Child in the 1990s, Hampshire, UK
My stories
My School Story
My traumatic time at school nearly killed me and after constant bullying by classmates and teachers every day for three and a bit years, including being molested within the first 3 months, then once I was able to return to school being dragged out of my class by my year head and forced round year 10 and 11 classes by them to "identify" the culprits... they didn't know what had happened, no one did for a decade as I thought I was too disgusting and fat for anyone to believe me, but the teachers knew something terrible had happened due to the state I turned up at my mum's office and her anguished phone call to them demanding to know why her daughter was dishevelled and screaming.
Eventually being chased, threatened, sent to coventry and told to kill myself hundreds of times a day led to me completely breaking (I had already been under CAMHS since 11 because of everything) and thinking food was trying to kill me, which led to being severely ill, which led to a general hospital with catheters and drips and an NG tube at 14, which eventually led to me being in an adolescent psych unit and having to go to college a year early to do my GCSEs as my school wouldn't send me work in hospital tho I was top set for everything and wouldn't have me back as the level of bullying (of me by others) was a "distraction".
My mother was even told by year 10 head when I was first hospitalised that it was "no wonder" I was bullied "looking" like I did, I was a "soft target".
It still triggers me now even writing this... school destroyed me, I couldn't even do the same GCSEs as everyone else because they didn't offer these at college, I couldn't do higher papers I was on course for in everything as college didn't offer these as everyone else has failed already (this was late 90s), I couldn't do drama or art as I had wanted as these are not offered at college for GCSEs in the late 90s.
I also, to try and escape further bullying, though I was extremely skinny by this point and a 3rd of my highest bodyweight, had to pretend to be a year older than I was so I wouldn't stick out around 16+ people.
All this meant that as soon as we had our oldest I knew I'd insist on home ed. Schools are not the safe places we are told they are.
Outside of my own trauma, two people very close to me in my post school life were groomed by teachers and one of them raped, he sadly became a heroin addict as an adult and was in the adolescent psych unit with me owing to how it made him suicidal.
Now after essentially doing GCSEs by myself as college for GCSEs was v different then to now, I not only have a degree and 2 MAs, I am currently doing a PhD in spite of them.
Eventually being chased, threatened, sent to coventry and told to kill myself hundreds of times a day led to me completely breaking (I had already been under CAMHS since 11 because of everything) and thinking food was trying to kill me, which led to being severely ill, which led to a general hospital with catheters and drips and an NG tube at 14, which eventually led to me being in an adolescent psych unit and having to go to college a year early to do my GCSEs as my school wouldn't send me work in hospital tho I was top set for everything and wouldn't have me back as the level of bullying (of me by others) was a "distraction".
My mother was even told by year 10 head when I was first hospitalised that it was "no wonder" I was bullied "looking" like I did, I was a "soft target".
It still triggers me now even writing this... school destroyed me, I couldn't even do the same GCSEs as everyone else because they didn't offer these at college, I couldn't do higher papers I was on course for in everything as college didn't offer these as everyone else has failed already (this was late 90s), I couldn't do drama or art as I had wanted as these are not offered at college for GCSEs in the late 90s.
I also, to try and escape further bullying, though I was extremely skinny by this point and a 3rd of my highest bodyweight, had to pretend to be a year older than I was so I wouldn't stick out around 16+ people.
All this meant that as soon as we had our oldest I knew I'd insist on home ed. Schools are not the safe places we are told they are.
Outside of my own trauma, two people very close to me in my post school life were groomed by teachers and one of them raped, he sadly became a heroin addict as an adult and was in the adolescent psych unit with me owing to how it made him suicidal.
Now after essentially doing GCSEs by myself as college for GCSEs was v different then to now, I not only have a degree and 2 MAs, I am currently doing a PhD in spite of them.
My Home Ed Story
N/A
How I think schools could be better.
I think schools have to be radically redesigned.
I don't think from the work I do with young people who have been deregistered, that they are any better now.
We need to do away with standardisation of everything and stop trying to make square pegs force through round holes.
My PhD is around art and education and suggests an alternative way of teaching art and engaging play and I believe play, fun and learning through doing, through exploring should be at the root of how modern education should look... we treat people as consumers in every other aspect of life, even in health care, maybe we should start thinking more like this in terms of education in schools and what we can offer children, young people and parents rather than ascribing things and being punitive.
I don't think from the work I do with young people who have been deregistered, that they are any better now.
We need to do away with standardisation of everything and stop trying to make square pegs force through round holes.
My PhD is around art and education and suggests an alternative way of teaching art and engaging play and I believe play, fun and learning through doing, through exploring should be at the root of how modern education should look... we treat people as consumers in every other aspect of life, even in health care, maybe we should start thinking more like this in terms of education in schools and what we can offer children, young people and parents rather than ascribing things and being punitive.