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Mother and Son Podcast
By Rachel O’Brien
Home educating was something I originally thought I could never do. With so much stigma attached to it, it seemed like a task meant for the wonder women (and men) of the world, something well out of my scope of ability as a mother. Add to that a neurodiverse teenager and it seemed like an impossibility that I could not even begin to contemplate. But … we found ourselves faced with the reality that school for our son was just not the right fit.
Darcy, our quirky, spontaneous, ever- energetic 13-year-old son, who loves building and designing, is an extremely creative thinker and picks up new things very quickly. He also has a real love for life and a personality full of zest that I truly admire. Unfortunately, as he is an ‘outside the box thinker’, the traditional methods of schooling seemed to hinder his unique perspective on life and over the years we began to feel as if his spirit was being crushed.
Faced with multiple lockdowns in 2020 though, we could clearly see the positive emotional and physical changes that were taking place for him when out of the conventional school setting. We began to hear from other mums too, who had neurodiverse kids that they were also thriving, and we questioned why that was so.
Once anxious, and misunderstood daily by teachers and children alike, the longer we spent home learning and out of that environment, the happier Darcy became. I could tell that for him, the pressure of societal norms and masking to fit in was gone. He didn’t have to fit in that box of expectation anymore. Then lockdowns ended. Unfortunately leading into the new year and with high school looming, anxiety escalated as we grew closer to the beginning of term. That was when my husband and I began to really consider if home education was a possibility.
Early in 2021, after a difficult beginning to year 7 and with bullying and a lack of understanding continuing, we were faced yet again with the question, what do we do? With all the stress piled on top of him every day, Darcy wasn’t really learning and seeing his decline in mental health, confidence and self-esteem once again was difficult to watch.We knew something needed to change. School was really no place for a free thinker.
As the lack of understanding by school staff and teachers grew, and more and more was expected of him, we were given the final push we needed to take the leap into home education. Our son deserved happiness back in his life. No one deserved to be bullied and belittled for being a different thinker. And so, our home education journey began, with Darcy at the helm, leading the way ahead, confidently knowing the path he wanted to travel. Seeing the changes happen so quickly—as soon as the pressure was off— was wonderful to say the least.
Exploring what his interests were and how we could turn those into learning opportunities was, although challenging, loads of fun. We began to think about what suited him, what he wanted from life and what he enjoyed most of all. Extremely tech-savvy (with mum and dad both proficient on computers and avid Minecrafters) his interests, ever evolving, are solidly tech based.
And from there began ‘HS Linked’ – a home education podcast. Armed with a million ideas and confidence in what HS Linked could become, Darcy and I started with a website, email, and Facebook group (excellent for designing, planning, and researching) and began to look for members in the home education community that might like to share a variety of subjects. We decided very quickly that it should be kid based and came up with the motto – ‘for kids, by kids’. Since our beginning in October 2021, we have discussed a variety of topics over three episodes. We’ve covered subjects like archaeology and photography, weird and wonderful news, and wellbeing, and have thoroughly enjoyed the process so far. This year in 2022 we want to include a segment called ‘Our home education corner’ regularly where we have a new family discussing what home education looks like for them, focussing predominately on the young person’s perspective.
The kids set the segments, whether it’s including their parents, siblings, friends or even interviewing someone else. The quality of content they provide is marvellous.
While I’m supporting the format and helping Darcy host, the kids really are making this themselves, sending in their segments that they record on their phones or devices at home. It’s truly wonderful to hear all their extraordinary ideas, stories, and interviews. It’s also very educational as, while Darcy and I edit the segments together and include music, he also gets to hear and learn from the content too.
For a bit of additional fun, we also like to have jokes, shoutouts and some occasional gaming tips. But we really encourage everyone to send in any segment that might be a passion of theirs. This is an opportunity for them to make their segment a project on their chosen subject where they can plan, research, take photographs, have excursions, and finally explore the tech side of recording a segment or interview.
The wonderful thing about the podcast is not just the learning side of things, with editing, music creation, website design and researching topics and ideas being at the forefront, but there is also a real sense of community that is beginning to emerge. We are hearing from some exceptional voices from age 6 to 17, from a young future news presenter in the making to an aspiring rapper about to start university. It’s absolutely wonderful! It gives me such hope that the path we have chosen, in home educating our unique young man, will be positively ight for him, directed by him and focused on his own personality and who he wants to become.
This year we’ll be back with the podcast at the very end of January after a break over Christmas, with monthly episodes. We’re also shifting things into a more team-based podcast with regular presenters for news, jokes and wellbeing amongst others, and new voices with a variety of segments between. We’re always looking for more voices to join us though. So, if you think this might be something your young person might like to be involved in, whether it’s on a regular basis or as a one off segment, you can send us their segment or questions to our email at Hslinked@hotmail.com.
The Facebook group is an excellent place for parents to join if you want to get your younger kids involved. I regularly post tips on recording along with information for upcoming episodes. This can be found by searching ‘HS linked podcasts’ on Facebook or by following the social media links via the website at www.hslinked.com. There is also a handy contact page and lots of information on the ‘HS linked’ website too, with episode content and links to further learning on subjects discussed on the podcast.
Darcy and I are really keen to make this into something truly amazing, a community home education podcast – ‘for kids, by kids’. We hope you all can listen in and enjoy the wonderful voices that we will no doubt be sharing in the future.
Otherways 171 (Feb 2022)