The English Baccalaureate and our home educated children.

The emergence of the new English Baccalaureate is causing quite a stir within the home educating world.
Finally the Education Secretary et al have accepted that the current GCSEs are not providing our children with a decent standard of education and they are full of flaws. At last! However their proposals are meeting with criticism too as they aim to limit choices drastically.

Michael Gove announced his great idea to liken the GCSE-style exam to that of the old (and wholly agreed) tougher O'level. Already home educators like myself are using the IGCSEs anyway so we're not unfamiliar with a far harder and more rigorous exam, yet this is what the Government now want to introduce into every school too.

Gove has suggested an entire new exam system with only one single board, no coursework (with the exception of science apparently and some languages) and to call this the English Baccalaureate. It will consist of children being required to choose between five subjects including Maths, English, a language, a science and history or geography.

It segregates the more 'academic' subjects from the other more practical subjects like Art, Home economics, DT, etc. Other subjects will be introduced once the core subjects are underway.

To add to the confusion I read in an article from the Telegraph (attached below)  that the English Bac already is in existence (2011 it was declared) if the child should have these five subjects anyway...so I'm not quite sure what exactly constitutes the actual  'future' Baccalaureate.

As they introduce these different exams and qualifications my question is what will happen to the IGCSEs? How will home educated children be affected? Will they also eliminate the core papers of the IGCSE exams too, making it tougher for those who find some subjects very hard?

It seems, yet again, to be more concerned with the grades (talk is that they'll opt to use the actual percentage rather than a grade) and if they eradicate any kind of core paper it won't allow a less able student a fair chance surely?

How just and fair are these new proposals?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/9672897/What-is-the-EBacc-all-about.html

and to be unbiased!;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/sep/17/gcse-ebacc-michael-gove

Will you consider the English Baccalaureate for your child, and do you suppose it to be a fairer and more demanding qualification?

Update on Preparing for Exams.

As discussed in the last post, 'Preparing for Exams', I stated that only private schools and tutorial colleges, with the exception of a couple of state schools, accept private candidates to sit the IGCSE examinations.

On further discovery I have since found that one can sit IGCSEs occasionally at state schools, namely the Edexcel board.
So it would be worth checking with one's local state school first before traveling miles to sit these exams. The nearest place will probably be the simplest as the child won't have far to travel and less time for nerves to set in! It also allows one to not have to account too greatly for traffic...we only have to travel into Oxford for our exams however to be there for 7.45am we usually leave an hour and we still worry!

This article also states how 400 state schools now teach the IGCSE and although I have yet to hear of one personally this is very assuring;

Rise of the IGCSE: Hundreds of state schools go for Gove's tough new exam

State schools are turning away from the traditional GCSE and offering pupils a tougher exam based on O-levels, figures show.

The number teaching the international GCSE has soared by 300 per cent since Education Secretary Michael Gove gave them more freedom to do so.

Two-thirds of public schools already enter students for the IGCSE, which does not focus on coursework.

New exams: State schools are turning their backs on GCSEs in favour of a tougher exam

Labour had banned state schools from adopting IGCSEs in key subjects amid fears they would undermine the domestic version.

According to data published by the University of Cambridge International Examinations, which offers the qualifications, increasing numbers are offering the IGCSE instead of the traditional exam, with English, history and biology particularly popular.

Four hundred state schools now teach IGCSEs compared with 97 in 2010 and 220 last year.

Some 500 public schools are also using the exams, up from 302 two years ago and 350 in 2011. Overall, schools made 50,000 IGCSE entries this year, the exam board said.

Peter Monteath, UK schools manager for CIE, said the structure of IGCSEs, which means pupils sit exams at the end, rather than throughout the course, is popular.

‘The feedback we are getting from schools is that they like the flexibility of these syllabuses, which gives teachers more scope to explore different topics with students,’ he said.

‘Their linear structure also gives students space and time to study topics in depth.’

The Department for Education said it was excellent news that schools were taking advantage of new freedoms and giving pupils the chance to leave school with the same set of qualifications as their peers at top private schools.

Government sources said the figures justified Mr Gove’s plans to replace GCSEs with a tougher,  O-level qualification – which are being resisted by the Liberal Democrats.

‘Employers and universities are desperate for the exam system to be fixed,’ said one source.

‘GCSEs and A-levels are not preparing pupils for work or further study. That is why we are restoring universities’ role in A-levels and why we are fixing the broken GCSE system.

