Hi all,
Still learning how this site works, so I thought I would start off with an AMA. I home school one child, and have another child in mainstream. Ask me anything! If I can't answer, I will say, 'I don't know'.
Cheers,
Jools.
[AMA] I Am a Home School Educator - Ask Me Anything!
closed Comments
What qualifications do you have that are relevant to teaching your child? What sort of teaching methods are you employing?
The reason I ask is that I tend to find a lot of the reasons that people provide for wanting to home-school their children is basically pseudo-science, much like people who are against vaccines.
Thank you for asking. No qualifications are required to be a home educator. However, I have a double degree in Psychology, Criminology and Justice. I am also studying law with two years to go. I am well educated, as is my husband which is sufficient enough to educate our child - not to be a snob or anything. I know some home educators that do a fantastic job without uni degrees.
No qualifications are required to be a home educator.
As someone who is well educated, do you think that this could be a potential issue? Education is a field that has developed leaps and bounds in terms of the theory behind how children should be taught.
Obviously you need the appropriate qualifications to practice as a psychologist or a lawyer, so why is that not required if you wish to home-school your child?
I know some home educators that do a fantastic job without uni degrees.
Just like I'm sure that if you were allowed to practice as psychologists or lawyers without the appropriate degrees, there might be some in that group who do a fantastic job too. That doesn't really prove your point does it?
Just by way of background, I do know about this sort of stuff (economics PhD, have spent years teaching at major Australian universities and am currently doing a teaching degree). So I'm not an armchair commentator, I do have a passion for making sure that kids are well educated.
I think thus far most of us have the child's best interests as our primary motivation for scrutinising the OP.
You're doing well to answer our questions OP! :)
I am also studying law with two years to go.
How do you manage your time between,
- parental duties,
- teaching,
- marriage,
- study,
- passions,
- social life,
- OzBargaining, and
- domestic duties?
Scrooge, we have a great moderator that gives us the tools to ensure we are following the curriculum. Once you know your way around it, you can see what is required of learning.
Parental duties: My kids are older so require little to no supervision.
Social life: What social life??
Marriage and domestic duties: This comes hand in hand. We manage. :)
Ozbargaining: I have only just started with comps in the last couple of weeks, so will keep you posted. :D
Study: I don't start again until next semester, and then I'm thinking of dropping down to part time. I also work.
Teaching: This goes hand in hand with no social life lol.
Passions: I don't really have any time.
I was reading in China it's more important that your child knows the principles of a semiconductor relativity astrophysics before they have any human interaction manners or any respect for their surroundings as that is the last thing they will need in their life.
In Japan the first couple of years of school is focused on human interaction, respect and the proper way to behave in society. I love that concept.
really? Source?
first couple of years of school is actually before school, in houkuen (spelling? kindergarten). a lot of discipline is learned here and is heavily backed up by the proper way to behave in society. by the end of 12 years of school, students have a real love for the society they have been a part of in the classroom, and its difficult to leave. a lot of that social order (senpai, kohai) exists in their future workplace. they are more than encouraged to continue this discipline generation after generation, and we dont have that in Australia.
Source: Currently in a school in Japan ozbargaining, writing lessons between classes.Darth, can you comment on the way students interact with each other in Japanese schools? How different is the culture from ours in this regard?
@Jool Smuggla: Theres still bullying, but its different. im fortunate to be in the countryside which has a lot less pressure than the cities, and students are mostly aware of each other and their attitude towards each other.
Students are given a lot more independence and opportunities for leadership. everyone works as a team. students listen. theres still plenty of dick and fart jokes, but no continuous behavioural issues like i experienced in aus.
Students spend a lot of time at school with each other, including weekends. the senpai/kohai relationship is fundamental, which is another reinforcement of leadership. teachers and the community are great at fostering the growth of leadership and overtaking responsibility.
Students are far more independent and automatic in the classroom compared to in australia. You cant teach intiative, only provide an environment for it.
efficiency and discipline is inherent in japan, its an unfulfilled need in aus.@DarthAntz: Thank you Darth. I would love to move to Japan to give my kids the experience of being in a Japanese school. I have boys so fart jokes aren't uncommon haha.
There is something fundamentally wrong with how kids are taught here and some teachers have a power trip (from experience from main stream child). I appreciate that teaching teenagers is not easy, but after a while some teachers lose their passion very quickly. Disclaimer: There are some fantastic teachers out there not on a power trip.
@Jool Smuggla: i must say that i taught in australia 10 years ago now, and i do have a feeling that much as changed. poor teachers stem from poor leadership, and i think the leadership here is much more respectable and commendable. i didnt have good role models above me (i had a few around me, just not from senior positions) teaching in australia, and now theyre all around me.
