocated for the formal teaching of your
child
- Seeing examples of your child’s work, showing high standards
and whether it is marked or not by you
- The home study area of your child being clean, tidy
and well organized
- What they can tell about the relationship between you and
your child and (if you are already homeschooling) between
your child and their other brother/s and sister/s
- Being shown a whole range of subjects that you will teach
and if there are any obvious omissions
- Your policy on the child doing homework and project work
outside the formal teaching area
- How your child will move around the formal teaching area
and the inside of your home. Whether your home is fit for
the purpose of homeschooling and orderly.

It is important to say something about public examinations because these are the measures and indicates the educational progress and achievements of each child to set public education standards. It is important to enter your child for public educational exams as this will show to potential Colleges, Universities and potential employers your child's educational achievements. Examination results are important and you will want to feel confident that your choice to homeschool is likely to provide your child with a reasonable chance of success.

One of the most important aspects of homeschooling is the atmosphere. This is very difficult to describe, as it is about feeling. Ultimately, you and your child need to make a decision that takes into consideration all the relevant factors. It is a vital decision and it deserves serious time and effort even if you do or don't eventually decide or continue to homeschool.


My blog will continue on issues related to education and home schooling.

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Reasons I started Homeschooling - 5

MY GRAMMAR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
============================

I am a very proud and determined mum of one son who is now a graduate aged 28 years old. Born, raised and a native of Leeds in the UK and an ex-secondary school teacher, tutor, trainer and homeschooler. This blog gives my opinion, tips etc on homeschooling from 3 years old up to the age of 18 years old, in general and not just in the UK - where Iam located. These views will be unbiased and updated at least 5 times per week. If I think that something education-related is rubbish, excellent, angers or is funny or sad, I will say so in no uncertain terms. I will also give opinions not just on homeschooling, but on teacher, school, pupil and backup educational support and performances etc..... This is a blog for everyone that is interested in education a lot of content relates to the USA. So come in .. take a seat, relax and give us a read and give your opinions.

This is the 5th in my series of articles of why I decided to homeschool my son, based on my experiences as a child in the public school system. Please read my other articles in this series of why I decided to homeschool. The articles in order are:

ARTICLE 1 - My Reasons I Started Homeschooling
ARTICLE 2 - My Nursery School Experience
ARTICLE 3 - My Primary School Experience
ARTICLE 4 - My Junior School Experience

MY GRAMMAR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

The Junior School that I attended had around 400 pupils. Imagine then the culture shock as I left Junior School and entered this large intimidating Grammar School which had approximately 800 pupils in mixed gender classes. I had exchanged the intimate atmosphere firstly of my Nursery School of 40 pupils to a Primary School of approximate 200, to a Junior School of 400 and now to a Grammar School of 800. In the Junior School at age 11, I was one of the senior pupils, but here in the Grammar School, I was in an unfamiliar environment that I felt was impersonal, hostile and intimidating. In my 4^th year at Junior School, I had been in a class where the class teacher had been the main teacher in most subjects. All of that was about to change.

Dressed in my mandatory school uniform, I left home and arrived at my new school. A very large imposing building consisting of a basement, in which I found out contained a large metalwork classroom and a further classroom and a fully-equipped Woodwork Room. The Ground Floor consisted of 2 Physics Labs, 2 Biology Labs, 2 Chemistry Labs, 2 Classrooms (1 of which was designated for RE), the Headmaster and the Headmistress’s Studies, with an impressive public entrance with a large expensive hand-crafted carpet laid strategically on the floor in front of a gilded-engraved role of honour of ex-pupils that had died in the 2 World Wars. The next floor up consisted of a hall, which was used for Assemblies and classrooms; and the top floor consisted of a Gymnasium, store, classrooms and an Art/Craft Studio. An Annex to the school, a detached 6 bedroom, 4 Reception Roomed Georgian house, and located 100 yards from the perimeter of the school playground wall, was used for Drama and Art and also for the storage of Drama props and scenery.

I proceeded into the large main school building and followed the poster directions that were strategically placed on the walls, giving directions to go up the stone steps, through to the Hall. Where once again I and many other ‘new starters’ were assembled. There was a sea of new, strange faces and I desperately tried to seek out any of my friends from Junior School, or any other recognizable pupil from my Junior School who may be there. I was lucky enough to find 3 – all from the same Junior School, but 2 had been in a different class from me and all 1 had been in the same class. I let out a deep sigh of relief, as I quickly went to join this little sub-group, in which we all let out excited cries of desperate relief, these 3 friends I made, would form a bond which would remain firm and stand the test of time, throughout our stay at Grammar School. I did however, feel very sorry for those wallflowers, I had no one to turn to.

