Home Schooling Part 2

I thought it was about time that I found the time to do part 2!! :)

For more home schooling stuff, you could try looking here...Home Ed group on Facebook! Some of what I've mentioned here is from there!



 Here is an insightful look at Homeschooling in Europe... Homeschooling and the War Against Children! It makes for an interesting read, and I certainly hope that Australia does not adopt Germanys way of doing things!

Most of what you will see here will be directly copied from particular websites (addresses included) simply because after spending the day teaching a child, my brain gets a little frazzled and I do not with to incorrectly quote anything! And I will also include any links I think are relevant!

The decision to home school
SUMMARY OF AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH ON HOME EDUCATION (this is a pdf)


Every year new research papers on the subject of home education are published which continue to shed light on what is fast becoming a popular and effective form of alternative education. Although the outcomes and experiences of home educators are diverse, there are some shared experiences and benchmarks emerging which can be seen as common factors. Home education is blazing a trail that challenges the assumptions underpinning school-based education. (Research on Home Education.)

What is it that bothers us as a society when someone chooses to educate their child at home? There is a stigma surrounding home schooling and, at the very least, a tendency to judge and stereotype: hippie; religious fundamentalist; just plain weird. But is this really justified?
Home schooling, often referred to as home education, is legal in Australia. And The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says "Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children". (Article 26). So, home schooling is a legitimate school choice, but is it a legitimate social choice?
Only in recent history has responsibility for educating children rested with the state. For most of human history, parents, extended family and notable community figures and elders were accepted as educators. In NSW the Public Instruction Act, 1880, directed parents with children aged six to 14 to "cause such children to attend school for a period of not less than 70 days in each half-year". And so state-based education became mandatory.
Some indigenous cultures have resisted relinquishing education to the state, contributing to poor attendance rates. There are examples where native Americans and Hawaiian natives have established home-schooling networks to preserve traditional values and reconcile the gulf between tribal ways and public education policy. 
... Criticisms levelled against home schooling range from a lack of socialisation, limited access to higher education and qualifications, to greater opportunities for child abuse. There is a paucity of research relating to home schooling in Australia. But most of the available research - including international research - dispels these criticisms, often finding home-schooled children perform equally, or better, academically and socially. However, research in the area is difficult. (The schooling choice we love to hate.)

I’m not sure why some parents want to home school their children.  The world is certainly not perfect and neither is the education system, but we need to ensure our children know how society functions so they develop into confident members of it.  Attending school is part of that.
Since writing my original post I have had many homeschooling parents contact me and say what a positive experience it has been for them, which is great.  They say the benefits include working at your own pace, letting children eat when they want to, one on one attention, controlling what children learn, avoiding grading systems, not having to put up with bullies and not being exposed to peer pressure.  But is this the way to go?
On the surface home schoolers have admirable goals.  But are these children getting a realistic picture of how society works and what will be required when they are adults and have to study, work, follow a routine, be punctual, cope when things don’t go their way and deal with many different personalities?  What happens when they get into the big wide world where not everyone is nice and they are one of many in a group? 
Home schoolers claim that their children learn routine, socialise adequately and are well prepared for the workplace and adult world.  If done well, this could well be the case.  But I still think that school exposes children to a wide range of views, personalities and children and that this is a good thing.  In some cases excessive bullying and personality clashes mean school is not a positive experience, and in those cases it is up to the parents to decide what is best.
It is nice to impart your views on your children, but they need to know that others think and act differently, even if you disagree what they say or do.  School can be a great way of doing this. (Is home schooling good for kids?) (the following is a reply to this particular article... to see it, click in the afore mentioned link and scroll down!)