‘Those complaining should spend a day in Oxford or Cambridge to understand the effects of the disastrous devaluation of exams over 20 years.’ 

Mr Gove, in an interview with the Catholic Herald newspaper, said he was passionate about reforming education because ‘earned success is the route to happiness’.

‘People say I want children to learn by rote. I don’t. I want them to learn by heart,’ he added. 

‘Think of musical scales. It’s only when you really know your scales backwards, when they are ingrained, that you are able to be creative. . . and to understand music.’ 

Mr Gove said he was unapologetic about his focus on discipline, rigour, standards and foreign languages.

‘There are people out there who are victims of an invincible prejudice, who believe that teaching, for example, classical languages is ipso facto for the elite,’ he added.

‘But the synapses connect in a different way when you learn a foreign language. The mind is framed to assess knowledge.

‘I simply want young people to be exposed to the very best that has been thought and written.

‘There’s no reason why children should be denied the opportunity to understand history, to discover the story of those who made them, on the basis that it is assumed they are incapable of appreciating it.’

If Mr Gove proposals come to fruition then hopefully we will see many more state schools, if not all, teaching the IGCSEs and then the choice of where our students sit the exams will be widened. If anyone has any experience with sitting IGCSEs at a state school, do write in! 

Preparation for exams

Just as we Catholic Home educators enter Hilary Term (using Oxford term names means we can have the same length terms- about 5 weeks! Ha) the exam possibilities for May/June 2013 will be looming over us.

There is a separate section on the blog which briefly discusses examinations but as this is an opportune time I thought I would write about it and also ask others to possibly comment with their own advice and support for others...

A few blog readers have made contact with me which is uplifting and interesting and one of the main questions is exams and where/how/when to take them?

Obviously as home educators one must decide, along with the child, the best age for them to sit the exams but how one goes about it can be quite a mine field, well, it certainly was for me when we started off on this journey.

The best way of doing it is to firstly find out where your child can sit the exams as without some where to take them everything else is pointless. It will be a case of ringing round a few local schools and colleges to inquire if they accept external candidates? And/or the local home education group may be able to point you in the right direction.

I cannot recommend enough the Home education Yahoo exams group;
HE-Exams-GCSE-A_AS_Levels-OU-Others@yahoogroups.com

No question is ever left unanswered on there!

A majority of home educated children take the IGCSEs namely because there is no coursework requirement but also because they are of a higher and more in depth standard.

Only some private schools and some tutorial colleges will accept external candidates to sit exams, especially IGCSEs.
No state schools will allow one to sit the IGCSEs as they do not offer them, but one can sit the GCSEs which require no course work in state schools like Maths.

So, one needs to make sure the child can sit the exam and what board the place offers- usually the boards are; CIE, Edexcel, OCR or AQA. These are the most popular boards and most frequently used.

So, in a nutshell;

*For the May/June sittings one will need to enter their children (usually) by February 2013.

* Seek a school/college/tutorial college to sit the exams at.
From personal experience it will be easier and best for the child if it is as near as possible.

* Make sure you know exactly what boards they offer and then check the syllabus and make sure it all tallies.

If, for example, your local school are using the Maths GCSE Edexcel course then you can go ahead and purchase the relevant text books and use past papers from the Edexcel site.

* Most local schools (private or state) will be far cheaper than a specialised tutorial college. This is usually because they are just charging for sitting the exam whereas these colleges can increase their prices to extortionate amounts as they know people will pay. (This may be the only option however if one wants to sit a particular exam and no where else offers it.)

Here in Oxford we are very lucky as the local home educators use a very prestigious school, St Edward's. in which to sit an array of exams and they charge only £40 per exam. If a child is taking 4+ you can imagine this can add up to a small fortune...

* Usually the exams officer of the school will advise and help and send you the appropriate forms, so contact them first.

* The timetables for the May/June exams will be available from about February on each exam board so you can check the dates. If any clash then the school will sort this out for you by keeping the child isolated. (This happened three times with Ben last year- it was tiring but he was free to walk around the grounds and eat!)

Any additional advice is most welcome and many prayers for the forthcoming exam applications!

May the most Holy Family keep our dear children ever in their Prayers!

The right time

When is the 'right' time to contemplate exams?

As home schoolers we have the discretion to go at our child's pace and decide upon the time they are ready to sit these exams which are deemed so very important here in the UK.

