Homeschooling

What is Homeschooling?

Homeschooling involves the parent teaching or supervising their own children in their own home rather than sending them to school.

Schools were originally one-teacher schools. The increase in size of schools has been largely for administrative convenience. One to one tuition has always been the best, which is why homeschooling is so successful. Homeschooling enables all students to succeed providing they are allowed to work at their own level and own rate. Every child is unique and will have pre-set learning rates and individual needs. Homeschooling allows parents to cater for both the learning rate and the learning method regardless of the child's ability. Slow, average and bright students all do well under this type of system. Homeschooling also allows for training in self-discipline, which will be required throughout life.

 

Parents are, and always have been, the best teachers. They know their children and are prepared to expend whatever time and energy is necessary in ensuring the child's success. If self-instructional material is used then the parent's knowledge, or lack of it, in a particular subject does not limit children. The parent remains the "authority figure" in the child's life and is able to guide the child. As a result families become closer.

 

The main criterion for homeschooling to succeed is that parents be able to discipline both themselves and their children to follow a schedule. Initially this should be fairly rigid, e.g. begin work at nine o'clock and work until eleven on academics, however, once a pattern is set this can be relaxed to suit the family needs, e.g. the birth of a baby, sickness, relatives coming to stay.

 

Is it legal?

Yes. In Victoria the law requires that a child attend school or be "regularly and efficiently educated". Should the Department of Social Security feel that your child is not being taught they may call the parent before a magistrate where it would be necessary for them to prove that your child is "being regularly and efficiently educated". The onus of proof is on the parent and not on the Education Department. There is no need to ask permission to homeschool. This is a fair law and has been upheld by the Equal Opportunity Board.

 

What are the advantages of homeschooling?

Children in rural areas will often travel up to three hours a day on school buses. This not only makes the children tired but limits dramatically the time the family can spend together and makes it hard for parents to help children with their school work.

For those in the city much time is till taken up in preparing the children for school, getting them there and picking them up afterwards, not to mention the amount of time parents are now expected to give to assist the teacher in the classroom. In the time taken traveling to and from school children can often complete their academic work for the day. Most homeschoolers spend about an hour and a half of concentrated work on academics in primary school and two to three hours in highschool. In this time they will complete two to three times the amount of work recommended by publishers for the year.

Those on correspondence generally find much of the work laborious and pointless. It does not generally cater for the specific needs of the child. Homeschooling meets all these needs and since most of the books contain answers parents can mark the work and children can rectify their mistakes straight away. This is not so when the work has to be marked and returned. Children have often reinforced their mistakes or forgotten what the lesson was about.

 

What is the Cost?

Homeschooling costs between $150-$200 per child in primary school and $200-250 per year in secondary school. This generally leaves parents with money to spend on other activities they could not otherwise afford.

What is needed to start homeschooling?

1. Testing if child is grade 1 or beyond.

2. Choosing Material from an appropriate level to suit the child's needs. As a family who have homeschooled six children over eighteen years we can help you with this and guide you through the process.

Do homeschooled children succeed?

Yes. If the parents follows a set Australian curriculum of a high standard, which has been tailored to suit a child's needs, then all children will learn. We have chosen the best self-instructional material from around Australia. Author's include Peter Howard, Jim Coroneos, Gregory Blaxell and Warwick Marlin. Work has also been chosen to be interesting and enjoyable as well as instructive. Used in the order we suggest all children succeed.

Children do not proceed to the next level unless they have mastered the work. Extension work has been planned so that children encounter the same concepts in a variety of ways. Testing is undertaken at the end of each level in English, Maths, Spelling and Reading to ensure the parent has not missed any concepts. This means that no child, including slow learners, ever fail. They all progress in each subject at their own level.

The only problem encountered if the child needs to return to school is that the child is generally at least a year ahead of their peers.

Will they Get A Job?

Getting a job is not a problem for homeschooled children. Most of them will have had part time jobs prior to leaving school. After year ten they generally begin Level 2 or 3 Certificate TAFE courses. Using the Pathways system the student is either able to enter the workforce at any time with a qualification that is recognised or follow through the course to Diploma level and then transfer to Diploma level tat University, skipping the first year. 63% of all students enter University this way and Universities prefer it as the drop out level is less.

Most employers find homeschooled children intelligent and hardworking and are predisposed to hire others if they can find them.

What About Socialisation?

This is a commonly asked question and yet is really not an issue. We do not lock up our children. The difference is that we choose with whom our children mix. Children who are homeschooled generally enjoy socialisation more because they are not forced to mix all the time with those whom they have nothing in common. Homeschooled children will generally mix well with all ages and not just with their peers.

What is the greatest advantage of homeschooling?

The greatest advantage of homeschooling is the strong family that results. In a day where the family is threatened as never before this is a benefit that can not be overlooked. Our children enjoy being together even though they have grown up now and live in separate homes. They frequently help each other both financially and in work around each other's homes.

For more details contact Frank & Valerie Marett at Homeschooling Supplies, PO Box 688, Werribee, Vic 3030 Ph: (03) 9742 7524 or www.homeschooling.com.au