One of the teachers came into the Hall and shouted something – but no one really heard over the mass of voices. The teacher’s shout and loud clapping of her hands showed that she demanded that we all be quiet and pay attention to what she was saying. She asked us all to sit down and everyone complied. She introduced herself and welcomed us all to the School. Her first introductions were to the dreaded ‘Prefects’, who marched out by announcement. These were both male and female, but the majority were male, all 6^th form pupils who acted as ‘Teacher Assistants’ and Trustees of the school. Their job was to ensure that all pupils adhered to all school rules. We looked in awe at them. Some of them sneered, narrowing their eyes, some smiled with little waves, the rest were totally disinterested, with their arms crossed and frequently looked at their watches and rolled back their eyes.

The next introductions made, merited their own introductions – the ‘Head boy’ and the ‘Head girl’, who, were informed were especially chosen by the Head Teachers (on what basis we were never told). This Head boy and Head girl were in authority over all Prefects of their respective gender.

The next introductions made were to the respective subject teachers, the Deputy Headmistress and Deputy Headmaster, the Headmistress and then finally the Headmaster, who made a grand entrance dressed in all his academic robes, where a pathway had been vacated by all those stood at the front and we were all ordered to stand as he entered the Hall as he strutted up to and behind the Lectern. We were informed that we must always stand when any member of staff entered or left anywhere in the school that we were sat.

The Headmaster looked down his nose as he spoke in his posh southern accent, his speech and manner matching his look, was short, abrupt, distant and dispassionate. Not unlike a senior politician, with a self-promoting agenda. He exited as quickly and with the same amount of pomp and circumstance that he had appeared, not once looking any of us in the eye.

As the teacher started reading out our names as to which class we were being allocated to, I quickly realized that this was going to be my second introduction to ‘streaming’. However, I found out and quickly deduced, that this streaming was not based on individual ability, but based on socio-economic and class distinctions. We were divided into 4 streams. Forms 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D. I was put into class 1C , on my own and my friends, were put into 1D. I was totally devasted.

This is really where my resentment for the public education system started, as I naively thought that all new starters in the Grammar School system would be treat equally, based on individual merit, ability, effort and the results obtained in the 11+ exam. I had scored 97% in the 11+, teachers always spoke out and reported on my excellent efforts, merits, outstanding attitude and good manners. Why was I then being deprived of this equality of opportunity; how much higher could one get in the 11+, not much higher and realistically, how many of the other pupils in Forms 1A and 1B had obtained an 11+ score above 97%? That taught me my second invaluable lesson. That equality of public education for all, was an ideal in theory, but certainly not in reality; especially if you’re parents were personal friends of the Headmaster, or that they had contributed quite generously to school funds etc….

Our Form Teacher was a very pleasant gentleman in his late 30s. We attended this form gathering, twice a day. Once in the morning upon arrival and immediately after lunch. This I saw as just for taking registrations, to accompany you to twice weekly assemblies and to give out messages passed on concerning other lessons, homework due, school events and extra curricular activities. Theoretically, your Form Teacher also acted in a pastoral role for you, but due to the time constraints, I knew after a few attempts, not to bother asking, enquiring, suggesting, or airing any concerns that I had, as I was always fobbed off with some excuse or another. The most common used was his time constraints (but no alternative time was offered), the next was to tell or ask your parents ‘they will have to sort it out’ and you’ve been here long enough, you’ll have to sort it out yourself…. you’ve got to learn to sort things out for yourself. My resentment was building up and little did I know, these rapid psychological and personal physical changes were due to my adolescent changes of puberty, which even at 11 and the inequalities that I had so far suffered, fuelled my volatility and resentment. I desperately needed pastoral time and attention, but I also needed to be left on my own on occasions, to find my own way, without fear of being penalized.

In our first form class and at the beginning of each new academic year, we were given weekly-fixed timetables of the lessons we would attend, the classroom it would be located in and the name of the teacher who would take the class. Unlike Junior School, we were allocated 1 exercise book per academic subject per academic year. Any additional exercise books you needed, which was usually 3 to 4 per year per subject had to be purchased from the school. School text books for each academic subject, essential equipment, stationery, mathematical tables (Logarithms, Sines, Cosines etc.) and a pencil case large enough to keep them all in, all had to be purchased by your parents.

