June 07

Welcome to the June Freedom-in-Education Newsletter. I am aware there hasn't been one for quite some time, and I apologise for this delay.

Something I have done, in all this time, is go to India, for just a few days in April. I mention it because one of the things I found most interesting about the people and the culture there was the way in which they treated their children. In my short stay I saw literally hundreds and hundreds of children, and their smiling, happy faces is not something I will soon forget.

Of course, I have been trying to work out ever since why they should have been this way. Some of the children were very poor, some of them were on their way to school, others will probably never go to school, but they all looked happy. Some of them lived in the country, where it seemed obvious they should be happy, but others were in the Delhi slums, and they looked enormously happy as well! Some of them were even dressed in rags, running round the motorway begging off the people in the cars, and yet they were grinning from ear to ear! So what was the reason? I do have a theory. One thing they all seemed to have in common was parents who were looking after them with great love, care and attention - I didn't see a single child being slapped, shouted at, or ignored for a moment. And another thing (which was probably the reason behind the last reason), was that the parents seemed happy too. It wasn't only the children who were smiling, the general happiness level seemed much higher, which I suppose is all you would expect if everyone began life as being such a happy child. I was struck again and again by how nice and polite the young people were, and how dignified and beautiful the old people were; and how people seemed to be getting on so much better than I am generally used to seeing, and how all the streets were safe for everybody, there didn't seem to be any crime. There were exceptions, obviously, but overall, this was how it struck me.

This, of course, was very interesting, as just to see that such a thing is possible in this day and age is encouraging. My dream is that it should be like this everywhere, and I really don't see any reason why it shouldn't be, even though the Western culture is so different from the Indian culture. After all, everyone wants to be happy, and no one actually wants to be miserable.

On my return, I became quite depressed to see once again, the glum faces of people walking down the streets, the teenagers smoking and glowering on street corners, the bleak, bleak supermarkets so devoid of the life and fun of a real market, and the children dragging their way to school in the most unnecessarily depressed manner. But perhaps this will lead to better times.

While India is rushing towards being richer and more technologically advanced, with a general pull towards the crowded cities, the West has gone a lot further down this road and is not so excited by it. In India many of the people I met were enormously eager to come to European cities to work, (giving up a way of life which I thought was extremely nice!) and people were becoming quite obsessed about getting money, qualifications, and jobs, even when it meant working in conditions which simply weren't suitable for anybody to work in. People in the West, on the other hand, are beginning to see that all the gadgets of modern life tend to increase the stress. People in the cities dream of moving to the country, most people love the idea of having a smallholding and growing their own vegetables, everyone likes the idea of a simple life rather than a complicated one, the value of happiness is increasing, and more and more people are trying to bring their children up in a conscious way, not just because this is the custom, but because they really want to.

As the editor of this newsletter, I get to see this probably more than anyone. Every month the site statistics go up and up, even when I don't update the website, and every week we receive messages from parents around the world and contacts for the Contact List, as the level of people interested in different options grows. One thing I have found particularly encouraging is the groups and small 'schools' which have started up around the UK. One such group is featured in the Link of the Month box, and I know it is not the only one. These kinds of initiatives are giving new meaning to the word 'school', making it a place where families can spend time with each other and do things which really are enjoyable and educational. It seems that the number of people looking for other options to the conventional schooling system has grown to such a number that these initiatives can actually work, and I wish them all the best of luck.

I hope you enjoy this latest issue of the newsletter, and that you have a very enjoyable and sunny Summer!

This article by Gareth Lewis was first printed in the Green Parent Magazine, www.thegreenparent.co.uk

Mathematics is one of the subjects that causes children the most difficulty at school, but with a little help from their parents it could be one of the things that they enjoy the most.

One of the mysteries of the modern education system is why the subject of mathematics should always be ranked in equal importance with learning to read and learning to write. Over the past hundred years schools and literacy programmes have been quite successful in increasing literacy levels to the point where almost everyone can now read to some extent. The same cannot be said for numeracy; if anything, people’s ability to understand and work with numbers has declined since the introduction of compulsory schooling, and for many people, school maths lessons represent some of the worst experiences that they have had in their lives.

This raises two questions, firstly, is mathematics as important as it is rated to be, and secondly, if it is so important how can it be taught without causing trauma to children?

