In the news

I talked for ages to the journo at the South Wales Evening Post about home education, but not much of our conversation made it into the newspaper! Ah, well. You can read the piece here

Safe in school?

I urgently need video material that I can use in another film on the topic of Safe in School? If anyone would be interested in helping out and you're based in or around South Wales, please let me know and I can come to you. What I want to explore is your reactions to the idea that children are safer being educated in school where their welfare can be (allegedly) monitored, than being educated at home where they may be seen regularly by their family, friends and community but not by qualified professionals. If you or your children have any direct experiences that you or they are happy to talk about and for me to use, then please do put them on the film.

If you're not based locally or you prefer to make your own, here's how to go about making a short video that you can upload to my server. All you need is a basic camcorder (and the ability to upload from the camera to your internet connected PC) or a mobile phone with video capabilities, and a couple of helpers. Get one helper to set up the camcorder or phone so that your head and shoulders are in the shot and then ask the other person to stand off to one side so that you have someone you can look at while you're talking so that you're not looking directly into the camera. Make sure you are in a well lit area, outside if weather permits, but don't whatever you do have a window behind you! Be aware too of background noise and don't use the zoom at all please - it makes it impossible for me to cut and stitch bits together if some are zoomed in and some zoomed out. Please don't mention any names and be careful about getting identifying landmarks, your house or car registration plates into the shot. Other than that, it's reasonably straightforward. Don't worry about editing, let me have all your footage and I'll work magic with it !

I'll set up a server where you can upload your video when you're done and I'll put the address on here or for mobile phone videos you can probably just email them to me.

I really would appreciate your help with this please!

What's next?

Learning all the time concentrated mainly on the 7-12 age range simply because that was age range of the children we had access to in the limited circumstances under which the film was made. We'd like to redress the balance next time by concentrating mainly, but not exclusively, on showing young people in the age range 13-18. We need home educated young people with a real passion for something which they would be willing to talk about, show us and generally showcase please? It can be anything from art to quantum physics to bricklaying! The more diverse the better. We are willing to travel, in fact we would like the film to reflect a wide range of locations and situations if possible. If anyone would be interested in taking part, please either contact me on the Home Ed lists or leave a comment on the blog and I'll work out a way we can get in touch.

Links to the film

The list of linked sites got a bit long for this post, so I've put them all down the side instead. Please let me know if you link to me and then I can return the courtesy!

Leonor seems to have taken on a public awareness brief for the film and has opened up threads on The Frog Pond and Myst Uru Obsession (whatever that is!). Keep me posted if you start any new discussions Leo!

Better quality version...

Thank you for all your kind comments. At the time of posting, the film has nine YouTube honours despite the poor playback quality. That's amazing!

#8 - Most Viewed (Today) - Education - United Kingdom
#63 - Most Viewed (Today) - Education
#14 - Most Viewed (This Week) - Education - United Kingdom
#14 - Top Rated (Today) - Education - United Kingdom
#45 - Top Rated (This Week) - Education - United Kingdom
#5 - Top Favorites (Today) - Education - United Kingdom
#60 - Top Favorites (Today) - Education
#87 - Top Favorites (This Week) - Education - United Kingdom
#87 - Top Favorites (This Month) - Education - United Kingdom

After an extremely frustrating tussle with technology, a beautifully clear version is now available :)

Learning all the time

Learning all the time is the title of a completely brand new and totally unique film about Home Education which challenges assumptions about learning in general and Home Education in particular. Scroll down to watch it. The film was made as part of a ten week (one day a week) film making course provided by Undercurrents and will be featured at the BEYONDTV International Video Festival 2007 in Swansea on November 28th.

My own son and a friend's son both have an interest in film-making and so wanted to take part in the free course which was available locally. When I first wandered in to the film making course I had never used a camcorder before and I fondly imagined that I would only be there as a responsible adult for my children. Much to the amusement of the group, I was rather shocked to discover that we were expected not only to take part in the workshop but also to make a REAL film. Inevitably we were given home education as our project and Undercurrents asked us to make a film that "challenged assumptions".

Learning how to use the equipment and edit the footage involved a learning curve that was not so much steep as vertical for me at least! The children learned how to use the cameras and editing equipment and they all practiced interviewing and being interviewed. Their questions and answers were completely unscripted as they learned their craft and much of the resulting footage is used in the film. Other footage was obtained by simply taking the camera along to a couple of home ed meets that were going on. I wanted to try to capture something of the nature of autonomous education so I mostly just filmed what was happening around me and hoped for the best.

Anyway, I think we got there and the film looks pretty much like a "real" one in the end. Nothing in the film was staged or scripted, and the children are simply their authentic, wonderful selves throughout. I have put it on the Internet simply in the hope that it inspires and heartens Home Educators. If it provides food for thought for the sceptics, that's a bonus! Feedback most welcome and appreciated. Enjoy!