The Pretoria News caught up with some home-schooling moms, who shared their motivation for keeping their children out of mainstream schools and the normal education system, and also told of the long-term and short-term benefits of keeping them at home.
They gave different reasons for choosing to home-school their children, ranging from the inaccessibility of good learning facilities to the lack of proper Christian values in schools and the need to oversee the day-to-day quality of the education and well-being of their children.
“Home schooling is not about hiding our kids from the world, but about allowing them to develop emotionally and socially in a safe environment,” said Michelle Fisher of Monument Park.
The mother of three – two of whom she home-schools – said home-schooling equipped her children with the social and learning skills that would give them an edge when they found themselves in a bigger and more mainstream situation. “They get to know their abilities well, they learn to work independently and will become very confident children.”
In her house a room is set aside for lessons, and in it are colourful desks for the girls, cupboards with books, folders, a blackboard and brightly coloured posters on the walls.
The textbooks and workbooks she uses are brightly coloured and have internet links for some of the lessons. Timetables on the walls give the girls an idea of what they have to do and when Fisher has chores to do she leaves them in the room.
The decision to home-school her children was not one reached overnight. “When the oldest, Lauren, was three, we started thinking about it, we investigated it and learnt all we could over the three years before we started home-schooling her.”
Seven-year-old Lauren starts Grade 2 and her younger sister, five-year-old Clair, goes into Grade 0 this week. Three-year-old Stacey often attends playschool up the road, but she also has workbooks and puzzles in the classroom.
Marsha Trumpelmann’s reasons for her decision have to do with the location of her home and the lack of adequate educational facilities suitable for her children. The Trumpelmann family live in Nest Park, south-east of Pretoria, and their three children – 13-year-old Abigail, 11-year-old Savannah and six-year-old Reece are home-schooled.
“We live on a plot that is out of the way, where the choice of school is limited and where the level of education offered did not meet our satisfaction,” the mother said.
She also has a classroom in her house. “We have a four- to five-hour learning day with breaks at least every two hours or so,” she said. There was a lot of freedom in home-schooling and classes were sometimes held outside. “They work very hard, but there is also time to relax and play sports.”
Her husband works one month at home and another out of town. “Because of the flexibility they can work extra hard when he’s away so that they spend more time with him when he’s around.”
The advantages of home-schooling were countless, the mothers said. “The children become more confident and happy,” said Tina Jones, whose 11-year-old son starts Grade 6 and her almost 14-year-old goes into Grade 8 this week. They work hard during their school week so that Fridays are shorter.
“They enjoy outdoor activities, so on Fridays our timetable is flexible so that they have time for fun,” she said. Her school day has just more than five hours with regular breaks. Classes are held in a playroom that has one big desk shared between them.
The Jones children previously attended a Montessori school. “When we took them out we looked at our options and thought home-schooling would be perfect, so we prayed hard about it and believe that God guided us to this decision.”
The transition was easy. “Because they were already accustomed to a situation where learners of different grades sat together in a class, sitting together became easy,” Jones said. The older sister leans over to help her brother when she senses that he’s struggling and he also picks up a lot from her.
Her children also enjoy sport and outdoor activities, and because they do all their work at school they do not have to worry about homework.
Some schools in the city are open to home-schooled children and allow them to join them for sports and other activities in the afternoons.
Also key in the home-schooling programme is the bond and confidence created between parents and their children.
“We sometimes hold lessons in the kitchen – they sit at the breakfast nook while I cook and this has its own lessons,” said Fisher. Her girls also help with household chores.
“We have a very strong bond because of the time we spend together,” Trumpelmann said. She said her confidence in her abilities as a mother was reinforced by the fact that her children knew they could come to her for anything, be it academic, social or otherwise.
“They will grow up to be stable children because they need not go to a stranger for anything, who can turn them away or give them the wrong answers or advice.”
Educational psychologist Mark Leandor said there was growing interest in home-schooling. “Mothers’ sheer determination to raise a crop of children skilled in their own choices could see a shift in the education process in our country.”
He said that while the group still faced criticism from a lot of sectors of society, they could produce good, socialised and well-disciplined students.
“If they follow the rules, which include strictly sticking to a chosen curriculum, then their children will definitely hold their own when they enter mainstream education,” said Leandor.
Home-schooled children are required by the Department of Basic Education to write matric in a mainstream school.
Gauteng Education Department spokesman Charles Phahlane said: “The home-schoolers are required to register with the department and we regularly assess the progress of the children.”
The department supported them, he said.
Home-schooling did not replicate school, the mothers said, it was more fun, more flexible and the best way to raise children. - Pretoria News