Homeschooling Handbook Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path ~ Psalm 119:105 A Guide To Educating Your Child At Home Published by Bring Life2Learning (PTY) Ltd. www.love2learn.co.za 1
With love and gratitude to my wonderful husband Marc, and precious daughters Savanna and Cassidy; you have been my inspiration. To the glory of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, my source of hope and strength. ‐ Ivana Mary Ries ‐ (Founder and Author of Love2Learn Curriculum) 2
CONTENTS 3 5 CONTENTS 7 PREFACE 8 9 1. THE BROAD‐SPECTRUM EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE: IN THE MAIN IT IS LIFELESS! 10 Notes to myself 11 2. CONSIDERING HOMESCHOOLING? YOU ARE IN GOOD COMPANY Notes to myself 13 3. THROUGH THE EYES OF JESUS 15 ‐ A Personal Note to Homeschooling Parents from Ivana Ries – Author and Founder of 15 Love2Learn Curriculum 15 Notes to myself 17 19 4. OUR VIEW OF HOMESCHOOLING 20 A. HOMESCHOOLING – A LOVE2LEARN DEFINITION 21 B. THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS 21 C. PLEASING GOD ‐ NOT FEARING MAN 23 D. THE GOAL OF A BIBLICAL EDUCATION 23 E. LIFE‐LONG LEARNING JOY 24 F. BECOMING WELL‐READ 24 G. IF HOMESCHOOLING IS NOT “SCHOOL‐AT‐HOME”, THEN WHAT IS IT? 24 H. BUT I’M NOT A QUALIFIED TEACHER! 25 I. HOMESCHOOLING JITTERS J. (And finally…) BUT WHAT ABOUT SOCIALISATION? 26 i. A CONTENTIOUS ISSUE 26 ii. A STORM IN A TEA‐CUP 28 iii. WHY MAINSTREAM SCHOOLING IS ONE OF THE WORST WAYS TO LEARN 29 SOCIALISATION 29 iv. HOMESCHOOLING AND SOCIALISATION – WHAT DOES RESEARCH SHOW? 30 v. WHY HOMESCHOOLERS ARE BETTER SOCIALISED 31 32 Notes to myself 32 33 5. ORGANISING AND PROTECTING YOUR TIME 34 35 A. BOUNDARIES B. PROTECTING YOUR HOMESCHOOLING BOUNDARIES C. GETTING ORGANISED D. HOW MANY HOMESCHOOLING HOURS PER WEEK? E. WHY WE ADVOCATE SHORT LESSONS F. HELP FOR DAWDLING CHILDREN G. HELP FOR HIGHLY DISTRACTIBLE MOMS Notes to myself 3
6. TEACHING LESS! 37 A. TEACHING LESS… LEARNING MORE 37 B. WHAT IS THE POINT? 38 C. TWO ACTIVITIES WORTH THE EFFORT 39 a. ACTIVITY 1: AQUIRING THE HABIT OF PAYING ATTENTION 39 b. ACTIVITY 2: WIDENING HORIZONS AND CREATING “HOOKS” 40 D. CRAMMING AND SHORT‐TERM MEMORISATION IS NOT THE POINT! 41 E. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION? 42 F. WHAT IS EDUCATION? – 43 a. A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 43 b. A SECULAR PERSPECTIVE 45 G. THE COURAGE TO FORSAKE THE KNOWN, FOR THE PROMISE OF A BETTER 46 WAY! Notes to myself 47 7. LEARNING STYLES 49 A. WHAT ARE LEARNING STYLES? 49 a. VISUAL LEARNERS 49 b. AUDITORY LEARNERS 49 c. KINAESTHETIC LEARNERS 49 49 B. HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR CHILD’S PREFERRED LEARNING STYLE 51 Notes to myself 8. SHOULD WE HOMESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL? 53 Notes to myself 55 9. IN CLOSING… YOUR NEW BEGINNING 57 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 58 4
Preface The content of this Homeschooling Handbook has been borrowed from the Love2Learn Curriculum User’s Manual. The Manual is what families purchase when they first order from Love2Learn Curriculum, to help them maintain a child‐centred approach to educating their children, rather than a system‐centred approach which is the unfortunate domain of mainstream‐schooling. Unlike the Manual which is “A Guide to the Optimal Way to Implement Love2Learn Curriculum and Bring Life To Learning”, this Handbook contains guidance and advice from our own experience of more than 20 years, that we have gleaned since commencing with homeschooling in 1999. Much like a lighthouse is simultaneously a guide, a warning and a comfort; it is our sincerest desire that what is shared in this Handbook will be this and more for you; and that it will be helpful in spurring you on to embark on ‐ or continue on ‐ with your own personal homeschooling journey. The content is in no way to be seen as prescriptive. I truly believe that homeschooling done with diligence, commitment and regularity, combined with the unparalleled, nurturing and loving environment that is your home, is one of the finest gifts that a parent can give to their child. We trust that for those of you reading this and who are either exploring or new to homeschooling; what we share will truly encourage and strengthen your resolve to persevere in this all‐important task of educating your children. May God Bless you with wisdom, discernment and boldness; and may you see your family restored and generations impacted! THE LOVE2LEARN TEAM “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” ~Proverbs 1:7 5
Thoughts/Notes to myself 6
1. THE BROAD‐SPECTRUM EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE: IN THE MAIN IT IS lifeless! If you’re reading this and you’re an educator, be it as a prospective homeschooling parent, existing homeschooling parent or teaching in a Learning Centre/Cottage‐ or Independent School, it is almost a guarantee that at least one of the following applies to you: You are DISILLUSIONED with the quality of education available for your children*! You are FRUSTRATED because you know your children's learning potential is not being met! You are SICK of allocating a relentless number of boring worksheets to your children for class‐ and homework! You are TIRED of trying to enthuse your children with dull, lifeless material! You are DESPERATE to find a comprehensive curriculum that covers pre‐school to Matric! OVERWHELMED with excessive admin controls! LONGING to rejuvenate the “teacher’s creative heart” in you! KEEN to find out how you can Bring Life to Learning in your child’s education! * Note to Cottage School educators: In each and every one of my interactions that I have had over the years with Cottage School teachers, time and again I have been nothing short of astounded at how similar you all are in the way that your hearts are for “your children” (not “your students” or “your pupils”); and so I use the term “your children”, deliberately. “And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” ~2 Corinthians 3:17 7
Thoughts/Notes to myself 8
2. CONSIDERING HOMESCHOOLING? YOU ARE IN GOOD COMPANY In the 16 years that we homeschooled our own children (they never attended a mainstream school for a day in their lives – both our daughters have since finished Cambridge AS‐ Levels), experience has shown us that parents come to homeschooling for a variety of reasons – be it Spiritual, educational standards, safety, lifestyle or whatever; and in far and away the majority of cases, they realise when they’re in it, that it should have been their first choice! Experience has shown us that parents come to homeschooling for a variety of reasons – be it Spiritual, educational standards, safety, life‐style or whatever; and in far and away the majority of cases, they realise when they’re in it, that it should have been their first choice! “The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” ~1 Thessalonians 5:24 9
Thoughts/Notes to myself 10
3. THROUGH THE EYES OF JESUS ‐ A Personal Note To Homeschooling Parents From Ivana Ries – Author And Founder Of Love2learn Curriculum Welcome…Home! It’s a frosty, slightly overcast Monday morning and my mind drifts back to a similar morning in icy July where I’m reading the story of the fall of the Roman Empire to my children, who are snuggled alongside me on the couch. We’re all trying to fit under the soft, patterned blanket in “Birdsong Cottage”. Our prefab homeschooling room is tucked away amidst Strelitzias and Callistemon at the bottom of our garden, kissed by the morning sun and the twitter and chatter of our regular feathered visitors. The cross Doberman‐Fox Terrier (don’t ask!) is sitting contentedly at my feet. Sometimes the backdrop is a blanket thrown on the ground under the leafy yellowwood tree in our back garden, with two young naturalists intently studying and sketching a White Parasol mushroom that has conveniently popped out of our suburban lawn. It’s a sweltering summer afternoon in late February, and dark thunderclouds are gathering for the mandatory “Highveld storm”. This is our haven nestled in a quiet suburban street of Fourways, a welcome respite from frenetic Johannesburg, where the pace is relentless and the workload unmerciful! It’s where we live as a family, build memories and relationships with each other and with the Lord, grow and mature, laugh and cry, pray and praise, cook and