The list below comes from Ned Vare's School is Hell Blog an associate of his wrote it in reference to the US Public School sytem. I never eally looked at it like this before but do think it kind of sums up state education.
State Theory of Learning.
1. Children must be forced to learn
2. Learning requires teaching
3. Schools are the primary site for learning
4. Learning requires rewards and punishments
5. Children should be segregated by age
6. Knowledge and skills can be learned without context
7. Children’s work must be continuously judged and graded by others
8. Knowledge is divided into “subjects,” studied in “units” in linear sequence
9. It takes twelve years to learn the needed knowledge and skills
10. Education begins and ends when children enter and leave school
11. Central authority must decide what children should know, and when
12. Uniformity is the goal of education
Thursday 31 December 2009
Wednesday 30 December 2009
No. 2
I'm watching the movie 'No.2" At one point the daughter-in-law of the main character arrives and wants to know why the grandchildren are not at school. Nana says...
"How are they going to learn anything if they go to school all the time?"
Tuesday 29 December 2009
Status Update
When I left off we had just spent 5 days at Timatanga, not long after that we attended a BOT meeting to discuss whether Merenia would be accepted to attend. I believe they would have been happy to have her but Les and I had already agreed that although we really like the school, and it was an easier option, we felt it wasn't the best option for Merenia at this time... we my revisit it again in the future though.
So Merenia is to be homeschooled. She had her heart set on Timatanga as she had made such great friends already but she took the news really well.
I have written the first draft of my exemption application, it's ok but needs some work as I think it sounds a bit wanky/teacher-y and that's not how I intended to present myself, unsurprisingly. I have also joined a couple of Homeschool Yahoo groups which have been invaluable in terms of information and resources.
So the plan for the next week or so is to get the exemption finished and sent in so that we are ready to go by the time school starts back. Once it is sent off then we need to look at how are days will look (busy but relaxed) and draw up a some very basic guidelines like limiting Singstar and Saddle Club DVD's etc. And we need to decide 'what' we need to join (Rodney HE) and sign up for (Choir and Ukulele) and what extra resources we may need (a ukulele, more clothes). :-)
We need to formalise some arrangements like Merenia's appointment as 'Head Gardener' for 2010. Tell school (Yipee!!) and then we are go!
So Merenia is to be homeschooled. She had her heart set on Timatanga as she had made such great friends already but she took the news really well.
I have written the first draft of my exemption application, it's ok but needs some work as I think it sounds a bit wanky/teacher-y and that's not how I intended to present myself, unsurprisingly. I have also joined a couple of Homeschool Yahoo groups which have been invaluable in terms of information and resources.
So the plan for the next week or so is to get the exemption finished and sent in so that we are ready to go by the time school starts back. Once it is sent off then we need to look at how are days will look (busy but relaxed) and draw up a some very basic guidelines like limiting Singstar and Saddle Club DVD's etc. And we need to decide 'what' we need to join (Rodney HE) and sign up for (Choir and Ukulele) and what extra resources we may need (a ukulele, more clothes). :-)
We need to formalise some arrangements like Merenia's appointment as 'Head Gardener' for 2010. Tell school (Yipee!!) and then we are go!
Monday 28 December 2009
Sunday 22 November 2009
5 days at timatanga
The last 5 days of school I've been away at a school called Timatanga visit in the 5 days were Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Thursday I played littlest pet shops (lps) with the girls. My friend Amanda is very nice I am also friends with the rest of them but I play with Amanda the most. Will has come with me and met a girl (Wills girlfriend) called Jorja, he keeps on saying "Jorja" on the way home. Anyway on Thursday we played and then we went into the library and played the Ukelele. After the Ukelele we went out and did some dancing. For the dancing we did some stretches and some balancing the last thing we did was the sugar plum dance i was a toy horse (that won't surprise you) then i was a sugar plum. that day was fun.
On Friday we did the same things except from the dancing instead when we were playing lps people got called down to do their art while we were playing lps. I took a break to play ball tiggy then went back to play. Every day after tidy up we got read a story first i listened to Charlotte's web then i listened to the witches then went to pick up Kieran and Elliot then we went home.
