Home Schooling

[fionas]

I hadn't even thought about homeschooling until a bloke at work explained how his wife homeschools their four children aged between 5 and 10. From what I could gather, they cover off the lessons in the morning and then do other stuff in the afternoon. She's very involved in community organisations too so no doubt the kids get lots of exposure to different environments etc.

I'm a bit torn. I simply cannot imagine sending DD to school where I have no idea what she is doing all day. I'm also a bit of an academic snob and if I don't think the teachers are using very good methods of teaching reading and writing, I'll be all over them like a rash. Woebetide any teacher who makes any spelling mistakes when leaving comments on DD's work.

I have no doubt that I could give DD a better education at home and that she would be further ahead than if I sent her to school.

However, for me, that is not the deciding factor. I do NOT want to nurture a child who is academically brilliant but has no idea how to relate to her peers (not just adults). I was good at school but was terribly, terribly shy and being clever exacerbated that. I don't want that for DD. I would quite happily take a drop in her grades for the trade-off that she is emotionally intelligent and is socially confident.

So, I'd be interested in hearing from people who homeschool about how they make sure that their child can relate to their peers who may not be as advanced as them.

[paradise lost]

However, for me, that is not the deciding factor. I do NOT want to nurture a child who is academically brilliant but has no idea how to relate to her peers (not just adults). I was good at school but was terribly, terribly shy and being clever exacerbated that. I don't want that for DD. I would quite happily take a drop in her grades for the trade-off that she is emotionally intelligent and is socially confident.

But did school do that for you? Drop your grades and make you relate to people better? If anything sticking out like a sore thumb in a class of regular kids made me feel worse about myself! I don't know any answers (except that the homeschoolers i know go to park meet-ups and group lessons a lot with the rest of the chapter, which meets many social needs) i am also wondering about it all...

Bx

[myson]

Another HS'er here. Been at it 2 yrs and my girls are LOVING it! Heres the pros and cons for us...

PRO,
They are thriving in their school work,doing better than school kids their own age.

They LOVE doing it. They never want to set foot in a school again.

They get on better with each other and with me.

They are more socially confident/aware/balanced as they spend time relating to people of all ages, not just kids.

We hang out with other Hs families which means I have a good relationship with the kids who are their friends.

We have alot of fun while learning.

There was no income loss for me as I wasnt working before anyway.

The kids used to have to travel on a bus as we live out of town so now they arent away from me from 7am to 4.30pm 5 days a week.... yes, this was a bad thing. Not to mention the early starts!!!

There are lots of things the school teaches which I dont agree with (teaching evolution as fact, for example) so I get to decide the curriulum! BIG BONUS

There are lots more but we are going to see some baby ducks this morning and the kids are telling me to hurry up...

Cons...

it takes a bit of organising to get some time to myself to go out for lunch or a coffee with a friend(purely selfish reason)

uuummm.... thats it for the down side...

gotta run... quack quack..

[halltribe]

Yippee!! I thought I was the only homeschooler in here and I am glad I am not the only insane one!!! People think I am crazy with 7 kids but to add the homeschool factor in as well in just pure insanity!!!I absolutely love it though.

Keep up the good work girls and remember the Bible does say for Parents to train up their children not to give them away to the system and hope for the best!!

[myson]

Oh Yeah...and there are no bullies at my place....

[MantaRay]

It is something that we are considering for our bright 3yo when the time comes. If a school near us can provide him with an environment where he is challenged and happy, then I'm happy to try that. But he gets bored very quickly, gets along better with kids who are older than him as his communication ability is above those of most other kids his age, and also he is already reading at higher than a grade 1 level (and he still has kindy next year, then prep, before he gets to grade 1!). So I am not convinced that a "normal" school will be the best place for him.

However, as I work (and in fact am the primary income earner atm), it would mean major changes for us.

So there's lots to consider. But this is an option for us now (we used to be dead against due to the perceived "socialisation" issues - but now we know better!)

[cmfbaker]

Someone wrote:

There are lots of things the school teaches which I dont agree with (teaching evolution as fact, for example) so I get to decide the curriulum! BIG BONUS

...but don't you think it's important that kids learn about that sort of stuff, even if you don't believe in it? (which I'm assuming you don't, sorry if I'm wrong)

Personally, I'd like my children to experience a variety of cultures and how other people think. I think if they stayed at home with me homeschooling them, they'd get a very one-sided view of the world. I know I could choose to teach them about, say, different religions, but they wouldn't get the understanding that would come from having a friend with a Muslim background, for instance.