The curriculum in the first year reinforced and expanded on what we had been taught in the the fourth year of Junior School and I felt a bridge between primary and the introductory phase of a Grammar School education. Music was no longer taught, but had been replaced by Drama, a single 40 minute class per week, in the school’s annex, a Georgian 6 bedroom, 4 reception room detached house.

Art, PE, Games, RE, Maths (no mental Arithmetic), modern foreign languages (an extension of beginners French language, beginners German and Spanish), Latin, History, Geography, Home Economics, Craft, Dancing, English (which had now been separated into English Language and English Literature), General Science (a basic introduction into the segregated subjects of Physics, Chemistry and Biology). After- school fee-paying clubs of Swimming, Chess and Badminton were also available.

Once again, I excelled in Maths (to the great joy and satisfaction of my Maths teacher), but also in Art, Swimming, Maths and Home Economics.

During my education at Grammar School, I found that most subject teachers had unrealistic expectations concerning the impact and implications of the quantity of homework supplied to individual pupils, there seemed to be no consideration for the individual pupil’s workload, each subject teacher only been concerned with their subject area and homework completed for them. I would on occasions, be given homework for 3 to 4 academic subjects to be completed and handed in for the next day, each would take approximately 1 to 1.5 hours for completion), but I desperately wanted to succeed, be creative, independent, inventive and to be able to think for myself, but I also knew I had to be punctual, dependable and hardworking and to accept the authority of each of the teachers who taught within their subject areas; but not in sarcastic, cynical, unfounded and derogatory comments made against myself or my parents.

Once again, except in Maths, I found that I was not sufficiently challenged or encouraged, or to provide me with the opportunities to participate in all aspects of school life. As previously described, there was no provision for the right conditions at school like a study or homework/quiet room for studying, except the school library, where only 6 tables and 6 chairs per table were available, which were nearly always occupied by 5^th and 6^th formers studying for exams, with the Librarian’s always insisting that they have priority over all seating.

Some of the hard-core Grammar School teachers still believed that Grammar Schools were the privilege of the upper and middle class elite and would grade and stream a pupil accordingly; believing that a pupil in a ‘A’ stream form/year was only able to produce grade ‘A’ results, for any subject, even though they may produce a ‘C’ grade performance and vice versa with a pupil in a ‘C’ stream form/year, which happened in my case.

Unfortunately, in addition to social class discrimination, most academic subject teachers whether male or female, practiced sexism in the classroom, in which they favoured male pupils, by asking and directing more questions. Male pupils were given more time, attention, concern and were encouraged to dominate subject class discussions and giving them more help. Whilst female enthusiasm for the subject area was suppressed, most became introverted and sat at the back of the class in silence. I refused to be one of those introverted females and usually obtained better marks than male pupils in my class. However, rather than been an advantage, this worked against me, because as I spoke out in class and refused to accept the silent role, I was accused by those same teachers of ‘attempting to hog the limelight’.

The bullying experienced in the the Junior School intensified and with the introduction of some ‘Prefects’ that abused their power by being not just verbally abusive, but physically and mentally.

The rest of my Grammar School education continued as it started. In the 3^rd year we were offered options on what subjects we would take at ‘O’ level and I was surprised that I had been streamed into 3B. I personally obtained 7 ‘O’levels, stayed on obtained 2 ‘A’ levels at Grade A in Applied Mathematics and Economics and obtained quite a few unconditional offers for Universities.

This article concludes my series of articles on why I chose to home school my son, based on my personal academic experiences within the public education system.

However, my blog will continue on issues related to education and home schooling.

Please revisit for my next and final in this series, on the reasons why I chose to homeschool my son based upon my recollections of my personal school and academic experiences.

Reasons I started Homeschooling - 4

I am a very proud and determined mum of one son who is now a graduate aged 28 years old. Born, raised and a native of Leeds in the UK and an ex-secondary school teacher, tutor, trainer and homeschooler. This blog gives my opinion, tips etc on homeschooling from 3 years old up to the age of 18 years old, in general and not just in the UK - where Iam located. These views will be unbiased and updated at least 5 times per week. If I think that something education-related is rubbish, excellent, angers or is funny or sad, I will say so in no uncertain terms. I will also give opinions not just on homeschooling, but on teacher, school, pupil and backup educational support and performances etc..... This is a blog for everyone that is interested in education a lot of content relates to the USA. So come in .. take a seat, relax and give us a read and give your opinions.