On Monday i did the usual but i went down to an orchad and wrote poems I wrote a haiku
and a cinquain here is my haiku poem it is about horses and it goes like this
horses can run fast
foals are sometimes born in spring
hoses are very nice
and here is my cinquain poem it goes like this
On Thursday I played littlest pet shops (lps) with the girls. My friend Amanda is very nice I am also friends with the rest of them but I play with Amanda the most. Will has come with me and met a girl (Wills girlfriend) called Jorja, he keeps on saying "Jorja" on the way home. Anyway on Thursday we played and then we went into the library and played the Ukelele. After the Ukelele we went out and did some dancing. For the dancing we did some stretches and some balancing the last thing we did was the sugar plum dance i was a toy horse (that won't surprise you) then i was a sugar plum. that day was fun.
On Friday we did the same things except from the dancing instead when we were playing lps people got called down to do their art while we were playing lps. I took a break to play ball tiggy then went back to play. Every day after tidy up we got read a story first i listened to Charlotte's web then i listened to the witches then went to pick up Kieran and Elliot then we went home.
On Monday i did the usual but i went down to an orchad and wrote poems I wrote a haiku
and a cinquain here is my haiku poem it is about horses and it goes like this
horses can run fast
foals are sometimes born in spring
hoses are very nice
and here is my cinquain poem it goes like this
horses
fast colorful fall
walk trot limp eat
galloping really fast in Fields
horses
fast colorful fall
walk trot limp eat
galloping really fast in Fields
horses
and i also wrote a normal one this is how it goes
horses can run very fast or can eat
horses like eating grass hay carrots and apples
horses can be fun to ride
but mind they don't buck or rear so you don't get hurt
always wear a helmet
horses can be fun to have as a pet horses should not be killed
I WANT A HORSE pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease
and that day was fun.
on Tuesday we did the same but we were meant to do cooking but there teacher was away so we did the same thing and play all day and did work in the morning that day i did paper mache with Chontell that day and that was Tuesday it was fun
On Wednesday we did the work and play reading we played lps and me Taylor jorja Anahera played a princess game then we listened to a story called fantastic Mr fox and that is the end of my post see you next time.
Merenia
horses can run very fast or can eat
horses like eating grass hay carrots and apples
horses can be fun to ride
but mind they don't buck or rear so you don't get hurt
always wear a helmet
horses can be fun to have as a pet horses should not be killed
I WANT A HORSE pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease
and that day was fun.
on Tuesday we did the same but we were meant to do cooking but there teacher was away so we did the same thing and play all day and did work in the morning that day i did paper mache with Chontell that day and that was Tuesday it was fun
On Wednesday we did the work and play reading we played lps and me Taylor jorja Anahera played a princess game then we listened to a story called fantastic Mr fox and that is the end of my post see you next time.
Merenia
Thursday 19 November 2009
A Interesting Week
Merenia, Will and I have spent the last 5 school days at Timatanga having school visits (Les also did a day of parent help). I'm not going to spoil Merenia's thunder as I know she is part way through a post about it.
From a more personal perspective while I believe it is a great little school it has left me with more questions than answers and made the decisions we have to make a lot harder for a number of reasons.
The one thing that was demonstrated quite clearly is that it is possible for a state integrated school to operate in a manner that much better suits the students (and I'd suggest the teachers also) within the State prescribed restrictions. I hope that will continue to be so with the new National Standards currently being introduced by the National Government.
I'll let Merenia tell the rest of the story (hopefully sometime soon) and fill in the gaps once she is done.
From a more personal perspective while I believe it is a great little school it has left me with more questions than answers and made the decisions we have to make a lot harder for a number of reasons.
The one thing that was demonstrated quite clearly is that it is possible for a state integrated school to operate in a manner that much better suits the students (and I'd suggest the teachers also) within the State prescribed restrictions. I hope that will continue to be so with the new National Standards currently being introduced by the National Government.
I'll let Merenia tell the rest of the story (hopefully sometime soon) and fill in the gaps once she is done.
Trust, cooperation and nuturance
These are three essential qualities that are fast being hammered out of my children's school. Supposedly for their own good;
NB; there are some great teachers out there who do realise this and struggle and fight for children's rights. In our school I believe they fight a losing battle in fact I believe most have either given up, are choosing to pick their battles, or have gone to schools where they don't need to fight so hard.
