Who's/Whose to Choose?

"Independence is bad. Look at the academies in my area - we can't control education like we used to and parents want to send their children to them instead". Pesky things, people eh?"

As another convert to the cause 'gets it', home educators are once again stunned by the "unyeilding, arrogant, we-know-what's-best-for-your-child attitude" of  those who seek control of our childrens educations, thoughts & futures.

Much has been made today of this agendist piece by the BBC, which implies that the Badman recommendations are somehow relevant in the case of Birmingham Social Services failure to prevent the abuse & subsequent death of yet another vulnerable child, even though social workers had been informed of the child's plight many months before she died.
We see here an inkling of the depths that people in positions of power will sink to in order to weild power over both the CHILD & PARENTS, as they try to piggyback the CSF Bill onto this tragic story. The heavily biased BBC piece quotes the odious & discredited Mr.Bad Man as saying "What we cannot do is ascribe rights to parents that deny the rights to the child".

Thus we enter the muddy waters of WHOSE the child IS... & WHO gets to decide upon & impose these 'rights' so often spoken of?
  
"Children are not possessions": 

Yes they are!...And this IS the crux of the debate... They ARE OUR children NOT YOUR children... & by 'OUR' I mean in the first instance THE PARENT'S; secondly THE FAMILY'S;  and only after those ties have been somehow severed, do those children become the responsibility of OTHERS.

You would think the matter would be a simple one.
PARENT/S *HAVE* CHILDREN.... without PARENT/S, CHILDREN cannot be. Therefore until a 'CHILD' becomes an 'ADULT' it is generally assumed that the PARENTS will be the ones who care for, nurture & take responsibility for the CHILD.
(Obviously there may be occasions when the parents are unable/unfit to look after the child... in which case is is assumed that a guardian should be appointed instead & in most societies, the world over, it is considered preferable that in the first instance a suitable guardian should be sought within the FAMILY!)

as Blogdial so correctly observes...

"...children are a special form of property. You need to accept this principle as one of absolute truth. They are either your property, or the property of the state."

This is not just true in law... but in life. If you do not take possession of your children then someone else will... & they may not have the best interests of the child at heart... they certainly won't have the same motivations as the parents!

 In another thought provoking article on the subject Blogdial states:

"When a child is born however, it becomes a human being with all the natural rights that human beings are born with. It cannot fend for itself in any way; it needs special care and nurturing. Since it is the creation of two people, those parents are, naturally, the people with the responsibility of caring for that child; the child is the ward of the parents.

Being a ward in this way is a special form of property. While you are in the care of your parents, they have total responsibility for you and can have procedures performed on you that they feel are for your benefit..."

"But children have rights too":

Sanitation; healthcare; education; food; shelter; land; positive sexual relations; water; knowledge; clean air; comfort & love... may sound like things we all have a natural, inalienable 'right' to... But the fact of the matter is they are all things which we have to rely upon others to ALLOW us to have... They are also all things which people can make excuse to DENY others.

"Rights, are only right, when the right person says so." Susanna Rogers

When we demand our 'rights'.... Or what we think is 'rightful'... We are asking for the consideration of other human beings. Rights are not something we are born with which then have the potential to be taken away... they are something which we are either given by others or take for ourselves from the moment we are born... or sometimes even from conception. 

It is in this knowledge that the term 'Fight for your rights' has arisen.

Some believe that many of our 'rights', whether in LAW or in LIFE, are commodities which must be won & protected.
However others subscribe to the idea that 'rights' are a natural part of existence which should be afforded to each at their whim, or believe that 'rights' are something which can or should only be granted at the whim of others.

I'm guessing that most people are of the opinion that abusing & exploiting a child is morally abhorrent & that a child has the 'right' (as should we all) to live peacably without violence or harrassment, thus Laws have been made to protect those in society who are naturally & legally acknowledged as vulnerable & unable to protect themselves.
However, the very concept of 'rights' (for that is all it is) is highly subjective. In my opinion there are no 'inalienable rights'... just 'rights' in Law... & agenda driven assertions based on individual principles...

• I may think YOUR child has the right to attend school in order to mix with lots of other people their own age.
• YOU may think MY child has the right to stay at home with THEIR natural care giver rather than be handed over to the care of strangers for 6 hours a day.

• YOU may think MY 6 year old child has the right to state curricula standard sex education so that THEY can become an uninhibited, responsible & attentive lover when THEY reach adulthood.
• I may think YOUR 6 year old child has the right to the innocence of 'childhood' until such a time as THEY are ready to start thinking about adult concepts.