clean. It’s where we raise our children. And, it is where we all love to learn. Sound like perfection to you? The cosy home, in soft focus, complete with rocking chairs, cross stitch and the enticing smell of freshly baked scones? Please don’t for a moment labour under the misapprehension that our home (or homeschool for that matter) was perfect. It wasn’t! We certainly had our moments. There were times when we were running past each other, late for an appointment or extramural. Sometimes I got too busy to shop and we would run out of milk and eggs! (And does the family really have to eat anyway; after all, they ate yesterday!) At times, running the business of Love2Learn Curriculum itself would make huge demands that necessitated the shelving of my carefully planned homeschool day altogether – sound familiar? (And that was a huge sacrifice for someone like me who is a “little boxes” person that enthusiastically defends order! Don’t mess with my boxes!) Still, despite its imperfections, there is no place like home! And I believe that is exactly the way God intended it! Sometimes a little voice of doubt creeps in and tells you that you simply can’t do it. But you also know this negative notion does not emanate from the loving eyes of Jesus. Rather it has its roots, in the bland, endless corridors of your own formal schooling experience. 11
Perhaps your children have been in a private or public school up until this point, or perhaps they have never been to school at all. Either way, you have decided to place your hand in the hand of Jesus, and trust Him for your children, for their discipleship, for the education journey ahead, to which He has called you. He equips us for every good work and so we can step forward with full assurance and confidence. A very sincere and warm welcome to Love2Learn Curriculum! Although we are based in South Africa, there are a growing number of Love2Learn families in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Each family, like you, had to make the decision to homeschool; many in the face of opposition. Every homeschooling parent at some point on their journey meets and has to battle the giants of self‐doubt, sacrifice, discouragement, exasperation, and exhaustion. But fixing our eyes on Jesus, we are able to walk this journey in steadfast faith with our precious children every day. I wrote and compiled this handbook in the hopes that its content will prove useful to you and be of some service. From its pages I hope you will draw encouragement, realise that your doubts and fears are normal and find peace, rest and streams of refreshment that flow from our gracious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This book is partly my own thoughts and ideas, partly a compilation of the writings of Charlotte Mason ‐ my education mentor, and the writings of other authors who have impacted my journey; all of whom are acknowledged in the text. It is now my privilege to pass on that which I have gained, intertwined with much of their wisdom; and may this manual serve as an exhortation to you to persevere, as you seek to disciple your children through homeschooling, and so that you and your children will reap a glorious reward. May you run this good race and finish strong! “…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” ~Hebrews 12:1‐2 12
Thoughts/Notes to myself 13
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4. OUR VIEW OF HOMESCHOOLING A. HOMESCHOOLING – A LOVE2LEARN DEFINITION “The education and discipleship of children to prepare them for life.” That is life after school, where God‐willing they will go on to some form of employment and be someone's colleague and/or manager. They will be someone's husband or wife… and in time they will be someone's father or mother... …and ultimately, it is to prepare them for eternal life with Jesus! If we miss that one, then all the rest of what we have done would have been in vain! Jesus said in John 14:6 ‐ \"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.\" [Emphasis mine] It is our unwavering belief that the very BEST way to bring life to learning in a child’s education, is to teach them to get to know Jesus (who is Life), become more like Him (as they serve Him); and help others to do the same. B. THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS It has been said that the biggest lie Satan ever pulled was to try and convince mankind that he doesn’t exist. Perhaps another trick would be to persuade us that education and religion are mutually exclusive and education is the sole domain of the state and the “experts”. One cannot separate education from religion. The end of all education is “religious” in one way or another, be it the Christian discipleship of our children or the inculcation of a secular set of values and ideals. Nothing is ever taught completely in a vacuum. For example, the apprehension that science is purely an empirical endeavour is fundamentally flawed, the moment the existence of a Creator is raised. Just watch a debate between a Darwinist and a Creationist! Many of us did not have the privilege of being educated at home. Did you? A personal struggle that I have fought for many years is to decontaminate my thinking regarding the end goals 15
and didactic methodology of education. In whom does the authority to teach vest? And what content ought to be taught? It is thus from a prejudiced knowledge base that so many of us commence the homeschooling of our children. Sadly, it is a distinct disadvantage that unless actively warred against, can prove to be the undoing of all our efforts. Most of us have a twelve‐year degree in “how to do school” passively earned through experience and observation, sitting at a wooden desk in one classroom after the next! If we have gone in pursuit of a degree in education, then we have been trained for a further four years or more, generally on how the government would have us educate children and pass on state‐designed values and a humanistic worldview – one in which Jesus is not even so much as acknowledged! In fact, in South Africa, God has long been erased from our constitution! Christian schools are also not beyond the reach of humanistic curriculum forced upon children by the rule of law. God requires us to obey the law of the land (Titus 3:1). Even Christian homeschooling families are affected. For many years, I have fought this personal battle to first and foremost see education through the eyes of Jesus. Then, to relegate my own experience of education to its rightful place, as being purely perceived truth, and not absolute truth. Finally, to stand on His Word, to be obedient to Titus 3, and to make the paradigm shift from home‐SCHOOL to HOME‐school. Home‐schooling is far more than just an educational alternative, with excellent academic success! Homeschooling, is a ministry of discipleship to our children! “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children and their children to the next generation” ~Joel 1:3 16
C. PLEASING GOD – NOT FEARING MAN As sons and daughters of Almighty God, we are exhorted to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and to throw off everything that hinders! Our heavenly Father has given us a biblical mandate ‐ and a clear one at that I believe ‐ (Deuteronomy 6:1‐7) on how to disciple the precious children that He has entrusted to our care. “These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing the milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your fathers promised you. Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up.” ~Deuteronomy 6: 1‐7 In the first instance, considering the fact that homeschooling is a ministry of discipleship to our children and not just another education alternative, the question as to whether or not we as Christian parents should be homeschooling is rhetorical. (Assuming no circumstances that preclude.) Secondly, with regard to didactic methodology employed in our homeschool, my own story is not a pretty one. The state had done a fabulous job of planting a seed of doubt in my mind that only an “expert” qualified through an institution is permitted to teach children. If, as an unqualified teacher, I was going to homeschool that effectively made me an impostor! The problem was, that deep in my heart, I knew the Lord was calling me to this. Obeying the Lord was the simple part. What about my lack of qualification? My most well‐ considered answer to the problem was this: If I was going to be an impostor, then best I teach under good disguise! Perhaps “they” would mistake me for a true “teacher” if I homeschooled like a state‐certified one, and was careful to emulate all the things my Standard Three teacher did in her classroom, relocated to my home! 17