- We no longer have AV monitors because they cannot be trusted to do their job- they cannot be trusted because some children made mistakes (shock horror) and the backstops that we employ at school (teachers) weren't there to support them and help fix the mistake. So a kind person withdrew the kids from the line of fire. What is the lesson here: if you cannot do a job perfectly you may not have the opportunity to do it at all, even if it means you were a contributing member of our school community and made life easier for all. (Can I also note here that recently members of the senior staff had to call in the now defunct AV monitors to help them set up some equipment when they were unable to. Hello?
- Our School Patrol Monitors are no longer allowed to go out on patrols if there is no duty teacher present. But our children may cross the road still. We instill in them that it is a position of responsibility they have the local constabulary come and train and certify them. And for years they just sorted themselves out and did the job. If a duty teacher was held up due to an emergency or such they got out there and did the job. And as far as I know there has never once been an issue and if there was an issue I'd be willing to bet it wasn't attributable to the patrollers. Now I have lost count of the times I had seen children including juniors crossing the road ALONE when the patrol monitors are sitting 5 metres away waiting for the duty teacher before they are allowed out on the crossing. And the kicker for me is the fact that a LOT of the time the duty teacher will end up having a friendly chat with one or more parents and aren't actually watching the patrollers anyway. What's the lesson here: We expect you to be trustworthy but we do not trust you. And we will put our mistrust above the safety of all school pupils.
- a. Our school population has grown so much in the past few years that we can apparently no longer have the full school assemblies we once had. These were an opportunity for children in each team to work together and share their work with the whole school. b. Our senior children may not play on the junior playground and our juniors may not play on the senior playground. c. Merenia and her friends have been told by a teacher that they should only play with children within their school 'team' (in other words their age cohorts). d. We used to have 'wet day monitors' where pairs of senior students were sent to 'supervise' the junior children in their classrooms on those days where heading out into the playground wasn't an option. This system is now defunct. e. And finally we have a system called Peer support where a select bunch of senior students are chosen and trained to support their assigned new entrant buddy. Kieran has LONG wanted to be a Peer support buddy but because the students are selected and not asked to volunteer he has not had the opportunity a fact that I find very disappointing as he has shown himself to be a very caring and nurturing individual to his little brother and would no doubt have a lot to offer a junior school buddy. What's my point: Key opportunities for students to co-operate together, to nurture and learn from each other are effectively outlawed and abandoned. What's the lesson here: Senior students are seniors and juniors are juniors are virtually never the twain shall meet. (That said some of the classroom teachers are providing limited opportunities for this to happen and all credit to them for it.) And once again the children are taught you are not be trusted though we expect you to be trustworthy. It's funny isn't it how teachers expect children to obey all the rules all the time and yet I expect many of them aren't entirely saintly in living their own lives - perhaps a little speeding here and there....
NB; there are some great teachers out there who do realise this and struggle and fight for children's rights. In our school I believe they fight a losing battle in fact I believe most have either given up, are choosing to pick their battles, or have gone to schools where they don't need to fight so hard.
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Why? Part 4 A Rose by any other name;
Kieran's class participated in an interesting experiment last week. After a suggestion during a Professional Development course his teacher challenged herself and the children to take the word 'work' out of their vocabulary. As a part the challenge they recorded who said work and how many times. Unsurprisingly, I believe, the teacher was the one who said it the most. This brings me to a point....
Children go to school to learn.
Learning is not necessarily the same as work.
The meaning most of us have when we consider work is probably better described as 'toil' (I would describe toil as work that is some, or all, of the following; arduous, un-enjoyable (is that a word?), boring, repetitive, difficult).
It's not unreasonable to expect children to put some effort into learning. But I am firmly of the view that learning should NOT involve toil. I'm not sure though that all teachers would share that view.
There seems to be a belief that play is frivolous and that if something is a lot of fun then it is not serious, and if it's not serious it's not worthwhile or valuable.
I believe that most of the time teacher's forget that all children enter school as accomplished learner's. Seriously they spent the last 5 years learning all day, everyday enthusiastically with absolutely no toil involved. For the most part I don't believe that school builds on that instead it starts the work of moulding children to fit the system of work and toil..... as opposed to making the system fit the children.
Many traditional teachers will say that the system has to be that way but it's simply not true. There is proof of that all over the world- I'd like to tell you about that but it's way beyond the scope of this post.
