Why Freedom of Choice in Education is Important.

Growing up I experienced two different schools. I started out in the English state school system, what is probably better known in other countries as the public school system. Officially children don't have to start school until they turn 5, in the UK, however, they often start when they are 4, if they'll turn 5 in that school year. From the age of 3 they can also attend nursery school for half a day, at least this is how things sit currently and how they stood when my daughters were that age about 15 years ago.

I don't actually remember much about my time in state school. I recall one incident in nursery school (not a good one) and vaguely recollect that I was in the same class as my cousin when I was in infant school. I don't remember doing so, but I learnt to read there, so when I was 6 years old and we moved, I could already read.

I was then fortunate to be able to attend a private Waldorf, or Rudolf Steiner, school. Especially fortunate because under normal circumstances there would have been no way we could have afforded to go to a private school. The school I attended was Michael House School and it was established in a deprived area in order to bring the opportunity of a Waldorf education for people in an under privileged region. It was funded by donors and scholarships for the most part and families attending paid either a percentage of their income or the full fees, whichever worked out cheapest for them.

When I arrived at the school I wasn't quite old enough to start in the main school, so I spent a term in kindergarten. There we learnt through play and still had nap time halfway thorough the day. I don't think I was ever able to actually sleep, because I wasn't used to it, but I lay down with the rest for however long it was. I have a few more memories from this time and none are bad. My recollections are just peaceful, despite the fact that I never really got to know anyone in this time, other than the gardener who took care of me on occasion after kindergarten finished and my mum had to help out with cleaning in the school. Incidentally, I learnt decades later that this was another way that parents could contribute to the school and keep fees down.

In Waldorf schools formal schooling begins the school year that the child turns 7. So in September I started in the big school and this was when they started to teach reading and writing. A number of us could already read and write and had the option to join in with the creative side of making letters into pictures of items they named, ie. H for house, or choosing books from the more senior classrooms. We were never held back and others were never pushed forward without being ready. The classes were small enough that the teacher could spend time with every student.

We always had a lot of hands on learning experiences which included class projects making things the old fashioned way. One that comes to mind was building a kiln then making and firing clay pots in it.

The only criticism I had with the school at the time is that they refused to have computers to teach us how to use them. However, this was in the late 80s and early 90s and looking back, I was quickly able to learn to work them in college. These days even toddlers seem to know how to work a computer before they even get near a school, so it was never really something that held is back.

Waldorf education has a different approach to mainstream schooling and in about 2006 or 2007 I heard that government was even funding Michael House to take on children who were considered unmanageable (that is, getting expelled from every school they attended) and failing in the state school system. So while it wasn't a conventional approach, it worked for many and no child left a Waldorf school in the UK illiterate.

Over a decade later and the Waldorf schools seem to be coming under attack from OFSTED.

Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) was formed in 1992 and is “An independent, non-ministerial government department reporting directly to Parliament, Ofsted is responsible for inspecting and regulating education and training for learners of all ages and for inspecting and regulating those services which care for children and young people.”

As an “independent” assessor, it has the authority to assess and issue compliance and improvement orders to private as well as state schools. Over the years it seems to have become more tyrannical in its control of schools and Waldorf schools are now in the firing line. In a country that is falling behind in its literacy rates, the official solution seems to be to start teaching children to read and write at an earlier and earlier age. Currently they seem to have decided that it needs to start at 3 years of age. Naturally, this doesn't fit in with the Waldorf way of doing things.

Last year, the improvement orders from ofsted were beyond what a Waldorf school in a deprived area could possibly meet financially and Michael House school became a victim, with a little bit of warning that enabled them to in turn give the students and families warning that they would need to find new schools at the end of the school year. They went into receivership and families were literally banished from the premises as they tried to retrieve any belongings they may have left behind. It was heart breaking for many and awful timing for those in their final years as they would have to adjust to a completely new school and way of educating in order to take their exams the following year.

Yet that was almost kind compared to Wynstones School which was shut down immediately, earlier this year, leaving students studying for exams in the lurch.

With more countries removing the option to homeschool and those which still allow it having more and more restrictions and regulations placed on homeschoolers, we are losing our freedom to choose the educational approach that may work best for our children and this is particularly affecting the lower income earners, which is the largest portion of the population. For many, homeschooling is an option taken up when traditional schooling has failed their children, but they can't afford other options that may suit them better. So if homeschooling does become illegal, then I feel it’s important that a variety of educational approaches should be available to children from all walks of life.

Looking back and knowing what the state schools were like in our area, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have faired very well in them at all and I'm grateful for the opportunity I had and threat freedom of choice my parents had in my education. Just in case you are wondering how effective a Waldorf education is, it gives about the same opportunity as any suitable education. The children I was at school with have gone in various directions, some have basic jobs, some have careers, some degrees or even PhDs.

If an education system is failing some of our children in literacy and numeracy, then how is introducing them to something that doesn't work for them even earlier in life going to make a difference? Recently someone was saying that they thought it important that children start back at school and not miss any more, due to quarantine, giving the reason that our country's maths and literacy rates weren't good anyway. So the solution is even more time in a failing system?

How about more varied education choices instead, also giving the freedom to choose how and what we learn, once the basics are in place?

~○♤○~

This is my response to the education debate challenge, how important is freedom of education?

image courtesy of pixabay.