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The Forum > Article Comments > Home education grows up > Comments

Home education grows up : Comments

By Susan Wight, published 13/2/2006

Home education has often been very successful in Victoria but this is now under threat.

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What a fantastic article. It just proves the point that schooling and education are not the same thing. Children and adults are the same when it comes to deep learning, as adults we are able to choose what we learn and how we learn it, why should this be denied to children by sending them to school? Maybe because the majority of adults are school taught they too have lost the ability to think outside the box, and cannot believe that another learning sysytem can be as effective as the current one. Todays information rich society surely allows for a variety of learning methods and locations. As George Bernard Shaw observed "what we want to see is the learner in pursuit of knowledge and not knowledge in pursuit of the learner". How you learn is as important, if not more important than what you learn. Todays modern world requires flexible people with flexible approaches which is what home education allows, they are trail blazers of education for the 21st century. Maybe current schools could regenerate themselves, as Roland Meighan suggests, into "Learning Resource Centres" where anyone who needed help with their learning could go at anytime, what ever their age. The curriculum would be personalised and not standardised. As he also observed 'Education is an octopus not a snake, we have to face up to the fact that education is a complex problem, and not a simple problem at all, however inconvenient this may be. Whilst the Government must be congratulated on updating the current system, they must not be ridgid in their thinking, they have an ideal opportunity for working with home educators who are obviously producing competent, confident and educated adults. They must seek the advice of these forward thinkers and utilise their expertise for the reconstruction of the current system.
Posted by G W-W C, Monday, 13 February 2006 1:04:20 PM
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Could you imagine the uproar if residents were required to register their kitchens for food handling safety? Worse still, that those new laws gave power to government inspectors to enter citizen's homes to ensure their kitchen met prescribed health bureaucracy policies and procedures?

Imagine the absurdity if the hygienne in the homes was found to be better than professional or institutional kitchens?

That's what the new education bill requires.

A great article that is full of many truths. Many more could be added including the religious convictions of families, the advantages of children no longer being placed in age specific pidgeon holes, special needs children and children of particular skill in advanced learning.

When you consider that home educating actually saves the Government money, is this a ridiculous power grab or are there other motives?
Posted by brougham, Monday, 13 February 2006 2:18:58 PM
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Hi Susan et al,

Thanks for another thought provoking article. I have re-published some of my earlier articles on my blog, Face Value recently:

Included is 'Homeschooling: An Overview', originally published in 'Gifted' journal of the NSW Association for Gifted & Talented Children;
http://rosiereal.blogspot.com/2006/02/homeschooling-overview.html

'What kind of Parent/Teacher Accelerates', originally published in the newsletter of the Tas. Association of Gifted & Talented Children
http://rosiereal.blogspot.com/2006/02/what-kind-of-parent-teacher.html

'Homeschooling and the Democratic Deficit', originally published in Education Choices Magazine.
http://rosiereal.blogspot.com/2006/02/homeschooling-and-democratic-deficit.html

