Natalie Colgate

(SHORT TRAVEL ARTICLE)

 

WHO was Saint Patrick and why does he get to have a day of remembrance? Why all the fuss about the clover and what is the reason for it all? My husband, Graham, and I ferried to Dublin in Ireland for Saint Patrick’s Day on the 17th of March to find out more about the origin of this widely celebrated day.

Our hotel was located just outside Dublin, in Sutton Cross. True to its name, The Marine Hotel was on the beachfront with the Irish Sea walking distance across the lawn. I hadn’t seen the sea in five months and smelling the salty air was invigorating indeed.

The ‘lucky four-leaved clover’ had always been my association to Ireland, but all around Dublin were three-leaved clovers, or shamrocks as they’re known there. Irish legend says Saint Patrick (the minister who brought Christianity to Ireland) compared the Holy Trinity with a shamrock, pointing to the three leaflets joined by a common stalk.

The four-leaved clover as a lucky charm stems from the pagan period. They were used as Celtic charms against malevolent spirits, leading to the modern belief in their power to bestow good luck. Apparently there are 10,000 three-leaved clovers for every true four-leaved clover!

On St Patrick’s Day, Dublin City was transformed into a myriad of orange, white and green green green! Leprechaun paraphernalia, balloons, big foam hats and Guinness pints. The parade was delightful! Slowly the procession crossed the river Liffey (which runs through the middle of the city) and advanced past the 120 metre high spire. Fantasy floats, marching bands, flags, drum majorettes and giant-puppet-people on stilts were a joyful reflection of the typical happy nature of the Irish spirit.

Perhaps it was a deep Irish accent too lyrical for my ears to decipher or perhaps it was Gaelic, whatever the reason, not many people made sense to me when they spoke! And although the drizzly and chilly weather didn’t co-operate, the warm atmosphere and the locals’ dry humour neutralised any negative moods. All in all, even with confusing dialogues and damp weather, St Patrick’s Day in Dublin was, for me, jolly good fun.

 

(FEATURE-LENGTH ARTICLE)

 

What is home education?

HOME education is a popular, although unconventional schooling method. Worldwide, families increasingly choose to take on the task of educating their children themselves.

The UK has one of the highest ratios of families registered for home education. Statistics are hard to confirm as not all families register their children, however, several central educational associations around the world have provided rough estimates. In 2009, it was estimated that the UK had 80,000 children who were schooled at home. However, the USA was at around 1.5 million in 2007 and Australia had 200,000 families who were said to be registered in 1995. Russia was also in the lead and was once estimated at about 1 million families.

Home education enables parents to teach their children according to their preferred philosophy. Some families will provide schooling at home for all the primary grades and some up to high school level and even all through high school. Others postpone their children’s entry into formal schooling for a year before introducing them to conventional schooling when they are ready.

 

Reasons why families opt for home education

Reasons vary but home education continues to expand as more parents understand the advantages of teaching at home. One of the main reasons is:

•     The child is not considered old enough to enter school.
•     Religion prohibits it.
•     To develop character and a strong moral foundation.
•     The parent objects to the education philosophy of conventional schools.
•     Family requirements ranging from parent’s career to wanting more time together.
•     Parent could not get child into the desired school.
•     Parent wants child in private school but cannot afford it.
•     The child has special needs, or has a disability, or needs individual attention.
•     Transportation / convenience.
•     Social concerns.

 

Benefits and disadvantages

Home education is time consuming, requires hard work, dedication and can also be more expensive. However, the benefits of consistent one-on-one attention results in children learning with less effort and greater retention. A hyperactive child could calm down and lose the ‘bad boy’ image while home educated as there is less reason to ‘be tough’ from feeling threatened. Rebellious teenagers could feel respected when home educated and become productive and creative adults.

Becoming a full time personal teacher for their children, even temporarily, can be a difficult decision for parents. In some families both parents have advanced careers which they have worked very hard for and other families cannot afford one parent not working. Some parents feel they are not ‘clever’ enough, or do not have the discipline, to become their children’s teachers, especially in the high school years, but feel the early years at home are essential.

Although widespread, home education is not the norm and home educating families face many obstacles. Those who home educate need to know exactly why they have made that decision and must be able to ‘stand their ground’ when negatively confronted by those who don’t understand the concept.

Schooling from home can provide an unfair advantage over those who lack the time or money. Despite this, academic quality can vary. The child’s education is completely the family’s responsibility. This is not an issue if the child is advancing quickly but if the child is not ‘doing well’ there is no one else to blame.