Also how do you teach sports, like footie? What about Sex-ed? (I can only imagine being 14 and not wanting to hear about boys from my mum...)
What about excursions? Other languages? I know you can learn a language too, as a parent, but you can never get the understanding of it that a native teacher would have. Same with science, you can learn the facts, but I know I wouldn't have the exitement and thrill in teaching that, as my physics teacher had.

As you can probably tell, I have quite a few questions regarding this, but I don find the topic interesting. Possibly because I'd never head of it before moving to Australia.

[The_Source]

Hi there!

@cmfbaker - Without knowing who gardeningkate is, I would summise from my experience of the home schooling community, that your suggestion that a child should be taught all points of view is *exactly* why gardeningkate would not want evolution taught as fact. There is such a significant amount of disagreement between academic scientists in this area that there is no way that it should ever have been taught as fact in the first place. Darwin's theory, in his original papers, only suggested evolution by natural selection not by genetic mutation and this is often overlooked in Western textbooks and the derived thought on this has been hotly contested for decades.

Now, everyone will have an opinion on what they believe in this example, BUT the point is not what you believe but rather that each child /student / lifelong learner should have the chance to given the whole picture so that they can evaluate the information and determine their own position for themselves. This is a practice that is common in the vast majority of homeschooling environments and it is certainly an eye opener for a child to be able to sit down and explain over a cold drink in summer by the local lake why they believe something because it was not just because a text book told them so.

Cheers!

[cmfbaker]

Thanks for your reply, I think it sounds great trying to explain all sides of an issue like that. What about the rest of my questions, what do you do there?
Kind regards, Christine

[lmbmcb]

However, for me, that is not the deciding factor. I do NOT want to nurture a child who is academically brilliant but has no idea how to relate to her peers (not just adults). I was good at school but was terribly, terribly shy and being clever exacerbated that. I don't want that for DD. I would quite happily take a drop in her grades for the trade-off that she is emotionally intelligent and is socially confident.

A child that is shy isn't always going to benefit socially by being in a school environment. Sometimes it can be a terrible problem for them.Then you could have not only a drop in grades but also a socially stunted child who feels they don't fit in anywhere.

I have found with homeschooling that my kids interact very well with everyone. I also take them to Art lessons, Ballet and swimming lessons where they interact with children of their own age. Becasue they are self confident and don't have to put up with constant bullying they are more confident and able to interact with others without the fear of rejection, and because of that confidence, if they do get rejected it's not a big deal.

The argument of socialisation is often used by opponents to homeschooling, when in reality most homeschooled kids are much better at socialising with their peers than those who go to school. School just forces association with those that we normally wouldn't have anything to do with, it does not necessarily teach social skills, and to some children it can be very damaging and crushing for their self esteem. If you involve your kids in after school or weekend activities with their peers you would probably find that they will be better adjusted that their schooled peers.


It's a big decision to make but the argument of stunted socialisaion really doesn't measure up. Maybe you could talk to some in your local area and talk to their kids too. You might get a different perspective on what really happens in the homeschooling world.

In any case you could always try homeschooling and if it doesn't work you can send your kids back to school.

Kind regards
L.B.

[myson]

I have always been more worried about my kids becoming precocious (sp) more than socially awkward. I have met some HS kids who consider themselves to be adults as they are around adults so much. But having been aware of the potential for this trait has made me more prepared to deal with it. If my kids were to step out of line I would be aware of it, and deal with it accordingly.

[halltribe]

I think (just my opinion) that kids are as social as their parents are or push them to be. You can have introverted kids in school or at home and visa versa. Like Myson I am aware that hs kids can get involved to much in adult conversation, etc so deal with it accordingly.

My children do music, art, differnt clubs and weekly visits to a Nursing home to share what they are learning. Becuase I am a crowd wherever I go I feel responsible to have children that can behave well in all situations and with all different types of people.

[The_Source]

Hi all!

We are a homeschooling family also. I do not wish to enter the discussion per sae as I feel that most everything I would have said has been covered off by others on here.