• I may think YOUR child has the right to be vaccinated against all communicable diseases as and when such vaccines come onto the market.
• YOU may think MY child has the right not to be injected with substances which they may be too young and uninformed to understand the potential ill effects of. 

• A deeply religious woman may feel SHE has the right to follow the conventions of HER faith without the judgement of others.
• A peer in the House of Lords may feel SHE has the right to pass judgement on ANY of  those under her authority.

• The government may think that all of our children have the right to be freed of the opinions & constrains of their parents.
• YOUNG PEOPLE may think they have the right to be freed from the opinions & constraints of all ADULTS.

"I didn't give life to MY 3 children for THEIR lives to be subsequently governed & directed by YOU!... Whoever they hell YOU may be... and whatever common purpose YOU 'believe' we should ALL be heading toward!!!" (Me. Specialist Expert on the subjects of 'MY life' & 'MY children')

Unless the PARENT is the perpetrator of abuse serious enough to warrant the removal of the CHILD from them, then it should be considered de facto that PARENTS retain ownership of & responsibility for the child's PERSON, until that child is old enough, both in LAW & in LIFE, to assert THEIR own ideas about 'rights'.

Fighting for the Family:

(Re-posted from my Hubpages blog)

In the biblical story of the 'Wisdom of Solomon', two women are in disagreement over who is the mother of a baby.
Solomon is attributed with having "great wisdom" for discerning that a mother would rather give up her child to the care of another than have it slaughtered... so he threatens to split the baby in half & duly the woman who is the true mother cries out that she would rather give up the
baby to the other woman, than see it killed...
... the act of self sacrifice which is performed by this woman is considered as such a given, that it's power & beauty are reduced to the purpose of illustrating the wisdom & might of this king over his subjects.

If anything, i see this particular grisly tale as illustrative, not of how wise this particular king was, but more of the way children and parents are often used as pawns in political maneuvering to the point where the state tries to assume 'ownership' of the child's life in order to control both the child & the parent...
but I am getting ahead of myself...

I believe the true moral of this tale is this; no matter how great the sacrifice, a mother will give her all to protect the child she loves; & how neither greed, nor vindictiveness nor the might & power of kings can waiver the unerring strength of the maternal bond.
 

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children Schools & Families: Economist, 

prominent Fabian Society member & trusted adviser of Gordon Brown!

Over the last 12 months, I have personally been compelled to participate in a war against those who would seek to tyrannically control & oppress the lives of my children and I. (Not to mention thousands of others...& maybe YOURS too!)

"When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty!"

 
"This degrading, downgrading and debasement of parenthood is itself an elite project in order to establish tight control over the lives of a subject people. "Like many other home educating parents, I have awakened to the snowballing trend by politicians & public policy makers of attempting to sever the child from parental ties.

"The state does not wish to protect the integrity of the child: it wishes to ensure that the child internalises the values of the state and not the parent!"

It is typically, although not exclusively, the mother who stays at home & fulfills the role of educational facilitator. In the UK, home educating mothers in particular, have been subjected to offensive misogynistic slurs, such as

"home educating mothers suffer(...) from Munchhausen's by Proxy"

However, the ban upon Home Education in Germany has recently led one US Judge to state:..."the rights being violated here are basic human rights that no country has a right to violate."Yet here seems to prevail a belief system, particularly within governmental departments, that children need protecting from their parents. What is more 'The State' seems to think it can raise children better than parents or at least decide who is to be approved as fulfilling their idea of an 'appropriate' parent.

While this government has been in power, there has been a marked increase in the unwarranted intrusion in family life by agents of the State.
Their sinister social engineering agenda is constantly being pushed forward under the pretext of child protection.
The forced adoption of children in the UK is reaching frightening extremes... Babies are often ear marked as candidates from before birth.
The UK operates secret Family Courts.Parents are gagged from reporting what happens inside them. These closed courts have no juries yet can imprison without an open trial.

"I don't think the public appreciates how low the threshold is. When children are taken from their parents, it is not because there is a certainty of future harm or even that, on the balance of probabilities, those children could be harmed. It is enough that there will be a possibility of future harm. If there is a 70 per cent. risk of a child being harmed and every child with that risk was taken into care then, in 100 such cases, 30 children would be taken from families where they would come to no harm. Sometimes, I wonder whether children are being protected, or whether it is social workers' careers." (...) "There's an unspoken fear that children from poor backgrounds are being freed up for middle-class adopters." (Barrister, Andrew Scott)

The most recent high profile case in the UK media has been that of Kerry Robertson & Mark McDougall. 