Protective parents could unintentionally shelter their children by denying them social contact which inhibits social development. Children need exposure to different ethnic and religious backgrounds to thrive as adults. One-sided opinions resulting from isolation can make children unable to think for themselves or adapt to other opinions and views. It can also foster religious or social extremism if not managed correctly.

Challenges such as these make it vital that parents who home school are aware of all the needs of their children. Depending on the study method used parents can work with their child at their child’s individual speed thereby reducing the pressure of “keeping up with the class” or not having to wait for the class to catch up!

 

Home education methods

Within the various home education methods available, parents have the freedom to structure their teaching based on how their children learn best. Materials and activities can be chosen to suit individual requirements. Some opt for organized, goal-oriented weeks. Others feel their children have special talents that deserve intense, daily focus. There are also those who structure their schooling around special needs of people in their family. Techniques and approaches are varied, some mirror conventional school methods and some are far removed from the concept of desks and textbooks.

Unit studies / Unit-based studies integrate age-appropriate subjects around a theme for a period of time. For example, a unit study of the Anglo-Saxons could cover social studies and history (how different tribes lived then versus how we live today); Anglo-Saxon art; making Anglo-Saxon clothing (also for fancy dress or plays) and the biology and science of medicinal plants used by the Anglo-Saxons.

All-in-one curricula / School in a box are comprehensive packages covering a full year’s subjects and include all required materials (books, pencils, writing paper, tests, exams, etc.). This method recreates a school environment in the home. As the curricula are based on the same subjects as conventional schools, an easy changeover into formal school is possible. Student-paced learning is similar to ‘All-in-one’ curricula, but they progress at their own speed.

Community studies involve utilising educational resources via opportunities at museums; sports clubs; churches; youth organizations; science events; national parks; community centres; community colleges and volunteer work. Groups of home education families meet regularly for group learning in the form of science experiments; spelling games; art projects; drama or performing arts; discussions and debates; etc. This method allows families to spend significant time learning outside the home.

Interest-led learning is where a child is free to explore and learn as their interests lead them, learning from real life experiences. Parents teach by interacting and responding to the child’s own interests and provide resources and encouragement. They tend to not rely heavily on textbooks, although they do use reference books. Being involved in the family finances (or family business) teaches maths and accounting. Botany is learned by tending a kitchen garden and animal husbandry is learned by keeping dairy goats.

 

Legality

Home education is legal in many countries but is most prevalent the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Some countries highly regulate their home education programs as an extension of the compulsory school system (France). Other countries have outlawed it (state-accredited schooling is compulsory in Germany), and some countries do not consider home education socially acceptable even though their laws have approved it (Finland and Italy). In India parents, who home educate their children, can be fined and jailed for three months.

 

Key considerations

Realistically consider the financial implications of home education. As with most things, costs can often be misjudged.

Breaks, lunches, school hours all need to be incorporated into the school day. Consider how you will balance your life around tutoring your children. Make sure you are the type of person who can handle the level of structure and attention required every day.

As your children get older, the curriculum will become more advanced, consider how you will keep up to date with your child’s requirements. Consider the alternative options for your children’s further development if at some point you are unable to continue with home education.

Most importantly, be realistic. If it is not for you, then try not to judge others’ decisions to opt for home education.

 

The best of both worlds

It has been said that the mind of a child could be seen as fires to be lit rather than vessels to be filled. Education can easily happen over weekends in the most informal ways. Your pregnant pet cat and its fleas can become lessons in the cycle of life and even toys are useful tools in explaining physics!

Spending time outdoors in all weather and environments is an easy way for all ages to study nature. It is also a good place for physical or fitness activities such as walks, dancing, singing, and games.

Involve your preschool child in weekly playgroups with songs, rhymes, movement time, crafts and free play. In a one-on-one basis encourage him to spend ten or twenty minutes describing a painting or telling back a short story after read it to him.

Your primary school child can spend time with groups of friends for social reasons. Or larger groups can get together for organized activities like craft markets, entrepreneur days, sports days, galas, etc. In a one-on-one basis you could encourage her to spend half an hour thinking through a challenging maths or logic problem or copying good literature to practise handwriting.

Involve your high school child in youth groups. Girl guides and scouts discourage peer dependency, as do social evenings for movies, barbecues, board games, pizza making, music and study groups as well as sports and activities such as craft days and science fairs. Borrow microscopes, telescopes or costumes from friends and relatives. In a one-on-one basis you could teach them the life skills of cooking, sewing, gardening, general home repair, car repair, budgeting, and bookkeeping.