Hi
Home education is often misunderstood in the community.  So your thoughts are not uncommon.  Before we embarked on our home education journey, I ‘researched the research’ both in Australia and overseas.  Listed below is a summary of what I found in research on home educated children:
**They on average perform scholastically as well, or better than school educated children.  Approximately 25% better in fact.
**They are socially well balanced. More so than school educated children.
**They have strong family relationships.
**They have good friends.
**They are no more at risk from abuse than other children.
**They demonstrate less at risk behaviours, especially as teens.
**They have less mental health issues, and cases of suicide. I’m yet to find a single case of youth suicide with a home educated teen!
**They cost governments substantially less than school educated children.
**Their parents are very dedicated and sacrifice time, energy, and money to educate them at home.
**Many go to university, and are actually sought out by universities.
**As adults, they are contributing members of society.
**As adults, they are overall happier than the general population.
Based on this research, the question should be why send your child to school?  Feel free to contact me if you would like futher information.

lifelong learning (Reply)
Thu 15 May 08 (02:34pm)

 

Hopefully I've covered a little more of "both sides of the argument"! Happy reading and happy researching! There is so much out there on this subject!

Home Schooling Part 1

As a home schooling mother, I have often been asked “what about socialisation?” My answer to that, is that my daughter has friends... She has friends of all ages in our church, both children and adults, and she has a couple of friends that don't go to church! But for some of my critics – that answer is simply not good enough! So then I go on to tell them that when we go fossicking she gets to meet and greet all the people that join us, and that is how she has met many of her friends! Granted, we only see some of these people once a year because they live 6+ hours drive away! But, she has friends, and they are many and varied!

The main reason that I was first interested in home schooling, was the fact that I could oversee all aspects of my childs education! And as a result, I could see to it that she didn't slip through the cracks as many institution schooled children seem to! I, myself, was one of those children that slipped through the cracks... And I wanted a half decent education for my child! I also believe that it is a parents responsibility to teach their children, not the governments responsibility!

With the school program that my husband and I do with our daughter, we have flexibility and the peace of mind, knowing that she is doing the best she can and the subject isn't being changed or advanced beyond her level! We have noticed, that if she was in a school, then we would have to work twice as hard to keep her up to speed! While she is a bit behind the average, for her age, her general grades are A's with one B! Her overall percentage is 97% - yes, there is room for improvement! But, I am damn proud of her progress! (And knowing that I have no official qualifications, means that she is doing brilliantly!)

I enjoy the flexibility of the system. It means that if, like last Friday, when I had a tooth pulled out and my husband was away, no school happened! I didn't have to worry about organising someone to drop her off at school and then pick her up after school, nor did I have to worry about organising her a lunch! She came to the dentist with me! She sat with our friend in the waiting room, and they were talking about all kinds of animals and other interesting stuff... And because I was kinda not there with the codeine, I didn't have to worry about school for her! She had a day off! Kind of a sick teacher day! When Monday came around, she did a little extra work!

Another good thing with the flexibility, we can take holidays when we please! It doesn't have to be on school holiday time when things become so much more expensive! And a supermarket suddenly becomes a classroom! A trip to the pet shop, for a toy for the puppy, becomes a small lesson on fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, various birds and whatever other weird and wonderful animals they happen to have! Trips to the vet become lessons on how to care for the puppy or cat (whichever animal happens to be visiting this time around!). The park is a place to run (that is bigger and more fun then the half acre backyard) and a place to potentially meet new friends! Learning doesn't just happen in a classroom with 30+ other students!

She gets one on one teacher/student time, as opposed to one teacher to the average sized class of 30-35 students! In my high school English class, my teacher had approximately 30seconds per student! So if you had a question, it had better be a quick one otherwise you risk taking another students 30seconds of teacher from them!

Another plus of home schooling – no home work!! It's all been done and once school is finished, that's it until tomorrow!

The biggest thing is, the children that are home schooled have no peer pressure or bullies (unless they have older siblings)! And they tend to learn what no means from mum and dad! They learn in a safe environment to say no, or yes!

If the parents set it up correctly, then the child/ren get plenty of outdoor exercise and plenty of socialisation! The government has a set of curriculum guidelines, which makes sorting out what on earth to teach a little easier! And there are many private schools that offer curriculum to home schooling parents! And then there is the internet, where you can find many helpful and potentially unhelpful resources! You need to be a little more creative, in the area of teaching! But, once you sort out the childs particular way of learning, it flows smoothly!

There have been many studies on the pros and cons of home schooling! I will get to them, next time!