MY JUNIOR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
===========================

This is the 4th in my series of articles of why I decided to homeschool my son, based on my experiences as a child in the public school system. Please read my other articles in this series of why I decided to homeschool. The articles in order are:

ARTICLE 1 - My Reasons I Started Homeschooling
ARTICLE 2 - My Nursery School Experience
ARTICLE 3 - My Primary School Experience

Before I commenced Junior School in the 1960s – a school for 7 to 11 year olds, I remember taking a test, for reading, writing and arithmetic at the end of my last year in Primary School. This was to determine which ability class that I would be put in at Junior School. The higher ability or the lower ability class. I took this test at the age of 7 years old and was placed in the higher ability class.

My Junior School experience was again a bit of a culture shock. I naively thought that it was going to be just like Primary School, I remember we always use to refer to it as ‘the big school' – as it had 2 floors. This was because the Junior School itself was segregated by gender. The 2nd floor was for the boys and the ground floor for the girls, with separate entrances for each gender; instead of the 1 that we had been use to in Primary School that was mixed gender classes. The Junior School was actually located within the same grounds as the Primary School; the only way of knowing was a small dividing wall. At break times Primary school children would play on one side of the wall and juniors at the other side.

The centralized school kitchen that made and transported all the school dinners for schools in the area was located at the bottom of the Primary School playground and attached to that was a house with a ground floor and a first floor, which we always thought was the school Caretaker’s House, but it was actually the Housecraft House – more on that later.

On the first day at Junior School, all newcomers assembled and sat down in the hall, where you were introduced to the class teachers who took the first year pupils. When your name was called, you got up and followed your class teacher to your classroom with pump bag and coat in hand. You hung your coat on the peg that had already been pre-tagged with your name on it. You had to change into your pumps, as no one was allowed to wear outdoor shoes when walking in the school on the annually-maintained highly polished wooden floors throughout the school - that was the privilege of teaching staff who wore their outdoor shoes everywhere they walked in the school. I often asked other pupils and even other teachers why this was so, but never seemed to get a satisfactory reply.

You were issued with a different coloured exercise book for each subject area you would be taught in and 2 pencils (no pens were allowed to be used at that time) and 1 wooden ruler, all exercise books remained with the teacher, but you were allowed to take the pencils and ruler home with you and return with them for the next day. The class size was 40 pupils, but the school day had extended. We started at 9am and finished at 4pm with lunch from 12-15pm to 1.30pm daily.

The curriculum expanded on what you had been taught in the last year of Primary School and still the dulcet tones of ‘one two is two….one two is two….one two is two….’ could be heard. Arithmetic turned into mathematics for written work but still remained for sums and problems that you had to work out mentally without having the benefit of working out on paper – and two ½ hour classes per week were dedicated just to Mental Arithmetic. We had Mathematics everyday, one day it would be a ½ hour lesson and the next it would be a 1 hour double lesson. Mathematics and Mental Arithmetic I seemed to excel at, which led to very little one-to-one attention, that being reserved for pupils who for one reason or another, were not as adept as I was at these subjects and I was often told in my plea for assistance – "an example is on the board – work it out for yourself". Again, I felt neglected, but in another way I felt a sense of achievement. I completed my work all correctly at break-neck speed and constantly asked for further work, to which my reply was from the class teacher "you’ll have to wait until the rest of the class have caught up".
It was a matter of twiddling my thumbs or helping out, any other pupils that were sat around me that maybe having difficulties. Your class teacher remained the focal point, but now, only for the majority of lessons. Other teachers now taught the class some of the subjects.

We were introduced to writing classes, where we were taught how to do joined up writing. Which had to be precise and exact or a big red diagonal line was put through the whole page and you had to rewrite the whole page again.

We were also introduced to the practical and theoretical aspects of Music and were asked if anyone would like to learn to play an instrument on the start of each of the academic year. Some pupils remained with the one instrument and others chose different instruments for each year. I chose a different instrument for each year. This was a double lesson for 1 hour per week – 20 minutes on how to read and write sheet music and the other 40 minutes learning how to play our instruments and we were able to take the instruments home with us and was instructed to practice our instrument from the sheet music for at least 1 hour per day – every day. After Christmas, the music teacher formed an Orchestra of the most able players and we use to perform at assemblies 2 times per week. Another music-related class we took for ½ hour per week was singing – which was taken by the Headmistress.

As we had a very limited amount of PE Equipment, PE turned into Games, with English Rounders (an English equivalent of Baseball played with a smaller version of a baseball bat) and French Rounders (similar to English Rounders, but the ball had to be passed from the ball thrower, to the 1st base, who threw it to the 2nd base and so on, until it reached the 4th base, who’s responsibility it was to ‘tag’ the running batter. This class was also taken by your class teacher.

