Obviously, Sajo, every child should be protected from bullying but the school system is unable to protect every child so surely we should be entitled to remove the child, immediately, without Government interference. We don't want any more Marie Bentham's.

I would love to be able to stop bullying across the board but personally I don't have any better options than the Education Department offers. It is not okay for other children to be bullied but my heart renders it necessary to stop it for MY children.

My children are 'my' responsibility, not the Governments, not the schools - MINE!

As to whether our adult children will meet up with bullies or not, if they do, they will meet them as confident adults who will not accept bullying and can take appropriate measures. Unfortunately many school age children do not have the capability to do that.

Di T

Thanks, Di T, I agree. No one wants bullying for anyone, but those parents who choose to take responsibility for their children's education should not be bullied by the education department.

I understand that the new Education Act in Victoria will put increased pressure on families who homeschool. It will also put increased pressure on the very many more families who do use schools, but who also judiciously use days off from school for rest and recreation and release the pressure for their children.

This new Education Act seems to me to be a very backward step for Victoria. And at this time, why? The Education Department are struggling to do a decent job of educating all the children who are already being sent to school. There is no sign of the social factors easing that make a teacher's work difficult and challenging. So why would the Ministry of Education be wanting to screw down the lid on the schools pressure cooker now?

I don't know!

David Arnold

I believe all children are born with a natural and compelling desire to learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom. In fact, it takes an incredible effort to knock this out of them! Yet school, despite the best efforts and intentions of many teachers, is the most effective way I know of to dampen and still that desire. It may be through bullying, or an unnatural social context, or a concept of norms which has little to do with individuals, or a system of times and obligations which pays little heed to the sponteneity and creativity of the child - however it does it, school manages very effectively to stifle enthusiasm and strangle the love of learning. At home, my children were able to enjoy a rich childhood unhindered by this intrusive unnatural external pressure. Those children are now responsible, thoughtful, well-balanced, wise and useful adults eager to take their place in the world. It would grieve me to see the future children of Victoria deprived of this kind of opportunity to experience the joy which comes from real education.

My son was at school for 8 years, he was bullied sometimes, and that contributed to our decision to homeschool, however he was not one of the main targets. He told me about one child at school, who was bullied by everyone, including the teachers. This unfortunate child was bullied so badly during one lunch hour that his arm was broken, the teachers did not believe he had a serious injury and one teacher even jerked his arm around, when he whimpered in response, she said it clearly wasn't broken because he would have been in more pain if it was. Apparently many children who are bullied by their peers, are also bullied (not protected) by the teachers.
My son was bullied, but fortunately not to this extent. However, after 8 years of school, I realised that he was unhappy and lacking confidence and his school life was the problem. I also realised that he had completely lost enthusiasm for two things he had always loved, reading and using his computer. Like many others, I had thought school was it, but at this time I came across Home Education. I realised that school was failing my son, and that we had nothing to lose so he left school. Since then he has changed completely, most importantly he is happy, I now realise that is something I hadn't seen for quite a while. He is much more confident, and much more competent. And, he has rediscovered his love of books.
We have had no problems home educating, we have an excellent local library, we have access to the internet, and we have life. What a change from the narrow confines of school.
Bullying will never be eradicated in schools, in fact it is obvious the problem is becoming worse with teachers now being victims as well as perpetrators, and students being killed, injured or suiciding.
However, bullying is only part of the home education story, there are many reasons to choose home educating, and one very obvious reason is that schools are superfluous in the information age we now live in.

Congratulations on the degree of concern expressed by all the respondents so far. If people are this concerned about bullying then a solution must eventually be found.
My children did not have serious issues with bullying when they were at school and it was not the reason they each chose to continue home education; (we don't do home school, that is something quite different).
The worst experiences they have suffered with bullying has been at a local youth group. The same children who were recognised as the bullies at school were also the bullies at this group, so we moved to another club. It seemed the only way for my children to continue their involvement in the activity without the nuisance and distress of bullying behaviour. Why would parents not remove their child from a hostile environment?
(Note: one of the bullies at school was rewarded by being made a House Vice-captain. Is that the anti-bullying protocol in practice?)
If home education is not for you, there are other options. Look around and you will be surprised what is out there when you take off the school system blinkers. But please, please, Mr Bracks, do not take away our right to home educate our own children. Rmember, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Being a father of 4, 1 from a previous marriage who is in the public system and 3 who are home educated, I am in a privileged position to have been able to see first hand the great divide between the two educational styles.

I see my eldest who is at school being taught not to be inquisitive. Everything is in black and white and must be done 'the right way'. This has spilled over into her artwork where she was once quite talented and now is so focused on doing it 'right' that it is now just like everyone else’s and has none of the originality she so enjoyed prior to school. She has little self esteem and no longer enjoys any activity unless her peers condone it. She experiences stress in talking to children of different ages, shows disrespect for the elderly and will not play with children 'below her', not even her siblings, instead treating them with contempt. I see her being 'dumbed down' and no matter what I try to do to help her maintain her originality and individualism, everything is lost in the great abyss of conformity. She even loses her faith in her capability due to trying something once, getting it slightly 'wrong', being teased for it and then simply believing that she can't do it. As a pre-schooler, she was bright, motivated, caring and original, now I just see a tortured little brick of conformity.

As a stark comparison, my children from my second marriage are bright, inquisitive and original. The have high self esteem and are comfortable talking with people of any age and social status/culture. They approach new ideas/learning opportunities with enthusiasm and an expectation of understanding. They enjoy every day of life without being afraid of what others think of them. They are thoughtful, caring and though not always perfect, acknowledge others feelings and take care to look after them.

Do we really want the next generation of Australians to be mindless drones, stuck in classes and stereotypes? Where do you think all the racial tension is arising from?