There are awesome teachers out there that dont need inspiration from others. they received enough inspiration and leadership when they needed it, in their youth and from the people closest to them, their parents. They were raised to be a specialist in their interest, rather than just another consumer.
What assistance does the state provide to you as a Home School Educator?
I'm interested in that too, do you get some kind of salary? Otherwise how can anyone afford to do it, I wonder? Is the kid happy to have a smaller house and less presents at Christmas because he's causing one parent to not be able to work? Would the other kid, who is going to school, be angry at the first one for causing the family to be less well off?
Both my husband and I work. We have family assistance with the homeschooling each week. We do ok. :)
By family assistance I mean help from family members. We do not get one cent from the Government, for anything - just to be clear.
We actually do not get any assistance whatsoever. In fact, we spend a small fortune every year buying resources and text books from a teacher supply store.
Editing this to say that I guess we do not have to purchase school uniforms or pay school fees? And we can get discounts sometimes (if we are lucky) for entry to places for excursions.
Private schools get given on average over $14k a year per student from governments under the basic rationale of that’s how much the government is saving by not having them in the public system.
Since kids who struggle in mainstream schooling are often the biggest drain on teacher and school resources it would seem fair to offer home schoolers some financial support in return for having 1 less student in the system.
Would be a bureaucratic/regulatory nightmare wide open to abuse I guess.
I happen to agree with your choice to home school. Some people here seem to think that children never got educated before the government interfered.
Social awkwardness is more likely to be a product of bullying from peers and teachers than being educated in a home environment.
Children can do their best when they are free from the distraction of other children whose parents aren't doing a good job of teaching their kids how to work and get along with with others.
If I could make it happen I would home school my kid for sure.
Some people here seem to think that children never got educated before the government interfered.
They actually didn't. Only the wealthy could afford to get educated. The standardisation of education, whilst not perfect, is a major reason why kids from any background can now attend university and end up with a high paying job. It's done a lot to reduce the gap between the rich and everyone else.
Children can do their best when they are free from the distraction of other children whose parents aren't doing a good job of teaching their kids how to work and get along with with others.
Define "do their best".
If I was a soccer team, I'd do my best when my opposition are injured. If I were a driver, I'd do my best when there are no other cars around.
Except none of that is relevant, because they do not reflect reality. That's the issue with this argument that children "do their best" in a home environment. Most often, we are not in an environment where we can "do our best".
As a parent, we often wish to give our children the best and put them where they are most comfortable. I know because I'm a parent too. But we also have a responsibility to push them and challenge them and help them understand that life isn't easy and sometimes they have to learn to work with what they have.
The bullying that occurs is horrendous. My mainstream child has been lucky at school with no bullying, although I would be very concerned about my home schooled child due to his quiet personality.
In retrospect, I would have home schooled our youngest right from the start. He spent 5 years in mainstream at the beginning.
I agree about the bullying. Although I see the point raised by some, that home-schooling could result in lack of social skills and interactions, sometimes, it is definitely the better route for the child. E.g. in extreme bullying situations. If the bullying is severe, it is so detrimental - the argument about acquiring social skills from mainstream school is the least of a parent's concern.
I read harrowing accounts of bullying, like this one where schoolmates would hang the child, and many others. The bullies usually got off lightly because they were considered too young to know the consequences. I have a relative who was bullied very severely, in a life-threatening sense. According to a study, bullying is rife in Australian primary schools.
When a child is that young, s/he may not have developed the confidence or skills to deal with bullies. Being bullied also means that the child cannot learn effectively, develop mental issues and will fall behind by a lot. Home-school will give some reprieve to the child, and as the child matures and grows older, s/he may gain more confidence, and become more able to deal with bullying situations. When that time comes, putting the child back into mainstream school is a possibility anyway.
Is there a main educator? That is, does one parent take on most of the teaching duties or do you share it?
Also, do you use other community resources (people or places) to supplement your child's learning?Hi Sally. I set the timetable and lay out the curriculum that we need to focus on. Teaching is shared between myself, my husband, and my sister who cares for him when we are at work.
We used Study Ladder last year but found it too simple and I questioned the learning from it. We have tried a few others but Scootle is great for resources.
Bare in mind that we do buy the curriculum texts and work through the chapters - this is supplemented with excursions, discussion (even just every day chats), videos etc. Youtube is great!
I disagree with home schooling unless there is a valid reason to do so, such as an acute learning disability that the schooling system can't account for. As an individual who went through public schooling, I wouldn't trade that for anything. The experiences, friendships, and social skills gathered through the school system are invaluable to me and I can't see how home schooling could achieve this.
This is an AMA, not a CMA (critercise me anything). Where's your question?
This is a discussion forum. Just because it's an AMA thread, doesn't mean I can't input my thoughts towards the topic.