I acquired an attendance register, (yes, apparently I was unsure as to whether or not my children were attending my “school”), a wonderful digital egg‐timer which worked nicely as a school bell, copious quantities of worksheets and Prestik… because teachers always fixed schoolwork to walls didn’t they?!) We could now sit for hours and fill in the missing blank on the worksheet. All that remained to be added was a cycle test roster. Could homeschooling get any better? I thought these were reliable tools, guaranteed to succeed! After all, they had worked for me as a child. Now they would work for my children. Quod erat demonstrandum – problem solved! Although I was repeatedly warned not to follow this slippery path to a dreary, lifeless homeschool, I chose to ignore wise advice and did it “my way”. (Strains of Frank Sinatra.) I can tell you that it did not produce good fruit on all accounts! The motivation for adopting these methods was rooted in narrow‐mindedness, arrogance and fear. Narrow‐mindedness and arrogance don’t need much elaboration. You can judge these for yourself. But what about fear? Now fearing man above pleasing God is a short, three letter word – sin! Am I saying that the didactical methodology designed for use in a school is sinful? No, of course not. What I am saying is that our mother’s heart, set aflame and inspired by the Holy Spirit, knows full well the perfect way to get any part of a syllabus across as naturally to our child as the way we taught them to brush their teeth or tie their shoelaces. When God gave us our children, I sincerely believe He gave us each a unique bunch of “keys” that unlock the very door of our children’s hearts and minds. When we make room for His Holy Spirit to inspire us, we as parents are given the “key” that works best for that child at that given time. And no, the key is not necessarily a worksheet! Followed by home‐work and a test on Friday! Or any other similar didactic method we encountered at school. Very often the key is diametrically different. And herein lies the problem. We do not feel we have the permission to follow the Holy Spirit, because we separate education off as a function of the state and we assign all authority in this area to the hallowed halls of the education alumnae. 18
When you as a parent look into your son or daughter’s eyes, you see something that the world’s most gifted educator will never see, something born of the God‐given connection between parent and child. But sadly, so many of us shut out the Holy Spirit, and adopt school techniques in our homes, for the purpose of staying on the right side of man instead. That is the sin. We muddy the water. God asks us to obey the law of the land. Yes; and that is unequivocal. But, He does not ask us to bring state‐developed teaching methods into our homes in order to obey the law of the land! “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” ~Proverbs 29:25 D. THE GOAL OF A BIBLICAL EDUCATION Jesus tells us plainly that the greatest commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 29 – 31 Did the education we received in our youth teach us to place God first, to love Him with all our hearts, all our minds and all our strength and to seek first His kingdom? To serve Him wholeheartedly, first? Did it teach us that relationship with Jesus is everything; that we need to get to know Him, learn to be more like Him and to teach others to do the same? More than ever, it is critical to understand and accept that if we are to maximise our peace and joy in our homeschool, if we are to love and protect and nurture our children, if we wish to REMEMBER: receive God’s blessing, if we are to honour Him and fulfil His mandate, then we really only have There is no such thing as one option – to grasp and align ourselves with a “junior” Holy Spirit! the goal of a biblical education and to do it His way! These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. ~Deuteronomy. 6:6‐9 19
E. LIFE‐LONG LEARNING JOY With God’s grace and your faithfulness, given the right didactic approach, your children will love to learn, not just in the immediate, but for life! If the joy of learning was systematically dismantled in you in your own schooldays, then may the Lord restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten, and may you revel in this “second chance” God has provided. Each day, as our children discover geography, biology, English, science, language, astronomy, mathematics and more, they encounter Jesus. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” ~Joel 2:25. They fall in love with our glorious Lord, His awesome power, love, provision and creation! This should be a joy, not a grind! It is the purpose of this manual to share with you the convictions God laid upon my heart when I was originally developing Love2Learn Curriculum – not so that we can embark upon a protracted educational debate – but to offer you reasons and courage to throw off the shackles of a state‐dictated education and its unnatural methodology. Jesus told us that He came that we may have life It is my hope that you will embrace the mandate God has given you with faith, courage and confidence and thereby receive the fullness of the benefit of homeschooling. At a practical level, this manual serves to explain how to teach your children as naturally as you would teach them to make a sandwich! We want to help you to put the HOME back into HOME‐schooling! In other words, we want to maximise your homeschooling joy so that you and your children will indeed love to learn – God’s way. God’s ways always yields life in abundance! Join me in forsaking “school‐at‐home” in favour of a home that loves to learn! “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” ~John 10:10 20
F. BECOMING WELL‐READ It is important to accept right now that you have a responsibility, as a homeschooling parent, to become informed about educating your children at home. This demands that you read. If you are not a great reader, it may seem daunting at first! But please, don’t put it off! Time always seems to be in short supply. So many homeschooling families make the excuse that they are too busy to read. At the risk of stepping on toes, this is no excuse; there is too much at stake! We owe it to our children that we become well informed on home‐education, at every level. It’s simply not optional. Please heed this word of caution from a homeschooling mother’s heart that yearns for you to be free and thriving in your homeschooling in every way! This word of caution is extended to you because it affects your peace and joy and the joy of your precious child or children. In 2000, being a new and inexperienced homeschooling mother myself, I read a dozen books on homeschooling in my first eight weeks. Thankfully the Lord used some of these titles to answer many nagging questions and provided much‐needed confidence to persevere in obedience to His calling to homeschool. From that day forward, I made it my business to read extensively and to research. I set out to discover more about philosophies of education ‐ modern, medieval and ancient, pedagogical models and educational paradigms, learning modalities, curriculum design, our national curriculum statement and home‐schooling in general. Experience over many years of interaction with families has highlighted that only a small minority of homeschooling parents read books on homeschooling. G. IF HOMESCHOOLING IS NOT “SCHOOL‐AT‐HOME”, THEN WHAT IS IT? HOME‐schooling is a lifestyle. It is a way of life. It is a natural pursuit that sees all of life as a classroom and identifies the learning possibility in all situations. It is not (in our humble opinion), being confined to a desk, boring textbooks and a mountain of worksheets! True homeschooling develops a natural unquenchable desire to learn, to discover. An eagerness to know more about God’s creation; a curiosity – not to satisfy the need for an A‐ grade on a test paper, but for the pure love of learning. It is a relaxed way of being. Please don’t equate the word “relaxed” to “slap‐dash”, “ill‐disciplined” or “second rate”. By ‘relaxed’, I mean the adoption of a natural, stress‐free approach. Imagine your school years devoid of hours of unnecessary homework because everything was covered during the morning lessons. Delete the confining seat‐work! Swap the desk for a comfy couch, close family time and mind‐vivifying books and ideas. 21
