.....Only Because of the Lockdown

 

…. It was definitely only on account of the Lockdown and it had certainly been a long time since anyone asked my opinion on the possible consequences of home education.  Under such circumstances as an ex-devotee you want to display that particular concept in its very best light because who wants to be seen as part of an old fashioned outmoded idea?   I was glad Andrea was there as well although she wasn’t strictly in the same category as me because she had always followed an exacting programme dictated by the Church the family were involved with.   There were times when I had envied her.   No wondering what next Monday morning would bring for her – the plan was there laid out in easy to understand language that even Emmanuel the six year old would understand.     Mathematics followed by Creative Writing no matter how much you objected.   I wondered if my more haphazard approach had in fact been responsible for what some might politely describe as a touch of irresponsibility in at least one of my own students.

 

A young woman called Sara asked if we thought that the lack of normal socializing opportunities resulted in some students developing unusual social responses in years to come.  Andrea said she sometimes wondered if her older son’s lack of empathy for those who should be closest to him was a direct consequence of not being part of the normal classroom hurly burly.    He had apparently shown little concern when his sister was knocked off her bike and suffered a fractured skull, at times when he rang home not even asking how she was faring.   There followed at least one gasp of surprise so I decided to opt out of giving either an example or an opinion myself.  

 

Margot who had organized the discussion said in her view empathy or the lack of it had more to do with who you were as an individual and nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not you were required to attend school.   A young woman of her acquaintance had taken three months to contact the family of a cousin she had grown up with, killed in a road traffic accident.   And she, apparently, had attended the very best school in the area and was even deputy Head Girl at one stage.   Andrea said well maybe that was correct, some people were simply totally self-obsessed and then she mentioned Donald Trump.   Judy said well he surely hadn’t been home schooled and Andrea agreed but added that he did appear to be rather more than mildly narcissistic and definitely socially askew.    Just the sort of individual who would fail to ask after the health of an ailing sibling.    We discussed other prominent home schoolers – the Queen and Princess Margaret, Agatha Christie and possibly Greta Thunberg although nobody could quite recall if she attended school or not.    

 

And instead of outlining various home curriculums and the advantages of the more regimented and Christian based as opposed to those that followed the child’s interests, we found ourselves vigorously discussing aspects of mental health.   Was it possible that home education at times triggered undesirable syndromes that may have lain dormant within the more random structures of the local primary school?    The group ended up equally divided with some vocally supporting the necessity for freedom to educate your own children your own way.   Others were convinced that the cosseting, cherishing and sheltering of the home schooled child resulted at times in the kind of human beings who are better avoided. 

 

The underlying problem though seemed to be that it was impossible to predict how any child might develop because it rather depended upon how they coped with the various problems life threw at their feet.   Some seemed unable to deal with quite minor troubles and wanted to blame others because their lives were not perfect becoming ever more inward looking.   But could these traits really be blamed on home schooling?    Something about that conclusion has never sat well with me – but then I was very much a Home Schooling Missionary way back then.