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Interview With Another Australian Home Educator by Belinda Moore |
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Tell us about your family.
We're a family of four, Mum, Dad and two children - a girl aged fourteen and a boy who is now thirteen and we live in a small township in country New South Wales. What made you choose home education for your first child? My daughter was severely damaged by the 'education' system used in mass schooling institutions and was removed from school after 'only' one year of schooling - a year which, as it amounted to one fifth of her life, must have seemed like an eternity to her. Does your husband help with the children's schooling? My children aren't schooled at all but as overhearing and participating in conversations contributes to their learning, I guess the answer to this one could be ye-es. Can you combine lessons for children of different ages or does each child have a strict curriculum? We don't follow a curriculum of any kind whatsoever - just the system to which there is no system at all, that of children's instinctive desire to learn. Have any of your children ever expressed a strong desire to attend regular school? Oh gosh! Quite the opposite - after their experiences as prisoners of the mass schooling system, they understand it all to well to want to attend. Do you live far from regular schools? We live just across the road from the local public school - and oh, the terrible abuses of children we've witnessed! Is home education expensive? For us, yes. Both children are very interested in technology and we've spent a lot on catering for their interests in this area. Academically, how do your children compare to others their age? In some areas they're years and years 'ahead' and in others, those which were more severely damaged by their mass schooling experiences, they're around about where they would be if they'd stayed at school. Where does their curriculum come from? Life itself. You might like to visit the web page I put up re: our New South Wales Board of Studies approved 'Application' for registration. It's at http://www.geocities.com/adelecarrall/application.html. Will the children all be home educated to the end of Year 12? Will this affect their entering further training or the workforce? While having been 'home' educated is not a bar to university, what I hope for my children is that when they're old enough to enter the work force they both earn an income from doing something (or things) that they love doing - no matter what it is. What sort of reaction do you get from your family and friends about your decision to home educate? With the exception of my late mother, who was very supportive, like many others, we (including the children - aaagh!) were exposed to a great deal of negativity to begin with but as my children have grown older and others can *see* that they're 'normal' in every way, I guess that I could describe it in one word - acceptance. How many hours a day, days a week, weeks a year does your home school operate? And is this different for each child? It's the same for both children - 24 hours a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year but with each pursuing their own, very individual interests while they learn for every minute of their waking hours. Thanks so much Adele, and congratulations on your efforts to raise happy, wonderful children. © 2002 Belinda Moore. All rights reserved. Re-printed with permission. Originally published on Suite 101. |
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Belinda Moore is a mother of four young children who loves family life, writing, cooking, sewing and growing organic vegetables. Belinda is happy to share her experiences with others on a home based learning journey and she welcomes any e-mail. | ||
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