Art, I believe was much neglected at this period in my school life and we only took one ½ hour lesson per week, again given by your class teacher.

Another new lesson we were given was social etiquette and manners, but only for ½ hour per week and you were expected to have that followed-up and expanded by your parents for the next week’s class. Your mother was also expected to teach you different household management skills – cooking, cleaning, washing and ironing. Which when you were in the 4th year of school, you would spend a full week (with 2 other of your fellow class pupils) residential in the housecraft house, performing a variety of everyday tasks on which you were assessed on a daily basis, with at least one teacher to be invited every day for lunch and for tea, with 1 item of laundry and ironing to be done daily for each teacher. This was strictly for the girls and any boy who remotely expressed an interest in the activities in the housecraft house were bullied relentlessly by the other boys.

This is where the bullying seemed to start and if you were different even in the very slightest way – school life could be made hell for you. If teachers were informed of the bullying, this made it even worse for the victim, as they would additionally be tagged, targeted and bullied as been a ‘tell-tale’. The victim given a cursory punishment and the victim received no counseling whatsoever. When many of the pupils had to walk home after school, much of the bullying and physical violence happened then. Teachers would throw up their hands and say it’s not our fault, they are off school premises. Pupils whose parent/s worked often went round to see the bully’s parent/s, who would often say, that the problem wasn’t there’s as it had been caused by the school environment.

I believe the school environment did cause bullying where competition and individuality academically were nurtered and the pupils that were just left behind because the class teacher did not have sufficient time to explain the subject and topic area in detail to each and every class pupil that required it, some teachers adopted an attitude of ridicule and cynicism what the teacher saw as ‘attention-seeking’. The most-able pupils were been bullied for been ‘the teacher’s pet’, for gaining a lot of verbal praise by the class teacher who often made comparisons to other more-able pupils by saying ‘why can’t you be more like…….. Bullying within school time was very rarely made public to the parents of pupils and swept under the carpet and never was made public through the media.

In my last year at Junior School, we took a formal examination called the ’11-Plus’ with all the pupils taking it in the school hall. This exam at the time was the most important exam you had to take and would shape the whole of your life, as it would determine what type of senior school you would attend. A secondary modern school (where you would not be entered for any formal academic exams) or a Grammar School (where you would be entered for and take formal academic exams and with the possibility of staying onto the 5th and 6th forms to be entered into and take Advanced exams – which were necessary if you wanted to go to University). If you passed the 11-Plus, then you would be allocated a place at one of the two Grammar Schools within our catchment area. If you failed the 11-Plus you would be allocated a place at one of the 2 secondary modern schools within our catchment area. Rumours were rife in our community that the 11-Plus was a sham and that even if you did pass the 11-Plus and resided in our community, you would be failed because you were not considered to be suitable socio-economically to be a pupil at a Grammar School, even though a child may have been one of the most brightest, gifted children in the city.

The day of the 11-Plus exam arrived and unfortunately I contracted Measles (for the second time, even after I had received the combined vaccination against it) 2 days before this important exam. Armed with my GPs letter and medical certificate to state that I was medically unable to sit this exam at the stated time and date, the Headmistress insisted that I took the exam on the stated time and date (or I would be given an automatic fail) and that I would be isolated with a class teacher in an empty classroom to ensure that I had peace and quiet. My mother did take me on that day and time and I was dreadfully ill and feeling quite sick with a high temperature. The exam paper was already awaiting my arrival and the rest of the pupils were made to move to the other end of the hall whilst I entered the classroom.

In this large classroom a teacher sat at one end of the classroom where she wore trousers (which was unprecedented as the Headmistress always insisted that the female staff wear skirts), a coat and gloves and I was placed at the back of the classroom. I started my exam and felt absolutely ill throughout (a steel waste paper basket was placed at the side of my desk in case I wanted to be sick) but remarkably I answered all the questions fully, which were on all academic subject areas that we had been taught.

After finishing I remember my mother taking me home and putting me straight to bed and I slept for around 2 days. 4 weeks later, the dreaded letter arrived from the Local Education Authority (LEA) informing my parents that I had failed the 11-Plus. My father was absolutely furious and demanded to know what the pass score was and what score I had attained. The LEA informed my father that he had no right to know as both the pass score and my score were both confidential. After 5 weeks of communicating with the LEA and getting nowhere, being given excuse after excuse and been told that he didn’t know what he was talking about and that they were the professionals and knew what was best for me; my father gave them the ultimatum, either show him my test paper and score or he would make a public scandal of the whole situation, through the national press (which my much older cousin worked at the time) and through the television (which a friend of my father’s worked at, on the News desk). The LEA finally relented and showed him my actually 11-Plus exam paper and score. I had scored 97%. The actual pass score, to get a place at Grammar School was 65%. My father enquired to why they had failed me and the answer they gave him was that it was an error on their part and the paper had been put in the Fail tray by mistake.