As you can see I'm not the only one to not pose a question. Maybe you didn't like my points? Instead of shutting down my critique, how about you prepare a valid response.
Hi Nick. I can see where you would think that home schooled kids miss out on experiences. In fact, there are home schooling groups that attend excursions together, home schooled kids make friends in those groups and spend a lot of time in lessons not available to main stream kids. Being home schooled does not mean that kids miss out - it just means it is run and organised by parents that home school.
Fair enough. I guess it just depends on the parent's ability and willingness to provide a fulfilling home schooling experience. Cheers.
"are invaluable to me."
As some one who went through public school (not home schooled), they were not to me.
I would say the “username checks out” joke but that I feel that it is too dark for the thread.
On a serious note though, would you have preferred to be home schooled?
Hard to say, as there are MANY, many variables (quality of education at school, potential quality of education at home, one on one v group education, bullying, etc).
So looking at it from a purely education point of view perhaps it would of been better for a period of time, I am sure it would of accelerated my learning of difficult concepts. Perhaps it comes down to raw intelligence (IQ) of the parents.In terms of socialisation, I would be most worried about interactions with the opposite sex (that they would not get as their friends would probably be the same gender). I guess the same problem would exist in a same sex school.
I have heard boarders have issues with socialisation and institutionalisation (and seen it first hand). To me that is a grater worry.
I think rote learning went out with Latin. What is "pointless busy work"?
lol @ Latin. Pointless busy work, is where there is time left at the end of the lesson, but not enough time to start a new topic. In a lot of cases, there are activities introduced that really I personally feel do not add value. Although, the kids likely enjoy them!
My wife home school our 14 year old daughter and has already completed Cert III and currently doing her Cert IV through Uni. She won't have to go through the stress of sitting exams to get into uni like main stream kids
Will you do her exams for her at university? Sparing her exams now just means she is less prepared for when it actually counts. That's like letting your kid off soccer practice and then sending them into the finals with no training (where the result of the game determines the course of the rest of your life).
She has to complete 2000 word essays every week for the course she is currently doing and she gets assessed. She also works to get money and interacts with the general public. She is a lot more future prepared than most uni students
Are the essays under exam conditions? Does she have practice in studying to take an exam? Taking an exam is completely different to doing an assignment - the smartest people can go blank under pressure and there's a big difference between studying efficiently and not.
@Quantumcat: How many uni essays are done under exams conditions only? She does both. Besides, preparing students for exams is teaching them how to pass exams and not much else.
preparing students for exams is teaching them how to pass exams
A vital skill at university - unless you can homeschool her for university study too, she'll be at a disadvantage compared to her peers. Most of my subjects had exams worth 50-60% of the grade, and the ones that were a smaller percentage you still had to pass the exam to pass the subject (so you couldn't just get 90% in the assignments and then not study hard for the exam).
I'm witnessing many year 11/12 students having mental health issues because of exams.
You don't seem to realise that exams in high school are baby versions of uni exams. Like playing t-ball before starting softball. Plenty of kids manage to play softball without ever playing t-ball, and even being plenty good at it, but if a kid has the opportunity to play t-ball, but you take them out of it cause it is too much pressure, do you really think they'll be able to cope with softball? And if you think they'll be plenty good at softball then t-ball would be easy, so why stop them getting extra practice? If high school level exams are too hard for your daughter then she's going to have a horrible time at uni. And if she is smart and will do fine - why deny her the practice and training when it is freely available?
don't share the same view
You're failing to share the same facts. Exams are a part of life, unless she is not intending to ever go to uni in which case that seems totally reasonable to spare her high school level exams (although if this was the case I'd have though you would have said it by now).
You don't seem to realise that exams in high school are baby versions of uni exams
I disagree. In year 12, there's a huge burden - it feels like the direction of the rest of your life is set by the exams (if you're trying to get into uni) and there's the extra stress of knowing a portion of your mark comes from the performance of the others at your school.
Also you have a pretty wide range of topics - literary analysis, maths, various sciences, etc.Conversely, at university, if you fail it's not that big of a deal, the subjects are often similar and related to your field of interest (you'll never analyse a poem unless you want to), and a lot of exams are done as open-book or with notes pages or maybe even on a computer.
a lot of exams are done as open-book or with notes pages or maybe even on a computer.
I did maths, physics, and computer science, none of my exams were open book (except 1 page of notes for some of the maths exams). Maybe they are for English and such though. And anyway, open book exams are much harder. It means straight memorisation is not enough, you have to go to a deeper level of understanding.
at university, if you fail it's not that big of a deal
Yes it is. If you fail, your degree will take longer (meaning longer until your career starts and less earned overall) as well as a few extra thousand in HECS debt. If you fail too much, you would get kicked out.