In response to the first question, the answer is probably yes, mathematics is an important area of study, and nobody is the worse off for being able to perform calculations or work things out for themselves. The fact that people from every walk of life from every part of the world have always been able to work with numbers – even if they cannot read or write – suggests that mathematics relates to an even more basic branch of knowledge than does the written word. There are everyday advantages to being able to understand arithmetic: it is a skill that allows one to keep track of one’s personal finances, it is required in almost every craft and technical activity and almost every branch of employment, and many games and leisure activities make use of numbers or other mathematical concepts. When it comes to professional activities, there are few management or executive roles that do not require a high level of mathematical competence. More subtly, mathematics-related skills help people to make decisions in everyday life.

However, having acknowledged that mathematics is important, it does not necessarily follow that it is right that it should be taught in schools – or at least not in the way that it is taught nowadays. Clearly it is counterproductive if the teaching of mathematics puts children off the subject and causes them to avoid it in later life.

Thus, the first rule of teaching mathematics ought to be that if you notice that a child is not enjoying themselves, you should stop teaching it: try again later when they are a little older.

The second rule is that it is preferable to concentrate on developing mental arithmetic skills for as long as possible before introducing a child to written sums. In a sense, mental arithmetic is pure arithmetic, and the more time that children spend working things out in their heads, the greater will be their eventual understanding of numbers and mathematics.

Thirdly, when a child does become interested in written sums, as far as possible keep the work that you do within the bounds of things that form part of everyday life: if you have a business, let them help you add up the day’s takings, enlist their support in keeping your account books up to date, discuss the issue of taxation, VAT, etc.; if you are involved in building or making things, get them to help you with the plans, with measuring, or with working out the required dimensions. Do not underestimate the usefulness of games in the development of mathematical skills: card games, board games, dice games, chess, etc. are all excellent ways of coming to an understanding of mathematical principles, and playing games with children should never be regarded as a waste of time or secondary to other aspects of their education.

Finally, there is an almost entirely theoretical aspect to mathematics, which may have little or no practical application. This is the aspect of mathematics that was extolled by the philosophers in ancient times – the reason perhaps why mathematics is still given such a prominent place in the education system – and this aspect is traditionally characterised by the study of geometry. In olden times, geometry was studied not to help people to draw shapes accurately, nor to help them design complex machinery, or to help them to get high marks in an examination; it was used as a tool for helping students to distinguish between fact and falsehood, to tell the difference between things that appeared to be true, but perhaps were not, and things that appeared to be false, but perhaps were true.

People did not embark upon this sort of study until they were grown up – in their twenties usually – and had already acquired all the practical knowledge of mathematics that they required for their daily lives.

One of the biggest disservices that modern schools do through their mathematics teaching is the way in which they mix the practical and theoretical aspects of the subject and serve them up together to children as though they were all established and incontrovertible facts.

In the modern school system, a child who simply learns to repeat what they have been told, and in an examination gives all the answers that the teacher expects, is considered to be good at mathematics. The child who questions what the teacher is saying is soon labelled as being stupid and rapidly learns to hate the subject.

Perhaps this is the reason why mathematics teaching has been so remarkably unsuccessful. Students who question what they are being told are, in fact, the ones who ought to be encouraged – they could even be regarded as the ones who have the most natural ability for the purer aspects of the subject; if schools are managing to put these students off the subject then obviously standards will decline.

However, once identified, it is a mistake that is easy to avoid, and there is no reason why today’s parents and teachers should not be able to set mathematics teaching back on the right track, and help children to discover that the study mathematics, is, in fact, one of the most satisfying and rewarding of all academic pursuits.

I trained and worked as a Primary school teacher before I became a full time mother to Digby, who is now 10 months old. My husband Thomas, Digby and I live on a sailing barge near Chertsey, Surrey. Prior to my maternity leave, I was teaching Year 4 in an independent school in SW London. I also have a Montessori Diploma - this is a method for teaching children, usually implemented in a Nursery setting, whereby the children learn through doing, they have specialist materials and all the learning is very 'hands on'. A great philosophy. I specialize in Music and I currently run a school choir plus private piano lessons on the boat.

I am extremely interested in home schooling and would love to get to know and liaise with families across the UK - both in my capacity as a teacher, and as a mother. I was educated at home myself from age 13 in North Norfolk, and it was quite unusual at the time. My mother did not have much support and I know would have really enjoyed being part of a wider network. We plan on educating Digby from home too. This suits living on a boat as we can be on the move if we want to, which is an education in itself. We have already had some of my pupils to stay for activity weekends in the holidays, learning through practical activity on and around the boat and the river. There is so much opportunity for children to learn from the world around them, being inspired by real life experiences that they can really connect to and that set them up for adult life.

