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Summary
Summary
While some people look back on school as the 'best days of your life', for others the experience can be unpleasant and gruelling. Learning without School is a practical handbook for parents who want to educate their children at home but are unsure that they have the skills and know-how required to give their child the best education possible.
This book explains what home education is; the advantages and disadvantages of choosing this route; how to begin home educating; what you need to do and how to help your child adjust; and how home education affects children's social skills and friendships. It also covers technical aspects, such as the curriculum, core subjects, exams and timetables. Ross Mountney also considers children with 'learning difficulties' or 'special needs' and how to approach home education differently for this group of children.
Each chapter contains a summary of key points, useful websites, hints and tips and real-life case studies. This practical guide offers indispensible support for parents who are considering home education for their child, and includes a broad philosophy of education that will interest all parents and professionals involved in education and child welfare.
Author Notes
Ross Mountney is an ex-teacher and parent to two children who began school but have now been home educated for eight years. Ross is better known as the 'Home Educating Nobody', having written a diary for the charitable support network organisation, 'Education Otherwise' for several years
Table of Contents
| Introduction | p. 9 |
| 1 What Is Home Education and Why Do People Do It? | p. 11 |
| What is home education? | p. 11 |
| Is it legal? | p. 12 |
| Frequently asked questions and a few quick answers | p. 14 |
| Why do people home educate? | p. 15 |
| Why did we home educate? - A personal story | p. 20 |
| The advantages of home education | p. 22 |
| A brief word about friends | p. 24 |
| The disadvantages | p. 25 |
| What do you need to home educate? | p. 26 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 28 |
| Suggested websites | p. 28 |
| 2 How Do Parents Start Home Educating? | p. 29 |
| Considerations when making the decision to home educate | p. 29 |
| The difference in deciding pre-school, or after the children have been in school | p. 33 |
| The home education network and how to find support | p. 36 |
| Deregistering children from school | p. 38 |
| The role of the local education authority | p. 38 |
| How home educators fulfil their obligations to the local authority | p. 40 |
| Making the adjustment from school to home education | p. 43 |
| Dealing with objections from others | p. 45 |
| Having confidence in your knowledge of your child | p. 47 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 49 |
| Suggested websites | p. 49 |
| 3 How Do Home Educated Children Learn? | p. 50 |
| Our traditional view of how children learn | p. 51 |
| A broader view of how children learn | p. 52 |
| What children need, both personally and environmentally, in order to learn | p. 55 |
| The most valuable learning aid: children's love of learning | p. 58 |
| How children learn without teaching | p. 60 |
| How children learn from everyday experiences | p. 62 |
| The learning value of play | p. 65 |
| The difference between skills and knowledge | p. 68 |
| Home educators' different approaches and styles | p. 71 |
| A tightly structured approach | p. 71 |
| An autonomous approach | p. 72 |
| An approach in between | p. 73 |
| How to choose an approach | p. 75 |
| The use of time | p. 76 |
| Motivation | p. 79 |
| Children having charge of their own learning | p. 81 |
| Opportunities within the community for learning | p. 84 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 86 |
| Suggested websites | p. 87 |
| 4 How Do Home Educated Children Find Friends and Become Socialised? | p. 88 |
| How children make friends pre-school | p. 89 |
| How schools do not have exclusivity on friendships | p. 90 |
| How schools can sometimes harm relationships | p. 91 |
| The importance of occasional solitude | p. 94 |
| What social skills do we want our children to have? | p. 96 |
| How children acquire social skills | p. 97 |
| How do home educated children find friends? | p. 99 |
| The home education community | p. 99 |
| Opportunities for friendships within the local community | p. 102 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 103 |
| Suggested websites | p. 104 |
| 5 What about Curriculum, Subjects and Timetables? | p. 105 |
| What curriculum actually is and what it's for | p. 105 |
| How home educating parents use it - or not | p. 106 |
| How curriculum, subject division and timetables are merely tools for learning, and how to use them as such | p. 110 |
| Considerations for making your own timetables | p. 112 |
| Basic subjects and how to approach them | p. 114 |
| Choosing extra subjects | p. 118 |
| Subjects that develop valuable life skills | p. 120 |
| How to use curriculum and timetables to your advantage | p. 123 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 124 |
| Suggested websites | p. 124 |
| 6 What about Tests, Exams and Qualifications? | p. 125 |
| What tests are for | p. 125 |
| What home educators use tests for | p. 127 |
| What exams and qualifications are for | p. 129 |
| How home educators choose exams and qualifications | p. 131 |
| Keeping the needs of the child at the forefront of decisions | p. 133 |
| The difference between qualification and education | p. 134 |
| Finding support for GCSEs | p. 135 |
| Making decisions about A levels and further education | p. 136 |
| Other opportunities and other qualifications | p. 137 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 139 |
| Suggested websites | p. 140 |
| 7 What is Life Like for a Home Educating Family? | p. 141 |
| How home educating families are the same as any other families, wanting the same things for their children | p. 141 |
| Typical daily routines among home educators | p. 143 |
| How home educators manage work | p. 146 |
| How parents cope with their children being at home full-time | p. 147 |
| Relationships within the family | p. 149 |
| The integration of real life and real learning | p. 151 |
| Coping with bad days and anxiety | p. 153 |
| Keeping a broad overview and positive perspective in the longer-term | p. 156 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 157 |
| Suggested websites | p. 157 |
| 8 What about Children with 'Learning Difficulties' or 'Special Needs'? | p. 158 |
| The concept of 'difficulty' or 'special need' | p. 158 |
| How children with mild difficulties can sometimes thrive with a different learning approach and individual attention | p. 160 |
| How parents with special needs children approach home education | p. 163 |
| Where to find resources and support | p. 167 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 168 |
| Suggested websites | p. 169 |
| 9 Where Do Home Educated Families End Up? | p. 170 |
| Some home educated children and what they are doing now | p. 170 |
| Children returning to mainstream education | p. 172 |
| What parents might want for their children both short-term and long-term | p. 174 |
| What children might want and discussing it together | p. 175 |
| Differing views on education, what it is and what it's for | p. 177 |
| What parents might consider success to be | p. 181 |
| How to keep an open view and an individual view that relates to the child | p. 183 |
| Educating for intrinsic value rather than for outcome | p. 185 |
| In the end | p. 186 |
| Summary of the main points | p. 187 |
| Three thought-provoking websites to finish off with | p. 187 |
| Index | p. 188 |