HomeCrazzyHome

Yesterday, I told you about the proposed changes to the #HomeEd laws in England and Wales. Specifically, the register of all home educated #LittleHumans including…

regular assessment visits that focus on supporting the family, assessing that the children are receiving the educational provision intended and ensuring that the child’s voice and their safety are being considered in decisions about their life, if it was to achieve its aims. (Cascade Report)

Some people may not see anything wrong with that. After all, isn’t it the job of government to see that children are properly educated?

I had and still have a long winded, carefully researched, and logical argument for that question. But I will come back to that another day. Today, we hear from PanKwake herself about how she feels about this proposal.

Let me begin by saying…I had nothing to do with this other than asking her to make a video about how she feels about the proposed changes. And I edited the video as I always do to add titles and credits. this time I also had to take out a segment and replace it with another when she used her friend’s name.

But these are PanKwake’s thoughts and fears…

I was as blown away as you may have been. While we openly discuss this as well as almost everything else in our #HomeCrazzyHome, I was not aware of the level of pure fear that she felt about the situation.

Of course, as a #RadiCoolUnschooler we are the front lines. Unschooling will be the first that they come after in determining what is suitable education.

We have seen that already with a spat of BBC (government owned and controlled…no matter what you think that’s the bottom line, folks) radio and television programs that portray unschoolers in a highly unfavorable light.

So it would be naive and wrong of me to offer PanKwake false platitudes to comfort and allay her fears. I make a point not to make promises to her that I cannot keep.

Especially as we live in a local council where the person they would imbue with the power to determine what is and is not suitable education has said in public meetings that she would ‘not be comfortable APPROVING’ such things.

So make no mistake about it…PanKwake’s fears are far from irrational. They are our future if this ‘register’ becomes law.

But together Cookie Monster and I did promise her that we would do all we could to ensure she continues to receive the education that works best for her. And that, folks, is what #HomeEducation is all about.