Needless to say, an amended letter arrived a few days later, saying that having after reassessed my results that they have reconsidered their decision and considered that I had obtained an adequate enough mark and had passed the exam (how much more adequate did they need!). What a cheek, there was no apology and nothing to say that it was them who had been in error in the first place. So, I had been awarded a place at the local grammar school. The question then for my parents was how they were going to find the money for the mandatory school uniform, books and equipment that was strictly enforced by the Grammar School.

I was going to the Grammar School, the final hurdle I thought, into entering adult society, what a shock I would get.

Please revisit for my next and final in this series, on the reasons why I chose to homeschool my son based upon my recollections of my personal school and academic experiences.

Reasons I started Homeschooling - 3

MY PRIMARY SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

In this my 3rd article in this series of why I chose to homeschool my son, I recount my personal experiences of attending Primary School at the age of 4 years until the age of 7 years old.

Primary School was for pupils aged 5 to 7 years old, if they had not attended Nursery School. At the age of 4 my reading, writing and arithmetic skills were assessed by the Headmistress of the school and she placed me in the 2nd year(usually reserved for 6 year olds) where I had to stay for 2 years. This was achieved because even though both of my parents worked full-time, there was a strict regime. Bedtime was at 7.30pm prompt. I had to read at least 2 pages, write 1 page and do 1 page of written sums, as well as answer 10 questions on mental arithmetic, to each parent on a daily basis. If I answered the same question incorrectly three times, then I would have to start the whole exercise all over again. If I got all questions right for each parent, then this would take about 1 hour in total for both parents. As a result, by the time I went to Primary School at the age of 4, I could read competently enough to read a newspaper, I knew all my times tables up to the 12 times table and could write legibly by printing (enjoined writing)in straight lines of the same size.

It was a bit of a culture shock for me to go from a Nursery school of 40 pupils, to one of about 200+. The day started at 9am and finished at 4pm, you had an Assembly every day, and did 1/2 hour each of Art, P.E. (physical education), Music and R.E. (Religious Education) per week. I remember that reading was from the Janet and John series of books and then you went onto the Ladybird series of books. It was estimated that this would take you 2 academic years to complete both series of books. I remember starting Primary school in September and by Christmas of the same year, I had completed all the books in both the Janet and John and the Ladybird series, completing 1-2 books per day. You had to read a minimum of 2 pages per day to your class-teacher (who was still the focal point for the teaching of all subjects) and 2 pages per week to the Headmistress in her study (which also doubled as the School Library). In my first year after the Christmas break, I started reading the Secret Seven and the Famous Five series of books (written by Enid Blyton) and on my weekly visits to the Headmistress she would lay back in her chair, clasp her hands together and close her eyes whilst I read her a quite extensive article in that day’s daily newspaper.

My arithmetic ability was too advanced for the class, as to virtually bar me from the majority of class-based activities as my class teacher said that I led the class and they would just follow and not really learn anything. The teaching method for learning your times tables was by repetition. I can still hear it now a class of 40+ pupils dulcet tones "one two is two....one two is two.....one two is two" and continuing on that until the teacher was satisfied that every pupil knew that one two is two and this continued onto "twelve twelves are one hundred and forty four......twelve twelves are one hundred and forty four......twelve twelves are one hundred and forty four." During this repetition the teacher would pick out a pupil at random and fire a question at them, if they answered incorrectly, they had to go stand in the corner where they had to wear the dreaded black pointed dunces hat with a big white D painted upon it, face the wall and had to keep repeating the times table they had answered incorrectly, until someone else got one wrong and came to the corner to replace them.

In Class Reading again I was barred from that activity as well, as my reading was too advanced and I was by then reading Enid Blyton books, when the rest of the class were on Janet and John or Ladybird books. However, I was given the privilege of reading between ½ and 1 chapter of whichever Secret Seven or Famous Five or other Enid Blyton book that I was reading at the time to the rest of the class. The school day began at 9am and finished at 4pm. Again the follow-up work at home continued, which put me in good stead for when I commenced Junior School at the age of 7.

In my next article (my 4^th in this series of why I chose to homeschool my son), I recount my personal experiences of attending Junior School at the age of 7 years until the age of 11 years old.

