Gen

Many thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated.

Who controls home schooling? Who writes the curricula? Who sets standards? Who marks papers? And many other similar questions. How do kids qualify from one grade to another?

I am very interested.

Happy New Year
Kay

Hi
I am a home educator and for our family home education is a way of life.My children have always been home educated.We spend a lot of time together as a family and have a strong bond whereby my children really get along well with each other.There is peace and harmony in the home.We are able to do family read alouds (classics,historical fiction biographies etc)together,listen to some lovely progammes on air and then discuss it together as a family.We make trips to different parts of Australia and I am able to combine pleasure with excursions whereby our kids help plan the trip,work out the distances and come back and write about their trips.Our kids are confident and they socialise very well with the school kids as well as other homeschooled kids.Our kids have all the time to explore their own interests and do not have to conform to some stereotypical behaviours that is found prevalent in the society today whereby the culture is one of conformity rather than seeking out and bringing out the individuality of a child. Or one that is inspired by consumerism?Our kids are allowed to be kids and are not hurried along to grow up.
Home education is not new - its been around for a very long time.There are different approaches to homeschooling. There are some very good curriculum that many parents I know of use.I personally use graded books for the core curriculum and do projects taking into account my kids interests.My children in that way feel their have some input into their education.Suppose they're learning fractions they don't stop because their grade 5 textbook stops and moves onto another topic but rather go onto grade6/7 textbook if the interest is there.
I work closely with them and I can give them word problem questions whenever I feel the need to hence,I know and they know how well they have grasped the topic.We also seek outside help if we need extra help in any area.Our kids respond well to other adult teachers in their extra curricular activities eg Music.TO BE CONTINUED....

I believe that my husband (who is a great support to me)and I brought these kids (we didn't seek the govt's permission to do so)into the world and have the best interests of our children we know our kids so well to make the decision as to what suits them the most.
Education Minister Brandon Nelson has admitted “ that literacy standards for 14 year olds have declined over a thirty year period.”
Also the fact that “Australian schools are infected with “New Age” curriculums that are leaving behind their international peers in Mathematics,Science and English.”(Age- 28/09/05)
All I can say is that in my homeschooling programme there has been consistency.
We teach our chidren to be tolerant of different points of view and choices and in the 21st century we as parents have a right to choose what education we want for our children as well as what social values that are important to us as a family.
What social and important life skill is Heidi Meldau referring to?? Is it where the teenage suicide rate is high? The culture is one of conformity rather than seeking out and bringing out the individuality of a child. Or on that is inspired by consumerism?

We teach our chidren to be tolerant of different points of view and choices and in the 21st century we as parents have a right to choose what education we want for our children as well as what values that are important to us as a family.

Jolanda is correct, IMO, when mentioning that "people are scared to speak up against the bullies, etc" - this goes far beyond the gates of schools into just about every little corner of society. I had thought the problems my son was experiencing were largely over but he went too long in not saying anything to anyone out of fear. Not Good Enough!

Sajo, I was involved in school P&C's at a committee level for many years. I have been as involved a parent as I could possibly be and I worked for the betterment of ALL children, not just my own. I had been unhappy about several aspects of what I now consider institutionalised education. I tried to make a difference and even though I am now home schooling, I continue to work at improving the lot in schools in a small way, for I know that not everyone would choose home based education nor think they were capable of doing so. Too many still don’t know that it’s a legal option in the first place, in all Australian states.

It was through the dreadful bullying problems my sons were experiencing that I began looking good and hard at other aspects of their schooling. Too much of it was unsatisfactory – a one-size-fit-all education doesn’t suit all, too much time wasted throughout the day on herding and controlling the masses... the spark of curiosity fading fast from the eyes of my children (that’s a biggie). Too many “unsatisfactory” reasons to detail here.

Today that spark is not only back, it’s bouncing, and I now wish I’d homeschooled all my children, all along.

It’s not my usual style to dish out damning comments, however IMO the educational system is very sick and it’s not enough to change schools or “make them better” - total transformation is what’s required. Some children seem to get through relatively unscathed and then wonder at the age of 45 what the heck it was all about, finally realising that it certainly didn’t prepare them for life out in the big world.

To be continued…

Sajo. What makes you think that I didn’t try what you said before I wrote to the head of the P & C? The system relies on people to just assume that we must have done something wrong or that we must somehow be at fault as otherwise the system would have done the right thing!

Until we do something about this attitude towards victims, nothing will change. We have done nothing wrong except make public complaints about the system and for that we are being targeted and victimized. I have presented everything with respect and as per policy and procedure require. It is all in writing and is all well documented.

I think that the only way to stop the Government from making changes that affect home-schoolers is, if all home-schoolers indicated their intention to apply for Distance Education on Psychological and medical grounds. You have to hit them in the pocket. If they get a couple of hundred applications for Distance Education from parents refusing to return their children to school unless the school can guarantee a safe and appropriate learning environment then maybe the system might think twice about what they are doing or deal with the issues that are causing families to have to homeschool.

My children have been successful in obtaining Distance Education on those grounds in NSW and it is quite a great system. When and if they return to school it will be supervised and if at any time there is a problem my children will return to be educated at home by the Education system. I will not leave them in an environment where they are not safe and where their needs are being neglected. The system needs to be forced to take responsibility.

In the NSW Education Act 1990 it says the Education of the child is primarily the responsibility of the Parents . It also states that it is the duty of the state that every child receives and education of the highest quality. We have a duty of care to protect our children. All our children.

Kalweb asks the questions:
“Who controls home schooling? Who writes the curricula? Who sets standards? Who marks papers? How do kids qualify from one grade to another?”

Hopefully others will reply as well. There is no one way to “do it” and each state has different regulations. Ask a hundred home schooling families and you’ll probably get 100 different replies.

In NSW the Board of Studies “controls” homeschooling. In my very brief interpretation here, there is no “set curriculum” but home educating families are to write their plans and programs based on the Key Learning Areas. Home educated children are eligible to sit for Basic Skills tests, ELLA, SNAP etc but not all partake of those, and some parents test their children using others methods/purchased tests etc. Part of the registration requirement is that you demonstrate how you will evaluate the progress of your child, along with what resources you have or have use of. Your program is viewed and registration can be approved for a period of 6-24 months at a time. Families are free to choose a very rigid school-at-home approach, purchase curriculum material from the huge amount of sources worldwide or facilitate the learning of their children in an informal manner. Ultra flexible, a grade five kid can be doing grade five maths and grade eight English, or spend six hours a day on music if that is their passion, and fit in everything else around it. Parents regularly find five hours of tuition in school can be knocked over in two or less at home. They also, not having a class of thirty to teach, can spend the time to really understand their child’s abilities and interests and tailor a program to suit that child. Brilliant.

There are also many unregistered families who take full responsibility for their children and prefer not to be “controlled”. However, the truth is, whether they are registered or aren’t, using formal methods or very informal, real-life learning, studies show that many of these homeschoolers blitz the tests when they take them, if that’s important for anyone to know