Some newcomers to Home Education groups who have recently been taken out of school can exhibit undesirable traits such as exclusion, discrimination and belligerence. They soon find out from the other children that these skills are unnecessary for survival in a HE environment, and that the adults are not their ‘enemy’. The exposure of HE children to others of differing age, ability, sex and background develops their skills for real-world cooperation and removes any need for schoolyard politics
The HE environment is more than capable of developing the skills required to tackle any bullies our children may encounter in adult life.

Why is it so many people believe one can only obtain an education at school, when school is to education what fast food is to nutrition

Yes, Sajo, I agree with you: we are responsible for our children but we do not own them. So the major skills needed for Home Education are a belief in our children's innate passion to learn and to understand, a willingness to relearn most of our own existing ideas on what constitutes education, and a readiness to follow where our children lead. Because, if we are open to enlightenment, we find it is our children who teach us. Not having been conditioned by the school system they have a huge advantage over us. They are so much more confident, more resourceful, more knowledgeable about what their real needs are, and more innovative in finding ways to meet them, than we can ever be, no matter whether our background is in teaching or academia or whatever. So a 'suitable' Home Ed parent needs confidence, humour, commonsense, open-mindedness, and, above all, faith in the children. Given these things (and not a little patience) they can offer the children the space and air needed to achieve - in their own time, at their own pace, and in their own direction - levels of satisfaction and success their parents could hardly have imagined possible.

Home Education has saved the lives and is saving the lives of thousands of children and teenagers every year in this country both mentally and physically. The public are afraid of it mainly through the fault of myth and misinformation. Teachers are afraid of it because it may mean their redundancy. Governments are afraid of it because they have no control over it. Business is afraid of it because public education is big business. Corporations are afraid of it because just maybe these well educated young people will think twice about selling their integrity to the highest bidder and will look upon the problems of the world with compassion instead of greed in their eyes!
For the sake of the environment and the diversity of the human race we are in desperate need of a new way of educating our children. Let’s give this a go! Institutionalised schooling has had its day in the sun – it’s our turn now!

Very good point Terry, the State Government’s proposed Education Act is very anti family.
With the new legislation stating that children have to remain in school all the time it is open for instruction, this will add terribly to the stress that families already face. Families are finding it increasingly difficult in this day and age to find time to spend with each other. Adults are having to work longer hours, and often are unable to take their holidays during the term break. It is a shame that parents are now being legislated against in this manner, where they will simply not be able to take their children on holiday when they choose, or they will be forced to degradingly ask for permission to spend time with their own children.
It is interesting that when the State Government is asked to explain the more questionable parts of their new Education Act, they say that it is their intention for a light touch. Well if this is their intention, why does their legislation sound like something out of a George Orwell novel.
I have read in the paper that they will try and push this legislation through during the Commonwealth Games when all are preoccupied. As they released the Exposure Draft just before the Christmas holidays to ensure minimal debate, this doesn’t surprise me at all.
If the Government are truly trying to legislate in our best interests, why are they trying to push through this Act in such an underhand manner

I don't know why so many people believe that putting a child in with 100 or so others will give them social skills. Schools isolate children from the community, restrict them to mixing with their peers, without guidence in an unatural environment, where all the adults are authorities. This only fosters communication problems, social problems and bullying.

Home educated children have great social skills because they develop in the community, where with guidence from parents, they mix with their peers, adults, the elderly, toddlers and babies. They understand how the community works, can relate to it and deal with it.