Lose the monotonous drone of a teacher’s voice and replace it with a lively debate where children are encouraged to think critically. Burn the dry, lifeless text‐books and place full‐colour, photo‐rich, living books on your shelves instead. Cancel the endless worksheets! Eliminate the tons of pointless true or false, fill‐in‐ the‐blank type questions and instead, replace these with living, verbal or written narrations. Swap the short‐term memorisation of facts for Friday’s test, for a relationship with the material at hand – material you will still remember when you are ninety years old, because it is exciting and you lived and breathed it when you discovered it for the first time! See the value of reading aloud to children too young to read for themselves. Encourage older children to dig out the essence of a matter from excellent books. Throw out the “know these facts” boxes and replace them with literature that brings history, geography, science, music, art and more, to life. Experience many beautiful books on many topics. Include much “doing” or “making”. Include “doing” and “making”, wherever possible. Endeavour to accommodate your child’s learning style preference. Go on regular field trips! What better way to learn about weather than in a meteorological station? Involve all ages in the lesson at hand. Wonder at the “trickle‐down” effect where the youngest child in the family quickly catches up to their older siblings and begins to answer questions before they do; marvel at the science project your son has designed of his own accord, not because it was an assignment, but because he wanted to learn! REMEMBER: Do “school” outside under a tree. Do “school” while you are driving in your All of life is a classroom… car. Do “school” everywhere! Remember, not the other way around! all of life is a classroom! Holidays are great times to discover new parts of the country, farming, industry, geology, transport, history, food, mining, marine biology and more! Keep family and home in full view. Don’t turn your homeschool into an unnatural classroom. 22
H. BUT I’M NOT A QUALIFIED TEACHER Research has clearly demonstrated that in the case of homeschooling there is absolutely no advantage to being a qualified teacher. Two groups of homeschooled children Research has clearly were tested with the same banks of Mathematics, English and Science tests. demonstrated that in the case of The first group of children emanated homeschooling there is absolutely from homes where the mother or no advantage to being a qualified father was a qualified teacher, while teacher… the second came from parents who In fact, many Love2Learn users did not have any formal training in who are qualified teachers have teaching whatsoever. indicated that it is sometimes a In the test results ‐ the first group did disadvantage to be a qualified not perform any better than the teacher, simply because there is a second! tendency to replicate the memory However, both groups performed of the classroom at home! substantially better than their main‐ stream, school‐going peers! In fact, many Love2Learn users who are qualified teachers have indicated that it is sometimes a disadvantage to be a qualified teacher, simply because there is a tendency to replicate the memory of the classroom at home! I. HOMESCHOOLING JITTERS If you are a first‐time homeschooler, it is very natural to feel some degree of trepidation. Will I be able to homeschool? Am I capable? Will my children cope? Will my children miss out on anything? How much time will my school day take? How do I organise my home‐school? How do I organise my life as a wife and home‐maker (and possibly even business woman) and juggle all these priorities? I have a small baby, a toddler and a primary school child. How do I manage the diverse needs of my children without losing my sanity? How will I cope with Matric? Will I be able to handle the high school years? How do I make time for my own spiritual growth? How do I make time for me? Can I be a mother and teacher at the same time? And on and on… These are such important questions! And I bet that you are eager to have some answers! There are many helpful books on homeschooling which will encourage you and give you confidence! We refer to a selection of titles in this manual which we encourage you to read. 23
But there is one BOOK that is the key. God’s Word is a light to our path and His grace is sufficient. Yes. It is truly as simple as that! Firstly, the God who called you is faithful and He will undertake in every detail for you. Secondly, He promises you that if you place your trust in Him you will never be put to shame. J. (And finally…) BUT WHAT ABOUT SOCIALISATION? i. A CONTENTIOUS ISSUE When it comes to contemplating whether or not to homeschool, “But what about their socialisation?” is possibly the singularly most raised question by parents – AND their surrounding family AND friends (AND even complete strangers for that matter!) – and can often be a very contentious issue. It is also – with all due respect – possibly the one topic on which there is the MOST ignorance and misunderstanding out there… so I invite you to come with me in this blog and let’s interrogate some of these assumptions and what I believe are misconceptions when it comes to homeschooling and socialisation. ii. A STORM IN A TEA‐CUP For us at Love2Learn, we can’t help smiling whenever this question is raised, because it’s almost as if people think that because you are going to homeschool your child, you are ipso facto also going to keep them locked up in a cupboard for the rest of the day! (lol) The reality is that a homeschooling day is very often just a mainstream school day in reverse. You see, with mainstream, your child is at school (perhaps with some of their friends) in the morning; but then they’re often at home in the afternoon. Conversely, with homeschooling, your child is at home more often than not in the morning, but in the afternoon they could be visiting and playing with friends, partaking in extra‐mural activities, playing sport and so on and so forth. Naturally, the development of friendships and the opportunity to play and interact with others IS important for a child, whether they are homeschooled or not! However, in our opinion, far too much is made of this issue; when, in reality, a play date every once in a while, coupled with the socialisation opportunities provided by extra‐murals, sports, church youth activities and the like, is more than sufficient. 24
iii. WHY MAINSTREAM SCHOOLING IS ONE OF THE WORST WAYS TO LEARN SOCIALISATION I submit to you that there are a number of flaws in thinking that a mainstream school is the “ideal environment” in which to socialise a child. For now, allow me to unpack just THREE of them: 1. The school classroom is in fact, perhaps the singularly most unnatural environment in terms of promoting significant social interaction. Once a child leaves school, it is unlikely that they will EVER again be in a room for two‐ thirds of a day, where everyone there is of the same age and – in some schools – the same sex! 2. Have you ever noticed that when children meet for the first time, almost guaranteed the first – or at worst the second – question they will ask is, “How old are you?” They have been programmed to determine a pecking order! Why is this?, you may ask… well simply put, because schools require children to ONLY socialise within a limited age and grade‐level range (for good reason, given the potential risks and dangers associated with older and more mature students interacting with younger and less mature students.) The net result of this deliberate segregation promotes HORIZONTAL SOCIALISATION, but severely hampers comfort with and equipping across a broader age and grade level spread, with the result that their VERTICAL SOCIALISATION is extremely poor! As we are all aware, VERTICAL SOCIALISATION is the norm in society; and because of inadequate exposure, mainstream‐schooled children can thus easily become disinterested or even unable to socialise with children somewhat younger or older than themselves! 3. The FINAL point in debunking misconceptions… If you think back on your mainstream schooling experience; would you say that ALL of the children who finished school alongside you, were perfectly socialised human beings? The obvious and honest answer would have to be, ABSOLUTELY NOT! Now ask yourself, how could that be? … after all, they all went through mainstream schooling didn’t they!? Clearly then, the recipe for a well‐ socialised child is definitely NOT that they must attend a mainstream school! 25