Maybe parents need to teach their kid not to stress so much - there's no terrible consequences for not doing brilliantly, and very little reward for doing brilliantly except being able to brag for a few months afterward (after that nobody gives a f* what your score was). As long as you get a high enough mark to get into any degree at all (you probably only need like 60% to get into a B.A. for example, which an average kid could do with a minimum of study), you can change after the first semester. And if you pick units you're allowed to do in the degree you actually wanted to do, you will lose no time at all. Even if you fail completely you can do a bit of TAFE study and count that towards a university subject or two (a year's TAFE study will probably only be counted as half or a quarter of a year of uni study, but at least it is a pathway). High school exams are only as stressful as the kids make it for themselves. They're really only a way to give kids practice, and put popular degrees behind a score paywall (scorewall?) to reduce demand for places.
Conversely, at university, if you fail it's not that big of a deal
No, failing is a big deal. Very big deal. How do I know? I've taught at two major Australian universities. I've sat on academic progress committees deciding on the fate of students who are making unsatisfactory progress (i.e. failing too much).
Students can get kicked out for failing core subjects twice or three times. Fails on academic records will also severely hamper your ability to get a job in a cut throat market.
Students can get kicked out for failing core subjects twice or three times.
Right. Compared to year 12, where if you fail a 'non-core' subject, on the single chance you get, you don't get in to uni in the first place.
I never said you can fail endlessly with no consequence. I just don't think the consequences of failing one uni subject seem as severe as the HSC does when you're doing them. It's not rare to meet someone in a uni class that is re-doing it due to a previous failure, but it's unheard of to meet someone in Year 12 having a second go, so there's a psychological normalisation factor at play. Plus the media covers HSC exams in some depth, but uni exams don't rate a mention. If my exams are on the news, they must be serious, right? Shit. Now I'm stressed. Add on the fact that it's "the end of your childhood", you might be moving away from your family, never see half your friends again, etc etc. HSC can be extremely stressful.
I know several people with fails on their uni records in decently paid professional jobs. Once you've got work experience, few people care about your uni record (I assure you that if they did I would be paid much more than I am!)
@abb: It depends what uni degree you are doing. If its Med/Dent/ other high entry, the consequences for failing are absolutely brutal.
Often times prerequisite to do the next semester courses are to have passed every single course beforehand.
So if you fail 1 course, you're done for that year. GPA will be in the bin, you'll do nothing for 6 months, and be placed with a new batch of students the next year.
@abb: Depends on what kind of subject you are doing. If your kid wants to do something like Dentistry/Law/Med, god help them if they cannot sit an exam or take the stress of uni. You are kicked out of the course if you repeat 2 years. Pass marks are at 60%, supplementary exams are given if above 45%. Fail one exam and get below the supp exam threshold, you are done for the year. Come back and do it again. I have seen people being unable to find jobs in these degrees due to a blemished record. Even in such high employment rate professions. It would be even worse if you do something like engineering where there are a crap load more students than jobs.
@lunartemis: I don't really think Quantumcat's responses are judgemental, and there's nothing to be upset over.
His (or her) views are very much mainstream, and what he's saying is that:
1) Exams are a fact of life eventually
2) You get better at things with practiceIf you put (1) and (2) together, it would suggest that students have experience doing exams growing up so that they're not thrown into the deep end once they reach university.
Now, we can debate whether exams are an effective way to assess knowledge and whether the current teaching style at universities are conducive to learning. However, that doesn't change the fact that for the foreseeable future, students are going to be sitting exams and they are going to determine whether a graduate gets a job or not. That's the world we live in.
Now, to address whether exams are good or bad. I'm not an education academic, but I am an economist who has taught at two major Australian universities. I've written exams, marked exams, interacted with students…etc. I completely agree that exams are not the best way to teach students. However, there are many benefits of exams. For example, they are easily administered (if a student turns up to an exam, it's easy to verify who does the work, you also know they aren't just outsourcing…etc.).
On top of that, there is a clear correlation between students who do well on exams and students who are smart and know their material. Are there students who know nothing and are just cramming the night before? Of course, but they're often not the HD students. Are there great students who fail to do well on exams? Of course! Exams aren't perfect, but they are a very good indicator of how much a student knows.
Our child has developed independance, responsibility, and research skills she would not have if she attended school.
Independence and responsibility are personal or social traits and can be developed inside or outside of school. It largely has nothing to do with academic education. Research skills are also emphasised increasingly at schools as they move towards inquiry based learning. It's also something that parents can instill.
@lunartemis: Feels like any opinion contrary to yours is "extremely rude and upsetting". Drink a cup of concrete and harden up. Welcome to the real world where people have different opinions. If you plan on sharing yours, be ready to have them challenged. I for one would like to know more about examinations as well. The ability to pass an exam is a skill in itself. For better or worse, it is required for uni. An assignment is a hell of a lot different from an end of semester/year exam, stress wise. I can guarantee that. I don't see many uni students crying from trying to write an essay. I have seen them cry before/during/after an exam though.