They were informed early in Kerry's pregnancy that their baby would be removed within days of being born as social services workers did not consider her clever enough to raise a child.
Fife Social Services also prevented her from marrying the baby's father Mark, an act which would have granted him clearer legal custody rights as the father. They again claimed that this was because they didn't consider Kerry to have the mental capacity to understand fully the implications of the act of marriage. 

Kerry, who has mild learning difficulties, fled to Ireland with her partner & on 22 January 2010, she gave birth to a healthy 7lb 3oz son who they've named Ben. However, at the behest of Fife Council, Irish social workers took the baby from the couple just four days after he was born.  

LibDem MP John Hemming said ‘There is no evidence that Mark and Kerry cannot be good parents and I just hope that the Irish authorities can resolve this as quickly as possible.’ 

It was reported in the Daily Mail(27/1/10) that, after a court hearing, the parents of Ben were granted access to their child on the proviso that Kerry move into a mother and baby unit, where the 17-year-old will be under under constant supervision. So far Kerry & Mark have been given no indication how long she & Ben will be expected to remain in the Mother & Baby Unit.

Kerry was breastfeeding Ben when he was taken from her. She claims that he was given a dummy & fed formula by the foster carers he was placed with. There was an outcry from breastfeeding advocacy & support groups.

"Those who think that society has “gone too far” in supporting breastfeeding, that mothers who formula feed are demonised and breastfeeding mothers aren’t:   Show me the women who are losing their jobs for formula feeding. (...) Show me the women who have been ordered to cease or interrupt formula feeding by family courts. (...) Show me the people who, on seeing a bottle pulled out in a public place, will wrinkle their nose and say in disgust, “Are you going to do that here?” (...) Show me the people who insist that all bottle feeding should be covered with a blanket, you filthy sluts. (...) Show me the people who say that formula feeding shouldn’t be allowed in public because they don’t have time to explain such adult concepts to their children. (...) Show me the women who have been accused of formula feeding because they’re paedophiles..." (read full article here)

Breast Feeding, Attatchment Parenting & Co-Sleeping have all had bad press & been subjects of controversy...How have some of the most natural acts of motherhood, including the utmost act of parental input into the nourishment of a child, feeding a baby the way they have been fed since the dawn of time... become such controversial, abhorrent & socially taboo subjects? Since when has feeding a baby or choosing to teach a child become the subversive acts of 'domestic extremists'? Why is it that...

When women use their breasts in ways that don’t centre around men’s desires, women are demonised. And what better way to demonise people than to denounce them for our most despised crime, child sexual abuse?

Parents are finding themselves increasingly attacked for committing the most natural acts of love, child nurture & care giving and these attacks are often instigated
or supported by policy makers & supposed experts in a field & the media... Although breastfeeding & extended or child-led weaning has seen a marked increase in recent years, the onslaught of political & economic control of parenting via marketing, social manipulation & medical misinformation continues to this day. The bad reputation of Co-Sleeping is fuelled by the media hysteria & mis-information about rare instances when a co-sleeping baby has died. Most people who are anti co-sleeping claim concerns about the baby’s safety. However, others claim it's necessary for a baby to be taught from an early age to sleep seperately from the parents. This would be the very antithesis of the idea of 'attatchment parenting', which promotes the ethos that children grow to be more confident and secure when they are allowed to experience the world at their own pace & need a close relationship with their parents to enable that to happen in a positive way.

"The history of our times will show of many broken families, of children without a family to remember, of heartache and tears of fear and a lifetime of terror of that knock on the door at midnight. Of being wrenched from mother’s arms and of brothers and sisters disappearing, never to be seen again. Of men and women wrongfully cast into prisons, tormented for years by the knowledge of their innocence... This will be the legacy of our times for future generations – it is now being written. In newspapers, television documentaries, Parliamentary debates, and most importantly of all, by those who have suffered." (Charles Pragnell, Dip.S.W., L.R.C.C.)

So here we are at the beginning of a new century... a new millenium... and in many ways, the wars waged by parents & particularly Mothers are not that different from in the ancient times of the 'wise' king Solomon...
Those who seek power through public positions & attempt to control whole societies & cultures, really do not seem yet to have a full appreciation one of the most obvious... most basic... most fundamental rules of humanity ...

DO NOT COME BETWEEN A MOTHER & HER CHILD!!!