iv. HOMESCHOOLING AND SOCIALISATION – WHAT DOES RESEARCH SHOW? Independently conducted , scientifically valid research has proven be yond any doubt: Homeschooled children a re – in the main – very well socialised! In fact, researc h indicates that they are often significantly better socialis ed than their school‐going peers. Homeschooled children a re often substantially more mature – reaching the IML (Indepe ndent Maturity level) – at a much younger age. Homeschooled children d emonstrate a healthier sense of self‐esteem and display st rong leadership tendencies. Hofmare lsecshso poeleedr dcheiplderned ne nhta vaen db eleesns psruobvjeecnt ttoo be negative or destru ctive peer pressure. c(oSommfoertth ainngd tah abtle Is’msin sgu rteo yu osu p warielln atgs riene t hisi so df aEyN OanRdM aOgUe!S) v. WHY HOMESCHOOLERS ARE BETTER SOCIALISED In contrast to their mainstreamed peers, broadly speaking, homeschooled children have far greater opportunity on a daily basis to socialise vertically, viz. within a broader spectrum of ages, from tiny babies to grandparents and everything in‐between. Also, they are not forced into age and grade level bands, so they do not think in terms of – nor see a need for – a pecking order! This results in a greater ability and ease when communicating with different age groups. Research shows homeschooled children are very comfortable with VERTICAL SOCIALISATION! 26
In Closing… Interestingly, research also shows that after graduation, approximately 70% (almost three quarters) of homeschooled children become community leaders and entrepreneurs, employing others and contributing positively to the economy of a country, as well as being strong men and women of God. Finally, as a Christian family you are able to build unity, respect, love, deep understanding and closeness in and of the family unit, in keeping with God’s guidance to all of us in His word in the Bible. The family is increasingly coming under attack, but homeschooling is a wonderful God‐given way of restoring strong family bonds! In the nurturing environment of your home, your child can develop poise, confidence, self‐esteem, and independent thinking, away from the institutional peer pressure to conform, that is mainstream schooling. May you be blessed with abundant, life-giving homeschooling and blissful God-directed freedom as you disciple your children and together you all love to learn! Ivana Ivana Ries Founder and Author of Love2Learn Curriculum “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” ~1 Corinthians 11:31 “Give him a full and generous curriculum.” ~Charlotte Mason 27
Thoughts/Notes to myself 28
5. ORGANISING AND PROTECTING YOUR TIME A. BOUNDARIES As parents ‐ and especially as mothers ‐ we have so many different demands on our time and energy. As homeschooling mothers, we take multi‐tasking to a whole new level! We are a wife, a mother, a home‐maker, an educator, a businesswoman, a taxi‐driver – the list goes on… We may even be involved in a ministry. Perhaps we are blessed to have parents and we are a daughter ourselves. We are a friend. We belong to and contribute to a community of home‐ schoolers. We take care of our physical fitness and make time to exercise, we are a chef… we play so many roles! Unfortunately, so many of us have absolutely no idea how to say “No!” Consequently, the boundaries around our priorities, family, time and commitments are violated. We become overloaded, overwhelmed, tired, anxious and ultimately depressed… Thriving is only possible if we set, protect and defend clear boundaries! Having boundaries is essential to living and maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle. I highly recommend that you read the book “Boundaries” by Dr Henry Cloud and Dr John Townsend. If you battle with boundaries, you will wonder if the authors of this book set up a camera in your home before they wrote it! It is so true to life, full of humour and highly practical advice. Please make it a priority to read this book. 29
B. PROTECTING YOUR HOMESCHOOLING BOUNDARIES. Charlotte Mason (“Who is she?” you ask. She is my education mentor and heroine. Read about her later on) said: This means that there is no place for wasting undue time, for procrastination, for lack of self‐ discipline, and for inconsistency in our homeschool. We are expected to be diligent, punctual, and consistent. We are expected to approach our homeschooling with the same dedication and commitment that would be required of us, were we a surgeon, advocate, school teacher, secretary, businesswoman, or professional of any kind. It sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? Please don’t feel despondent if you are presently disorganised. We know that God is a God of order. We need not fear the disorder that we may find ourselves in presently. It is not what is in our past or present that matters. It is how we intend to conduct ourselves in the future that matters…and the future is only one second away! The only thing we need fear is if we have no intention of rectifying the situation. In a homeschooling day you will face interruptions. That is guaranteed. I have taken the liberty of amending the words of a well‐known prayer, to suit homeschooling mothers and fathers, as follows: A crying baby needing a nappy change is a homeschooling interruption you cannot change. A friend phoning for a chit‐chat in the middle of your Maths lesson is a clear violation of a homeschooling boundary. 30
How do we handle each of these interruptions? Take a deep breath and relax about the nappy change, but have the strength and conviction of your boundary to protect it and call your friend back later on in the day. We need to be careful that we are not double‐minded in this, or we run the risk of being a wave tossed about on the sea of homeschooling, at the mercy of every wind and storm. We cannot expect to have peace and joy if we do not stand firm. C. GETTING ORGANISED It is essential that your homeschooling becomes part of your life‐style. It takes time to adapt to homeschooling. It is a well‐known fact in homeschooling circles, that it takes a good nine months to settle into homeschooling… about the same tim e as a pregnancy! Please don’t feel discouraged if you find you have to experiment with your schedule to fit in the new responsibility of homeschooling. It is quite normal to throw out your revised, re‐ revised, re‐re‐revised… timetable for the hundredth time this month! See what works for you. The only way to find out is by trial and error. Don’t be afraid of the “error” part! Don’t compare your homeschool schedule with anyone else’s! Your family is unique, your children are unique and the schedule that works best for you is unique! Once you have a routine that works in your home, try and ABIDE BY IT! (“Life” notwithstanding!) There are a number of books, web‐sites, resources, soft‐ware and more, on time‐ management and getting organised. These may help to offer you new ideas to try out in your home. 31
D. HOW MANY HOME‐SCHOOLING HOURS PER WEEK? Every family is different and every homeschooling year gets into its own rhythm. As a very broad guideline, the number of homeschooling hours varies as follows: Approximately 2‐3 hour per day in the pre‐school years; and up to 6‐7 hours or more, per day, in the final pre‐International GCSE year (viz. Grade 9). Please bear in mind that this total time, as there is then no homework! E. CHANGING THE RECIPE A family may find that operating their homeschool strictly according to the Charlotte Mason approach doesn’t suit their life‐style or children. They may, for example, prefer the “immersion” approach or the “unit studies” approach. These approaches both place their point of focus on the study of a single subject, topic or theme at a time, rather than a selection of subjects each day. In the immersion approach, a family would expect their child to complete a week’s worth (or even a month’s worth) of lessons in a particular subject in a very intensive learning period. If you would like to operate this way, you are welcome to “change the recipe”. Remember: A curriculum is there to serve you, not become your master! 32