The fact of the matter is 'the system' has not worked for Kieran (despite a history of excellent teachers) and it is not working for Merenia. So rather than wait another 1, 2 or 3 years and realise what a huge mistake we have made when she is in year 7 (as we have for Kieran) we are taking her out now and making our own system, though there will be very little that's systematic about it.
Nb#1 Kieran has also been given the option to homeschool but is seriously keen to stay at school. He has been working hard throughout his school career with year 7 & 8 in mind. He believes, quite rightly, that he is amongst the smartest kids in school, he has worked hard to be a good citizen as a P.E & AV monitor, School patroler, Librarian, he has represented the school in sport and science and has hopes to be a peer support buddy and house captain. Both of which he is a more than worthy candidate for. Year 8, prizegiving, and graduation are what he has been working towards for 7 years. I respect his reasons for wanting to stay at school.
Nb #2; It's important for me to note here I have huge respect and regard for Kieran's teacher. I believe she is an excellent and professional classroom practitioner. My comments about her experiment were simply a platform from which to launch this post and not in any way a criticism.
Children go to school to learn.
Learning is not necessarily the same as work.
The meaning most of us have when we consider work is probably better described as 'toil' (I would describe toil as work that is some, or all, of the following; arduous, un-enjoyable (is that a word?), boring, repetitive, difficult).
It's not unreasonable to expect children to put some effort into learning. But I am firmly of the view that learning should NOT involve toil. I'm not sure though that all teachers would share that view.
There seems to be a belief that play is frivolous and that if something is a lot of fun then it is not serious, and if it's not serious it's not worthwhile or valuable.
I believe that most of the time teacher's forget that all children enter school as accomplished learner's. Seriously they spent the last 5 years learning all day, everyday enthusiastically with absolutely no toil involved. For the most part I don't believe that school builds on that instead it starts the work of moulding children to fit the system of work and toil..... as opposed to making the system fit the children.
Many traditional teachers will say that the system has to be that way but it's simply not true. There is proof of that all over the world- I'd like to tell you about that but it's way beyond the scope of this post.
The fact of the matter is 'the system' has not worked for Kieran (despite a history of excellent teachers) and it is not working for Merenia. So rather than wait another 1, 2 or 3 years and realise what a huge mistake we have made when she is in year 7 (as we have for Kieran) we are taking her out now and making our own system, though there will be very little that's systematic about it.
Nb#1 Kieran has also been given the option to homeschool but is seriously keen to stay at school. He has been working hard throughout his school career with year 7 & 8 in mind. He believes, quite rightly, that he is amongst the smartest kids in school, he has worked hard to be a good citizen as a P.E & AV monitor, School patroler, Librarian, he has represented the school in sport and science and has hopes to be a peer support buddy and house captain. Both of which he is a more than worthy candidate for. Year 8, prizegiving, and graduation are what he has been working towards for 7 years. I respect his reasons for wanting to stay at school.
Nb #2; It's important for me to note here I have huge respect and regard for Kieran's teacher. I believe she is an excellent and professional classroom practitioner. My comments about her experiment were simply a platform from which to launch this post and not in any way a criticism.
***
Tuesday 3 November 2009
Why? Part 3 Values
Not so long ago those wise people at the government who like to dictate what we all do decided that 'Values' needed to be an official part of the curriculum.
So our lovely hard working teachers now actually have to record which of the ministry of Ed's lovely set of values they are going to 'teach' the children each term and I mean teach... not just live and demonstrate and expect... we actually have to 'teach' the children honesty and respect and so forth.
I have isssues about that on so many levels.
No. 1 We're the parents here, I think it should be our decision which values are instilled in our kids. (It's no wonder there are so many Christian families in the home school community).
No. 2 My kids and practically all the other kids I know all went to school with a fairly decent set of values. Why must the teachers now spend time 'teaching' them in a most artificial manner something they already know?
No. 3 There's a fair amount of hipocracy in the teaching of values- considering there are adults in our school who show very limited (if any) respect to their collegues and/or the kids. And also lacking in the area of integrity and honesty.
No.4 I believe values were introduced into the curriculum based on the actions of a few and the misguided beliefs of a few others. That's not a great reason to force something down the throats of the many.
No. 5 The Curriculum expects children to value innovation, inquiry, and curiosity but the school system stifles the same at every turn. Do as we say, not as we do.
