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Home Schooling
Many parents are exerting their right to educate their children at home. We take a look at home schooling
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Imagine not having to deal with the daily school run, packing school lunches and tog bags, signing homework books and responding to the many notices requesting money for outings or fundraising. This is the reality for the 10 000 or so South African parents who home school and who start their day without the usual early morning mad rush.
Why home school?
People home school for very different reasons but by far the vast majority are Christians who believe that society is eroding family values and that peers rather than parents set the norms. They believe that the educational, ideological, cultural and religious slant of the State curriculum does not agree with the ideals they as parents have for their children.
Other parents home school because they have special needs children, their children may have an exceptionally high or low IQ, they may have special talents (e.g. sport or music) or have special learning needs. I have heard anecdotal reports of parents who home school a group of young surfers who spend a tremendous time honing their talents and who would miss a lot of schooling otherwise. I also spoke to a friend who was home schooled when his parents decided to sail around the world for a few years. There are also home schoolers in remote areas, for example farmers who do not wish to go the boarding school route.
Home schoolers emphasise life education in that learning is multidisciplinary and theme-based and parents are free to change the focus dependant on what is happening within the home: something found in the garden can become the day’s lesson. In large families older children help teach the younger ones concepts that they have mastered and much emphasis is placed on using the broader community as a resource, such as asking a family friend who is an engineer for help with a maths problem.
There is an unconventional approach called “unschooling” where parents do not follow a specific curriculum but rather a child’s special interest. Margie Erasmus followed this approach with her son, Matthew, who was extremely interested in space and nothing else, so she was able to fit all his subjects around this specific theme to keep him interested in learning. She was able to keep this up for about eighteen months but then changed to a more structured curriculum as she was also home schooling her other two children and found it too time consuming.
Because home schoolers have one-on-one attention they are able to complete the day’s school work in a relatively short space of time – two to three hours for primary school learners and three to four hours for secondary school learners – which leaves them free to pursue other interests.
Caroline Esterhuizen who home schools her children did so because as a teacher she felt she could do as good a job, if not better, than the state schools and her son was constantly sick in nursery school. “I couldn’t face the thought of letting go of my children and when I was pregnant with Lily found it the ideal time to try home schooling. I feel I know my children really well and we are much closer as a family as a result of home schooling. I am alert to what is happening in their lives and can pick up a problem immediately rather than letting a problem grow. We can go back to a problem area in school work and master it rather than be forced to carry on.”
Says Jo Madgwick: “Home schooling is not for everyone but I feel the greatest benefit is that I am my child’s role model rather than his peers and I control what he is being taught.”
Legal requirements
The South African Schools Act of 1996 makes specific provision for home schooling and it is legal provided that the parent responsible for teaching registers with the Department of Education. The parent needs to provide “supporting arguments to substantiate that education at home will be in the interest of the learner and that the learner will benefit from it, will be able to exercise his or her fundamental right to education, and will be taught at least as regularly and as well as in a public school. The parent must declare the highest education standard achieved by him or her, the hours of the day and the minimum days per year during which the parent plans to teach the learner, information about the programme that will be followed, the learning resources that will be available and submit the proposed curriculum for approval”.
This curriculum must comply with the minimum requirements of the curriculum in public schools and must not be inferior to the standard of education provided at public schools. It must comply with the language policy and the outcomes specified for each of the phases. It must also be consistent with the values contained in the Constitution and stipulates that parents who choose home education for reasons related to curriculum, ideology and pedagogy must not instil unfair discrimination, racism or religious intolerance in learners. This is a sticking point for many parents who home school for religious reasons and who do not register with the Department as the curriculum they follow may not be approved. The “unschoolers” will definitely not register as they have no curriculum to present.
Once registered, parents must keep a record of attendance, records of progression as well as records of assessment for the end of the first year of home schooling and at the ends of grades 3, 6 and 9. An independent, qualified person – remedial teacher or psychologist – must complete this assessment or the parent may approach a public or independent school for assessment.
