Monday, February 7, 2011

Home School

I have a few issues about the ability of parents to home school kids.
Its a parents right !
Well I've got a few "What ifs".

What if the parents aren't capable ?
What if the kids are chronic truants and the parents have supported them to miss school ?
What if CYFPS have a long history with the family and they now want to homeschool the kids ?
What if there isn't a single book in the house ?
What if the kids are miles behind at their current school ?

So here is what I have discovered. The MOE helps families write their plans (application) and teaching programmes. They approve nearly all applications (schools get a say but rarely is the information enough to stop the parents rights). ERO visits about 8 kids per year as a "check up". ERO give the usual three weeks notice (time enough to buy some books) when they visit. No families have home visits before allowing home schooling. Checks with CYFPS are not done. The only paper work they need to do once approved for home schooling is a Justice of the Peace declaration that says "we are doing the work". No national standards here, actually no standards at all. Parents get paid in two installments the $700 odd dollars for home schooling (fair enough if the system is not being abused). Some facts above are subject to the podgorani exaggeration methodology however they are believed to be accurate at the time of writing.

So there are a few concerns, no blame here, just concerns. If you want to build a kitchen, move toilets, build a garage, you have to jump through many hoops with the MOE. However a kid can be removed from school to vanish from the system to hide from authorities, deprived an education without a home visit. It needs sorting. I did a quick email around and all of my "what ifs" are true stories that came from my colleagues. Food for thought.

4 comments:

Podgorani said...

i suppose i want to add, great parents do great work homeschooling, i'm not in any way belittling them. they would easily meet the criteria if the regulations were tightened up.

Regan Orr said...

Plenty of food for thought here Luke, interesting aye.

Podgorani said...

you are right regan, and it's real thats the shame.

Fletchspeak said...

Home schooling is a PC cough-out for politicians and namby pandy educators who once decided we should have choice in how children should be educated. Problem is choice doesn't always provide quality.
Many of todays parents haven't got understanding, the time, patience or empathy for what is important for our kids to be great learners.
I reckon the scool should be the decision maker not the MOE.
Then the decision is about the child not the philosophical belief.