No. 6 The Curriculum expects children to value ecological sustainability as the put the rough drafts of their work in the skip bin to be dumped in a landfill along with the left overs from their lunch.
No.7 This is a doozy- The Curriculum expects children to value EQUITY. And they are supposed to learn this in SCHOOL? That would be the same school where they get told what to do and when and how and get punished if they don't tow the line and yet are not afforded the option to do the telling (or the punishing either). Doesn't sound very equitable to me.
***
So our lovely hard working teachers now actually have to record which of the ministry of Ed's lovely set of values they are going to 'teach' the children each term and I mean teach... not just live and demonstrate and expect... we actually have to 'teach' the children honesty and respect and so forth.
I have isssues about that on so many levels.
No. 1 We're the parents here, I think it should be our decision which values are instilled in our kids. (It's no wonder there are so many Christian families in the home school community).
No. 2 My kids and practically all the other kids I know all went to school with a fairly decent set of values. Why must the teachers now spend time 'teaching' them in a most artificial manner something they already know?
No. 3 There's a fair amount of hipocracy in the teaching of values- considering there are adults in our school who show very limited (if any) respect to their collegues and/or the kids. And also lacking in the area of integrity and honesty.
No.4 I believe values were introduced into the curriculum based on the actions of a few and the misguided beliefs of a few others. That's not a great reason to force something down the throats of the many.
No. 5 The Curriculum expects children to value innovation, inquiry, and curiosity but the school system stifles the same at every turn. Do as we say, not as we do.
No. 6 The Curriculum expects children to value ecological sustainability as the put the rough drafts of their work in the skip bin to be dumped in a landfill along with the left overs from their lunch.
No.7 This is a doozy- The Curriculum expects children to value EQUITY. And they are supposed to learn this in SCHOOL? That would be the same school where they get told what to do and when and how and get punished if they don't tow the line and yet are not afforded the option to do the telling (or the punishing either). Doesn't sound very equitable to me.
***
Sunday 1 November 2009
Style?
I've been thinking a lot about the style of our home school. There are a number of different styles of home schooling that range from what is essentially 'school' at home to unschooling often referred to as natural learning. In fact there are probably as many styles as there are kids in home school.
I think that we will be yet another 'style' of home school. I think we both believe that the three R's as such are really important so we'll want to add a little scaffolding that allows for some sort of consistent learning and wide coverage in those areas.
From my perspective thinking and learning- the ability to really think for yourself and go out and know how to learn about whatever takes your fancy. So I'll be monitoring that and looking at ways we can work those sorts of learning opportunities into our day.
And the rest will be Merenia's curriculum as per the list in her earlier post. And just living life and learning from; shopping, cooking, playing, reading, singing and dancing which are all things that Will and I do most days- which I guess makes us a bit unschool in a cool sort of a way.
I think the biggest challenge for me will be throwing off the last vestiges of my Teachers College Training (Yipee!) and being confident in our process.
I think that we will be yet another 'style' of home school. I think we both believe that the three R's as such are really important so we'll want to add a little scaffolding that allows for some sort of consistent learning and wide coverage in those areas.
From my perspective thinking and learning- the ability to really think for yourself and go out and know how to learn about whatever takes your fancy. So I'll be monitoring that and looking at ways we can work those sorts of learning opportunities into our day.
And the rest will be Merenia's curriculum as per the list in her earlier post. And just living life and learning from; shopping, cooking, playing, reading, singing and dancing which are all things that Will and I do most days- which I guess makes us a bit unschool in a cool sort of a way.
I think the biggest challenge for me will be throwing off the last vestiges of my Teachers College Training (Yipee!) and being confident in our process.
***
Saturday 31 October 2009
Friday 30 October 2009
Progress Report
Just up the road from the kids school is a little school with 20 odd pupils. From what we have learned so far the follow a very child lead/centred Summerhill/Sudbury valley style of education.
Mira's and I went and had a look at the school from the road during the holidays and along with Les we've had a few conversations about the school and homeschool and looked at the pro's and con's of both. Merenia's first choice at this stage is to go to the little school.
We have made a request to their BOT to consider Merenia as a possible student for the school next year. This week we found out that the Board is interested in speaking to us and next week I'm going to go and meet with the principal and will get to check out the school in liviong colour.
