From: Wim Nusselder (wim.nusselder@antenna.nl)
Date: Mon Apr 04 2005 - 05:58:58 BST
Dear Sam,
Showing your radical side here (3 Apr 2005 21:14:14 +0100)!! I knew you had
one...
I'm very sympathetic, but essentially I agree with David B. (3 Apr 2005
19:07:21 -0600), based on comparable personal experience (with a comparable
axe to grind).
My impression (from the education of my children, who are now 11 en 12) is,
that they could have learned much faster than they did at the primary school
they were on. Both could read before they were taught so at school and not
because we pushed them in any way. We only gave them opportunities. My son
(the youngest) was even faster than my daughter, because he -of course-
always aspired to be able to do the same things as his sister. She is now in
the first level of secondary school and supposedly 'around kids who respond
to the same level of challenge' (bilingual preparatory academic education:
half of the lessons in Dutch, half in English). Still the 'level of
challenge' her teachers have deemed the right one to take the average of
this group to the next level is not much of a challenge for her most of the
time. She has become member of the pupils council (she the only first level
pupil there), has set up a campaign for a teacher to be elected (on
internet) 'teacher of the year' (first with only a boy from her bilingual
group, later another girl from that group and 2 girls from the 4th level of
a 'lower' type of education joined) and ... she is having a good time at
school... My son has now chosen to go to the same school and to do this same
bilingual preparatory academic education, despite his sister doing that
already. He chose the approximate highest 'level of challenge' he knew and
felt -like his sister- attracted by the atmosphere of the school. This
(public) school (without religious affiliation) doesn't impose too much
discipline (compared to the other school in the neighbourhood offering
bilingual preparatory academic education), offers rather traditional group
teaching, but by an inspired group of teachers, that seem really interested
in stimulating children to develop themselves, even if their most radical
deviations from standard classical teaching methods are: offering (a
selection of pupils) this bilingual education and diversifying (for all) the
length of lessons (some 80, some 40 minutes where the standard: is all 50
minutes).
Seeing their peer group, my impression is that this is true for them too,
even if they seem less bright than my children and will reach lower in the
education system. They have been hampered -it seems to me- by a less
stimulating parental/social background and are now being hampered by being
experienced by teachers and fellow pupils alike as ordinary, average, or
even a drag on general progress (needing more instruction than the rest).
They are not developing their self-esteem and therefore their
self-confidence in choosing their own challenges as fast as my children do,
because they are not able to stand out. A primary school teacher who is
inpired and enthousiastic and loves her pupils (I'm thinking especially
about the 8th level primary school teacher they both had/have) can still do
a lot of good for all pupils with diverse backgrounds and capacities, but
all of them would benefit more from more individual attention than
traditional classical teaching can offer.
It's not easy to draw a conclusion. I would support you in a choice for home
education provided that you find ways to give your children also enough
opportunities to do things with their peers, which is difficult, because
they go to school... I do not regret having let my children attend
traditional types of schools (with minor deviations). I chose to get
children in order to see the good grow in them, not because I pretended to
be able to grow it myself. I do very much love seeing it grow in them,
seemingly of itself, in large part in their dealings with peers and teachers
and whoever they choose to be with (to the extent that they choose
themselves). It's a pity that children at the age when the choice has to be
made for primary or home education cannot make it themselves yet. If my
children would look back now (or in some 6 years time when they can evaluate
the options even better), I'm sure they would choose again fairly
traditional primary education over home education however. At 4 years old
they already found much of their challenges in playing with their the
children of our neighbours, who would go to school. My daughter partly
learnt to read before she had to learn it at school, because her girl friend
living a few houses away was a year older and showed her that it is fun to
learn how to read. She aspired to be able to do the same as her, like my son
took the lead of his sister. I don't think parents can be role models for
their children in that sense. I doubt that self-esteem and self-confidence
would grow as fast if children would get only home education from their
parents.
With friendly greetings,
Wim
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