F. HELP FOR DAWDLING CHILDREN Some children may find it difficult to focus initially and may take inordinate amounts of time to complete simple tasks during home‐school hours. Please allow them a month or two’s grace to become acquainted with their new life‐style. However, what does one do if dawdling becomes a habit, and you find yourself constantly at loggerheads with your child? Should your child be subjected to homework? Charlotte Mason’s view was simple: “You're not finished with your one‐page spelling worksheet? Well, sadly there is no time for a short run around the garden as I had planned. Perhaps you can finish your spelling during the lesson time tomorrow without wasting time?” Charlotte did not allocate the unfinished work as home‐work, but rather removed privileges, such as the privilege of playing in the garden. This is certainly workable in the early primary school years. In the later primary school grades and the high school years it becomes dangerous and frankly, irresponsible, to simply neglect to complete the work. At this point home‐work does become necessary. Please be aware that there is a fine line between coaching the dreamer into the habit and discipline of paying attention and focussing on their work; and the possibility of there being an underlying attention problem. If in doubt, consult your doctor. ADD and ADHD are labels too easily assigned to children without thorough examination and medical tests. It takes a qualified paediatrician and the administration of various tests to accurately diagnose this condition. Another word of caution though… today so many character issues masquerade as medical issues. Sometimes, daydreaming can be rectified by a firm response consistently applied by the parent. This is an expression of love to encourage an ill‐disciplined child to overcome a negative personality trait. It is totally unhelpful to lay ground rules today in your homeschool and then not uphold these rules tomorrow. Karen Andreola, author of “A Charlotte Mason Companion” puts it well… 33
Remember, to instil habits: Be consistent. The danger is when we let things go \"just this once\". Forming a habit is using perseverance to work against a contrary habit. Formation is easier than reformation. Nip each weed in the bud! A very popular homeschooling book on developing character and positive habits in children is Henry Clay Trumbulls’ “Hints on Child Training”, which is gentle, compassionate, kind, understanding and biblically‐based. Highly recommended reading! A homeschooling classic too. If you face the challenge of home‐schooling a distractible child, I would highly recommend you read: How to Get Your Child off The Refrigerator & On To Learning ‐ Home‐Schooling Distractible, ADHD, Or Just Plain Fidgety Kids. by Carol Barnier. G. HELP FOR HIGHLY DISTRACTIBLE MOMS If you feel that you are the distractible one, (and many of us mothers are trying to juggle so many responsibilities at the same time, you needn’t feel bad if you are), then you may find some humorous, but helpful advice in the following title: If I’m Diapering a Watermelon, Then Where’d I Leave the Baby? Help for the Highly Distractible Mom. by Carol Barnier “He learns that one time is not as good as another; that there is no right time left for what is not done in its own time.” ~Charlotte Mason “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labour.” ~Proverbs 12:24 The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. ~Numbers 6:24‐26 34
Thoughts/Notes to myself 35
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6. TEACHING LESS! A. TEACHING LESS… LEARNING MORE Charlotte Mason advocates “whereby the teacher shall teach less and scholars shall learn more”! \"Such a doctrine as the Herbartian, that the mind is a receptacle, lays the stress of education, the preparation of food in enticing morsels, duly ordered, upon the teacher. Children taught on this principle are in danger of receiving much teaching but little knowledge; the teacher's axiom being 'what a child learns matters less than how he learns it.'\" ~Charlotte Mason My dear mentor said: “We ought to do so much for our children, and are able to do so much for them, that we begin to think everything rests with us and that we should never intermit for a moment our conscious action on the young minds and hearts about us. Our endeavours become fussy and restless. We are too much with our children, ‘late and soon.’ “We try to dominate them too much, even when we fail to govern, and we are unable to perceive that wise and purposeful letting alone is the best part of education” ~ Charlotte Mason Charlotte Mason thought that mothers… “should give their children the ease of a good deal of letting alone, and should not oppress the young people with their own anxious care” (Vol. 3, p. 30). “The mother is apt to be too much engrossed with her children. The mother would then be able to hold herself in \"wise passiveness’ and would not fret her children by continual interference even of hand or eye ‐ she would let them be.\" 37
Instead of pointing out an association By constantly stating between one fact and another, as we can be so apt to do, it is far better to ask a pointed, obvious relationships critical thinking‐type question instead, between one fact and leaving the challenge with our children, another, teaching and allowing them the opportunity to wrestle and ponder, and exercise due thought. explaining too much, instead of encouraging sharp, alert, We should trust them to surprise us with active minds; lazy, flaccid, their ability! spoon‐fed minds may be the We often don’t give children the credit they unwanted result. (Much are due and assume they cannot do anything teaching and little unless we show them and help them! knowledge.) It is so important to encourage them to make their own associations between material they read last week and material they are reading today, WITHOUT doing all the work for them. Children should dig out the information themselves. As mentioned in the previous chapter. It is in this manner that information becomes knowledge. B. WHAT IS THE POINT? One day I sat down and considered my own Standard 3 (Grade 5) year at school. I realised that I could not recall ten facts I learned during this year. Surely, I must have learned something! After all, I was at school for an entire year! Well, even if I did learn something, that “something” has been lost. Yes, perhaps my English Language and Mathematics skills improved. But I do believe education is far more than this. I cannot remember anything I learned about great men or women, science, history, nature; no, nothing at all. I cannot recall any TRUTH I discovered. Can you tell me ten facts that you learned when you were ten? I wondered: “What is the point?” “Why did we bother to learn and memorise anything at all when we were ten, if we promptly proceeded to forget it all?” 38
C. TWO ACTIVITIES WORTH THE EFFORT Allow me to suggest that there are two very valid educational activities that can be embarked upon; activities that will be well worth the time and effort; activities with far‐reaching consequences that will be of importance when that same child is an adult! And it is THESE activities that Love2Learn Curriculum values and implements! Because, we believe they do MATTER! a. ACTIVITY 1: AQUIRING THE HABIT OF PAYING ATTENTION The first pursuit is one of developing and honing your child’s ability to pay attention. This can take much time and perseverance! Most of us are not born with this skill already honed and perfected! It needs to be purposefully built and developed over time. When our children are adults, the ability to pay attention and retain that which we have read or heard, embarked upon at the tender age of six, will be well established. It is one of the most valuable educational enterprises you can ever embark upon! ~ Charlotte Mason Volume I page 145 “What is Attention?––It is evident that attention is no 'faculty' of the mind; indeed, it is very doubtful how far the various operations of the mind should be described as 'faculties' at all. Attention is hardly even an operation of the mind, but is simply the act by which the whole mental force is applied to the subject in hand. ~Charlotte Mason This act, of bringing the whole mind to bear, may be trained into a habit at the will of the parent or teacher, who attracts and holds the child's attention by means of a sufficient motive. Self‐Compelled ‐ As the child gets older, he is taught to bring his own will to bear; to make himself attend in spite of the most inviting suggestions from without. He should be taught to feel a certain triumph in compelling himself to fix his thoughts. Let him know what the real difficulty is, how it is the nature of his mind to be incessantly thinking, but how the thoughts, if left to themselves, will always run off from one thing to another, and that the struggle and the victory required of him is to fix his thoughts upon” 39