IGCSEs can be looked upon in varying ways; as stepping stones to the next stage in a child's educational 'career' or as time filler;, something to do whilst deliberating what they really want to learn. (Although I must confess I have seldom met anyone doing this.)

Many years back when we began home educating I felt quite compelled to bypass all the exams; why, if I was home educating my children would I ever need to bother about exams? Surely, I naively thought, they could just go straight to A levels or even enter University as mature students (if they chose)? As they and their friends grew older more home educating friends of mine began making the decision to follow the IGCSE route from home; and  I began to feel more wary, more anxious. What if my grand ideas fell apart? It was one aspect trying to encompass a 'classical' style format within the confines of the home; filling the home with Montessori style 'work' for the younger children and holding this philosophy throughout, and basing my home made curriculas on 'classical' style materials, filling their minds with great literature, museum outings and lots of home education work shops, but the children were growing older, and with it there was suddenly more to prove...and more at stake. Could they maintain all this AND do a few exam courses?

So, when is a sensible and workable average age to sit these exams? Of course this will depend upon the child and their capacity to retain information and their maturity to cope with exams.
Many home schoolers we know begin earlier than schooled children for the mere fact that it is near impossible to do as many exams from home as they do in school theses days.

Incredibly children are now taking up to 12 GCSEs in school. We must remember though  a few factors which bring comfort and solace to the UK home schooler 'going it alone'. Firstly the GCSEs are no where near as intense and rigorous as the IGCSEs which most home schoolers do as they require no coursework and it is very hard to find a centre/school who would be willing to assess coursework. With IGCSEs there is usually much more work to cover and so they demand more time and understanding. This, to me, was actually a benefit as I was far more concerned about the quality of what my children learnt than how many exams they were going to procure.

Secondly, the schools groom the child by 'spoon feeding' them exactly what they are required to know and then spend many an hour teaching a certain lesson which is unknown of in the home school world; 'exam technique'. So, automatically, schooled children are at a great advantage in terms of exam-passing! Marry that to easier exams with a vast portion of them being course work, then it is crystal clear why home educated children *may* not come out of the exam war with as many IGCSEs as their schooled fellows.

Due to the amount of work required for an IGCSE and that it is solely exam based it is understandable that the home educated family will attempt to split these exams up over two, three even four years, gaining two, three , four IGCSEs per year.

We attempted this with our first son and are currently doing this with our daughter and, to me, it is the only feasible way of doing it. Yet it does demand some solid preparation and questions. How many exams will my child really need? Are they particularly capable at one or two subjects? If so, it makes sense to take these ones first.
English Language and Literature, for example, usually demand a certain maturity as there is much writing and the analysis and critique must be mastered for literature. Or some children find Maths extremely taxing and will prefer to leave this until last.

Children all have their strengths and weaknesses and the beauty of home educating our God given children is that we, as their parents, know them so well that the decision of when to take exams and when to hold off will be more apparent to us and thus make this task so much more attainable.

May the Most Holy Family always pray for us and guide us wisely!

First term impressions in sixth form.

As many people know our son Ben has recently made his debut into the school system for the very first time. I asked him to write an account of how he felt now he'd been 'inside' for a few months!

Of course each and every child's experience of school will be entirely different from the school to the student. Ben is a particularly laid back kind of young man and very friendly and willing so we're very thankful that, so far, his school life is proving to be fruitful.

Contemplating sixth form

One could never argue that the transition from home-schooling into full time education at school was an insignificant thing or a change that does not come along with its own set of unique challenges. I had been home-schooled all the way through primary education, and on through secondary education, so I had never had any first-hand experience in a school.  The day before I began sixth form my mind was overflowing with (now ridiculous) stereotypical views on what it would be like; the “popular kids” in the corner, the “school bully” going around causing havoc and the “nerds” sitting in their own little huddles doing huge amounts of work. Of course all these views were proved wrong the second I stepped through the door. I found that every one from teachers to pupils to the Headmaster went out of their way to get to know me and make every effort to help me enjoy and flourish in this (strange, new) environment that I would be spending the next two years of my young adult life in.

What you notice immediately (or at least what I first noticed) was that everybody is more mature; there is no ‘larking around’. My only real experience with “school kids” beforehand had been in my football teams that I used to play for. I always remembered them being a bolshie and boisterous lot who enjoyed causing trouble and making life even more difficult for the instructors/teachers. The reason Sixth Formers are not like this is due to post-sixteen education not being compulsory: all the ones who did not enjoy working and were not motivated enough have either left to look for jobs or gone to a more vocational style college. (or otherwise!)