A woman's special role as 'Mother' dictates that she has both an duty & a right to participate in political & public policy making spheres.
Graham Badman has been heard to foolishly utter that he doubts "the sort of civil disobedience that you fear"...from the parents & young people who are to be affected by his recommendations...Well i say this to you, Mr.(a very) Badman & Mr.(talking utter) Balls... this Labour Government... & any political party or person in a position of authority who tries to manipulate the vulnerability of my children or who wages a dirty tricks campaign to bring violence, coersion & abuse upon my family...

"No public stakeholder loves me or our child" (S.Matthan)

During the greater part of the 20th century, when women’s political & activistic energy had been concentrated on issues of women’s economic rights and status, 'Organized Motherhood', still continued to be the overriding principle at the head of anti-violence movements.

On the 5th September 1981, the Welsh group “Women for Life on Earth” marched from Cardiff to Greenham Common, Berkshire, with the intention of challenging, by debate, the decision to site 96 'Cruise' nuclear missiles there. Thus, beginning a protest that was to last 19 years.

They delivered a letter to the Base Commander which stated...

We fear for the future of all our children and for the future of the living world which is the basis of all life."

After their request for a debate was ignored, they set up a Peace Camp outside the surrounding fence of the Greenham Common RAF Airbase. The camp became known as the 'Women’s Peace Camp' and gained both national and international recognition.

Taking non-violent direct action against movements at the base meant that some women were arrested, taken to court and sent to prison. A 22 year old Welsh woman, Helen Wynne Thomas, even lost her life there when she was hit by a West Midlands Police horsebox, as she stood on the safe zone waiting to cross the road near 'Yellow Gate'. Her name is the only woman's name to be recorded on the site which is now known as The Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp Commemorative & Historic Site.

The message from women as 'Mothers', past, present & to come, is clear, 

"Keep your hands off our kids because there is no sacrifice too great in order to protect them!"

... and we will bring THAT philosophy & THAT battle cry to any 21st century challenge upon their lives or our bond with them!

Essential Reading:

Forced Adoption 2nd Ed.

The Gulag Of The Family Courts

The Politics of Breastfeeding, 3rd Edition: When Breasts are Bad for Business

Milk, Money, and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding

EVERY Child Matters!!!... ALL of them!

Over the last few days some home educator Facebook 'friends' have seemed to be losing patience with my posts that concern subjects they consider irrelevant, unproven or contentious...

However I, like many other HE'ers, cannot fail to see the links between other current socio-political issues & the attack on non-state governed learning.

Whilst fighting to protect home education, I have become aware of the underhand methods that those in authority will use to obtain & retain control over others. The Badman Review has been an abject lesson in how 'evidence' is fabricated & manipulated in order to push a set agenda. The readings of the Bill and the associated voting process further exemplified how those working within institutions of power will toe the party line even when it's ideals are in direct contradiction to their own moral view-point.

The CSF Bill is presently the foremost battle on my agenda, but I find it impossible to ignore or separate myself from the plight of others who are also victims of the abuses, machinations & tyrranies of the governing elite... especially when these are enacted upon the most vulnerable members of our community.... namely CHILDREN!

I recently wrote an article on Hubpages detailing how families are used as pawns in political maneuvering to the point where the state tries to assume 'ownership' of the child's life in order to control both the child & the parent...

Call it 'paranoia'.... call it a 'conspiracy theory'.... call it 'irrelevant' or 'unproven' if you will... but I think most people are aware that there's something very wrong with the way our government & society operate... and whilst this may not be a new phenomena, what has changed over recent decades is our ability to communicate about & protest against the status quo.

Although in recent years we have been infested with a plague of legislative measures to restrict & monitor the spread of information & our ability to speak out against injustices, the Internet has never-the-less provided the common man with a platform upon which to stand & spread the word to an unlimited audience...

Once upon a time, a man being wrongly arrested for a 'breach of the peace' in Scotland would be news that few people in other parts of the UK would EVER get to know about... however, the rise of our friend the Internet now provides us with the ability to communicate with millions of others, the world over, in the space of seconds...


... and it is with these factors in mind that I would like to introduce to you the case of Hollie Greig!

I am not usually one for joining groups, spreading tales or getting up in arms about paedophilia.... this is NOT because I do not care... but because I have seen how the fear of child abuse is often milked & manipulated in order to create a climate of societal fear which is subsequently used by those seeking to control others & tends to give rise to acts of vigilantism and persecution...