The implications for non-registration are serious and the parent will be regarded as guilty of an offence as contemplated in section 3(6) of the National Education Policy Act, 1996. Should the Department of Education discover that a parent isn’t registered they will give them a short while to fulfill the requirements or put the learner back into school. Failing that the Department of Social Services will be contacted and legal action could follow. Besides the legal implications, a lack of assessment and records could mean that the learner could fall behind in their education and should they wish to enrol at a tertiary institution later on they would not be able to do so.
Registration is only required for the compulsory years of schooling up to Grade 9. However should the parent wish to continue home schooling to Grade 12 and have the learner sit the State Matric exams, they will still need to keep adequate records of attendance and assessment. To register to write the matric exams as an independent candidate with the Department of Education will require submission of records showing ability. These exams would be written at a State school and the results used to gain admittance to a tertiary institution in the same way as the other learners. Many high school home learners study by correspondence the Cambridge A levels or HIGCSE.
What about sport and socialising?
There are two schools of thought amongst home schoolers when it comes to sport, those that are pro competitive team sport and those that are completely anti any competitive or contact sport. The pro group joins clubs so that their children can take part in team sports and the anti group focus on sports such as swimming, which encourages fitness and basic water safety. There are some home schoolers who organise provincial galas, Entrepeneurs Day and other provincial events. Most home schoolers belong to their local home schooling associations, which are present in every province, and each association has individual chapters, which are area based. They arrange regular get togethers and joint outings, some on a weekly basis. Parents who teach the same curriculum sometimes get together and take turns to teach specific modules though this is the exception rather than the norm. There are plenty of extramurals available to the general public – e.g. ballet, art, music, drama, martial arts – that home schoolers attend and parents arrange play dates in much the same way as the parents of school going children do.
The downside to home schooling
There are many critics of home schooling who believe it to be highly elitist and limiting in terms of developing social networks. It takes home schoolers longer to make friends, as they do not see the same children on a daily basis. Margie Erasmus says of her experience: “I decided to home school my children because we were constantly moving due to my husband’s work commitments. My son, Matthew, never wants to go back to mainstream schooling but my younger son, Daniel, is desperate to go back to school so that he can make some friends. One of the local home schooling associations we belonged to had within it a lot of socially dysfunctional children that my children didn’t want to play with. As soon as we are settled in a province I will reassess our situation.”
In the group work that is so prevalent in South Africa’s outcomes based education system children benefit from social interaction which prepares them for teamwork in the workplace later on, and they build networks at school which can assist them later on in life. But home schoolers are taught to research and find answers autonomously without relying on group work.
School is one of the major socialising agents in society and home schoolers are not exposed to the diversity of class, race, language or religion that they would encounter in mainstream schooling. Parents are a generation apart from their children and may inadvertently pass on their own bias and singular point of view to their children. Children need to hear and argue different points of view in order to respect them. School provides more than just an academic education and participating in the school play, interschool events as well as the leadership opportunities provided at school are not easily replaced in the home school scenario. Although home school proponents argue that learners are taught the problem solving and research skills that make the qualification of the person teaching them largely redundant, they still may be steered towards subjects that the parent teaching has a special affinity for, particularly secondary school subjects.
There is a chance that children will fall through the educational cracks, particularly if they are not registered with the department and assessed regularly. Learning disabilities may not be picked up as quickly as a class teacher would when she has 30 children and can quickly pick up who is not performing against the norm.
Home schooling is a highly individualised lifestyle choice dependent on so many factors and requires great commitment from parents to make it work. We are fortunate that in South Africa the Constitution provides for a parent’s right to educate their child but with that right comes the responsibility to ensure that they are provided with the means to become well rounded, functional members of society.
Comments
I have been seriously considering homeschooling my 10 yr old son, whom at the moment is currently in Gr 4. He has been bullied so many times, that it took a letter written by me stating that I would lay assault charges against the bullies for the school to finally take note. Apart from the fact that he's been bullied, I have noticed that his coping skills concerning the workload is not good; it seems as though he doesn't even have enough time to just be a child, always swamped with homework. He's been constantly telling me for the past month that he doesn't want to go to school, he wants me to homeschool him. I have an 8 yr old daughter as well, but she is coping extremely well at school, enjoys it tremendously and is totally different to my son. I would love to hear some opinions and recommendations as to curriculum and if there are any homeschools within the Kuils River area, Cape Town should I decide not to homeschool him myself.
