education is compulsory

At one meeting I said I wasn’t prepared to punish him at home for things that happened at school, but would discuss things with him. The response was "Well, if parental values are incompatible with school, there’s nothing that we can do about it."

One Wednesday, an outing was planned to the local Mosque. That morning I handed over my contribution to the bus-fare. When I picked him up he hadn’t been allowed to go because they were worried he might misbehave (and cause a diplomatic incident?) The following week in "religious education" the children were asked to write about their trip to the Mosque. My son screamed in frustration and would not stop screaming. He was excluded for two days. He never went back.

That was three and a half years ago and the huge relief of not having to deal with school was overwhelming. I’d made the mistake of believing that I was dealing with reasonable people, that my son would find his own way of coping. They weren’t and he didn’t. Over time, he relaxed, I relaxed and it's only when I look back that I remember how frequently he was ill in school. I used to measure him every month to see how much he’d grown; he only grew when he was out of school. I have his last school photo: a pale sunken child with dead eyes. Just turned five and barely alive. A year later, out of school and alive again, the photo next to it looks like a different child, an amazing, glowing, alive being. If I ever question the decision I look at the two photos and I’m glad I have the boy in the second photo. Yes it's hard work. Yes there are days when I’m climbing up the wall. Money is at times a problem. Winters can seem very long. But I know being at home is the best thing for my child and that school was destroying him and me in many, many ways.

EO member