HomeSchooling, just curious Options

[julz]

It's not something I would and I think anyone considering it should make sure it's done for the kids not for them personally we have some excellent schools around here so why wouldn't I send them there

[Anita]

The interaction and contact with other kids is really important for their development as is team sport participation etc.

There's learning about society's rules, socialisation skills, peer learning and cooperation / initiative / tolerance things to think of.

Homeschooling is not synonymous with locking your children in the house and them never seeing a soul outside of their own family.Yes, in some extreme cases it happens but that is a parenting failure, not a failure of the philosophy of homeschooling.

Team sports are available outside of schools, as are many other social and community based clubs.

What of society's rules are learned in school which are not learned by being active member's in society?

There are not a lot of resources in Australia, as it isn't a very popular option.

There are MANY resources in Australia; in capital cities and in regional areas.
Start with:
Home Education Association
Home Based Learning Network (this is a WA based organisation Erinna)
Beverley Paine
Education Choices Magazine
Australian Christian Academy (if Christian education is your style.)
A to Z Home's Cool

Search yahoo! groups for local area groups.

It isn't the same as the social interaction you get when a child is in a traditional schooling system, but it can be perfectly adequate if the parents ensure that the social side of the child's education is not forgotten.

Why is the socialisation children get at school so good? Where else in life are you forced to socialise with other people just because they are the same age as you? Socialisation was one of the downfalls in our children's schooling and one of the reasons we decided to pull them OUT of school. Liam in particular has always made friends with children older than him, so when his friends (in combined classes) were moved on and he wasn't he LOST friends. How many times throughout school did we make friends and lose them the next year because they were in a different class?

Another issue is that at times, the child may want to confide in people other than family...

Why? Again, if a child can't confide in their parents that is a parenting issue not a school vs homeschooling issue. I went to school; I couldn't confide ANYTHING in my parents and that lack of being able to confide in them MADE me unable to confide in anyone.

I think the Department of Education has a mandated home school curriculum.

The education department regulations vary from State to State. In QLD we can be registered to homeschool using the State's Distance Education program, ACE, Groves Christian College, or any other distance education program nationwide. We can also be registered to homeschool by providing our own curriuculum or NO curriculum (child-led or natural learning).

what are the benefits of home schooling?

Actual learning time: How much time spent at school is actually spent learning? How much time is spent lining up, coming in and out, settling disruptive students, etc.

Learning Styles: Anyone who is a teacher knows that there are many different learning styles; most of which are not accomodated in a institutional classroom environment. Children are made to feel "slow" and looked down upon if they have not met benchmarks (not necessarily by their teachers but by the system and their peers). Children don't NEED to be able to read by 7 years old, the education SYSTEM needs them to be able to read by that age, teachers and teacher's aides don't have the time (in most cases) to share resources in any way other than printed form, to get the information out to the masses as quickly as possible to move on to the next learning objective.

Child Led Curriculum: Why is it more important for children to learn about Ancient Egypt than Ancient China? (trying to remember what *I* learnt at school) Why is it more important for children to move on to learn about insects rather than continuing to study dinosaurs in greater depth? Why shouldn't a child be able to study ONE subject in great detail than have to study many in tiny amounts? Homeschooling children have a greater learning base than institutionally schooled children in my experience. Our homeschooled children have the whole world as their classroom. Noone is telling them they must learn this and they can't learn about that (or not yet). Noone is telling them they know enough about the subject they are most interested in and it's time to learn about something else. I don't need to know everything or be good at everything to enable my children to learn about it; I only need to know how to source information, to find resources and to bring them to my children or my children to them.

Socialisation: Our children relate well to all people. They are just as comfortable in maintaining a conversation with an adult as with a child their own age, older or younger. My children seek out adult assistance when required, as for help in shops, in their learning, etc rather than asking their parents to do it for them. They are accepting of people with disabilities and of people from different religious and racial backgrounds to their own.

Self Esteem: It is much easier to establish a child's self esteem in a loving home environment than in a conventional classroom setting in which children tend to taunt and ridicule each other in order to be at the top of the "social ladder" to be in the "popular group". A child who does well in class is a "geek" or "teacher's pet". A child who is "popular" is often seen to be less intelligent by their peers. Children experience social rejection in institutionalised education far more often than they do in any true social settting and those who as adults (thinking "Ugly Betty" here) experience that social rejection are experiencing it from people who have learned that behaviour from school.