Morning Anonymous:
I have read your concerns regarding your son and his ADHD; please feel free to mail me on hilarypaulo@gmail.com and we can then chat, as I was told that my son has ADHD, has a very short attention span, very active just can't sit still - until I put him on Bio-Strath - I was recommended it by the head pharmacist as she is also on it and I am also planning to use it. Would like to hear from you.
I would like to use this opportunity to clarify some issues around the legal requirements.
THE LEGAL SITUATION
The supreme law in South Africa is the constitution. The cornerstone of the constitution is the Bill of Rights which is described in chapter 2 of the constitution. According to art. 29(1) of the constitution, everybody in South Africa has the right to basic education, including children. This means that everybody has the right to decide whether they want basic education, where they want to receive this education and what the content of this education should be.
However, children are not capable of making these decisions for themselves. That is why art. 28 (1) (b) of the constitution states that children have the right to parental care. This means that parents must make decisions on behalf of the child about what is in the best interest of the child. This parental care also includes decisions on education. This means that parents must decide what type of education a child should receive, be it school education or home education.
When interpreting the Bill of Rights, the constitution also requires in art. 39 (1) (b) that courts must consider international law. One piece of international law that is applicable to this situation is art. 26 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. This confirms that the interpretation of the constitution described in the previous paragraph is correct, and that parents have a constitutional right to educate their children at home.
This means that only parents have the authority to decide whether their children should receive their education at home or at a school. The constitution does not state that government officials have the authority to make that decision, and that parents must provide “... supporting arguments to substantiate that education at home will be in the interest of the learner ...” when they ask for permission to educate their children at home. If you have the right to do something, you do not need to ask for permission. If you have to ask for permission, it is not a right, but a privilege.
The article mentions a number of things that parents must submit when they ask for permission to educate their children at home. For example, parents must submit their highest qualification. Neither the constitution nor the South African Schools Act state that the right to choose home education can only be granted to parents with certain levels of education. There is therefore no legal basis for requiring parents to submit their qualifications. Research has also shown repeatedly that the qualification of the parents has no influence on the success of home education. There is therefore also no educational basis to ask parents to submit their qualifications.
The article also mentions that parents must submit the curriculum that they plan to follow. This implies that department of education should approve the content of the home education, before permitting parents to educate their children at home. Apart from the fact that this requirement cannot be derived from the constitution nor the Schools act, a recent court judgement has also confirmed this. On 25 March this year, Judge Cynthia Pretorius confirmed in the Pretoria High Court that the state curriculum is not binding on independent schools and parents who educate their children at home.
THE PRACTICAL SITUATION
The article is correct that the SA Schools Act requires parents to register their children for education at home. This registration must be done at the provincial department of education. In practise however, most provincial departments do not the administrative capability to register children for home education.
Some of the larger provincial departments have limited administrative capabilities to register children for home education. However, the officials in those department have a very limited understanding of home education. Homeschooling parents are intimately involved with their children and know exactly what their children can or cannot do. However officials require parents to keep “...record of attendance, records of progression as well as records of assessment.” What value do cabinets full of records add to education? To ensure that mom will remember that her children were at home on 25 April 2011 in three years time?
Officials also do not understand the law that they are supposed to apply. Although the South African constitution, international law and court judgements all confirm that only parents have the authority to decide the type and content of the education for their children, provincial officials still require parents to submit the curriculum they plan to follow for approval. Officials act as if home education is a privilege and not a right.
At public meetings officials often talk about “our” children, as if the children belong to them, and as if they have the authority to make decisions on behalf of these children. The statement is often made that it takes a village to raise a child, and department of education is regarded as an important part of this village. History and research has however shown that it does not take a village to raise a child, but committed parents.
It is because the provincial officials do not understand homeschooling or the law that more than 90% of home learners are not registered. Parents are not willing to comply to the illegal and irrelevant requirements from the provincial departments. To date, not a single homeschooling parent has been successfully prosecuted for not registering their children for education at home.