b. ACTIVITY 2: WIDENING HORIZONS AND CREATING “HOOKS” The second pursuit is one of exposing your children to a vast array of facts and ideas in history, science, geography, biology, anatomy, art, music etc.…, not so that they can memorise these facts, but simply so that their horizons and experience can be expanded! Why?... Every time a child learns something new, it become a hook in their brain...like a coat hook, upon which the next piece of information can hang. So, we expose our children to a broad, rich and varied foundation of information. By doing so, our children will gradually acquire more and more “hooks” upon which to hang more and more knowledge. “Hooks” play more of a role than a mere repository of information, they also allow associations to be made between units of information. When thought is applied, information becomes knowledge! Charlotte Mason said, “We, believing that the normal child has powers of mind which fit him to deal with all knowledge proper to him, give him a full and The mind generous curriculum, taking care only that all knowledge feeds on ideas. offered to him is vital, that is, that facts are not presented without their informing ideas. Out of this conception comes ~ Charlotte Mason our principle that: –– \"Education is the Science of Relations”; that is, a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts: so we train him upon physical exercises, nature lore, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books, for we know that our business is not to teach him all about anything, but to help him to make valid as many as may be of– \"Those first‐born affinities that fit our new existence to existing things.\" In devising a syllabus for a normal child, of whatever social class, 3 points must be considered: i. He requires much knowledge, for the mind needs sufficient food as much as does the body. ii. The knowledge should be various, for sameness in mental diet does not create appetite (i.e. curiosity). iii. Knowledge should be communicated in well‐chosen language because his attention responds naturally to what is conveyed in literary form. Remember: A well‐educated person is well‐read and widely‐read! 40
D. CRAMMING AND SHORT‐TERM MEMORISATION IS NOT THE POINT! Here is another school‐at‐home trap! We learned to cram facts the day before an exam. We crammed so that we could achieve a good test result. But we now realise that we proceeded to forget most of what we learned! So, to put it mildly, a good test result was at best, self‐ flattery. Sit the paper a week later and the test result would have dropped a symbol. Six months later, that A symbol may have become an F! Here is a mind‐set shift for you: Your children are not expected to memorise every fact on every page of every resource! So, let’s get back to the original question: why are you spending time reading a page aloud to your children at all? Isn’t it a waste of my time if they don’t have to memorise every fact? No! It is all about the child developing a vibrant relationship with the material at hand! Unless they have a relationship with the material, unless it strikes a chord in them, unless there is some emotion attached, they will never remember it! (That’s why you and I cannot remember the material we crammed for an exam.) “Education should aim at giving knowledge 'touched with emotion” ~ Charlotte Mason “We parents can become quite anxious about covering and completing all the requirements for a particular grade level and seeing that our children excel in the skills demanded of that grade level. 41
It's a woeful business when parents look toward doing what the grand system of education says is right for a child within their little homeschool. But when parents pursue knowledge for its own sake they need not be subservient to this grand system. Many young children hunger for knowledge. Yet they dutifully serve the system of textbook overview with never‐ending worksheets and, under a system that does not feed their hunger for vibrant, vital knowledge, they begin to pine away. It is then that Mother loses confidence and feels discouraged and unqualified to teach. The children, for their part, find it harder and harder to obey. Parents and children alike are stuck in a system that stifles curiosity and initiative, and makes learning uninteresting.\" ~ Karen Andreola, \"A Charlotte Mason Companion,\" page 29 E. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION? It would be foolishness to attempt to offer a clear‐cut answer to this! And in any event, it would take several tomes to do any justice to this gargantuan question. However, over the years I have wrestled repeatedly with the question. Through the process of chewing on an endless range of books on the subject, I have begun to sketch a general answer. It would profit you to read a few books on the subject. And to help you to make a start, I have recommended a few books. Number one, without a doubt, on the “To Read” list is: “The Original Home‐Schooling Series” Six wonderful volumes in the series, written by Charlotte Mason herself! “Charlotte Mason Study Guide” Penny Gardner 42
“Wisdom and eloquence ‐ a Christian paradigm for classical learning” Robert Littlejohn, Charles Evans “Dumbing us Down – The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling” by John Taylor Gatto However, to offer some initial thoughts on the matter, I have included a selection of comments by various contributors on this question: F. WHAT IS EDUCATION? a. A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE “The primary purpose of education should be to train the whole person for lifelong, obedient service to God, just as it was in Bible times (home was the centre for education then). God never changes. He still has the same desire for us to know Him. Our first goal must be to teach our children God's ways and His paths. We home‐schoolers cannot be so worried about fractions or spelling that we skip the one needful thing: sitting at the feet of and learning from our Master through Bible study and prayer. We can prepare our children to move in a direction where their gifts and talents lie; however, God may take your child in another direction. Christians who are truly striving to find God's Will for their lives need to be equipped in the important Christian traits, prepared for anything in life. Knowing the facts and scoring high on achievement tests is not a formula for success. The education required by the state is not true education. Christians' questions should not be “What score did my child get on the achievement test?” or “What job or college is my child prepared for?” The questions should be, “Is my child prepared to use the gifts and talents God has provided to carry out His Will in my child's life? Is this child seriously directed toward holiness, right relationships, and fruitfulness?” 43