Our children value people for many reasons; and every reason to value a person is as valid as the next. Noone is telling them that either popularity, academic intelligence, sporting achievements or artistic abilities are any one more important than the other. Our children are able to see all these natural abilities in people and to value them all. Our children will never suffer the pressure of labeling; of grading and testing and of pre-formed opinions of their abilities (for example when a new teacher reads their previous records). Our children will never be taught by a teacher who has a personality clash with them and from whom they therefore fail to learn for a year.

Independent Decision Making: Without peer pressure homeschooled children are more able to make independent decision; more able to think outside the square without the pressure of thinking that someone will think less of them for doing so.

"Tertiary" Education: Many people question the ability of homeschooled children to enter tertiary education later in their lives, currently more than 200 American colleges, including such prestigious institutions as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, actively seek to attract home schooled students not only because of their high SAT scores, but for their advanced social skills as well. Tertiary entrance in Australia is no longer based on entrance exam scores alone, prior learning and experience are also recognised. A homeschooled child can enrol in Open University from age 12 (I actually know an 11 year old currently enrolled in OU in a maths program), this opportunity would not be available to a traditionally schooled child as they would simply not have the time to dedicate to the course.

[MrsJo]

Homeschooling is not synonymous with locking your children in the house and them never seeing a soul outside of their own family.Yes, in some extreme cases it happens but that is a parenting failure, not a failure of the philosophy of homeschooling.

Team sports are available outside of schools, as are many other social and community based clubs.

What of soceity's rules are learned in school which are not learned by being active member's in society?
There are MANY resources in Australia; in capital cities and in regional areas.
Start with:
www.hea.asn.au
http://www.hbln.org/ (this is a WA based organisation Erinna)
www.beverleypaine.com.au
www.homeschooling.com.au
www.educationchoices.com.au
www.australianchristianacademy.com.au (if Christian education is your style.)
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/Australia.htm

Search yahoo! groups for local area groups.
Why is the socialisation children get at school so good? Where else in life are you forced to socialise with other people just because they are the same age as you? Socialisation was one of the downfalls in our children's schooling and one of the reasons we decided to pull them OUT of school. Liam in particular has always made friends with children older than him, so when his friends (in combined classes) were moved on and he wasn't he LOST friends. How many times throughout school did we make friends and lose them the next year because they were in a different class?
Why? Again, if a child can't confide in their parents that is a parenting issue not a school vs homeschooling issue. I went to school; I couldn't confide ANYTHING in my parents and that lack of being able to confide in them MADE me unable to confide in anyone.
The education department regulations vary from State to State. In QLD we can be registered to homeschool using the State's Distance Education program, ACE, Groves Christian College, or any other distance education program nationwide. We can also be registered to homeschool by providing our own curriuculum or NO curriculum (child-led or natural learning).
Actual learning time: How much time spent at school is actually spent learning? How much time is spent lining up, coming in and out, settling disruptive students, etc.

Learning Styles: Anyone who is a teacher knows that there are many different learning styles; most of which are not accomodated in a institutional classroom environment. Children are made to feel "slow" and looked down upon if they have not met benchmarks (not necessarily by their teachers but by the system and their peers). Children don't NEED to be able to read by 7 years old, the education SYSTEM needs them to be able to read by that age, teachers and teacher's aides don't have the time (in most cases) to share resources in any way other than printed form, to get the information out to the masses as quickly as possible to move on to the next learning objective.

Child Led Curriculum: Why is it more important for children to learn about Ancient Egypt than Ancient China? (trying to remember what *I* learnt at school) Why is it more important for children to move on to learn about insects rather than continuing to study dinosaurs in greater depth? Why shouldn't a child be able to study ONE subject in great detail than have to study many in tiny amounts? Homeschooling children have a greater learning base than institutionally schooled children in my experience. Our homeschooled children have the whole world as their classroom. Noone is telling them they must learn this and they can't learn about that (or not yet). Noone is telling them they know enough about the subject they are most interested in and it's time to learn about something else. I don't need to know everything or be good at everything to enable my children to learn about it; I only need to know how to source information, to find resources and to bring them to my children or my children to them.

Socialisation: Our children relate well to all people. They are just as comfortable in maintaining a conversation with an adult as with a child their own age, older or younger. My children seek out adult assistance when required, as for help in shops, in their learning, etc rather than asking their parents to do it for them. They are accepting of people with disabilities and of people from different religious and racial backgrounds to their own.