However, the story of Hollie Grieg's abuse is not just worthy of note because of its horrific details... but because it bears the potential to expose the sickening corruption which permeates our society from the very top... Those implicated include a member of the Scottish Judiciary, a senior government law officer, a senior police officer, members of the legal, social work & medical professions & others.

From the age of 6 until she was about age 20, Hollie Grieg (who was born affected by Downs Syndrome) was raped & sexually abused by her father, her brother & by her fathers paedophile associates. After 14 years of terrified silence, Hollie eventually told her mother Annie about the abuses and duly the Grampian Police were informed. After Hollie was questioned about her allegations it was accepted & made a matter of record that she was a truthful & reliable witness. Medical and other evidence supported Hollie`s account. £13,500 was paid to Hollie by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority... & yet no charges have ever been brought!!! In fact, Hollie received payments for crimes that have never even been investigated...

The details of this shocking case & the attempted cover-up can be heard  here in this presentation by Robert Green, a journalist investigating the allegations. In it he describes the breadth of evidence available to support Hollie's claims & names those involved in the abuses.

There have been continuous steps taken to prevent these allegations being made public. These have included the drugging of both Hollie & her mother Anne. Anne's forced incarceration in a psychiatric institution. Shots being fired at the home of Anne & Hollie. The intimidation of BBC employees to prevent futher investigation by them. Legal notices issued. The fleeing of Hollie's father and brother to Portugal & quite possibly the murder of Anne's brother, who Hollie says witnessed her father abusing her. His body was found with multiple injuries in a burned out car.

On the morning of 12th February 2010, Robert Green, was detained by Grampian Police. He intended making his way to the town centre to campaign for justice for Hollie & announce his intention to stand for election as an MP in order to bring to light Hollie’s case. The UK Column asked its readers to get involved by phoning the station where Robert was being held to enquire after his wellbeing & right to legal representation & to show that many people were supporting him & were aware of his incarceration.

Mr Green was not released from police custody until the 16th February. He was first required to appear at Stonehaven Court where a 'gagging' order was imposed upon him. His charge is 'Breach of the Peace'.

I will not apologise for bringing this case to the attention of as many people as I can, irrespective of how irrelevant, unproven or contentious some may think this case is compared to the themes of their lives & their agendas.


Hollie, Anne & Robert have all shown remarkable bravery & tenacity in doing all they can to get this story into the public domain in order TO PROTECT THOSE WHO ARE BEING ABUSED NOW & THOSE WHO WILL BE IN THE FUTURE IF THIS IS NOT STOPPED!!!

If this story is not reported  & investigated then MANY, MANY more children will continue to be harmed both physically & emotionally whilst the perpetrators get away scott free!... Perpetrators of rape, abuse corruption & fraud, who are in some of the highest positions of authority in society, are trying to suppress the truth!!!!

As a parent..... a home educator.... a bloody human being.... I DO believe THIS is my business, it's EVERYBODY'S business. EVERY CHILD MATTERS whether they're home educated or 'otherwise'.

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me." (Martin Niemöller, 1946)

  Please re-post widely.... please demand an investigation.... please help the victims be heard!

‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ (Edmund Burke)

Elective Home Education in the UK- A brief history?

Originally Published 26/11/09

Formal Schooling: Fashion or Fascism?

Historically, formal 'schooling' or the use of 'tutors' was an option available only to the elite, thus most people were educated at home or by learning a trade. However 'State sponsored' & 'compulsory' education have been a feature of many societies as far back as 1AD.

It is to be noted that the main reasons for many of these legislative 'compulsions' to institutionalized schooling were in order to promote a strong 'work ethic' amongst the poor & thus strengthen the state economy, the streamlining of philosophical & religious ideaologies to prevent rebellion against those in power & to coerce the population into a State prescribed 'mold'.

Under the Elementary Education Act 1880, education in the UK became
compulsory for children aged 5-10 years & was made compulsory up to
age 15 in 1947.

The requirement for ever more labourers & the appalling social conditions of the under-class during the Industrial Revolution, meant that both parents had to work & were unable to look after their own children at home. Child labour was becoming increasingly frowned upon & it became more required of the masses to be literate & numerate so that they could keep records of production. Manufacturers & politicians therefore sought to provide a childcare/apprenticeship solution.




In 1938 Hitler banned Home Education in Germany. The law was imposed to enable the 'Hitler Youth' to be indoctrinated & to prevent freedom of thought, religion or philosophical conviction within wider society. That law stands to this day, with parents who defy it being fined or imprisoned. It often results in their children being forcefully removed from their care.