Rosie Williams
http://rosiereal.blogspot.com
Posted by RosieWilliams, Monday, 13 February 2006 2:31:51 PM
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I am greatly concerned at the proposed changes affecting home schoolers. there are some fundemental rights at serious risk,like who children belong to, the state or the parents. It alarms me that the state is removing control from its citizens and claiming that control itself. The home is a sacred place and governments should not cross that thresh hold and interfere. It is clear to me this government is trying to get its toe in the door of the family home with the intention of getting the whole body in and then dictating what goes on in there. I have read the comments of the realist but wonder what his definition of reality is. History speaks for itself and anyone who cares to find out what underlying philosophies driving our present government are, would be greatly alarmed. We are run by people who are not like the average person. They use a new and different language with a different slant on the meanings of the words than is normally understood and we better get to know what they are actually saying before it is to late. A great transformation is taking place in education world wide and the powers to be want "no child to be left behind" that means by hook or by crook home schoolers must be brought under control and into the fold of the great transformation. We have a government who just cannot stand anybody who wants to be diffent and thinks independantly from a herd mentality. It should be obvious the proposed legislation is not about education but about control. Dont let them get their toe in the door, next it will be the foot and in a short time they will be demanding parents teach a revisionist view of every thing. The same battles home schoolers are faced with here have all been waged across every state of the USA. The bottom line is the state believes children belong to them not you the parent. This came out back in 1982 with the then proposed legislation. Now it has surfaced its ugly head again.
Posted by Rogo, Monday, 13 February 2006 11:32:05 PM
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Keeping it in the Family.
Posted by Kenny, Tuesday, 14 February 2006 8:12:12 AM
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I'd be interested to know what it is that makes the home schooling so successful. Is it the individual attention? the dynamic, tailored learning methods? the lack of pressures from other kids?
Posted by Donnie, Tuesday, 14 February 2006 9:13:22 AM
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Thanks for this informative Home-Education Article.In reply to the last post. There are many factors in the success of Home-Education, two of which you mentioned. Across the board, no matter what style of Education is entered into the two most important factors in a child's success (as shown in the many examples in the article) are parental interest and responsiveness to the child and the parents putting a high value on Eeducation. Both these criteria are most tangibly present in the Home-Education situation. This is backed up by some research by Ken Rowe in the 1980s. One can also see those as the operative factors in the Victorian Government's own research into School Outcomes which shows that across all schools the children in a higher Socio-Economic group always do better. If they do not have parental attention, they may at least be responding to their own parents value of achievement and therefore Education. Interestingly, Home-Education by those in lower Socio-Economic Groups has shown to have better outcomes because those two factors have come into play (apparently Professor Ray's research from U.S.A verifies this).Robyn
Posted by Robyn, Tuesday, 14 February 2006 11:07:14 AM
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Donnie thats a good question, I think the success of home schooling has many aspects. One would be the child having the freedom to learn to think outside of the strait jacket that state run schools places around them. Each child can develope as an individual rather than as a member of a herd, they gain confidence to make individual choices In the schools it is one size fits all. Another reason would be the personal attention they get from the mother or father who is educating them. My experience at school was if you are struggling with the lesson you basically get ignored and the teacher more often than not gives their attention to the brighter students. With home schooling one can not get away with this because the teacher is also the parent who loves their child. My real education began the day I left school and went out into the workforce. If you love what you are doing you will learn whatever you need to learn. The whole world became my school room and I loved it. It is so sad that we consider achieving some credential the prerequisite for a job rather than ones desire and interest to learn by being involved in that field.I think home schoolers take something that is upside down and turn it right side up
Posted by Rogo, Tuesday, 14 February 2006 4:52:21 PM
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Hi Susan,

Thanks for the article. It was interesting to read the success stories in home eduation. I have always considered home education as an excellent form or education for families who consider this the best alternative for their children.

Do you think the reason that the children in your article have achieved so highly is based mainly on the fact that they were home schooled or do you think that these children were also of a high intelligence? It would seem difficult for some of the achievements you have highlighted to have been achieved by children with average or below average intelligence whether or not they have been home schooled.

If homeschooling is the major basis for their achivements - there must be some onus on the homeschool community to indicate to government what homeschooling can do for our nation. Government schooling can only educate 25% of their school populations to a level where they can reach university education - home schooling, according to your article, can actually produce not only university ready student but the top 1% or 2% of educated children.

Was this what you were trying to suggest, Susan. Sorry if my perception is not correct.

Thanks again for the article. It was very interesting.

Regards
Wilma
Posted by wrjam, Wednesday, 15 February 2006 12:26:46 PM
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Good post Wilma.....Good points! I have homeschooled my children at different periods and at the moment I have 3 at school and one on Distance Education. I agree that homeschooling is a great option for motivated, educated parents. But it doesn't suit all and not all children want to be at home with their parents.

Just like in school, the environment at home needs to support growth and development. I am sure the vast marjority of homeschoolers do provide a good learning environment for their children. I do believe that the acheivements of a child are influenced by both a child's intelligence and by their environment. The most important factor, however, is the environment as no matter how intelligent a child is they are not telephathic, they need to be taught and they need to feel validated and good about themselves in order to learn.

