This has certainly moved on a bit whilst I’ve been getting some much-needed shuteye. (I have not read from about 225 to 300).
You raise a couple of interesting (if unrelated) points, Kromo:
“...out of interest, is there any kind of 'process' you need to go through to home educate children?”
Answer: There is no process. In fact, although it is advisable, the parents do not even need to inform the authorities that they are taking their child out of school. This might help:
http://www.direct.gov...ingaschool/dg_4016124
Perhaps it’s an avenue Ryan’s parents should explore.
“Most children cannot remember not being in school, and for many I can tell you that the experience of school will be a deeply unpleasant one - they'll experience insecurity, intolerance, and indignity”
Perhaps this is the root of your stance in this matter. Perhaps you did not like school very much and saw rebellion as your way of dealing with it. Of course I can only speak from my own experience and that of my friends and relatives, but most people I know (me included) enjoyed their time at school. I personally was fortunate enough to have received a very good education (not privately funded) and did not suffer any of the negatives you mention. More relevant to this question is that the school had a strict code of discipline (including uniform and haircut). We all conformed because we had our education (and the other facilities the school offered us) to consider and could not waste time worrying about “challenging authority”. That is not to say I and my fellow pupils were sops. I and my contemporaries made our way in the world, most of us successfully and we did and still do challenge authority when appropriate.
But we were too busy learning and enjoying all the other things that went with our time at school to worry about what haircut we had.