One of the challenges of taking this option will be helping Merenia adjust to self-directed learning. Although we'll have the same challenge with home school- the duifference is that she'll be in an environment with a bunch of other kids and could potentially be a bit disruptive. The suggestion is that it takes a month for every year of formal schooling for students to settle into homeschool- so four months around about for Mira's if we homeschool and maybe a little less if she goes to the little school as she will have the example of her peers around her.
At the moment I think she can see herself gardening at the little school and heading down the road from the school to sketch the horses in the paddocks nearby and hoping for some like minded girls and boys to act in the plays she has been writing recently.
***
Mira's and I went and had a look at the school from the road during the holidays and along with Les we've had a few conversations about the school and homeschool and looked at the pro's and con's of both. Merenia's first choice at this stage is to go to the little school.
We have made a request to their BOT to consider Merenia as a possible student for the school next year. This week we found out that the Board is interested in speaking to us and next week I'm going to go and meet with the principal and will get to check out the school in liviong colour.
One of the challenges of taking this option will be helping Merenia adjust to self-directed learning. Although we'll have the same challenge with home school- the duifference is that she'll be in an environment with a bunch of other kids and could potentially be a bit disruptive. The suggestion is that it takes a month for every year of formal schooling for students to settle into homeschool- so four months around about for Mira's if we homeschool and maybe a little less if she goes to the little school as she will have the example of her peers around her.
At the moment I think she can see herself gardening at the little school and heading down the road from the school to sketch the horses in the paddocks nearby and hoping for some like minded girls and boys to act in the plays she has been writing recently.
***
Quote...
"In general the best teacher or care-giver cannot match a parent of even ordinary education and experience." Dr Raymond Moore
I don't know who Raymond Moore is but I love the quote!
I don't know who Raymond Moore is but I love the quote!
Saturday 10 October 2009
School
" It is lame and restrictive and effectively kills spirit and adventure by providing adults the opportunity to pretend like they know everything and the child's only purpose on this planet is to do as they are told, become who the adults need them to be and work work work"
I forgot to note who the quote came from... I like it!
I forgot to note who the quote came from... I like it!
*****
Monday 5 October 2009
Why? Part 2:I-Pods
At our school you get rewarded for behaving the way you are supposed to behave. In Merenia's team at the end of the week they get 'privilege'. If you have been a super little person for the whole week long you get to go play on the playground in school time. That's cool. At the end of term they have a movie and pop corn with the rest of the team. Even cooler!
There is also a 'school stars' scheme where amongst 500 kids a number (I don't know how many) earn 'tickets' each week which are then drawn from and two kids each week whohave behaved as is expected of them shown 'outstanding playground behaviour and citizenship' are given a prize. Never mind the other 498 odd kids most of whom will have also behaved as they were expected- there's only two prizes to receive, so tough luck really. My kids and the other kids I know have a bunch of notions about these kids which may or may not be true. Whether it is true or not doesn't matter because it is what they believe and it's their beliefs that motivate their behaviour. These beliefs include but are not limited to the following:
There is also a 'school stars' scheme where amongst 500 kids a number (I don't know how many) earn 'tickets' each week which are then drawn from and two kids each week who
- If you are a girl you have a better chance. (The numbers support this.)
- The younger you are the better the chance. ( I think the numbers support this too as I didn't recognise the bulk of the names and I know most of the kids year 3 up)
- Senior boys are not really in the running.
- Members of a certain teachers classroom are automatically disqualified.
- It's not what you do but who you know- and how much they like you.
- $400 a year of the schools valuable and (dwindling) funding goes to benefit 4 children and not for specific learning needs.
- There was no consultation with anyone (teachers or parents when this i-pod prize was arrived at).
- There have been 6 year olds win this prize. I don't want my 9 and 11 year olds to have an i-pod let alone a six year old (if I had one).
- What about the other kids who, if we are rewarding people for doing what they are meant to do, are also doing what they are meant to do- where is their recognition?
- It's not actually good for little ears to use head/earphones.
- It's a little anti-social to be sitting around plugged into an i-pod (not what I want for my kids).
- It is illegal to download free music on the net. It is legal to copy a CD you own to your computer/i-pod for personal use- (my daughter only owns one CD). So unless the child in question has a bit of a CD collection, cash for i-tunes or Disney has licensed Hannah Montana with a creative commons licence (yeah right!) then actually the i-pod isn't really all that much use.
