Currawong
26-06-2009, 01:35 AM
This was in Monday 22 June's paper and my father kept it for me. This is a guy who I have never talked to about us homeschooling and who I know didn't agree with it (which is why I never spoke about it because I knew he would be negative and ignorant about it). Anyway, he found this article very interesting and eye-opening and kept it for me. I have to type it out because it costs money to download from SMH. Watch out because I'm going to cross-post it *everywhere* just cos I love it and I think everybody should read it. If you have someone who is negative and ignorant who you feel should learn more and who trust national newspapers rather than your word or your books then show them this article! My favourite part is the Leunig section and the 'Straight from the student's mouth' section. Here we go:
Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 22 June 2009
Education section, p.15
The schooling choice we love to hate
It is often derided as a 'hippie' alternative, but for many the decision to home school a child is the right one, writes Ainslie MacGibbon.
What is it that bothers us as a society when someone chooses to educate their child at home? There is a stigma surrounding home schooling and, at the very least, a tendency to judge and stereotype: hippie; religious fundamentalist; just plain weird. But is this really justified?
Home schooling, often referred to as home education, is legal in Australia. And The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says 'Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children'. (Article 26). So, home schooling is a legitimate school choice, but is it a legitimate social choice?
Only in recent history has responsibility for educating children rested with the state. For most of human history, parents, extended family and notable community figures and elders were accepted as educators. In NSW the Public Instruction Act, 1880, directed parents with children aged six to 14 to 'cause such children to attend school for a period of not less than 70 days in each half-year'. And so state-based education became mandatory.
Some indigenous cultures have resisted relinquishing education to the state, contributing to poor attendance rates. There are examples where native Americans and Hawaiian natives have established home-schooling networks to preserve traditional values and reconcile the gulf between tribal ways and public education policy.
The US has a strong tradition of home schooling, where Australia has a strong culture of distance education (which is different to home education).
According to the NSW Board of Studies, 1016 families (1703 students) were registered for 2007-08. The figure is likely to be higher since not all children educated at home are registered with the board.
The educational psychologist and associate professor Andrew Martin, from the University of Sydney, says parents are no longer confined to a choice between the local school and home. If a child is not suited to a local primary school, alternatives included traditional independent schools, innovative schools such as Montessori or Steiner, or trying a different public school.
Martin says 'most children could, and should, fit into the various forms of school available, but under some circumstances home schooling is a reasonable choice'. He says it must always be a child-centred decision to home school, not parent-centred.
Criticisms levelled against home schooling range from a lack of socialisation, limited access to higher education and qualifications, to greater opportunities for child abuse.
There is a paucity of research relating to home schooling in Australia. But most of the available research - including international research - dispels these criticisms, often finding home schooled children perform equally, or better, academically and socially. However, research in the area is difficult.
Home schoolers are a broad church and the research conducted is not always independent. The concept of home schooling is confronting for some sectors of the sophisticated education system that has evolved since compulsory schooling. They ask whether a mother or father is capable of providing what a qualified teacher can after years at university and on-the-job training. Conversely, some see the movement as reclaiming parental responsibility and restoring confidence in parents' natural ability to teach and guide.
Why home school? The reasons go deeper than no uniforms, no homework and no need to drop-off or pick-up. But the impact of these modern pressures - on children and parents - should not be underestimated.
The motivations most commonly cited by parents who home school include: a heightened sense of responsibility for their child's education; wanting to provide one-to-one education, rather than a large class ratio; a desire to create a strong emotional core in their child before exposure to bullying behaviours and peer pressure; and to keep their child's natural curiosity, and love of learning intact.
Education Next (Winter 2009), a journal published by Stanford University, says 70 per cent of US parents who school their children at home give non-religious reasons for doing so.
The most common reason is a concern about the local school environment. In the journal, the historian Milton Gaither says home schooling is not limited to the religious fundamentalists and the countercultural left - now there is a 'mainstreaming' of home schooling as 'the new home schoolers' emerge.
Gaither says 'many [US] public school districts, having lost the fight to criminalise home schooling, now openly court home schoolers...experimenting with programs that allow students to home school for part of the day but take certain classes at the local public school'.
In the future, he predicts, home schooling will segue into hybrid education as virtual schools, distance learning, sophisticated educational software and online communication continue to spread. This is not dissimilar to the 'working from home' culture we have embraced. And state governments are likely to become increasingly accommodating towards a movement that saves them money.
*insert gorgeous picture of Michael Leunig with uni students*
Building imagination...Michael Leunig, who received an honorary degree from the Australian Catholic University in 2007, home schooled two children.
Everything I believed has come true - their eagerness to learn is intact.
The cartoonist and philosopher Michael Leunig home schooled two children for more than 10 years 'because they wanted to do it'. They went to school this year for the first time -again because they wanted to.
A theme develops when you speak to Leunig about education: a child's natural love of learning is paramount and it is all about protecting that so it lasts for life.
He believes home schooling allows you to understand the child's individuality. It forces a parent to be inventive and improvise and can also be an awakening ot the many 'teachers' who surround you - from the man up the road to a grandparent.