@lunartemis: I would agree, and suggest that exams are far from the only way to experience coping well under pressure. It just happens to be easier to place a bunch of students in a room with a series of questions and a time limit.
Joking aside, I unfortunately don't have a good counterexample. I myself am a uni student who does well enough in exams, but in the flip side I worry that I'm not well prepared for the real world unless I take up other opportunities.
Have you looked at montessori?
They educate by treating kids as adults, give them responsibility, kids learn at their own pace, etc.
/went to montessori primary school
Hi orange, we did look at some alternatives, but not Montessori. I though that was for younger children?
There's at least a montessori version preschool, primary and high school. Not just for young children.
They also don't believe in exams except those required by government. However, being private, they're not cheap. I heard Italian public schools are montessori?
Hey Jools, sad to see all the passive aggressive comments here but I guess it highlights how fast people can be to judge. Anyways, how do you structure your day for your son/daughter who is home schooled? Does it change regularly, do you plan lessons etc.?
Also, how do home school educators assess the progress of their students? Is it similar to schools in relying on lots of quantitative assessments, or is it a bit different?
sad to see all the passive aggressive comments here but I guess it highlights how fast people can be to judge.
The users here aren't being passive aggressive nor jumping to conclusions. When people have conflicting opinions on an issue and seek to debate them, they need to scrutinise each other's rationale. No one's being malicious nor unconstructive. When you post an AMA about a practice which is against the norm, you should expect to be scrutinised.
Hey Mr Brown, it is ok - people are entitled to their opinions. If it gets nasty, I am more than capable of telling them where the door is.
We try to work off a timetable. TRY. We usually don't. If son is really not in the mood for maths, I am not going to get any work out of him. I'll switch it to HASS or english etc.
For the progress for the main core subjects, we buy curriculum text books and work through the chapters. Most have review questions/research assignments etc at the end. Once it is covered and he has a grasp of the concepts, we move on.
We don't give him assessments. What would be the point (I hate tests for kids)? If we can see he knows the information, we move on.
Hey Jools, sad to see all the passive aggressive comments here but I guess it highlights how fast people can be to judge.
I'm certainly not being passive aggressive or trying to judge and I support the right of parents to choose homeschooling if they believe that to be more suitable for their child.
What I'm trying to discuss (and what I think is a very important issue) is how to regulate homeschooling to ensure that the relevant standards are being met. As a teacher, what I do is highly scrutinised by the state government, other teaching staff, students and parents. There is a strict curriculum that needs to be followed and milestones that need to be adhered to.
I'm seeing if there is some sort of consensus we can all come to regarding how to apply similar standards to homeschooling.
Cert 3 in what? Cert 4 in what? Certificate level courses are usually conducted at TAFE not secondary school. Cert 3&4 courses are usually tied to Vocational education which require the student to demonstrate proficiency in Industry accredited competencies, delivered by somebody with relevant industry experience and a training and assessment qualification. Most Cert 3&4 courses have a minimum prior achievement requirement, and often a minimum age requirement.
Most Cert 3&4 courses are not direct entry to University pathways- instead they allow a student to transfer across to a Bachelor level course with a specific partner University once they have done a minimum period of study, usually 18 months.
Some Cert courses do fall under the banner of General Education but this would be the equivalent of doing “Year 10 at TAFE”. Different courses in different states, of course.
Some Cert 3 & 4 courses simply require Year 10 English & Maths (eg, IT) and can be completed in day classes or night classes.
I wish I had known that back when I was in high school, I could have come out of year 12 with a Diploma!
In reality, teenage me wasn't capable of studying or applying myself in that fashion but it's a nice dream.
To any kids who are taking that path of schooling + TAFE then well done to them, I wish there was more information about it made available.Lots of information is now available to students who wish to follow a TAFE or VETIS (Vocational Education and Training in Schools) pathway, but it does require a level of maturity to manage this. There are limitations on studying in both the TAFE and school systems simultaneously ( only one bucket of funding per student which can’t be simultaneously used by both systems). Yes, usually year 10 English and/or Maths are pre-reqs for Cert 3/4 courses, which was why I asked lunartemis what cert 3&4 courses their child had been studying at home. Drow, you probably wouldn’t have come out with a Diploma, but a Cert 3 plus your Senior School Certificate would have been a definite possibility.
I started doing TAFE night classes 9 years ago and at 2 nights a week for 2 years I got two Cert IVs, two Diplomas and an industry cert.
That did involve having some prior learning but there were 16 year olds in the same classes who were doing ATAR and night classes simultaneously who got a Cert IV in year 11 and a Diploma in Year 12.