Problem with schools is that their standards are very low and they have this one size fits all system. Children are judged on their marks without taking into consideration their environment and therefore many students are not achieving at a level that they would otherwise be able to achieve if they came from a different background or school or environment or were being homeschooled by motivated parents.

I think that the way things are going in the system all children are going to better off being homeschooled and what will happen is those homeschoolers will create a little community that will be like a different school.

The Education system is biased and corrupt and they dont give a damn about the children. If you are interested in what I have found out about the system you can read what I have written here http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/858

If you want more personal details in relation to just how biased and corrupt the system is and want to see some evidence - you can go my my blog called "Education - keeping them Honest". It is being updated all the time http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/education/
Posted by Jolanda, Wednesday, 15 February 2006 12:54:39 PM
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Thank you for another excellent article, Susan.
Our family chose home education for two of our four children.
We loved home schooling because learning could be individually tailored to suit the learning style, level, pace and depth required for each subject for each child.
Our methods varied from highly organised to completely freestyle. We were able to sample many subjects and pursue some of them in depth. We studied French in the traditional manner, but also had fun with L.O.T.E. Pot Pourri, which gave a taste of several languages.
We gathered teaching materials from many sources. I wrote some lessons based on the children’s interests. We utilised excursions, community based classes, tutors and mentors.
While homeschooling I was interviewed by scholars preparing Masters and Doctoral papers on the topic of homeschooling. One question was “Is your child experiencing anything while being home schooled that they couldn't experience to the same degree at regular school?"
My reply was “Definitely. Our son is 10. If he were with his age peers in regular school he would not be learning Visual Basic Programming, Psychology, Latin, and Year 9 Science. He would not be reading Tolkien and Arthurian legend and writing 20,000+ word novellas. He would probably not have participated in the environmental study of Sheppard Creek. He would not have as much time for reading for enjoyment and communicating under supervision with friends worldwide on the Internet.
Our daughter is 14. If she were with age peers in regular school she probably would not be studying Year 10 Maths and Psychology nor made the 12 Days of Christmas quilt. She may not have been available to train volunteers to face paint for Daffodil Day”
The children have now both finished their time of homeschooling. Our daughter went on to TAFE, completed a floristry course with a business management component and is now a retail store manager. Our son will study Arts at university.
Homeschooling was successful for them academically but more importantly they seem happy, well adjusted and relate well to people of all ages.
Cheetah
Posted by Cheetah, Thursday, 16 February 2006 4:57:33 PM
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Very true. As a 23 year old young person I have never been to "school" in the traditional sense - my parents taught me at home from the very start.

Today I am studying as a law student, and I don't think that would have been possible without all the benefits and advantages I received from my upbringing as a home schooled student. I sure am grateful to my parents for doing the "abnormal" and doing what was in my best interests.

I say - keep the laws flexible. Parents should be the ones responsible for the teaching of their children. I think this is something the Australian government hasn't quite gotten straight.

JDR
Posted by JDR, Thursday, 16 February 2006 5:01:43 PM
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jdr, this has nothing to do with the fed government.......state schools are run and controlled by state govs.
Posted by vinny, Saturday, 18 February 2006 12:13:07 PM
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Absolutely correct vinney.

And let me tell you, those state governments are driven by ideological zealots hell-bent on controlling what your children think. These Labor government "educators" are passionately driven to control and brainwash your kids into swallowing their ideology and to destroy any free or independant thinking kids who pop up along the way. It's not an imaginary conspiracy, it's an outright and overt attack on the freedom of thought of children. Anyone who can't see it, is either blind or just too darn busy to take the time to look beyond the surface.

The comments made by Rogo above are all shockingly true.

But it is reassuring to see that at least some people here understand the nature of the state Labor governments' intent that pervades the education departments of ALL our states and are prepared to stand up and do something about it. Thank goodness there is some resistance to the state control of our kids, but I fear it may be too little and from far too few.

