Does anyone here home educate?

In juniors (age 4-5) they speak both english & gaelige for 2 weeks & then they are only allowed speak "as gaeilge". It still amazes me how fast they pick up language at that age. This was also a major factor in our (& by our I mean my coz dh won't consider it) decision whether to HE or not. I'm not good at languages & would like to give her that start. BIL was educated in a gaelscoil (Irish language school) & he can speak several languages & picks them up extremely fast.

I have a degree in languages, but my one regret is that I never really had the opportunity to learn Gaelic Still, it's never too late right? Maybe I'll make it a life goal
I do wish there was more emphasis on Gaelic in Scottish schools too - it is taught widely in the Highlands and Islands I believe, but I'd like to see it available in all schools.

Eleanor, when we were up in Oban at the weekend all the signs were in Gaelic first then English.
Dh is bi-lingual but doesn't use it, except to utter the odd sweary word

I wouldn't have said children tend to mix in large groups at school though - usually small groups form outside the classroom and tables within a class setting would be a small group.

The Finnish research I based my comment found that groups of more than 6 were found to encourage anti-social behaviour in a school setting. In the UK 50% of school children are bullied (75% of gifted or special needs children).

I wouldn't have said children tend to mix in large groups at school though - usually small groups form outside the classroom and tables within a class setting would be a small group.

The Finnish research I based my comment found that groups of more than 6 were found to encourage anti-social behaviour in a school setting. In the UK 50% of school children are bullied (75% of gifted or special needs children).

Ok, I'm speaking from experience (that of my own and my children's and dh's), not from research. None of my children mixed with groups that big, nor did I come across other children who did. I've not come across that many children who have been bullied either - yes, a few, but not many. Who am I to argue with the research though.

I wouldn't have said children tend to mix in large groups at school though - usually small groups form outside the classroom and tables within a class setting would be a small group.

The Finnish research I based my comment found that groups of more than 6 were found to encourage anti-social behaviour in a school setting. In the UK 50% of school children are bullied (75% of gifted or special needs children).

Bullied doesn't always really mean bullied though does it? My daughter was accused of 'bullying' one of her friends. In actual fact the 'bullying' was that my daughter wanted to play with other friends too, and her first friend didn't like not having her to herself. Obviously you don't know my daughter, so you don't know just how ridiculous an accusation it was against her. It was completely unfounded, and investigation proved this.

The only one of my brothers kids to be bullied in any setting is my younger niece, who was bullied at Brownies.

The figures are for confirmed cases reported to local authorities. It is accepted by schools that bullying is under reported. Unfortunately, as parents are not present in schools during the school day they have to rely on their children recognising that they are being bullied and confiding in an adult about it.

In any case, my original point was about peer pressure, not bullying.

So are you saying that home ed is better because it removes peer pressure? Again, I think it's important to learn to make your own decisions.

I would have thought the main advantages of home education were that the child can follow his own interests, not be held back by the rest of the class, not be limited to a school timetable if he is engrossed in something, being able to have more frequent, meaningful and tailored outings etc etc. I appreciate that there are additional benefits for children with special educational needs, for whatever reason.

I HE my DD (and ds too - although he's only 16 months so it's mostly by accident lol)

I suppose my DD is missing out on some 'hard-knock-life' lessons but she's gaining a whole lot more imo.

She went to school and experienced some bullying - by a member of staff. That staff member kept her job despite an investigation finding she was completely out of control with her approach to children. The lesson my daughter learnt was that if you report being hurt at school by an adult you'll have to speak to the police, social workers and the Local Authority. Then you'll have to face that person on a daily basis despite being so scared when the incident took place that you wet yourself and had countless nightmares. But don't worry small helpless child - that bad lady is only allowed to work under full supervision so she can't hurt anyone again. She said sorry and is bullying the school by threatening legal action if she's dismissed. I don't think my daughter will be unhappy later on in life because she's going to be missing any more of THESE lessons.

I don't think she's sheltered either really. She experiences the day to day life of many adults and children around her. She sees more of the real world then she would from a classroom. Her education is tailored to her needs and interests. It isn't prescriptive according to what someone says she should learn in line with every other child in that class.

No one here would expect the nappies I use to fit every 16 month old boy but it's very much a 'one-size fits all' approach to education sadly.