It’s understandable, I suppose, for someone who’s never given home education much thought to bring up the old chestnut of ‘socialisation’. Although it’s a ridiculous suggestion in reality, you could forgive someone for having the idea that home educated children spend all day at home in a classroom-style environment, the only difference being nobody else is there. Nothing could be further from the reality, of course. Home educated children have far more opportunity for socialisation (and in a far more appropriate context), as well as the other activities she claims they are missing out on.
But what if that someone is a member of the House of Lords, commenting in public on an issue she is shortly to be charged with scrutinising legislation for? In that case it’s no longer forgiveable, it’s a shameful display of downright ignorance.
The comments on that post do a fine job of rebutting Baroness Deech’s ill-informed assumptions, so I won’t waste my time doing that. One thing did amuse me though. She made these comments in the context of talking about a visit to a “Girls’ School”. The idea that an appropriate way to gain the social skills needed for the real world would be spending all day in the company of only children of the exact same age, while being told to sit down and shut up, is questionable enough in itself. When you also add the ‘only children of the same gender’ restriction it becomes totally preposterous.
I’m thankful Baroness Deech will not be descending on my children to lecture them on how great the Lords are, particularly the “expertise” part. Perhaps though, she was not referring to herself when she talked of expertise, because there are Lords who make the effort to understand before they speak. Just not this one.