- What message is it sending to our kids about what we think is valuable? Call me old fashioned but what about book vouchers?
Saturday 26 September 2009
Merenia's List
I asked Merenia to make a list of the things she wants to learn about in Homeschool;
- Netball
- Horses
- Cats
- Birds
- Pets
- Animals
- TV
- Computer
- Scrapbooking
- Blogs
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Use phones (she does know how to use a phone)
- Weaving
- Space
- Geography
- Picture Taking
- Sports
- Sew
- Knit
- Make Films
- Planes
- Fly Gliders
- Helicopters
- Cooking
- and Trips.
****
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Why? Part 1
The question I guess that is one of the most important to answer is why we are choosing to take Merenia out of her State primary school and educate her at home. And the first part of the answer is because she's in the middle and its not ok to drift.
She is an average to above average student in most school curriculum areas and as such she will just drift along through school. Each year she will improve by a year and that will be that. Her teachers we are lucky to be able to say have all be very very good classroom practitioners and we have no complaints at all there. In fact as a teacher myself I have a pile of compliments for the ladies and gent that have schooled our girl so far.
But one teacher in a class of thirty can only go so far. And when that teacher is in a State funded decile 10 school in New Zealand that's not very far at all. Especially if they want to have the life they deserve. I know from experience that you could work all 24 of the hours given in a day, 7 days a week 365 days a year and still never actually do everything you possibly could for every kid in your class.
Of course no teacher has the super power needed to work all those hours and nor would I expect them to. So they do what they can (too much in a lot of cases where schools demand so much and then some more so that they can have pretty graphs and placate daft parents). And then they get in front of their classes and their attention gets pulled in 30 different directions. There are the 'bad' kids, the 'sad' kids, the dim kids and the bright kids too and there are the silly girls, the noisy boys, the kid with the demanding parents, the ADHD kid and the one with a medical condition too. It's never good to be around 'average' in any school... much better you demand attention for some reason, or other.
Merenia is one of those nice middle of the road average kids- I think she has the potential to be pretty smart- I see inklings of it and she has been identified for the capable learners group at school as well, but essentially if she continues to drift along the path that she is on she will never meet her full potential.
We know this.
We've known it for a while.
And the other day a couple of weeks back we realised as parents it's not ok.
It's not ok to just let her drift along and be what she ends up as by default.
And that's just the first reason.
She is an average to above average student in most school curriculum areas and as such she will just drift along through school. Each year she will improve by a year and that will be that. Her teachers we are lucky to be able to say have all be very very good classroom practitioners and we have no complaints at all there. In fact as a teacher myself I have a pile of compliments for the ladies and gent that have schooled our girl so far.
But one teacher in a class of thirty can only go so far. And when that teacher is in a State funded decile 10 school in New Zealand that's not very far at all. Especially if they want to have the life they deserve. I know from experience that you could work all 24 of the hours given in a day, 7 days a week 365 days a year and still never actually do everything you possibly could for every kid in your class.
Of course no teacher has the super power needed to work all those hours and nor would I expect them to. So they do what they can (too much in a lot of cases where schools demand so much and then some more so that they can have pretty graphs and placate daft parents). And then they get in front of their classes and their attention gets pulled in 30 different directions. There are the 'bad' kids, the 'sad' kids, the dim kids and the bright kids too and there are the silly girls, the noisy boys, the kid with the demanding parents, the ADHD kid and the one with a medical condition too. It's never good to be around 'average' in any school... much better you demand attention for some reason, or other.
Merenia is one of those nice middle of the road average kids- I think she has the potential to be pretty smart- I see inklings of it and she has been identified for the capable learners group at school as well, but essentially if she continues to drift along the path that she is on she will never meet her full potential.
We know this.
We've known it for a while.
And the other day a couple of weeks back we realised as parents it's not ok.
It's not ok to just let her drift along and be what she ends up as by default.
And that's just the first reason.
*
Monday 21 September 2009
Holy Homeschool Batman!
So today I had my phonecall returned from the nice lady I called last week at the Ministry of Ed. She is sending us out an information pack and application for exemption. The plan at this stage if we decide to go ahead with home schooling is to start at the beginning of next year. We have lots of conversation going on about this every day; pros, cons, subject matter and 'school trips' (apparently we'll be going on quite a few of them).
*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