It frustrates me that our education system is failing children, their parents and teachers so badly. Having taught in mainstream schools I know just how much time is wasted, children are submerged in peer group pressure - they look to their peers for guidance on what to say, do and wear etc. and in my experience, very few actually thrive, are independent and love learning. Bullying in many shapes and forms is rife and schools are forced to cater for the group, rather than the individual. Even the really good free thinking teachers are bound by huge class sizes, beaurocracy and timetables so that they are unable to give children the attention and inspiration they deserve - and that their parents assume they receive. My most recent teaching job was in a fabulous unconventional independent school in SW London with a particular emphasis on special needs, full of talented teaching staff, enthusiastic kids and supportive parents. Even so, I felt that my teaching style and the potential for learning was seriously limited by conventional expectations, the practicalities of the school environment, pointless exams and hot-housing (lots of time spent preparing the children for exams to get them into their next school, which are highly competitive and cost a mortgage). I have also taught in the state system which is so much worse I wouldn’t want to return, let alone send my son to a local authority school. I think the situation is probably worse in and around London or other big cities.

Home education offers everything that conventional schooling doesn’t. The only possible downside could be lack of community and social integration. It seems to me the answer is a combination of 1:1 tuition (this could be parents, tutors and correspondence courses, depending on the personalities, ages and requirements of the children involved), and regular formal and informal get togethers with other home schooling families and/or children for group work and social activities, to balance it out. Whilst the entire curriculum can be accessed on a 1:1 basis, there are lots of subjects which lend themselves to group study, such as Music which children generally love and learn a lot from. Most subjects can easily be taught through practical activities which engage the children much more than text books do - you just have to look out for the opportunities to facilitate the learning.

One idea that I have is to offer FREE correspondence tutoring via email/phone/post to children around the UK. This would probably be most useful for children of Primary school age studying National Curriculum level English and Maths, which does seem to me to be a good idea so they can keep their options open for further study. Also, if there are enough interested families, I would like to promote some sort of 'Work and Play' Summer Camps (it could be a Winter Camp since we are not bound by term time dates!) The benefits of this would be twofold: firstly giving some intensive group tutoring in certain subjects and secondly to develop team building/interactive peer group skills. I already run a weekly musical theatre group to which home educated children are particularly welcome, and I will be organising some Summer Music Camps next year.

I'm really keen to get involved as I feel my professional skills could be of use and I am passionate about home schooling. I think it would be of huge benefit for us as a family to be involved in such a worthwhile project and a wonderful start for my son to be involved in this wider network of families. Having had my own personal experience of home tutoring I am aware of the possible pitfalls of solitary study, as well as the enormous benefits of release from 'the system'!

Hi Wendy,

I am a parent of three young children and I live in Ireland. I plan to move to France as I love it so much. I take trips over every chance I get. I was looking at the possibilities of the Steiner education in France when your article popped up. I read your piece on "my life so far". It made me cry.

I feel similarly about my experiences through education and university. I feel I was fed the same mistruths about life. I didn't have any terrible experiences either ,just knew the system made me a smaller person and left me no room to be creative and expressive. I became a youth worker because I had much empathy for young people and what they go through. And now as my oldest girl is eight years old I am re-living the school experiences as her work load is ridiculous for her age in school. Not to mention how horribly competitive the system is, teaching children to better each other rather than support each other and work together.

From my experiences in education, I ended up not liking myself very much and always thinking others were better than me. I am only now at 33 learning the real things that bring happiness and contentment. I now do art at home from my own imagination, play guitar, horse ride. I love to be creative. I am trying to change our lives to make them better and am looking at all options.

Thank you for your honesty and for sharing your experiences. I wish you lots of luck with all you undertake, but somehow I don't think you'll need it. I will check out your books, well done! Take care and thanks again,

Jennifer Grey

Dear Wendy,
I work at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery offering handling sessions to Schools. I am keen to offer some sessions to Home Educated children but am having obvious problems with contacting families. We have a few self-led visits from Home Ed families but they don't have access to handling artefacts and the taught sessions, and it's this that I want to make available. Would it be possible to try and make contact via your site in any way?

At the moment my sessions are based on key stage 1&2 History but I am keen to develop and adapt sessions as necessary. All sessions are free of charge.

Schools Support Officer (History)
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Chamberlain Square
Birmingham
B3 3DH

Your letters and comments are welcome. You can send them to Gareth Lewis at the following address, or to me at the address beneath:
gareth.lewis@freedom-in-education.co.uk