I did notice however that there are a lot of people curious about home education and thought that if people are genuinely interested in find out more that they might want some links! So here are a few:

The first is the Home Education Association. It is worth giving them a call and asking about both being put in touch with a local homeschooling group, so you can meet them for yourself and cast your own judgment, as well as information on their Introduction to Home Educations sessions and ask to be contacted when one is run in your area. I have been asked recently to organise regular sessions in SA for example. The HEA web site is:

Home Education Association Inc. (Australia) - supporting homeschooling parents in Australia

The second is the web site of Beverley Paine, she is a veteran home schooling parent who has put hundreds of articles online. Her web site is:

Homeschool Australia

(I have emailed the mods to ask for those to be added to the links sticky).

For those who want a compare and contrast then an example is John Taylor Gatto. He has previously won the New York State Teachers Prize and was very pro experiential learning as a teacher and now that he has resigned (immediately after his acceptance speech which outlined the faults with the education system) he is a great proponent for home education. He is particularly interested in the support of intrinsically motivated learning derived from life experience. There are two video clips worth seeing of him. One is from before he resined which is here:

John Taylor Gatto - Classrooms of the Heart | Organic Learning

And, the other is afterwards which is here:

John Taylor Gatto - State Controlled Consciousness | Organic Learning

I hope that feeds the curiosity of some out there!

[gardeningkate]

My DH would be dead set against it, he has put it in the airy fairy hippy box, and we constantly battle over his encouraging the kids to just go and watch tv, whereas I try to get them to do things......
I thought about home schooling part time, trying to incorporate it into the things I do with my oldest one, in grade 1, and starting (informally) with my nearly 2 year old, I was home schooled, but only because we lived in Africa and the options were the very swish school for UN staff kids, or under a tree in a village, Mum did it herself, but then I went to school when we came back, and have to admit that I always struggled socially after that, however I think it was more to do with the fact that the other kids thought I was weird because I was "African" rather than because I was HSed. On my first day someone asked why I didn't starve, they had seen a refugee camp on the TV and I thought it was a pretty dumb question, and things went downhill from there.....
Anyway, where do I start?
Kate

[Mumeee]

Thank goodness the kids go back to school tomorrow!!!!

I have teaching qualifications but I would only ever consider homeschooling if:
1. We lived in a remote area and couldnt get to a decent school
2. My child was being bullied to a point that they didnt want to go to school and their school work and self esteem was suffering or
3. If I had a child with a disability because the "special school" here is absolutely atrocious
Luckily for me none of those apply.

From what I understand, homeschooling in Australia is quite regulated and materials are supplied (at a cost). You can even do languages and music lessons and a qualified teacher will phone up the student. It would never be my first choice though but I respect other peoples right to choose what suits their child the best -and their family.

American homeschooling looks like a complete disaster area from what I've seen.

[lmbmcb]

Hi
I have three kids and homeschool. In answer to some of your questions.
We are a christian family, but I teach my children about the 'Theory' of evolution as I believe it is important for them to have all the available info and to come to their own conclusions.
As far as other religions go - I went to school with kids of lots of different religions and I never really learnt about their beliefs from them. Most or the kids tended to keep their faith private especially if it was a bit different from the norm.
I teach my children about all religions as I want them to understand other people and respect their beliefs.
Sport - My kids go to ballet lessons and play sport with their friends. If you want your child to learn footy or any other sport you can enroll them in a footy team on the weekends with other kids.
Language - There are alot of really good language programs available or your child could do an evening course at TAFE.
Sex Ed - I would much rather teach my own kids about this than have them listen to all the 'stories' that go around a schoolyard. I showed them the video "where did I come from" and that was enough for now. When they are older I will give them approriate reading material and talk to them about it if they feel comfortable doing that.
Excursions - We belong to an active homeschooling group that arranges excursions on a weekly basis. We have been to several Science Days and many other varied activities.
Homeschooling kids are generally Very busy with extracirricular activities, my kids also go to art and piano lessons.
For homeschooling you can either buy a pre packaged cirriculum from a private company or make up your own cirriculum, as long as it meets the requirements set by the Education Authority in your State.I like to make our own cirriculum as I can cater to each of my childrens individual needs and interests. Homeschooling certainly isn't for everyone but many families find that it is the best thing for them and their kids.
Regards
Lisa B.

[The_Source]

Oh crap! It timed out so I lost everything I wrote dang it!

In summary to those questions and the half book that I wrote and lost - there is nothing that can't be achieved through homeschooling groups, local resources - libraries to sporting clubs, and other professionals (from tutors to doctors). As homeschooling parents you are not expected to do everything yourself - just to be able to link your child to the resources they need to learn and to develop into well adjusted adults.