On Saturday a strange role reversal will take place in my family, instead of me waving my children off to university, they will wave me off, as I leave to do an MA in Social Work. I am doing the whole student thing living on campus in a tiny studio flat. Well maybe not quite the entire student life as I decided I just had to have my own facilities...
For 30 years I have been defined as someone's wife, someone's widow, someone's mother and someone's daughter. I have cared for family as my children became independent, my parents became dependent. Now at 52 I am carefree and it is time to build me a future. Frightening, exciting, am I brave or insane - only the next two years will tell.
As for my choice of MA... I am hoping I am not going to become poacher turned gamekeeper. Why? Well I am from the home education community and Social Services and Social Workers do not generally have a positive reputation in HE land. My community have been pilloried as possible abusers with the erroneous implication that as our children are "unseen" so we can and may well get away with all manner of negative behaviours. Reality our children spend most of their lives out in the community, Home Edders are great users of community resources.
We have suffered all manner of attacks due to a perfectly legal lifestyle choice. The NSPCC, OFSTED, Government Ministers and their advisor's, Local Authorities, the BBC and many other organisations have misinformed, scaremongered and attacked HE in the last two years. HE has been blatantly been used as an scapegoat for the very failings of the organisations and services which should have protected societies children. High profile child abuse and safeguarding cases have been incorrectly linked to home education were no valid link existed... in fact the children involved WERE known to Social Services, to the NSPCC, to the Local Authorities. But they failed to act, failed to understand, let alone use the powers they had, that would have saved these children. Far easier to whip up a moral panic that Home Education was to blame, even when the link to HE was tenuous or worse non-existent, than accept that the 'powers that be' themselves got it wrong.
My plan is to record my adventure to the 'darkside' I hope to be inspired, surprised and challenged. I hope to educate about HE. I hope I don't get beaten, disheartened, desensitised and demoralised. It is going to be a interesting journey, one to be travelled little by little.