In my Sixth Form it is very easy to escape the mostly bustling common room and find a quiet place to work, whether it be the ‘Quiet Room’ designated for silent study, or in an empty classroom upstairs. The head of Sixth Form, an incredibly dynamic and influential woman, constantly tries (and succeeds!) to instill in each student the motivation to work independently. Now, if one was to ask me to sum up home-schooling in two words, I would immediately reply “independent learning”. This is, of course, given to us by our parents. This means that when joining school after being home-schooled we already have this key skill. It also means that the teachers don’t need to drill “work at home, read around the subjects, work independently,” into our minds like they do to the students who have been in school all along. I have seen this first hand already, many times, when a teacher has said “go home and read up about all this and put some independent notes together” and the people in school previously find it really hard to do, when it is almost second nature to me.

The major reason Catholic home-schoolers worry about sending their child to school is the effect it may have on their faith. I know this was my Mother’s main concern, and I can honestly say two months down the line I do not feel in the least uncomfortable about my beliefs or my view, which I knew would be contrary to most students there. Never have I once heard any anti-religious comments nor had any kind of criticism about my faith, and all my friends at school know I am a practising Catholic. It just doesn’t mean anything to them other than, “He’s a Catholic.” I even once had an interesting conversation with a practising protestant about the  true meaning of ‘Halloween’  something we both agreed on. (Agreeing with a protestant? That’s a new one!). If any one is up for a good debate about abortion or euthanasia then I’ll be in the thick of it but I wouldn’t spend my day pricking people’s consciences (well, not yet, I’ve only been there two months!).

Another advantage of going into sixth form is the opportunity of sports. Even though we’re a new sixth form we have formed a competent 11-a-side with matches against other sixth forms and colleges. We train every Thursday but in true school style I find myself cramming my lunch into my mouth and running off to play footie every single lunch time! I also enjoy Archery classes each week which are just fantastic. Last week I returned from the five day preliminary expedition for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award. I find this is a great advantage as although this would have been possible through air cadets or home schooling groups, we have a professional team taking us through it.

To conclude, school has been a demanding transition, but an enjoyable one. It is a very rewarding system with its end of term reports and awards, and this takes place in a friendly and mature atmosphere. If there was anything I could say against school it would certainly be a grudge against the homework. The idea of two/three hours homework after school is definitely not one of the stereotypical views I had that has been proven wrong, sadly!

Ben Lewin

05/11/2012

Reflections on Oxford Admissions

Many Catholic Families who courageously home educate will have to make the delicate decision of sending their child to University. Many families completely reject this option and the children will either continue to study at home (Open University being a viable alternative or vocational type courses) or they send their child to one of the Catholic American Universities. 

For others, braving the UK Universities is sometimes the only choice. So what do Universities look for in their candidates?

This following article was written by Dr Joseph Shaw (a home educator and Fellow in Philosophy at St Benet's Hall) and he has been involved with the College admissions for years.

Reflections on Oxford Admissions

People always want to know what we look for in a candidate, in interviews, but it is no secret. In some subjects there are skills which candidates must have to start the course—language skills, for example, or mathematical ones. These ought to be tested by their exams. The real use of an interview is to test corrigibility—whether the candidate can be taught. You see if he can follow an argument, respond to criticisms, think of examples, things like that. When you are teaching him in the course itself, in a lecture or a tutorial, will he get the point? And it is in this, as well as in teaching school children how to read and write or add up, that the modern British educational system is failing spectacularly. For it is painfully clear that it is possible to get every accolade the school system can bestow and still be incorrigible—indeed, in many cases the approach to answering questions in which pupils are drilled to get the best marks is an education in incorrigibility. It actually makes them less teachable than they would otherwise have been.

(Dr Shaw takes as an example a candidate, 'Frank', who has eight A*s and one A at GCSE, and is predicated four A's at A level).

His application form was a sight to behold. Judging from his references, a place in Oxford was almost beside the point—the boy deserved a Nobel Prize at least. He was no exam-taking machine: he had all sorts of outside interests, showing everything from heroic compassion to Churchillian leadership qualities. In class he was always the one with the incisive question and the grasp of the topic. He was logical, enquiring, and broad-minded. So into the interview he came, quietly confident, determined to strut his stuff.