The European Court of Human Rights upholds the German ban on home-schooling, stating that "Schools represent society, and it is in the children's interest to become part of that society. The parents' right to educate does not go as far as to deprive their children of that experience."; and (that it is in...) "the general interest of society to avoid the emergence of parallel societies based on separate philosophical convictions and the importance of integrating minorities into society."

On January 19th 2009 the UK government began it's most recent attack on Home Education. The 'Badman Review into Elective Home Education in England', was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls. Former Director of Children's Services at Kent County Council, Mr. Graham Badman was given the remit to investigate whether home education could be used as a cover for some forms of child abuse.
Published on June 11 2009 the review's recommendations that related to safeguarding were accepted in full by Ed Balls & in the 'Queen's Speech' on November 18th 2009, the introduction of a Children, Schools and Families Bill intended to amend the Education Act 1996 was proposed, even though the review stated that no evidence was found to support suggestions that home education was linked to forced marriage, servitude or child trafficking.












This will make compulsory the registration & licensing of home educating families and the implementation of State constructed guidelines as to what constitutes a 'suitable & efficient' education. Those who get permission to educate at home will have an annual review & any license issued may be subject to revocation. Local council representatives will have the power to enter family homes and question children alone, a power even the police do not have! They will also have the power to order under-16s to school if they do not approve of the style of education being provided, this power is, at present, reserved for the courts!!!

Schooling & Socialism: Killing the competition

Modern schooling is upheld by its proponents as socially & economically enriching & stabilizing. Governments seek to create, through education, Utopian societies blessed with equality of thought & deed. "Education, Education, Education" is no longer just one political party's tag-line, it is the buzz-term of the new millennium, echoing across continents. Mankind's natural instinct to explore & learn has now been given its own slogan.
But not everyone believes that education needs, or should be subject to, such vigorous & uncompromisingly direct promotion. John Holt claims that the compulsory schooling system violates some of the most basic fundamental right of humans, in particular the right to decide what enters our own minds.
What is more, he asserts that an approach where the child directs the learning, based upon their own interests & facilitated by the adult, is the most effective for both the happiness & future prospects of the individual.

There are as many different types of Home Education as there are Home Educators. Some parents choose to mimic formal schooling, with adherence to curricula & timetables & 'classical' subjects. At the other
end of the spectrum we see 'Unschooling' or 'Child-centred/led learning' which emphasizes the need to follow the natural pace of learning & interests of the child, rather than imposing preconceived ideas upon them. What is certainly felt by most home educating parents, irrespective of philosophical ideology, is that a School environment is NOT the right place for THEIR child to receive the kind of education they deem most appropriate.

There have been many instances of research into Home Education & it's outcomes for children, most noteable are Paula Rothermel's PhD thesis and other works. A published paper by Dr. Roland Meighan (University of Nottingham School of Education) 'Home-based Education: Not Does It Work but Why Does It Work So Well' and several other works including a book published by Dr Alan Thomas, who is an ex-school teacher, & a Visiting Fellow University of London Institute of Education & Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Nearly all of these experts in the field come to the conclusion that home education provides outcomes for children which not only match those expected from school education, but in the greater number of cases, exceed them.

One may be forgiven for asking, 'why would a government want to jeopardize & maybe even eradicate an educational choice which is proven throughout history to be so successful, economically sound & in keeping with the idea of true parental responsibility?' Why indeed...

"Government schooling is the most radical adventure in
history. It kills the family by monopolizing the best times of
childhood and by teaching disrespect for home and parents." (from John Taylor Gatto's resignation letter, featured in The Wall Street Journal)

Most modern, state financed schools can easily (& ashamedly) be seen to fit into Erving Goffman's model of the 'total institution'. This model has much more to do with 'schooling', as a form of social control, rather than 'education' which should be a process of expanding mind & consciousness.
In examining the battle of the right to home educate across the globe, there seems to be a recurring theme; that idea that children need to be protected from the fundamentally held beliefs of their parents & exposed instead to the 'pluralistic' experiences & belief systems deemed suitable by those in governance.(see Tolstoy's Parable of the Herd)

The systematic erosion of liberty is never more of a threat than when it literally comes knocking on your door! 

Not only does home education encourage free & critical thinking but it's very existence as a choice arms the parents & children who use schools with the knowledge that they are the consumer of a product. As consumers they are entitled to a certain standard of service & have the freedom to opt out when that system fails. What is more, home education is growing in popularity as more parents & children discover that it is a realistic option for them thus reducing the uptake of state provision...