Good luck to you all in your endeavours.
Posted by Maximus, Saturday, 18 February 2006 12:51:01 PM
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Jolanda I have read what you have said in your culture of education,how dispicably you have been treated.You must feel you have been dealing with something insane. Welcome to the new millenium, you have been Diapraxed! Diaprax is a term coined by professor Dean Gotcher to discribe the pactice of Hegels dielectic process. This process is now used all over the place by government departments and especially in education circles. The new principle of a local primary school where I live in northern Victoria is using it to transform the school and to keep a close friend who is a teacher inline. You can find Gotchers book to read on the internet. He is grappling to explain something that is insane. I admire your tenacity to get to the bottom of things, you have been dealing with people who are trained in madness to keep you from the truth.
Posted by Rogo, Saturday, 18 February 2006 4:30:17 PM
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This may be of interest. We have 5 children all who have been home schooled from the start. This week our eldest a 16 YO went into a Government school at TAFE for the first time to do a course, and what did he end up doing on his first day The teacher delegated him to go around the other students and help them with their work. My son is not what you would call an especially gifted student by some standards, he has just been home schooled. We have close friends who have 4 adopted children whom they home school, one of them is especially gifted and so he is in the very best place possible to develope his gift. I could not imagine him in a state run school, he would be bored stiff they would have him in year 6 but his knowledge would be at least year 10 standard upwards. Who can set standards anyhow every person is unique, some of the best business people I know flunked primary shool level.
Posted by Rogo, Saturday, 18 February 2006 5:05:56 PM
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I home educated two of my three children but stopped when my marriage broke up and I had to work fulltime.

Those early years the children chose their learning although I supplied many materials and opportunities. I also attended camps and classes with other home-educating families. The home-educated children were relaxed, mature and socialised naturally with any age group.

When I put my boys in school, after the initial shock of a totally alien environment they quickly reached the top of the class and generally managed to be 'teachers pet' and popular with their classmates. At playtime the other children turned to them to organise the play because their games were so interesting. My sons 6th Grade teacher said in all his years (he was over 60) he'd never met a child more natural, loving and enthusiastic about learning than my son.

Secondary college was awful. I was in a poor area and sent my oldest out of zone but the school I sent him to put all out-of-zone children with the problem kids. Meanwhile my daughter in primary learnt a mob mentality and was constantly anxious about what others thought of her or how to 'fit in'.

My eldest dropped out by the age of 14. He now works for a University designing their Computer Based Training modules working in a range of design software and programming languages.

My second eldest developed a crippling disease and is invalided.

My daughter got involved with a gang of shoplifters and vandalisers who were her friends at school and ran away from home.

If you have the time and resources home education is wonderful. It is a good solution for those parents who live in poor areas, if they don't work fulltime as the schools in those areas are breeding grounds for criminals and for depression and despair.

My daughters problems stemmed from school combined with a mother working too hard and unavailable to her at a crucial time in her upbringing-the opposite of homeschooling. That's what can happen if you leave your children's upbringing in the hands of the state system.
Posted by Aziliz, Monday, 20 February 2006 8:42:16 AM
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Thank you Rogo so much for acknowledging what my family have been going through with the Education system as insane! They try to make you think and everybody believe that it is you and because the majority of people dont want to get involved and/or dont care, it works to support those that are doing it to your family. You have no idea how many more things have been done to my children at school and to my family out of school. Its like the more that they do to you the more people ignore you and keep away from you so it pays i f they target you mercilessly because it means people think that it cant possibly be true. Oh but it is! It's just mind boggling. Now I am being threatened to be sued with defamation by the Crown Solicitor. Its just unbelieveable the amount of protection public servants get - no matter what they do!

I have no choice but to persue this matter as it is just too much, how much can they get away with. Surely we have laws!

I will read up on what you suggested. Maybe it might help me understand. Sorry its taken a while to get back, I actually thought I clicked the button to be notified of posts, but I obviously didn't.
Posted by Jolanda, Thursday, 2 March 2006 12:41:34 PM
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