Reasons I started Homeschooling - 3

MY PRIMARY SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

In this my 3rd article in this series of why I chose to homeschool my son, I recount my personal experiences of attending Primary School at the age of 4 years until the age of 7 years old.

Primary School was for pupils aged 5 to 7 years old, if they had not attended Nursery School. At the age of 4 my reading, writing and arithmetic skills were assessed by the Headmistress of the school and she placed me in the 2nd year(usually reserved for 6 year olds) where I had to stay for 2 years. This was achieved because even though both of my parents worked full-time, there was a strict regime. Bedtime was at 7.30pm prompt. I had to read at least 2 pages, write 1 page and do 1 page of written sums, as well as answer 10 questions on mental arithmetic, to each parent on a daily basis. If I answered the same question incorrectly three times, then I would have to start the whole exercise all over again. If I got all questions right for each parent, then this would take about 1 hour in total for both parents. As a result, by the time I went to Primary School at the age of 4, I could read competently enough to read a newspaper, I knew all my times tables up to the 12 times table and could write legibly by printing (enjoined writing)in straight lines of the same size.

It was a bit of a culture shock for me to go from a Nursery school of 40 pupils, to one of about 200+. The day started at 9am and finished at 4pm, you had an Assembly every day, and did 1/2 hour each of Art, P.E. (physical education), Music and R.E. (Religious Education) per week. I remember that reading was from the Janet and John series of books and then you went onto the Ladybird series of books. It was estimated that this would take you 2 academic years to complete both series of books. I remember starting Primary school in September and by Christmas of the same year, I had completed all the books in both the Janet and John and the Ladybird series, completing 1-2 books per day. You had to read a minimum of 2 pages per day to your class-teacher (who was still the focal point for the teaching of all subjects) and 2 pages per week to the Headmistress in her study (which also doubled as the School Library). In my first year after the Christmas break, I started reading the Secret Seven and the Famous Five series of books (written by Enid Blyton) and on my weekly visits to the Headmistress she would lay back in her chair, clasp her hands together and close her eyes whilst I read her a quite extensive article in that day’s daily newspaper.

My arithmetic ability was too advanced for the class, as to virtually bar me from the majority of class-based activities as my class teacher said that I led the class and they would just follow and not really learn anything. The teaching method for learning your times tables was by repetition. I can still hear it now a class of 40+ pupils dulcet tones "one two is two....one two is two.....one two is two" and continuing on that until the teacher was satisfied that every pupil knew that one two is two and this continued onto "twelve twelves are one hundred and forty four......twelve twelves are one hundred and forty four......twelve twelves are one hundred and forty four." During this repetition the teacher would pick out a pupil at random and fire a question at them, if they answered incorrectly, they had to go stand in the corner where they had to wear the dreaded black pointed dunces hat with a big white D painted upon it, face the wall and had to keep repeating the times table they had answered incorrectly, until someone else got one wrong and came to the corner to replace them.

In Class Reading again I was barred from that activity as well, as my reading was too advanced and I was by then reading Enid Blyton books, when the rest of the class were on Janet and John or Ladybird books. However, I was given the privilege of reading between ½ and 1 chapter of whichever Secret Seven or Famous Five or other Enid Blyton book that I was reading at the time to the rest of the class. The school day began at 9am and finished at 4pm. Again the follow-up work at home continued, which put me in good stead for when I commenced Junior School at the age of 7.

In my next article (my 4^th in this series of why I chose to homeschool my son), I recount my personal experiences of attending Junior School at the age of 7 years until the age of 11 years old.

REASONS I STARTED HOMESCHOOLING - 2

MY NURSERY SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

In this second of four articles on my reasons why I chose homeschooling for my son, I initially recount my personal experiences within the UK educational system of the 1960s and the early 1970s and society’s perceptions on education and the teaching profession. Firstly, just to explain the educational system in the UK. The UK, unlike the USA, is at present and always has had a mandatory educational system based on age and not grade or passing a GPA and remaining in and repeating that grade until the GPA had been passed or attained and in exceptional cases a child in the UK may be placed in a class above their actual age because their ability may be of a higher standard – so a child no matter what their ability or grades were like, would move up to the next year - however, a higher ability child would have to remain in that class and repeat the class, until they actually reached that actual age of the class they were in.

Schools do and did exist for gifted-children, however, these were fee-paying schools, with no funding available for scholarships etc. and there was the additional living costs, essential clothing and equipment costs, extra curricular costs etc. So to working-class families on a limited income there was no possibility of a child, even if tested and shown to be gifted, that they would ever get the opportunity to attend a school for the gifted, as the cost to attend would be prohibitive.