Home education, in it's success, holds up a mirror to the ugly face of
modern, formalized schooling and shows up all its flaws. What better reason could a failing state system have for wanting to kill the competition?

Brown Badman Balls: The Thought Police

(Original Publication on: 10/10/09)
THE STATE WISHES TO ESTABLISH ITSELF LEGISLATIVELY AS THE 'PARENT' OF OUR CHILDREN!!!

As a home educating parent, there have been a number of concerns which I had been hesitant to rush into writing a blog about, as most of it was a drama in the unfolding...

...seemed absurdly surreal...

...and I really wasn't sure it would ever reach the proposterous heights it now has!

...but I can contain it no longer...

I just can't allow myself to be
dragged down into the murky depths of a draconian State dictatorship by the
'powers-that-be' & their snivelling cronies without putting up a
damned HARD FIGHT!

Mr. Balls, you can take your Mr. Bad-man, wrap him in that web of lies review he wrote FOR you... And shove them both where the sun don't shine...

...& that goes too for the 'selective committee', the DCSF, your pathetic political party & any attempts you make to restrict home educating families rights & liberties...

The answer is "NO!"

I was heartened by this video which details exactly what most Home Educating families attitude toward the 'Review of Elective Home Education in England by Graham Badman' is...

...that it is a spurious piece of fiction designed to control freethinking individuals who are resistant to this tyrannical governments increasing stranglehold on our liberty!

While watching this video I saw a comment left by a person who was, as many are, obviously unfamiliar with the concept of Home Education & its specifics & just couldn't understand why Home Education shouldn't be 'Quality controlled' & parents subjected to examination by & registration with 'The State' as suitable to raise their own children, before being allowed to do so...

I think I need to clarify the matter...

"Dear [Insert Name of anyone who hasn't woken up to this issue yet]... before all of us HE'ers were subjected to the dirty tricks campaign of 'The Bad man' & 'The Governments Balls' we too might have been just as naively wishful as you in thinking that our 'powers-that-be' would only impose laws that were fair... & just... & for the greater good of us all.... cast with an even & paternally gentle hand....

...WAKE UP! Your government is raping you!!!(& they're disguising it as 'child protection'!)

"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the
children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of
liberty and almost any deprivation."

from 'Mein Kampf'

Some kids will always be neglected by the adults that should be caring for them,
or may not get as good an education provided to them as they deserve...

...just as some people will always want to break into your house &
steal your stuff, drive cars over the alcohol limit, lie about statistics to meet their own ends...
etc, etc, etc.... there just ARE people out there who will do 'wrong'
things sometimes... sometimes you or I could be one of them....

...that doesn't mean that we should all

• be thought of as criminals, until we have proven to government agencies that we are not breaking any laws or
  Govern-mentally prescribed moral codes,
  
• state on record who we are, what we do & how we do it, and answer questions as to whether we know what is right for OUR children...
  
• be told by 'experts' whether our 'license to be a parent' is to be approved or revoked based upon a governmentally prescribed ethos of child-rearing & moral ideology...
  
• be forced to register annual statements of intent toward OUR own children so that we can account for what we are doing within OUR own homes... lives... &
  thoughts....

and so on & so on...

"It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself--anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face...; was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: 'facecrime'..."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 5

THAT is 1984! That is Nazi germany!

That is attempting to make us fit to one mould, so that we can be measured & overseen for 'our own good' and this law that they are trying to force upon us will not just apply to HE'ers...

It is just another tool in the governments agenda of social control from cradle to grave... if not before!...

"But what about 'Quality control'?" you say...

There ARE laws in place already that can be used to deal with parents who a Local Education Authority, or any concerned member of society, feels is not providing education or appropriate care for their child.

The reason kids slip through the net that IS already in place is because those laws are often not understood, or correctly applied, by those who are being paid to do so!...

and because, unfortunately, some will always slip through the net.

The reality of life is that there are bad people out there & some of them are very evil.... (& SOME OF THEM ARE IN OFFICIAL POSITIONS OF POWER OVER YOU & YOUR FAMILY RIGHT NOW!)

Please believe me when I explain to you that this AGENDA DRIVEN PROPAGANDIST HATE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOME EDUCATORS has proven itself again and again as A COMPLETE RED HERRING...

This agenda has been pushed forward by painting HE as a haven for neglect & abuse
to occur unless tight guidelines & careful monitoring are used and
have claimed to have the figures to back this up...