Definition of Education A look at the different definitions of education from different sources can be quite revealing. WEBSTER'S 1828 DICTIONARY This was the original dictionary by Noah Webster, reflecting the thoughts and values of the early American Christian culture. EDUCATION, n. [L. education.] The bringing up, as of a child, instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts, and science is important; to give them a religious education* is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties. ED'UCATE, v.t. [L. educo, educare; e and duco, to lead.] To bring up, as a child; to instruct; to inform and enlighten the understanding; to instil into the mind principles of arts, science, morals, religion, and behaviour. To educate children well is one of the most important duties of parents and guardians. *To know what is meant by \"religious education,\" one must examine the definition of the word religion. RELIGION: 1) Religion, in its most comprehensive sense, includes a belief in the being and perfections of God, in the revelation of His will to man, in man's obligation to obey His commands, in a state of reward and punishment, and in man's accountableness to God... 2) ...the performance of all known duties to God and our fellow men, in obedience to divine command, or from love to God and His law. [The phrases \"divine command\" and \"His law\" are synonymous with what is contained in the Bible.] God's Word was an essential part of American education in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Three vital elements contained in the 1828 Webster definition were: 3) The future station (occupation or calling) of the child 4) Religious training 5) Parental responsibility Compare the 1828 definition to today's Webster's Dictionary (the name Webster was kept, but the new dictionaries bear no relation to Noah Webster): Today's Webster's New World Dictionary EDUCATION: 1) The process of training and developing the knowledge, skill, mind, character, etc., especially by formal schooling 2) Knowledge, ability, etc. thus developed 3) Formal schooling at an institution of learning 4) Systematic study of the methods and theories of teaching and learning. 44
Today's definition is totally void of the three principles listed above. When Jesus told Martha she was worried about so many things, when there is only one thing that is needful, (Luke 10:41), He was not saying that Martha should never tend to housework, any more than we are suggesting we should ignore basic skills. We are simply stating that the basic skills are a fraction of the weight on a scale compared to what Jesus said is the one needful thing: sitting at His feet learning the paths of God ‐ the one thing our children need to prepare them for life! Christians are commanded to be anxious for nothing (Philippians 4:6). Achievement tests and standards are only tools. Proper use of them will allow us to better evaluate our children ‐ as long as we keep the right perspective.” (Credit: The Primary Purpose of Education – Robin Sampson) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:6‐7 b. A SECULAR PERSPECTIVE Compare the previous viewpoint with some of the following secular, humanistic definitions: “The central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people. The truly human society is a learning society, where grandparents, parents, and children are students together.” ~Eric Hoffer “No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.” ~Emma Goldman “The only purpose of education is to teach a student how to live his life‐by developing his mind and equipping him to deal with reality. The training he needs is theoretical, i.e., conceptual. He has to be taught to think, to understand, to integrate, to prove. He has to be taught the essentials of the knowledge discovered in the past‐and he has to be equipped to acquire further knowledge by his own effort.” ~Ayn Rand “The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think—rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men.” ~Bill Beattie “The one real object of education is to leave a man in the condition of continually asking questions.” ~Bishop Creighton The above is not intended to represent Love2Learn’s viewpoints, nor to, in any way, serve as a final comment on the purpose of education. It merely serves as food for thought, to encourage your own search for answers and a clear definition. 45
G. THE COURAGE TO FORSAKE THE KNOWN, FOR THE PROMISE OF A BETTER WAY! If one approaches education in a There is seldom any due regard for the conventional mainstream school chronological order in which people lived, the order in which empires rose manner, one will very quickly and fell, or scientists made discoveries, come to realise that alarmingly and explorers discovered new lands and technological advances were made. little information is taught. Children learn precious little about The material that does find its great men and women, great books, way into a mainstream syllabus great laws, great mistakes and how we can learn from them, and they is often haphazardly taught learn even less about our awesome and disappointingly incomplete. God! In conventional schools, students often learn to play the “test game” as described in Section 15.D and simply regurgitate information for their examinations. Love2Learn does not consider this to be education at all. We deeply desire to assist you in developing in your child a heart that seeks God, loves and serves Him first and foremost. We desire to assist you in developing in your child a constant desire for truth, a sharp mind that is able to weigh everything against truth, and to be satisfied with nothing less. Truth is not an idea… it is a person – the source of absolute truth being Jesus Christ. ~John 14:6 We desire to help you develop in your child a well‐trained mind (to coin a phrase from the Wise‐Bauer’s), one that seeks knowledge not for self‐gratification or selfish gain; but rather, a mind full of the things of God, a knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven! 46
Thoughts/Notes to myself 47
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7. LEARNING STYLES A. WHAT ARE LEARNING STYLES? A simple definition of a learning style is the way a person (in this case your child) takes in, understands, expresses and remembers information. At Love2Learn we also call this a child’s “Learning Language” … it’s the way they learn best…. There are three broad categories of learning styles: a. Visual b. Auditory c. Kinaesthetic a. VISUAL LEARNERS These children need to see your body language and facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They tend to prefer sitting very close to the visual source to avoid visual obstruction. They often think in pictures and learn best from visual displays including illustrated books and videos. b. AUDITORY LEARNERS Auditory learners learn best through discussion, talking things through and listening to what everyone has to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written information may have little meaning until it is heard. These children often benefit from reading books aloud. c. KINAESTHETIC LEARNERS Tactile/Kinaesthetic persons learn best through a hands‐on approach, actively exploring the physical world around them. They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become distracted by their need for activity and exploration. B. HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING STYLE You can discover your child's learning style by watching how they tackle new tasks and interact with their world. THE VISUAL LEARNER: Notices details Is aware of similarities and differences 49
Often has good hand‐eye coordination May be quiet and deliberate May have a vivid imagination May have trouble remembering verbal directions and messages THE AUDITORY LEARNER: Talks to him or herself Hums and asks lots of questions May want to make a lot of noise if it is too quiet May be distracted by having too many sounds at one time Is very social and loves to talk about what he or she is doing THE PHYSICAL (KINAESTHETIC) LEARNER: Seems to be in constant motion Needs to handle and try things out to understand them May need to be moving to learn If you are resident in South Africa, we would recommend that you contact the following centre for a professional learning style assessment. Martie du Plessis Dynamis +27 82 574 1433 or email [email protected] www.dynamislearning.co.za There are various online tests you can complete to formally assess learning style, if you are not resident in South Africa and unable to visit Dynamis. An educational psychologist will be able to administer a test of this sort too. A bank of tests is contained in a very good book, that is simple to read, practical, and will certainly help you to better understand and identify your child’s learning style, and more! “The Way They Learn” by Cynthia Tobias 50
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