Yesterday we visited BioCultura in Barcelona, the Fair of alternatives and responsible consumption, where we found several exhibitors dedicated to breastfeeding, babies and children's education, and met the Association for Free Education (Ale), proposes an alternative system to traditional school education, it is about home education. It is a different alternative that in Spain still causes astonishment, but in other countries it is widespread, especially in the United States and Canada.
The idea they promote is that the best way for an adequate education is the home itself, the arguments are the following: they indicate that the environment, our society, has lost its role in the transmission of values. A school cannot provide a 100% guarantee for the child to acquire these values, therefore, they consider this educational model as a more reliable alternative to guarantee the best education and development in children.
Home education is considered valid and the Ale has therefore set some objectives to meet. Defend that families educate their children in their own homes always under a conscious and full criteria, create networks that support these families that educate their children at home, request the relevant academic certifications, School Graduate, University entrance exams, etc., always presenting for free to the exam that the Ministry of Education stipulates.
They also promote an educational exchange between educational institutions and the home itself and maintain close educational contacts by other international groups that act in the same way.
In a nutshell, Ale tries to get families that are similar to these educational concepts to meet and group their interests for the positive growth of their children.
The method is respectable and interesting, although we personally find that the rhythm and lifestyle that most parents lead does not make it possible. The values that we want to transmit to our children will always receive them whether they go to school or not, the general culture taught by professionals who "recycle" can be more complete than that of the parents, if we have to work outside the home and in it , provide them with all the education, we should also study to update ourselves, we would have little time to devote to leisure with our children that is also very necessary, if we are already missing ...
We also found that children need to maintain the social relationships they find in school, for example, this helps them develop the values we teach them. It has always been said that the more you know the more you learn. What do you think?