Self Esteem: It is much easier to establish a child's self esteem in a loving home environment than in a conventional classroom setting in which children tend to taunt and ridicule each other in order to be at the top of the "social ladder" to be in the "popular group". A child who does well in class is a "geek" or "teacher's pet". A child who is "popular" is often seen to be less intelligent by their peers. Children experience social rejection in institutionalised education far more often than they do in any true social settting and those who as adults (thinking "Ugly Betty" here) experience that social rejection are experiencing it from people who have learned that behaviour from school.

Our children value people for many reasons; and every reason to value a person is as valid as the next. Noone is telling them that either popularity, academic intelligence, sporting achievements or artistic abilities are any one more important than the other. Our children are able to see all these natural abilities in people and to value them all. Our children will never suffer the pressure of labeling; of grading and testing and of pre-formed opinions of their abilities (for example when a new teacher reads their previous records). Our children will never be taught by a teacher who has a personality clash with them and from whom they therefore fail to learn for a year.

Independent Decision Making: Without peer pressure homeschooled children are more able to make independent decision; more able to think outside the square without the pressure of thinking that someone will think less of them for doing so.
[b] [/b]
"Tertiary" Education: Many people question the ability of homeschooled children to enter tertiary education later in their lives, currently more than 200 American colleges, including such prestigious institutions as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, actively seek to attract home schooled students not only because of their high SAT scores, but for their advanced social skills as well. Tertiary entrance in Australia is no longer based on entrance exam scores alone, prior learning and experience are also recognised. A homeschooled child can enrol in Open University from age 12 (I actually know an 11 year old currently enrolled in OU in a maths program), this opportunity would not be available to a traditionally schooled child as they would simply not have the time to dedicate to the course.

Some excellent information there Anita. I would never feel qualified to homeschool, but some people can, and they do it well.

[Anita]

I would never feel qualified to homeschool, but some people can, and they do it well.

Qualified? How so Jo? What qualifications do you need to homeschool?

[MrsJo]

Qualified? How so Jo? What qualifications do you need to homeschool?

If you read what I said you will understand what I meant: I would never feel qualified. Not that I need some particular qualification, or that people should have some kind of qualification, but I would not personally feel like I had what it takes. As is my right, to know what I can and can't do, and not try to be something I'm not. That's just me, I am not a good teacher of anything, I never have been, it is not a gift I was blessed with! I have seen people blessed with a beautiful ability to teach, both homeschoolers and standard schooling, but I know I am not one of those people! I respect anyones right to teach their children in a way that is best for their children. That's what I am doing too, respecting what I know about myself and Isaac, and making a choice that is best for us. As I said in my first post, if something changed, I would reassess that thinking at that time.

I am reading some kind of sarcastic tone in your post, which could just be me reading it wrong, but it strikes me as odd given I don't think there was anything wrong with what I said about me not feeling qualified. Maybe I am just delusional, and without knowing it my comment was taken as an attack on you somehow, who knows. Although you seemed amped up on this subject from the start (and fair enough too), so I am guessing I am just taking one on behalf of your irritation at everyones comments. Hugs for you, I don't think I have said anything wrong, but if I have, tell me, and I will edit it.

[katy_bride]

Statements like this really bother me. I think the most crucial part of a child's learning takes place in the first few years, please think long and hard before making a choice about this. Please see what sort of people your children are before making a decision.

What makes you think that I would rush a decision like this? That I wouldn't wait and see what type of children mine are first before making a decision? I'm talking about my hypothetical children - I'm not even TTC yet! So just because your parents made the wrong decsions doesn't mean the rest of us will.

Thank you to Anita for posting the links and info, looks really good.

[Anita]

I am reading some kind of sarcastic tone in your post, which could just be me reading it wrong, but it strikes me as odd given I don't think there was anything wrong with what I said about me not feeling qualified. Maybe I am just delusional, and without knowing it my comment was taken as an attack on you somehow, who knows. Although you seemed amped up on this subject from the start (and fair enough too), so I am guessing I am just taking one on behalf of your irritation at everyones comments. Hugs for you, I don't think I have said anything wrong, but if I have, tell me, and I will edit it.

No no no; not at all Jo! I simply wanted to clarify - many many people think that you need to be a qualified teacher to homeschool or think similarly that you need to have a wide range of personal knowledge, or sporting or artistic skills to be able to facilitate your children learning those skills.

It looks like something you are very pasionate about but to say that no-one can comment on this thread because their kids go to a public school is hurtful

People can comment on this thread as much as they like Dee. People can comment on how good their public schools are and the reasons they are sending their children to those public schools all they like.

