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When school has failed: finding a way forward
Tom is a 15-year-old boy who was very unhappy at school. He has never recovered from his experiences. As a result, his current ability to read and write will not equip him to meet the daily demands of life as an adult. His parents have decided to remove him from school and do their best for him at home.
Outright refusal
Tom is practical and he is always busy with manual activities. He is cheerful and friendly and he plans to become self-employed as a handyman and gardener. The unfortunate legacy of his past experience is that he will not comply with anything that reminds him of school. If his parents try to persuade him to do written work or if they suggest that he does some reading, he refuses.
His parents are very concerned about two matters: first, how can they provide education at home for him if he will not co-operate with anything and second, what will happen when the local authority contacts them again? A new adviser has been appointed and the previous meeting with her was not helpful. What is to be done?
Learning cannot be forced
The most important consideration is the remainder of the boy’s education. It must be accepted that when educating young people of this age, nothing can be done without their co-operation. Neither parents nor teachers in school can force a child to learn.
The discouragement which he has suffered will make it extremely difficult for him to engage with formal education. It is important to reassure young people in this situation that they do not have to submit to more school at home and to explain to them that there are other ways of learning.
New directions to build confidence
There are many positive signs and it is important to build on these. Although Tom’s literacy skills are poor it might be helpful to have a complete break from attempts to cajole him into doing reading and writing; this area of education may be resumed later on. He needs confidence-building activities that are based on his interests. Every encouragement should be given to him to continue with his practical tasks as these are a legitimate part of his education.
Ways of developing his interests should be explored. Would he benefit from additional tools and equipment, workshop space, input from other adults who have suitable skills, more opportunities to take on projects and so on? Later on, Tom’s parents might like to suggest that they obtain a business studies textbook and read it with him, so that he can find out what is involved in setting up a business and becoming self-employed.
New opportunities
Opportunities to interact with other adults outside the home may be helpful. It is very common to find that the stress of the situation has caused negative patterns of behaviour and reactions between parents and child which may be difficult to change. For instance, a boy who was locked in conflict with his parents because he refused to get up in the morning changed his behaviour altogether when he was given the chance to spend some time on a fish farm with a friend whom he respected and admired.
Tuition in practical skills
Although ‘work experience’ has much red tape surrounding it, it is not the only way of broadening young people’s horizons. They are able to receive tuition in practical activities and an arrangement of this kind is not the same as work experience. Parents may make informal arrangements with other trusted adults to enable their young people to learn practical skills as long as they are not exposed to dirty or dangerous environments, but it should be noted that under-16s are not allowed to prepare or handle food in commercial settings.
Looking forward
Changing the mood and direction of travel is crucial. A fresh start is needed sometimes in order to allow positive attitudes to develop. In time it should be possible for Tom’s parents to choose a good moment to discuss with him what the aims will be for the last couple of years of compulsory education.
It’s so important to keep gently reminding young people that it’s never too late for them to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, and it helps to know that many individuals who have had difficulties with reading and writing have gone on to achieve great success in adult life.
Relevant targets
Motivation to improve reading might come from the need to understand technical manuals. Accurate reading skills are important for reading and following instructions. Specialist magazines are another source of text, as are websites; there may also be an internet forum which caters for the young person’s interests.
It may be useful for Tom’s parents to plan and agree some goals for him, perhaps to learn to write the days of the week and the months of the year accurately, or to learn to tell the time and to become proficient in arithmetic, basic measurement and money calculations – and, of course, to make sure that he knows how to use a calculator accurately and how to check the answer by estimation. Spell-checkers on computers are invaluable for people who have problems.
One local authority adviser (an ex-head teacher and chemistry teacher) told a family that he had struggled with spelling all his life. He confided that he had developed all sorts of strategies to conceal his problem – including losing his glasses conveniently on occasions – and he made full use of the tools which computers provide to help with spelling and grammar.
Looking forward to college
In time it would be useful to talk to the further education colleges in the area in order to find out what practical courses may be on offer. Most colleges give support in literacy and numeracy and they may offer courses that run alongside the main subject.
Prospective students are asked to complete an assessment to see if they need help with basic skills. It’s vital for Tom’s parents to make clear to him that the assessment is simply a way for the tutors to see what help he needs. He cannot fail it and no-one will disapprove.
He may be reluctant to engage with literacy and numeracy right now, and this is understandable given the distress that he has suffered over the years at school. It may be that the passage of time and greater maturity will give him the motivation to try to improve his skills when he gets to college.
The local authority
What can be done about the attentions of the local authority adviser who has only succeeded in making the situation worse? Tom’s parents report that the adviser called him ‘lazy’ to his face and this is singularly offensive and unhelpful.
There is no need for Tom to have any contact with the adviser and his parents might prefer to provide information by means of a report instead of a meeting. A report should focus on the practical arrangements and it would be useful to explain that the strategy for tackling the literacy difficulties relies upon allowing time for a complete break from the negative associations and stress of enforced work in this area.
GCSE and other exams are not obligatory and there are opportunities to add them later if they are needed. Parents are the experts on their own children; it is understandable if the adviser is worried about the boy’s literacy level but it is counter-productive to set up further needless anxiety about it for all concerned.
It might be worth considering a private assessment of Tom’s learning difficulties. This may be obtained from an educational psychologist and it will come at a cost, but it could provide useful advice and strategies for helping him. It would also be useful to show to the adviser and to a college in future.
Many advisers do their best to offer assistance and encouragement, and some may have local knowledge or ideas that can be useful. However, if parents who are in a similar position consider that their strategy has not been understood or respected by the adviser, please contact HEAS. We will always be willing to help.