Leunig says it is 'something you do with your heart in your mouth and fingers crossed' and he often asked himself: 'Have I got the right to experiment with my child's life?'
At one point he recalls worrying that one of his children was behind in reading, but realised: 'I have got to get rid of that voice - forcing them too early is damaging.'
Making sure they had energy -not homework - at ht end of the day was also important. And he cherished the time they had together as a family, not bound by school holidays.
'Having the top score at 18 isn't going to help if you have a nervous breakdown at 40. Life is a long time, much deeper and more serious than HSC results,' he says.
'We are watching horrible pressure being put on children. Human happiness, sanity and health is involved in this issue. Taking back what we are meant to do is a bold step. It's not just about education, it's about protecting character, it's about parenting.
He likens schools to corporations, where we hand over children and they say: 'We'll take it from here.'
'There are slurs that you are hippie, feral, alternative,' hey says. 'But I do believe there is a repressed concern by parents, and they do hope all is well at school but that gets blocked out, so home schooling challenges them on some level. It is home schooling that is rejecting a narrowness. It is not a radical value system; it's actually quite conservative.
Leunig concedes that there are bad days, too: 'You become very involved in your child's ups and downs; it is very organic and a bit difficult. And it forces parents to re-examine their own values and learning.'
Although he wouldn't tout home schooling - unless someone was already interested in the philosophy - he believes it has a special place in a climate where we cling to awards systems and standardised testing.
Everything I believed has come true - their eagerness to learn is intact,' he says.
'My children just want to get at the world; it is so pleasantly surprising to witness that. But what's worth doing in life is the ultimate question.'
Straight from the student's mouth
When talking to Jenni Hodgman, 19, her confidence and friendliness are palpable.
Jenni had her first day of school in year 11. She describes her experience of home schooling before that as 'very unstructured', working a short part of the day to meet curriculum - and more on some days when she was absorbed in a particular subject.
When asked about the most memorable aspects of being home schooled, Jenni says: 'Having time to play with my brother and being able to follow what interested me - learning because I wanted to, not just to pass a test.
'By the time I arrived at school I had so much natural interest and curiosity and was willing to put in the effort, unlike peers who seemed a bit burnt out.'
She says the transition was easier than she thought it would be and she 'ended up with a fabulous group of friends'.
Jenni does remember dealing regularly with questions like 'No school today?' and the responses that would come when she said she was home schooled.
She says: 'When I meet someone, it's not something I put out there straight away. I wait until I know a person and am confident I won't be judged or stereotyped.'
Jenni now plans to study physiotherapy - after representing Australia in dancing and learning to break in horses at a leading ranch in Canada.
Jenni's brother, Sean, 23, believes that his home schooling experience instilled self-discipline and self-motivation.
He values the opportunities he had to pursue learning in areas 'just because I was interested in them'.
Sean is in his second year of a PhD in physics at the Australian National University.
Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 22 June 2009
Education section, p.15
The schooling choice we love to hate
It is often derided as a 'hippie' alternative, but for many the decision to home school a child is the right one, writes Ainslie MacGibbon.
What is it that bothers us as a society when someone chooses to educate their child at home? There is a stigma surrounding home schooling and, at the very least, a tendency to judge and stereotype: hippie; religious fundamentalist; just plain weird. But is this really justified?
Home schooling, often referred to as home education, is legal in Australia. And The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says 'Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children'. (Article 26). So, home schooling is a legitimate school choice, but is it a legitimate social choice?
Only in recent history has responsibility for educating children rested with the state. For most of human history, parents, extended family and notable community figures and elders were accepted as educators. In NSW the Public Instruction Act, 1880, directed parents with children aged six to 14 to 'cause such children to attend school for a period of not less than 70 days in each half-year'. And so state-based education became mandatory.
Some indigenous cultures have resisted relinquishing education to the state, contributing to poor attendance rates. There are examples where native Americans and Hawaiian natives have established home-schooling networks to preserve traditional values and reconcile the gulf between tribal ways and public education policy.
The US has a strong tradition of home schooling, where Australia has a strong culture of distance education (which is different to home education).
According to the NSW Board of Studies, 1016 families (1703 students) were registered for 2007-08. The figure is likely to be higher since not all children educated at home are registered with the board.
The educational psychologist and associate professor Andrew Martin, from the University of Sydney, says parents are no longer confined to a choice between the local school and home. If a child is not suited to a local primary school, alternatives included traditional independent schools, innovative schools such as Montessori or Steiner, or trying a different public school.
Martin says 'most children could, and should, fit into the various forms of school available, but under some circumstances home schooling is a reasonable choice'. He says it must always be a child-centred decision to home school, not parent-centred.
Criticisms levelled against home schooling range from a lack of socialisation, limited access to higher education and qualifications, to greater opportunities for child abuse.
There is a paucity of research relating to home schooling in Australia. But most of the available research - including international research - dispels these criticisms, often finding home schooled children perform equally, or better, academically and socially. However, research in the area is difficult.
