By Sharee Cordes I think it all started for us when Jayden became interested in linguistics. I was searching on the internet for some way to help him find out more about linguistics when I came across the Open Universities Australia website. Unfortunately they don’t offer any undergraduate linguistics subjects, but there were so many other interesting sounding subjects on the list, so I
By Cleve Elaine Richey Long before my decision to pull my seven-year-old son, Alex, from public school, I was his teacher. But teaching him meant far more than “enrichment.” It meant reaching him. It meant his survival. As a baby, he’d never wanted to be held, never cooed or babbled. Unlike his sister, who took such pleasure when we played with her, Alex didn’t
This is an excerpt from Otherways issue 128. It features a sample of former home educated students and details the pathways they took to university and other further education. Alumni Postcards
By Katharina Russell-Head For those of us who went to school it is almost impossible to imagine what it must be like to grow up outside the system. The closest most of us get is to remember, or to observe, the experience of early childhood. Babies and small children do not take lessons in asking for food, or observe timetables in learning how to
By Kathy Ward In recent years there’s been a strong trend for parents to remove their children from school and bring them home to learn because many schools have been failing to provide a positive learning experience for their children. These kids have been bright, personable, competent in many realms, and yet they’ve found themselves existing on the outskirts of the learning experiences that
The past twenty years has seen a phenomenal rise in home education across the world and the general public’s familiarity with it has moved from almost complete ignorance to one of widespread, if largely uninformed, awareness. This change has been stimulated by, and reflected in, heightened media interest with feature articles on home education appearing in national magazines, newspapers and on television and radio.
There has always been a percentage of Australian children educated at home. This was quite common in the nineteenth century with one historian stating that 19% of children were being taught at home in 1871. Summary of Australian and New Zealand Research on Home Education. maintained by Glenda Jackson B.Ed, MEdSt and PhD. Here we take a look at some of the major studies.
For families who have home educated through the primary school years, in many ways home educating a teenager is no different – you just keep on providing a stimulating educational environment and seeking out information and opportunities on topics that match their interests. The main difference is that as kids get older you use higher level resources. Teens also become more independent at finding
Many people home educate teenagers so you won’t be alone. If they wish, teens leaving school can maintain school friendships in out-of-school hours; they also maintain or make friendships from sporting and hobby groups; and are made most welcome amongst the home education community. To be ‘in the loop’ about what’s on, it is worth joining the network. Members receive weekly emails with coming events.
By Susan Wight The research on home educating children with disabilities is very positive, showing advantages both academically and socially. An American study by Stephen Duvall is one of the most thorough to date. It concluded that home education offers more of the kind of education that children with disabilities need most and that they benefit greatly from the individualised attention that home education
What problems can arise? You are seriously considering home education but wondering, “There must be a downside that they aren’t telling me about.” Of course home education brings its own problems – but doesn’t parenting in general? Life is an inherently challenging process and we are not promising you a bed of roses! Home education will neither solve all your problems nor mean you
New home educators and those enquiring into home education often fear that socialisation will be a problem but it seldom is. Home educating does not have to mean your children are isolated – stuck at home all day with no contact with people outside their family. Joining HEN will get you ‘in the loop’ for home-ed events, camps, excursions and so on. Your kids
Depending on the compulsory school age in your state, once you reach 17 or 18, home education registration is no longer a legal requirement and, in fact, you may not be able to register for home education in the year you turn 18. If registration is no longer a legal requirement you may wish to remain registered if: Registration in your state meets the
When kids, especially teenagers, come out of school, there is a process they need to go through in order to work through the stress of school and to regain their love of learning. Many experienced home educators say to allow one month of recovery time for every year of schooling that the child has had. Leaving school can be a turbulent time. We
By Susan Wight I rarely doubt that home education is a better way for children to learn, but I have to admit there are times when it all seems too hard. I guess this happens to all of us now and then. Some days I feel discouraged and dispirited with home education and I fear my children are just not becoming the kind of