- Bouwe van der Eems (Chairman - Association for Homeschooling)
As a teacher who home schools I would like to set the record straight:
1) There is no-one more qualified to teach than the parent. Someone who loves the child is truly dedicated to their academic and personal development and always goes the extra mile to achieve success. I have seen “qualified” colleagues destroy a child's self-esteem and mal-educate children with their own biases. The teachers in the article are only an ideal. Far rather one dedicated parent than several equally imperfect adults.
2) Are we honestly pretending that all or even most children who are products of mainstream schooling are fully socilaised? Even school-attending children are ultimately shaped by their parent's influence, not the school.
3) Home schoolers do not live in isolation. They are generally very active in sports and clubs and interact regularly with other families.
4) Mothers who spend all morning teaching their own child will hardly miss if he/she is struggling with something! And a parent will make the time and effort to follow up. Schools may pick up on a weakness in performance, but this is usually only brought to parents' attention at the PTA or on the report card. By then, precious weeks have gone by in which the child has fallen further and further behind. Teachers rarely have time to offer remedial sessions and the child is far more likely to fall through the educational cracks at school than at home.
In the past, it was considered a privilege to be taught one-on-one and the masses were sent to school to be given the chance for at least a basic education. It was NOT the preferred education, nor the pillar of socialisation. In a society where there is much poverty, and often both parents needs be away at work, schools have a valuable role to play. But where the parent can offer that quality attention under which children flourish, they should not be discouraged.
It was with great interest that I read your article, as I was home schooled myself and had never attended a regular school. I am now 23 years old, have completed a university degree and am employed as music teacher at a number of private and public schools. Clearly the standard of education that I received at home was up to standard.
With regards to socialization I believe that the social situation in schools is not a very good way of preparing a child for most work situations. Where does one find a group of adults doing the same activity under the supervision of one other person? Usually teams are made up of small groups of people of different ages, different backgrounds, experiences, etc. It is their individual and different ideas that make a project work. A family is a much better example of such a group and can prepare a child for adult life very well.
I can speak from experience if I say that home schooling has given me a head start on my peers both intellectually and emotionally. I am very thankful to my parents that they chose to teach me at home, preparing me for life in ways which is impossible in the traditional schooling system. If I ever have any children of my own, I will definitely home school them.
Thanks for one of the better articles on home education. My teenagers are both well adjusted, and are strong leaders. They are currently in Matric in a private school. Their leadership skills are not because of mainstream school, but because of home schooling. My children are so much better equipped for life than I was at 18 or 19.
I agree that if the system works well, children will benefit from teamwork in school. However, my children don’t need to go to school to learn to work in teams, and I surely agree that it is a skill they will need in the work place.
The exposure of children to the wider society will differ from family to family. It is a parent’s responsibility to protect and inform as the child develops.
I find it funny that you think that a parent will not pick up that there is a learning disability when working as intensely with their children as home schoolers do. They might not be able to diagnose, but most parents I know, know when to contact a specialist.
It is by God’s grace that I home school, and by His grace that my teenagers are well rounded, functional members of society. The smaller ones are still works in progress, as we all are.
To anonymous - the options are not either/or. You can home school and medicate if and when needed. Sometimes the meds helps your child be his true self. The decision to home school would need to encompass more than just the decision to medicate or not. You and your husband would have to look at all the pros and cons and then decide. Personally, I feel that the lifestyle that home schooling affords the entire family is worth it. The learning, growing, meeting and interacting with all sorts of people across all sorts of ages, the real-life experiences and more - these are all worth it. In my experience.
Dear Anonymous, regarding your son and the ADHD etc... feel free to mail me on joanne.madgwick@gmail.com Medicating children with drugs is not the answer - there are other options. In the meantime Google Sir Ken Robinson.
It was great to see an article about home schooling, but so sad that it only gave some correct information. Most of the information given regarding the legal side of home schooling your child is incorrect. It would be wonderful to see another article perhaps correcting these mistakes, so as not to put off any parent from chosing to home school their child. The Pestolozzi trust would be able to assist you in gaining the correct information.
