For my friend Robert who died in loneliness and despair by the rope 2005 and François who died in hope by self-medication 2006
This is not their story but they, the brightest and the best, inspired it
It is the most boring of all the objections to home education and seemingly the most stupid since, on all [...]
Archive for the 'Socialisation' Category
Socialisation – The Hidden Agenda
Getting Started Home Educating
I Have Made the Decision to Home Educate My Children!
Now How to I go About It – What is the first step… is it legal in Victoria?
Home Education is legal in every state of Victoria. For details see the Victorian Legal Situation page.
If your child has not yet started school
At this stage there are many [...]
Home Schooling Works!
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 [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Special Needs or Just Special?
By Mary Gold
It was going to be his first day on the mountain and my old anxieties were creeping in. With his brand new snowboard tucked under his arm and his first-ever season [...]
Does School ‘Socialise’ children?
By Susan Wight, Bendigo, Victoria
One of the meanings of the term “socialisation” is the process by which the accepted culture is passed on to the next generation. For centuries this process was a natural one performed by families and an increasingly wider circle as children grew to adulthood. Children learnt about the world by living [...]
Parents – Trust Your Children. Let them Be.
Alternative title – “Am I doing the right thing?”
Home-education – the great escape
So, you’ve decided to home-educate your children, you’re thinking about doing it, or just interested in the subject. I won’t go into numerous reasons why I think/know it is the right decision for the majority of children, but most parents making this large step on the journey of life have many doubts about this route. After all, if most parents still decide to send their children to school, surely it must be the best option around, isn’t it? NO! There are many aspects of modern life where just because the majority of people do it, it doesn’t mean it is right or the best option. Hopefully I can open-up some minds and show them that opting for this minority (at present) style of education (I prefer to call it ‘living’) benefits our children, families, lifestyle and, ultimately, society as a whole.
This article is an amalgamation of thoughts and opinions that I’ve accumulated over the years, partly as a result of my own experiences as a home-educating father, but also from questions I am regularly asked in the street, in the local shop, in the library, on the telephone, by family, work colleagues, etc. I have often been asked “How do I…?”, “What about…?”, “I’m worried about…”, “Is it true that…?” with respect to home-educating. I quite enjoy answering these questions, “spreading the gospel” and hopefully at the same time enlighten and “educate” whoever I am talking to. …
Read the rest of this entry »Socialisation and Home Education
By Fred McArdle, West Brunswick
The school system is designed to produce citizens, not individual thinkers, despite the rhetoric of most educational authorities.
If we are to make sense of our society, what we need are thinkers who [...]
Spaceship School
By John Holt.
From: Growing Without Schooling #34
“Earlier this year I visited for a few days some old friends who are not home schoolers and whose children have always gone to school. Spending [...]