So what, for a good school or an A Level examiner today, does being incisive, logical and all the rest actually mean? It turns out it means the ability to drivel both for and against on the hot-button issues of the hour: euthanasia, abortion, war, vegetarianism. Whatever question he was asked, Frank determined the ‘hot topic’ which must be at issue, and he would start to drivel, stating the case ‘for’ in a couple of minutes and then changing tack to the ‘against’ side. He clearly had the A Levels on toast. The questions are highly predictable, and examiners have boxes to tick as candidates make specified points, for and against a position. In Religious Studies and Philosophy A Level, these tend to be on the ‘hot topics’—English Literature and other subjects do their best to cover them as well—and these naturally come up a lot in class discussion. Until he came into my interview room, Frank had never been expected to provide any analysis of a claim, to respond to unanticipated criticisms, or to think about basic moral principles and how they work. On the contrary, he had been patted on the back for his ability to recapitulate show-case arguments for and against on each topic, which were never expected to lead anywhere or be resolved in any way.

My approach in interviews is to try to get the candidate to see that what he is inclined to say about one case doesn’t cohere with what any sensible person would say about another. I move the discussion away from the hot topics in order to get clearer about the moral principles which apply to them; it is easier to see the principles at work in uncontroversial examples.

When I tried to do this with Frank, he practically refused to follow my lead. I would ask him to consider an example, and he would start talking about a superficially similar example back on hot-topic territory. Asking what he thought about anything produced the for-and-against spiel which, inevitably, wasn’t a coherent position, and could not readily be criticised or analysed. When I asked him for an example (of a moral right, say, or a widely accepted moral prohibition), he was paralysed.

He was the most extreme example, but the phenomenon was widespread. School pupils have been turned into machines for spewing out pre-prepared opinions, carefully balanced, on the controversial issues of the day, and the gaining of this faculty actually makes it harder for them to address the fundamental questions upon which those issues really depend, or indeed to think, in a real sense, at all. It is pleasant to see some candidates, not necessarily the ones with the most flawless marks, beginning to see what I wanted of them and responding with interest to a genuine intellectual task—seeing that they had got themselves into a muddle, trying different options to escape, applying a principle grasped in one case to another, and so on. At the end of the day we were able to find enough candidates we would be happy to teach to fill the places we had available, but the superabundance of candidates with three or more A grades at A Level by no means translates into a superabundance of candidates capable of benefiting from an Oxford education.

Studying Greek

I think one would agree that learning Latin puts the classical into 'Classical education' yet some would argue that it is also Greek which makes an education truly classical.

Greek is often begun with two years of Latin learning completed although again, people have differing views upon this, and Greek can be begun at the same time or even on it's own.

In his well regarded book, 'The Latin Centered Curriculum', Andrew Campbell suggests the student begins with koine (the Hellenistic Greek of the Bible). It is known to be slightly simpler grammatically and the child will be more familiar with the Bible translations and therefore it may be an easier introduction to this language.

There is a first volume of a new program called ' Elementary Greek; Koine for beginners' by Christine Gatchell.
This can be found at  http://www.opentexture.com/products/greek/yearone/default.aspx although I have ordered my first copy from Amazon in the hope my 13yr old studious son will enjoy it!

This little video is helpful along with all the others there;  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gaeIUsPJ-Y

One of the reasons I am posting on Greek is that it is available to study at GCSE level and a few Catholic home educators have done or are contemplating this. It is a thorough course and the board which offers Greek is OCR;  http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/type/gcse_2012/classics/classical_greek/

Edexcel board also offers the Greek GCSE too.

One of the best loved Greek text books for this qualification is John Taylor's wonderful work, 'Greek to GCSE'.
Samuel (the studious son!) is currently working through the first book alone and very much enjoying it.
It is well presented and clear, but the best aspect is that John Taylor will gladly send all home educators the answer key!
He is extremely helpful and is willing to communicate through e-mail offering any help which is needed. Samuel has only contacted him twice but it is assuring to know he is available should he run into difficulty. (John Taylor has also written some well known Latin texts which are widely used.)

Should the Greek student be taken by the language, then John Taylor offers a more substantial book n 'Greek beyond GCSE' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Greek-Beyond-GCSE-John-Taylor/dp/1853997048 which prepares for the AS level.

One last addition which I probably should have mentioned first; if you would like your student to become familiar with this wonderful ancient language at an earlier age, then my dear friend Michelle has written and designed some helpful Greek worksheets for younger children;  http://thatresourcesite.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=greek