It's achievable but unlikely for most teenagers.
Hey all, I see that there is a bit of debate with this topic. I will try to respond to everyone in time. What a great way to meet everyone. :)
How many years of you being a full time teacher before your child has finished high school?
Hopefully not too many. I would want him back in mainstream if I can for the last few years, but that is up to him. He will do fine either way, but I will admit I am tired!
What does 'comment below threshold' mean?
We have a comment voting system to highlight popular comments and hide unpopular ones. It is modulated using the '+' and '-' buttons at the top right of each comment box. 'Comment score below threshold' means that the comment has been hidden by down voting. You can see individual hidden comments by clicking the 'Show' link to the right of the comment. You can also turn off the comment hiding feature by clicking the menu icon (3 horizontal bars) on the left of the beige control bar at the bottom of the screen, then click 'Show Hidden Comments'.
Can you please turn your pm on so I can message you?
Can you please comment on NAPLAN?
I feel that it is the USA SATS exam and it does not reflect the child's ability. I dread that exam.
I feel that it is the USA SATS exam and it does not reflect the child's ability. I dread that exam.
NAPLAN is nothing like the US SAT exams at all. The US SAT exam actually has stakes in the sense that it will determine what college you can go to. The NAPLAN test is absolutely inconsequential. Performance on the NAPLAN will not affect a student's future in any way.
Good on you for home educating your child.
You are saving the government around $14,000 a year, and you ought be paid some of that money for teaching your progeny.
Home schooling is relatively popular in America where there is a spirit of independence, but discouraged in the Australia nanny state. It takes courage and resolve to break from ones peers and do something different.
Some body told me once about Waldorf (Steiner) schools, how are they compared to normal schools? They are supposed to promote more creative thinking and less conformism. In Brisbane I know there is one in Samford.
Define: progeny
'A descendant or the descendants of a person, animal, or plant; offspring'.
Home schooling is relatively popular in America where there is a spirit of independence, but discouraged in the Australia nanny state. It takes courage and resolve to break from ones peers and do something different.
It is a nanny state because people can't be trusted to do the right thing. You cite America, guess who is most likely to homeschool their kids in there - that's right, people who identify as "conservative" and "evangelical Christian". Why do you think they're homeschooling their kids?
I have no issue with people homeschooling their kids, but there needs to be some sort of standard so that people aren't saying that creationism is a valid explanation for how people came about.
"It is a nanny state because people can't be trusted to do the right thing." Neither can the government be trusted; the goverment is run by people, people with an agenda.
The reason why Christians and Conservatives home school is because Western nanny-states are social progressive and atheistsic (what Americans call Liberal), and they don't want their children being contaminated by this decadent, degenerate worldview. Our education system isn't education so much as indoctrination, designed to destroy a child's natiral creativity and curiosity; to turn then into obedient drones who believe in everything they are told (like gender fluidity, capitalism, neoliberalism leading to prosperity for all, gay marriage, man-made global warming, massive immigration intakes improves our quality of life, taking marijuana ruins your life, white people are evil, males are evil, that building backdoors into encryption is necessary to prevent terrosism…)
Government isn't the solution; government is the problem.
where there is a spirit of independence
I mean, there are positives to that (the whole frontier spirit thing), but also negatives like anti-vaxers, flat-earth people, Scientology, etc.
I respect that OP is doing their own thing which they believe to be better for their children, but much of their rationale smacks of "I'm a mother so I know best…". OP says:
However, I have a double degree in Psychology, Criminology and Justice. I am also studying law with two years to go.
Which to me just says they have no qualifications in anything pedagogical that matters - not that our schools give great individualised education, but at least the teachers have gone through some formal training in the area.
That and the fact that homeschooling necessarily precludes group activities and about 8hrs of socialising with other kids a day. I know many parents send their children to pre-school and childcare, even when they are able to care for them themselves, solely for the purposes of helping their kids learn to socialise. OP's homeschooled kid is going to get this at… what, the last few years of High School? So about 2-3 out of the normal 12 years that all other kids get? Yeesh.
Even those 2-3 years of socialization can be enough for a child to develop properly.
I was homeschooled from Prep - midway through Grade 10 (no preschool) by my parents, and eventually asked if I could go to a real school instead. I started at a state school for 6 months before moving to private for 11 and 12, and I actually managed to do very well socially. I'll be the first to admit I'm naturally introverted, and I did have to make an effort to talk to other kids and break my way into social circles, but I came out of school with a solid bunch of friends and started uni successfully.
Would I homeschool my own children? Probably not. However, a homeschooled kid can definitely still carve out a social life and get along with others very well, even if they only have a few years to do so.
So why did your parents homeschool you?
And why did you ask to attend a real school instead?
