It's September. I've had that moment when you step outside first thing in the morning, breathe in a lung full of cold air and it feels like autumn. I've dug out my socks which I haven't seen since early May, and I'm making plans. Lots of plans.
My social media feeds have been full of 'back to school' and 'not back to school' posts this week. To me, September always feels like it offers an opportunity for a fresh start, whether your child attends school or not.
If you are new to home education, or even if you are not, what better way to start the new 'school' year than with some of my favourite inspiring and motivational quotes promoting home education...
I like to remind people often that the responsibility for a child's education lies with the parent. Home educators choose not to delegate that responsibility to an institution called 'school'. Mainstream schooling is a relatively new concept in our long history of life on earth, and it has not been evolving at the same pace as the rest of it. Thankfully, I haven't faced much opposition, or even questioning, about my decision to home educate my daughter, but I know that many of you have. Please remember that it is your legal right.
Our mainstream education system is deeply flawed. I haven't found anybody who will argue with me otherwise. I'm an ex-primary school teacher. I have friends who are still working in primary and secondary schools. Early years professionals, child development specialists, child psychologists, researchers in education, all agree that our system is out of date at best, and damaging at worst. How many home educators do you know that are ex-teachers? It says a lot about our education system.
This one's an obvious one. Children, like adults, are all unique and all learn in different ways. We all know that we're more likely to learn something that we're interested in and are able to learn in our own way, and at our own pace. Sadly, it is near impossible to teach in this way with a class of 30 children, and with a schedule that leaves little time for self-directed learning.
"We are so stuck on the idea that children must be forced
to learn that we can't even imagine that a child might be
better off learning without being forced."
Peter Gray, PHD
Pathways, Issue 39
Home education does not need to look like 'school' at home, and it doesn't need to take place at home. For children (and adults too), learning takes place all day, every day, wherever you are. However, if you are able to take your child out into the real world, to learn through living, then what a wonderfully rich and exciting education that would be!
And last, but very not least, my absolute favourite...
If this post resonates with you, or you think it might resonate with someone that you know, please like and share with your fellow home educators, old and new.
If you are interested in our personal journey to home education, you can read my blog post 'Why Home Education?' here.