The reason I said people shouldn't comment on something they don't know about and the reason I got angry and defensive in regards to this thread were the comments made such as: not a popular option, not a lot of resources, that children who don't go to school are missing out (on friends, learning about society, life experiences, etc). All of those comments are untrue and unfounded in my experience.

I was just thinking; those comments felt to me like people who choose institutionalised education for their children would feel if I as a strong believer in and advocate for natural learning posted a response saying "Yes Erinna, you should homeschool your children, sending them to a school is tantamount to child abuse." (Not what I'm saying, just trying to share how those type of comments made me feel.)

[cassarilda]

Thanks Anita As I said, its going to be at least 8-10years until we have school aged children so Ive got a while to think about it...

and another advantage of homeschooling would be that it would stop the debate between hubby and I about private vs public in regards to religion and whats best It would just start one up about what to teach them about religion

I shall check out some of those links, and pass them on to my SIL as well...

[Amelia Jane]

What makes you think that I would rush a decision like this? That I wouldn't wait and see what type of children mine are first before making a decision? I'm talking about my hypothetical children - I'm not even TTC yet! So just because your parents made the wrong decsions doesn't mean the rest of us will.

Thank you to Anita for posting the links and info, looks really good.

Uh, the bit that said

I don't have kids (yet!) but am definetely going to home school my kids til they are at least 10 or 11. I didn't realise there was such a lack of information, but I am definetly going to do it. Its probably difficult to find info because the government doesn't want to encourage it. I'd ring up the Department of Education in your state, because each state is different in regards to the syllabus that is taught. Please let us know what you find out and good luck!

That doesn't sound hypothetical to me at all, sorry. That sounds to me like you have already made up your mind and you won't see what your kids are like before making a decision. So pardon me if I have read your post incorrectly but you said you are definite about doing it, doesn't that generally mean that you won't be changing your mind?

I'd appreciate it if you didn't roll your eyes in regards to something I have said, I find it really rude and disrespectful.

[EmmyLou]

As a part of my job I work with children who do not 'fit' into the schooling system for whatever reason (And these kids are not all from 'troubled' backgrounds as some of my so-called friends believe). For some of these kids, it is a matter of just getting them out of the classroom environment because they just can't handle it & 'home schooling' is one of the avenues we have open to them. The parents/ guardian can choose to do this themselves (with a lot of support from us & other organisations) or we can place them in an alternate school where it is a much more relaxed atmosphere & they are not pressured in any way.

Others, (the older ones for example) are better off going into employment & this is where I spend most of my time. I spend a lot of time with each child assessing them & finding out what interests them & if there is some career in particular that they want to do before placing them somewhere where the employer understands the child's barriers.

H2B & I also have friends that home school their 8 kids. It is a personal choice for them (as it is for everyone). It's not that they don't believe in the school system of anything like that it is just what they prefer. They are very intelligent children & can hold a 'real' conversation with adults & are highly well adjusted children. They play any sport they want, have all sorts of friends & are generally good kids. Ok, so they can be royal pain's in the butt sometimes, but so call all kids.

What I am trying to say is that home schooling is not for every child, but neither is a traditional school environement. You have to do what is best for the child, not what is convienent for the parent.

Em

[ellemjaye]

I was homeschooled for a number of years and am planning to homeschool my own children.

There is an interesting discussion here which covers some of the issues raised in this post. My son is whinging at the moment otherwise I'd post a more comprehensive reply.

[cassarilda]

Thanks Sonia.. I tried searching cos I was sure Id seen something else on it, but obviously I didnt use the correct terms

[cassarilda]

Ok another question.. for those who started their children off homeschooled first thing, since there is often a big lead up to a childs first day at school, how did you explain to your child that they werent going to school with the others? Cos I know some kids get really excited.. and did you have to tell your family before hand about your plans so they didnt start bringing up school etc?

I do understand or believe that since you would be responsible for your childs learning, that you might start a bit younger, since I know some mentalities might be just give the basics cos school will teach the rest... so did you start earlier or were you more focussed before a certain "school age" on what you were teaching them?

Basically, how did you ease them into it, or inform them they werent going to 'school' like the neighbours etc?

I hope that made sense

Ive been thinking, that if we were to do it, a combination of structured lessons in a range of subjects (basics of maths, etc) would be followed by subject of interest or random day events based on whats happening etc (zoo, shops, visits etc).. i like the idea of the child being able to invest in their interests, and learning from experience (shopping & maths etc), rather than being told. But of course, we shall see