@Scrooge McDuck: My parents are conservative Christians, and they preferred the idea of being able to educate at the pace of the child, not the pace of the entire classroom. Mum had no formal qualifications but the textbooks were very self-explanatory and us kids generally just powered our way through on our own. They wouldn't admit it to us, but I think another major factor was being able to teach 'christian' worldviews and beliefs (we used a curriculum from the US, created in the late 70s, with very outdated fundamentalist Christian themes; stay far away from ACE guys).
I asked to go to a normal school because I was very interested in film, and I knew schools would have many more resources than I would have access to at home. The social aspect was another small motivation, but it was more for the facilities.
@ngengerous: What subjects did you take in highschool?
Do you have an interest in science?
Virtually my entire extended family are Conservative Christians and half of them are employed in religious professions.
But somehow I turned out to be an androgynous exhibitionist yogic bodybuilding sailor-scientist-engineer-comedian-poker professional.
@Scrooge McDuck: I had no interest in science (cheated my way through the grade 10 science textbooks because mum became complacent, not my wisest move as I ended up barely passing science 21 in school for the 6 months I did it hahaha), but the subjects which were best at a school were PE, Film and IT.
Jeez, I hope you've found a good way to deal with the rellies without them all collapsing with shock at your sinful existence, goodness knows I haven't… maybe I'll wait till the grandparents are gone to spare them the horror haha
@ngengerous: I quarantine them from almost my entire life. They think I'm an asexual juvenile who does heavy lifting at work; they're about half right.
Thanks for sharing your story, I found it an insightful read. I've been reading the academic literature on homeschooling over the past few days (fuelled by this thread, of course) and I think that your story is quite common in the US.
I've mentioned this in a post a few days ago, but research tends to show that kids who are homeschooled are not significantly different than kids who go to traditional schools. Also, parents who homeschool tend to be conservative or evangelical Christian.
I think that fact that your parents chose to homeschool you in order to teach 'Christian' world views and beliefs deeply concerning, especially if this is widespread (which the research suggests it is). Personally, I actually have no issues mixing religion and schooling, so issues like taking prayer outside of school…etc. don't really matter to me. What does matter, though, is that religion does not inform the curriculum we teach.
Personally, I also think it's about time we don't humour these guys (usually from the US) by calling their beliefs the "Christian" world view, it's really just the "wrong" world view, calling it Christian is deeply disrespectful to the countless Christian friends I have who do not share these beliefs.
@p1 ama: I agree with what you're saying here, there's definitely no justification for withholding certain parts of the education system because of a set of beliefs. I would be fine with being taught that 'hey, creationism is what some people believe' as an addition to studies, but not the 'block out all evolution' approach. My textbooks were proper backwards even in ways more than that, I remember one of the little comics they'd slip in every few pages depicted a little girl getting ready for church. Her mother ended up telling her off for wearing a dress that was too small and short, and the daughter thanked the mother for teaching her modesty. The kicker? The dress was only beginning to slightly show her knees. This is the kind of stuff children were still being taught in 2012.
Without specifically criticising the OP, and their choice to homeschool one of their offspring, reading through all the comments certainly brings a couple of thoughts to mind.
There seems to be a certain level of vanity, for want of a better word; or maybe a self-obsession or self-absorption from homeschool parents. Firstly, they must come from a distinct level of privilege. To be able to afford the resources, the time, the effort. Effectively, it is two persons being homeschooled: the child and the person(s) teaching that child.
It's a decision the parent(s) make despite the billions spent by the government in attempting to establish a decent and fair educational system, informed (hopefully) by many experts in education. And the (non-expert) parents really think they know better?
I question whether this may be an ideology being imposed and enacted by the parents; dissatisfaction with society, with some of the results of the educational system, making a political/social statement. Is it a step beyond just sending their beautiful special little snowflake to an exclusive private school?
The 'conspicuous sacrifice' of the parent(s) also has other consequences apart from the homeschooling itself.
The OP stated:
Social life: What social life??
Marriage and domestic duties: This comes hand in hand. We manage. :)
Teaching: This goes hand in hand with no social life lol.
Passions: I don't really have any time.
Essentially everything in the family, in the life, is devoted to this homeschooling activity. What kind of other 'balanced' lifestyle in the home environment can the child experience when the level of sacrifice is so outstanding?
And how does this reflect on other siblings who may not be receiving this intense level of teaching/parenting/time/interaction?
I will admit, perhaps my views of homeschooling are somewhat coloured by the example that the US gives, where it a badge of honour worn by some lunatic evangelists that they 'educate' their children in willful ignorance and prejudice.
But I just can't escape a nagging feeling that it may be more about the parent(s) and their ego than about the child.
Good analysis, I agree with your points. Lot of ego and vanity here, demonstrated by prejudiced comments against mainstream schooled kids/kids in general.