Most homeschoolers are Christian. So why wouldn't our children be exposed to other people? Think about attending church. And when we go on field trips, we aren't exactly in a 'bubble'. So that 'downside' mentioned in this article is false. Home schoolers go shopping, they go out for fun, these are all times when children can be exposed to others without having those people passing on their morals - be it that recreational drugs are ok, or teen sex is ok. This article is not written in a very balanced way. What exactly is 'socialisation?' It would have been good to include adults who have gone through the home school system so you can see that the false idea that leadership skills are only learnt at school is pertinently false. The last paragraph is quite misleading. It gives the impression that home schooling very possibly doesn't lead to well-rounded individuals. I know of too many not so well-rounded, very dysfunctional members of society who went through the public school system.
Thank you for an article that is more balanced than most on this subject. I felt that Allison did a good job of trying to address the FAQs of home schooling in as balanced a way as possible. Unfortunately the bias is still clear which makes for skewed reporting. For example: I'm a little disappointed in the lack of a broad representation of home schooling families. Interviewing one family as the example of home schooling is not exactly representative nor good journalism. The family interviewed had a unique situation that is not common to most of your readers, namely city families who have access to networks around them. There are statements in this report that are written as fact but are really ill-informed opinion. For example, home schoolers gain great skills in team work and problem solving. Mostly these are worked out in a much more 'world-ready' environment by problem solving in teams that are made up of children of varying ages and backgrounds - more representative of their future workplaces than the artificial same-aged, and often same-sex, class groups. Lastly, while the government would like us to believe that they can bring social services into the homes of unregistered families, the truth is more complex than that. According to the home school legal defence group, the Pestalozzi Trust, the policy documents are not enforceable and the law as written is unconstitutional and constitutional law prevails. If parents are interested in home schooling as an option there are plenty of resources online and elsewhere. With 30 000+ families home schooling in South Africa there are plenty of people to talk to. Google 'home schooling south africa' and you'll find loads of resources. Certainly more representative of what actual home school families experience in terms of the fears that those outside of home schooling have.
I am a Christian but that is not why I started home educating. I was not convinced that Outcomes Based education would be beneficial to my children. And it is true that the best way of testing if you have mastered a concept is the ability to pass on that knowledge, but not all parents leave the education of the youngest children to the older children.
The curriculums we use are so good that it is not often that we need to seek outside help and we prefer to use an expert in the field rather than “Uncle Jo who is an engineer”.
The Pestallozi Trust points out that will no parent can be prosecuted for educating a child at home or anywhere else. A parent may only be prosecuted if the parent fails without just cause, in respect of a child for whose school attendance he or she is responsible, to cause the child to attend school.
As for the issue of socialization, my children are exposed to a greater variety of people of different ages and cultures during the course of the average day than children who are in the artificial environment of the classroom where they mainly interact with children who are the same age and social status. My children are able to interact with ease with people from different walks of life, which is great preparation for when they enter the work environment one day.
Ms Lamb is correct in saying “Parents are a generation apart from their children” and the intensity of peer pressure today’s child is exposed to is far greater than what I had to deal with. Because I have nurtured my children in a safe environment where they can be built up rather than broken down by bullying, they have a better chance of been stable, confident contributors to society and even strong leaders.
My friends who are teachers tell me they do not have the time to deal with learning issues. Some children who have minor learning issues are also labelled as having “learning disabilities” and sent to remedial classes because the teacher just hasn’t got time to sit with them and help them out. This does so much unnecessary damage to the child’s self-esteem. I don’t think this is conducive to them becoming “well rounded, functional members of society”.
Thanks for this article. I have a dilemma with my 10-yr old son. He has ADHD and many associated learning disabilities. He is currently at a remedial school & medicated daily. We tried to take away the meds but the teacher (who was in favour of this) could not cope after a week! My son was just too busy & distacted. Do I keep him at a remedial school & medicated OR have him home schooled & have no meds? My concern is that with the meds my son will never know his true self & neither will we know our true son.
I am 26 and I want to do my Grade 9, can you help me?