Children need parents who believe in them and are confident enough to let them find their own destiny. They need resourceful parents who help them find answers to their questions. Home education may not be for everyone, but educating at home should be at the core of every growing family.

(For further reading on Home Education, refer to the Home Education Advisory Service’s website and the website of the Department for Education and type the words ‘home education’ in the search field.)

 

Information box

COUNTRIES WHERE HOME EDUCATION IS LEGAL:
Argentina , Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland Republic, Italy, Kenya, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, United States.

COUNTRIES WHERE HOME EDUCATION IS ILLEGAL / GENERALLY ILLEGAL / LEGALITIES ARE DEBATED:
Brazil, China, Croatia (not confirmed), Greece (not confirmed), Hong Kong, India (not stated), Japan (complex), Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine (not confirmed).

Between October 2010 and January 2011 three countries changed their status concerning Home Education according to comparisons on Wikipedia:  Brazil (originally legal), Argentina and Germany (both originally illegal).

End of information box

(SHORT HEALTH ARTICLE)

 

DURING my first pregnancy, I was aware of miscarriages but I did not know much about them. When it happened to me, I began doing my own research, my obvious first question being: “Why?” The answer, to the majority, is: “Not because of anything you did wrong!” and I think it is important for every woman to know this, whether they have experienced a miscarriage or not.

The first thing I discovered is that the biggest cause of miscarriages is ‘chromosomal abnormalities’. This means that somewhere along the growth of the embryo or foetus, something did not develop properly. In the same ways that we develop a cold or flu, despite our precautions, chromosomal abnormalities can commonly occur in the development of baby. If that baby continued to grow, its chance of a normal life could diminish and so could yours.

The second thing I found out is the NHS will only run tests to find the cause of the miscarriage after your third consecutive loss. This may sound horrendous and indeed feels terrible when it happens to you (especially when it is your first pregnancy, as it was for me). The emotional investment is high and the loss is difficult, despite the usually short time you were pregnant. But, the long-term reality is this: most women (about 80%) go on to have a successful pregnancy after the first or second miscarriage.

I was pregnant again four months later but unfortunately had a second miscarriage early in that pregnancy. Despite the horror of a second miscarriage, I feel quite positive because now I’m officially in the 80% category most likely to have a successful next pregnancy!

The third thing I learned is that miscarriages, like common colds, are not fully understood by the medical world. In many cases, there is sometimes no answer as to why it happened but do not let that discourage you. As hard as it seems at the time, everything happens for a reason. For my husband, Graham, and I, it has given us more time to prepare for the expense a new member of the family will bring.

Words can rarely make any loss easier. For me, few people managed to say the right thing. Even the truth was difficult to hear. I hated hearing “you can always try again” and “at least you could get pregnant”.  People were only trying to be helpful and they are both very true statements, but I was too sad to appreciate it. The worst thing someone said to me was “Next time you can be more careful.”

To support someone going through a miscarriage, whether you have or have not been through one yourself, my advice is this: just be there for her, listen to her without judgement and give her a shoulder to lean on. Even if she is a ‘tough girl’, the vulnerability that she is going through is harder than you may realise. Your silent strength is powerful, be strong for her.

My miscarriages happened first at 11 weeks and second at seven weeks and I coped with each of them differently. For me, talking to friends who have also experienced a miscarriage (or two) helped a lot. So did researching all I could on the internet. Another big help was borrowing a library book on miscarriage. It helped tackle how isolated I felt when I read the stories of hundreds of other women and how they coped.  My hormones messed me around for a few months afterwards, so I tried not to be too hard on myself. I did whatever felt right for me, sometimes even a walk or a bar of chocolate did the trick.

Although it is not an event to be forgotten, a miscarriage, like any other tragedy, can be overcome. The happy truth is that most pregnancies do succeed and now that I’ve made it to the 33rd week in my third pregnancy, it does seem that this one is here to stay!

 

Information box

If you have experienced a miscarriage, you are not alone, there are several organisations set up specifically to help women deal with miscarriage.

For information, support, online forums and advice:

The Miscarriage Association
01924 200799

Babyloss
support@babyloss.com

The Miscarriage Clinic
0208 401 9928

Miscarriage Support (Scotland)
0141 552 5070

And don’t forget your local library!  Look in the health and pregnancy section for books on miscarriage.

End of information box