The term ‘unschooling’ was first introduced by educator John Holt, who describes it as ‘interest-driven, child-led, natural, organic, eclectic or self-directed learning.’
Homeschooling may seem like a new fad, as it’s recently become more popular in Australia and NZ, but it has been popular in the US since the 1980s. In ‘A Conversation with Jon Holt’ (1980) Jon and another homeschooling parent give a fascinating insight into the philosophy and the everyday practicalities of homeschooling. As a homeschooling teacher and tutor myself, I could write for days on this subject. It’s a huge topic to cover, and can be overwhelming to get your head around if you’re considering this for your family.
To get a clear picture of homeschooling, I thought I’d sum up the pros/cons and logistics.
Pros:
Flexibility and Energy:
Children, just like adults, all learn in different ways. Some are early birds, while others find it really hard to wake up and get going in the morning. Some kids can work quite happily while seated for a few hours, while some (as I experienced when I homeschooled two young boys) need movement regularly between lessons to re-energise and concentrate. Even just a few hits with the cricket bat in the garden between English and Maths made a big difference. The less structured hours of homeschooling allow this to happen. It was a stark contrast to watching classrooms of children yawn by mid afternoon.
Chance to Catch up on Foundation Areas:
I taught one little man full-time (which in homeschooling terms is approx. 12-15 hours a week) for a year and he progressed from not being able to write his full name, to reading Harry Potter. With one on one teaching, a child will progress much more quickly than in a classroom environment. This is useful when there is a lag in foundation areas such as English or Maths.
Real Life Learning Opportunities:
What better way to learn counting, addition and subtraction than by helping out in the family café or shop? Children can learn vital budgeting skills by helping with the weekly supermarket shop. Or work on graphs by making a tally of car colours or car types driving down their street and making this into a chart. Reading and science could be explored through reading a recipe and following the instructions. And so on, and so on.
Quality Family Time Free of Alarms, Uniforms and Homework
In my opinion, this is the biggest positive to homeschooling. When family life is dictated by early starts, rushing, long days and then homework, it can be really difficult to enjoy time together. The best memory I have from homeschooling is turning up to work and hearing tales from Dad about their breakfast and morning surf together and seeing Mum and kids enjoy a homecooked lunch together with no time constraints.
Cons:
Socialisation Opportunities
I believe that socialisation can be an issue for homeschoolers. Without the ‘instant community’ of school, kids don’t have anywhere near as many opportunities to interact, negotiate and compromise with other children.
Unmotivated Children
Children are clever little beings, and if they’re not particularly interested in a topic they can be very good at trying to distract or persuade their tutor away from the subject. Teachers are adept at behaviour management as it is drummed into us during teacher’s college. Without behaviour management tools, however, it can be very easy for a tutor or parent to get distracted or led away from the topic. In my opinion, with an inexperienced tutor a child could get through 8 hours of lessons and not learn a single thing.
Worry about Missing Key Curriculum Areas
This is a big concern and one that I think needs to be taken seriously. There are an awful lot of blogs and books out there encouraging parents to just give it a go, and declaring that children will learn no matter what. I’ve written home schooling curriculums for a number of different schooling levels. I have a teaching background (and therefore know where to look and what to look for), yet still found that it took hours of planning and research across Board of Studies websites, national curriculums and homeschooling resources (eg work books) to feel satisfied that my homeschooling charges wouldn’t miss any curriculum areas. It is interesting research and parents shouldn’t be put off by this ground work, but bear in mind that it’s not as simple as just throwing a few times tables questions and reading out there and calling it a day!
Fitting Homeschooling around Full Time Work
The reality of life in 2019 is that both parents need to work, and usually both full time. For many families it’s just not feasible to be at home with school-age children. This creates the need for a teacher/tutor to come in for a chunk of time each day. With some teachers charging upwards of $50 per hour for specialised tutoring this becomes expensive quickly.
Evaluating Learning
While I am not a fan of NAPLAN or other sample assessments, I do think there is some value in measuring students against their peers. When homeschooling, I always think that if the goal is to eventually return to mainstream schooling then it is really important for students to feel confident in assessments, and to see their progression throughout the year. I believe the danger with homeschooling is the potential to focus only on areas that students are passionate about, because it’s easy and enjoyable. Parents may lack the authority to keep students working on areas of difficulty (eg algebra) and if this is not worked on diligently then a student can get to the end of a topic and still have no real understanding of it.
Where to Begin?
In Australia there are many homeschooling families both in major cities and rural areas, as well as communities and groups who can help you begin your homeschooling journey. Joining the HEA (Home Education Association) is a good start, as well as becoming a member of SHEN (Sydney Home Education Network).
Requirements and Process for Home Schooling Registration NSW: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/e52d5b7c-5b80-4f19-bc2f-896818a26641/guidelines-for-home-schooling-in-nsw-2018.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=
Useful Links and Guides:
www.homeschoolNYC.com – I had the fortune to assist author Laurie Block Spigel when she came to Sydney in 2011 to run homeschooling seminars and work shops. Her website, while pitched at American families, is still a wealth of relevant information. Top picks are 10 Steps to Successful Homeschooling, links to interesting educational sites, travel and learning opportunities, and a broad range of projects and activities for writing, reading, music, art, science, foreign languages, maths and economics.
Homeschooling Explained by Laurie Block Spigel – http://www.childthingz.com/momz/blog-thingz/view/homeschooling-explained-by-laurie-block-spigel
http://www.newyorkfamily.com/when-school-is-at-home/