We need to look at the past for answers to the future of education, academic and skills for life training. It is the responsibility of Headteachers, teachers, local and national government, parents and pupils to ensure that a national curriculum that is focused, builds academic, business and life skills that have a content that is interesting, balanced and relevant to the individual child. There were a few negative (that if modified could be turned into positive) and many positive experiences, all supported by a regime of discipline, structure but fun in a loving and supportive environment.
My education started in the late 1950s at the age of 3 years old, I went to a Nursery School. Unlike the Nurseries, Day Care Centres, Kindergartens etc. of today where it seems 90% of learning is based on play, and only 10% based on learning the academic basics of the 3Rs (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic). The teaching was in a prefabricated building with 2 classrooms and 2 teachers, no Headteacher and you stayed in the Nursery School for 2 years and the places for Nursery School were open to all children free of charge. The classroom was the basis of all activity, including school-dinners. The learning was centred on the teaching and learning of the 3Rs and social life and behavioural skills for 90% of the time and 10% art and music. You were sat around tables - 4 to a table and 5 tables to a classroom. The school day started at 9am and finished at 3.30pm. At lunchtime you either stopped on the premises for a school lunch or went home under the supervision of a parent or other adult that was responsible for you and returning you to the Nursery School for the afternoon session. No packed lunches to eat either on the premises or off the premises were allowed. All school lunches were prepared in local centralised school kitchens and transported in sealed steel containers with catering cutlery provided. Your class teacher was the focus of all lessons and activities (including an improvised canteen at lunchtimes, where the teachers were actually the servers of your meals) and taught you all subjects.

If your class teacher considered you competent enough, you were allowed to attend the Primary School at the age of 4 and was additionally assessed by the Headteacher of the Primary School as to which grade of class you would be in, the basic ability class or the higher ability class.

Reasons I started Homeschooling - 1

REASONS I STARTED HOMESCHOOLING - 1

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This is my first of a series of articles on Homeschooling and if you are reading this, it indicates that you are considering or have made a conscious decision to homeschool your child or children. However, the reasons you have or have made that decision, may be quite complex. As homeschooling is likely to have some impact on your lifestyle and will affect the child or children you teach and others around you.

It would be worth your while taking some time to clarify your reasons. You will then be better able to justify any changes to those affected, including yourself. Here is my primary reasons in deciding to homeschool my son.

I was watching my son taking his somewhat awkward, unsteady baby steps and I thought to myself, well it won't be long before he starts school. My thinking of education expanded and I started to think of my childhood experiences of education, what I read in the newspaper and heard on the television about high teacher to pupil ratios and how that affected not only my own academic ability and other skills and how I thought that my full potential had not been realized or utilized and that I did not want that happening to my son.

Later on that same day, with the sun shining and warmth outside, I took him out for a walk, securely strapped into his buggy. Going for a stroll in the fresh air, for some reason, always seemed to send him to sleep even though I would be constantly chatting to him and the thoughts again centred around education. I thought again about the high teacher to pupil ratio and that if teachers were locum parentus, then how many children could 1 parent effectively parent at the same time, if all the children were of the same age, so that all of the children received the same amount of attention? 5, 6, 7? So, how can 1 teacher effectively educate 15, 20+ children at the same time?

I reflected on my own teaching experience so far and the guilt that I felt at not being able to devote as much time on one-to-one basis with each individual child to encourage and stimulate their full potential and how more able children did not receive as much attention as those with lower abilities for whatever reason and I was determined that my son was not going to go through that. That walk, that day, with those thoughts, determined my course of action and planning to homeschool my child, but to what level?

Up to age 7, 11 or through to the age of 16 or even 18? I decided to teach him one level at a time, if he enjoyed it, had developed adequately on each area and stage, then I would continue homeschooling to the next level and then reassess.

I wanted my son to gain the knowledge that would help him fulfill his full potential and him to have the practical as well as theoretical knowledge not just in academic subjects but also in life-skills, the arts, music and physical well-being. I wanted to improve his quality of life generally and to prove to him that he could think and work individually, as well as part of a team and personally develop, gain skills and gain confidence and follow-up theoretical knowledge with practical applications in a fairly systematic way rather than through casual learning.

As you can see from above, my motives were not clear-cut and even quite complex. You may well find that you develop different reasons to homeschool your child or children, reasons that never struck you at the outset. However, you will see the benefits if you decide to homeschool for the right reasons.