However, in truth, the statistics prove the opposite of what the Badman review suggests.

Home Education is HISTORICALLY & STATISTICALLY proven to be one of the most positive ways of bringing up bright & happy children who go on to be successful & contented adults... thats why many Home Edders have, or still do work within education or child services but will not risk putting their own child through the power crazy Neu Liebour workhouses they want to force our kids
into!

"Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to
date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by
documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or
any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the
moment, ever allowed to remain on record. All history was a palimpsest,
scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary." - George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 3

IF YOU HAVE NO LOVE FOR THIS CONTROL FREAK GOVERNMENT...may I urge you to take a look at the many many articles written on this subject.

Home Education organisations & individuals have sought to record & appraise all of the FACTS about, the lies being told & the propaganda that has been pushed by our government & it's cronies, in order to demonise & vilify all home educating & free thinking families & individuals everywhere!

Once applied to Home Educators, THIS NEW SET OF POLICIES WILL HAVE TO APPLY TO ALL, or they would be classed in law as discriminatory...
therefore, THEY WILL APPLY TO ALL CHILDREN... ALL OF THE TIME... EVEN YOURS!!!

THINK ABOUT THE POSSIBLE REASONS WHY THE STATE INTENDS TO ESTABLISH ITSELF LEGISLATIVELY AS THE 'PARENT' OF OUR CHILDREN...Then, Just say NO! to the DCSF!!!

UPDATE: December 2009-

"MP's have finally begun to get behind home educators & speak out against the proposals. It is likely that Labour will be ejected in the next election, but there are still NO cast iron guarantees from either of the main opponents that they will repeal this legislation.

The Children, Schools and Families Select Committee has published a report which is somewhat critical of the initial government review into home education & the proposals for legislation, but fails to grasp the heart of the issue... that the government works for the parent(taxpayer/citizen) & that it is up to the parent(taxpayer/citizen) to decide whether or not to utilise state provision of services & not for the state to compel us to do so.

Many families have stated their intent of non-compliance with this legislation, if introduced.
I, for one, WILL NOT be bullied into subjecting my children to ANY process which I do not feel it is in their best interests to be part of.
Some parents may be able to leave the country & start afresh in places with less draconian systems. But for many there will be no option except to stay & brazen it out." ('Learning Liberty' Forum)

Our chosen method:

Autonomous Education/ Unschooling/'Free-Range' Education/Child-led learning:

...are forms of home education which work on the belief that the conventional
methods of
traditional schooling, are counterproductive to maximising the
education of the individual and that in fact it is preferable to allow
children to learn through their natural life experiences.

This kind of
educational philosophy is also sometimes known as the "free-range"
method. Student-centred learning is led by the children themselves &
facilitated by the adults, child directed play is a key tenet of the
unschooling philosophy.

Read an article
about 'Un-schooling' written by Grace Llewellen, a former English
teacher and the author of 'The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit
School and Get a Real Life and Education' (1991)

Join my forum 'Learning Liberty' for up to the minute news & lively topical debate.

Discuss civil liberties issues, share information & network with like minded individuals.

It is YOUR duty...

UK Law states: It is YOUR duty to cause your child to "receive efficient full-time education suitable to (their) ability and aptitude"!!!

Did you know that UK law states that it's a parents responsibility to decide where & how their child should be educated?

"7: Duty of parents to secure education of children of compulsory school age
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable-
(a)
to his age, ability and aptitude, and

(b)
to any special educational needs he may have,

either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

Did you know that in the UK it is perfectly legal NOT to send a child to a 'school' for their education, but to teach them yourself instead?
9: Pupils to be educated in accordance with parents wishes

In exercising or
performing all their respective powers and duties under the Education
Acts, the Secretary of State, local education authorities and the
funding authorities shall have regard to the general principle that
pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their
parents, so far as that is compatible with the provision of efficient
instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public
expenditure." (Education Act 1996)

Did you know that it DOES NOT require ANY special qualifications & THOUSANDS of parents already do this in the UK, RIGHT NOW!!!?

Did
you know that children educated this way, more often than not, do much
better in learning & life, than their schooled counterparts? (studies have been done which illustrate this)

Did you know that the UK government would like to remove this legal right from parents & children so
that THEY, not parents, can decide what is to be taught to ALL children
& where that learning should take place? (& are currently
attempting to bring in legislation to this effect)

Did you know that the UK government intends to let it's employees interview
children ALONE, a power which even the police do not have. They have
stated that they will force children into schools if the parents refuse to comply with their policies!