Home schoolers are a broad church and the research conducted is not always independent. The concept of home schooling is confronting for some sectors of the sophisticated education system that has evolved since compulsory schooling. They ask whether a mother or father is capable of providing what a qualified teacher can after years at university and on-the-job training. Conversely, some see the movement as reclaiming parental responsibility and restoring confidence in parents' natural ability to teach and guide.
Why home school? The reasons go deeper than no uniforms, no homework and no need to drop-off or pick-up. But the impact of these modern pressures - on children and parents - should not be underestimated.
The motivations most commonly cited by parents who home school include: a heightened sense of responsibility for their child's education; wanting to provide one-to-one education, rather than a large class ratio; a desire to create a strong emotional core in their child before exposure to bullying behaviours and peer pressure; and to keep their child's natural curiosity, and love of learning intact.
Education Next (Winter 2009), a journal published by Stanford University, says 70 per cent of US parents who school their children at home give non-religious reasons for doing so.
The most common reason is a concern about the local school environment. In the journal, the historian Milton Gaither says home schooling is not limited to the religious fundamentalists and the countercultural left - now there is a 'mainstreaming' of home schooling as 'the new home schoolers' emerge.
Gaither says 'many [US] public school districts, having lost the fight to criminalise home schooling, now openly court home schoolers...experimenting with programs that allow students to home school for part of the day but take certain classes at the local public school'.
In the future, he predicts, home schooling will segue into hybrid education as virtual schools, distance learning, sophisticated educational software and online communication continue to spread. This is not dissimilar to the 'working from home' culture we have embraced. And state governments are likely to become increasingly accommodating towards a movement that saves them money.
*insert gorgeous picture of Michael Leunig with uni students*
Building imagination...Michael Leunig, who received an honorary degree from the Australian Catholic University in 2007, home schooled two children.
Everything I believed has come true - their eagerness to learn is intact.
The cartoonist and philosopher Michael Leunig home schooled two children for more than 10 years 'because they wanted to do it'. They went to school this year for the first time -again because they wanted to.
A theme develops when you speak to Leunig about education: a child's natural love of learning is paramount and it is all about protecting that so it lasts for life.
He believes home schooling allows you to understand the child's individuality. It forces a parent to be inventive and improvise and can also be an awakening ot the many 'teachers' who surround you - from the man up the road to a grandparent.
Leunig says it is 'something you do with your heart in your mouth and fingers crossed' and he often asked himself: 'Have I got the right to experiment with my child's life?'
At one point he recalls worrying that one of his children was behind in reading, but realised: 'I have got to get rid of that voice - forcing them too early is damaging.'
Making sure they had energy -not homework - at ht end of the day was also important. And he cherished the time they had together as a family, not bound by school holidays.
'Having the top score at 18 isn't going to help if you have a nervous breakdown at 40. Life is a long time, much deeper and more serious than HSC results,' he says.
'We are watching horrible pressure being put on children. Human happiness, sanity and health is involved in this issue. Taking back what we are meant to do is a bold step. It's not just about education, it's about protecting character, it's about parenting.
He likens schools to corporations, where we hand over children and they say: 'We'll take it from here.'
'There are slurs that you are hippie, feral, alternative,' hey says. 'But I do believe there is a repressed concern by parents, and they do hope all is well at school but that gets blocked out, so home schooling challenges them on some level. It is home schooling that is rejecting a narrowness. It is not a radical value system; it's actually quite conservative.
Leunig concedes that there are bad days, too: 'You become very involved in your child's ups and downs; it is very organic and a bit difficult. And it forces parents to re-examine their own values and learning.'
Although he wouldn't tout home schooling - unless someone was already interested in the philosophy - he believes it has a special place in a climate where we cling to awards systems and standardised testing.
Everything I believed has come true - their eagerness to learn is intact,' he says.
'My children just want to get at the world; it is so pleasantly surprising to witness that. But what's worth doing in life is the ultimate question.'
Straight from the student's mouth
When talking to Jenni Hodgman, 19, her confidence and friendliness are palpable.
Jenni had her first day of school in year 11. She describes her experience of home schooling before that as 'very unstructured', working a short part of the day to meet curriculum - and more on some days when she was absorbed in a particular subject.
When asked about the most memorable aspects of being home schooled, Jenni says: 'Having time to play with my brother and being able to follow what interested me - learning because I wanted to, not just to pass a test.
'By the time I arrived at school I had so much natural interest and curiosity and was willing to put in the effort, unlike peers who seemed a bit burnt out.'
She says the transition was easier than she thought it would be and she 'ended up with a fabulous group of friends'.
Jenni does remember dealing regularly with questions like 'No school today?' and the responses that would come when she said she was home schooled.
She says: 'When I meet someone, it's not something I put out there straight away. I wait until I know a person and am confident I won't be judged or stereotyped.'
Jenni now plans to study physiotherapy - after representing Australia in dancing and learning to break in horses at a leading ranch in Canada.
Jenni's brother, Sean, 23, believes that his home schooling experience instilled self-discipline and self-motivation.
He values the opportunities he had to pursue learning in areas 'just because I was interested in them'.
Sean is in his second year of a PhD in physics at the Australian National University.