When asked about how homeschool child will work in teams at uni or work, the response was:
kids are selfish creatures that do not learn to work as part of a team until their brain can process it anyway. *Think - millennials.
As an educator, how are you measuring the success and comprehension of your learner?
How many hours a day are you averaging for home schooling, and is it more effective being flexible in learning hours compared to the school hours?
My experience has been that you really need to be very disciplined to achieve successful outcomes with homeschooling. So for instance you can't regularly drop a subject like maths, simply because the child doesn't enjoy it. You need to stick to a timetable as much as possible, especially if you want your child to go back to mainstream schooling.
There's also a need to undertake regular assessment tasks, including assignments and exams. These are an unavoidable part of life.
In my opinion at least, you need some continuity in terms of who helps with the education of the child. Having 3 people involved with this on a part-time basis, isn't a good idea. I haven't seen any child do well with home-schooling, where one parent hasn't treated their role as a full-time one - ie where they've tried to juggle this with work and or study.
The child being by themselves for extended periods of time without any interaction with their peers, is also problematic. It leads to social isolation.
Some homeschooled children also seem to develop an addiction to gaming, if they aren't supervised sufficiently.
I would suggest you look at a distance education school like Cairns DE (there may be a similar school in your State). That way your child can be educated at home, but also interact with teachers and fellow students online. All the best!
I would suggest you look at a distance education school …
This is a good suggestion, if available … coming from the perspective of options to deal with extreme bullying in school - even as a temporary measure (see my comment).
Distance education Victoria
Www.distance.vic.edu.au for anybody from Victoria who is interested. I have experienced this with a number of students, who may be enrolled in a school but not able to attend classes - for health, wellbeing or curriculum reasons ( eg the school is unable to run a desired course, due to numbers).
Sadly, i’m all too familiar with parents who claim to be homeschooling their child but in reality are keeping them home or allowing them to stay home because it has just become too difficult to get them to school. At least an enrolment in Distance Ed means some sort of standard and rigour, along with interaction with teachers and other students, even if not one to one.
Thanks for the info.
I like most of your points but I think addiction to gaming is an epidemic which is largely automatous.
if the child is in the middle of a maths tuition, but raises their hand indicating that they need to "dump it out", do you normally approve or deny this request, until class is over.
Just to play the devils advocate to some of the concerns here. I know plenty a child who has gone to normal school and yet lacks manners and social skills.
What social interaction does he/she get with children of his/her own age?
How many hours of lessons per day does he/she recieved?
Any 'home' work?
After reading a first page, I found this vid on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHHFGo161Os
Would you says that your teaching method is close to of that in the vid?
Does homeschool only apply for children in primary school? E.g. preschool-kinder-1-6. Or does it also work for high school? At my old school, students are already basically placed in proper specialised subjects by year 8. (Art, Commerce, IT, D&T). They start the really hard subjects by year 9-10 (Working towards 4unit/specialist maths, English extension/advanced etc.) If the goal is a good ATAR/OP and possibly into uni, I would have thought proper schooling for at least the second half of high school would be a must.
Another concern I would have would be exposure to certain topics. They are offered a very broad range at school, from woodwork all the way to complex numbers, permutations and combinations, to learning how to write a novel. Are you confident that your son at least knows of the opportunities possible? After all, your son can only like and develop an interest in things that you teach. If he wanted to do 4U maths and go further in that field, how would you teach that? How would he even know that kind of difficulty of maths exists? I feel people are the product of the opportunities offered to them. I understand you are intelligent and I would come to you with questions regarding the field of law and psychology. But would you be able to explain a basic level of quantum physics that they learn towards year 11? Or what is defined as a well composed essay? Or explain how to prove a complex equation? Do you subconsciously avoid or reduce focus on subjects you are not as good at?
My final question would be, what are your opinions on exams? Personally, I was great at them, but do not think they are a good benchmark. However, it is something your son will encounter a lot in university and towards the end of high-school. Without practice, would he be able to endure the stress of one, like the HSC?
As commented on by some previous posters,a major concern with the education of young people surrounds the use of technology.
The convenience of the "screen babysitter"is a dangerous temptation to very busy parents.
Students who lack social skills or who are introverted often seek solace in front of a screen.
If not properly supervised,this convenience can become a nightmare.
Yes. We have to meet the WA standards authority curriculum. It is very similar to the Australian curriculum, but WA has some amendments.
We have a moderator (from the Education Department) attend either once every three months, or once a year that checks on school work completed and sees our list of accompishments. In no way are home schooled kids forgotten, our moderator is helpful, strict and will tell us the areas we are lacking. Our moderator ensures that the curriculum is met.
My mainstream son failed English last year. No one followed up with us on that! (He has since pulled his socks up - turns out he failed due to lack of assignment submitting).