The English Teachers Online Network of South Africa logo
   

Home Schooling

by Dan Lukiv


During much of 2001, I served as a weekly columnist for Students On The Net, an educational e-zine in Singapore. This article about home schooling includes e-mails I received from one of my readers, Crystal Bowser, and includes ones I sent to her:

February 10, 2001

Dear Mr. Lukiv,

After reading ["Lukiv's Corner for Educators" (Lukiv, 2000)] on the [Students On The Net] Web site, I thought you might like to learn of another educator that holds many of your ideologies on children and learning. Her name was Charlotte Mason. She was an English woman who mapped out a philosophy of education about 100 years ago. You can check her out on the web at puo.cffh.co. Thank you for your insights on teaching. Do you have any advise on homeschooling or tutoring?

Sincerely,

Ms. Bowser



February 11, 2001

Dear Ms. Bowser,

Thank you for your kind comments about my article.

As for your request for "advise on homeschooling": I did a little research and found an interesting, concise article in a 1999 Awake! magazine. I'll refer specifically to the article after I say a few things. Home schooling certainly has its place. The University of South Africa is one of the world's most prominent, and perhaps most respected, source of correspondence [distance] education. It leads right to the Ph.D. level. Many other fine distance universities also exist. In fact, after I complete the master of education program that I'm 75% through at the University of Northern British Columbia, I plan to begin a doctorate program in education, through California Coast University's respected distance education program.

Many fine distance grade school programs exist too. In my province, British Columbia, Canada, we have a formal distance education/home schooling program that takes children from kindergarten to high school completion. We have many rural, very rural areas in my country, and home schooling becomes for many the only solution for locals to receive a formal education.

That said, I looked up some information about Charlotte Mason, that English schoolteacher of yore. Interesting. Here are some comments from one web site that highlights her ideas:
[Catherine Levison says:] In a nutshell, [Charlotte Mason's schooling] method is a very broad education. Art appreciation, literature, foreign languages, etc. Are introduced early to the child. Parents allow and encourage [their children] to relate in their own words what they are learning in all subjects. The school days are balanced by spending adequate time with the core subjects while providing plenty of free time to enjoy life. Many parents are drawn by the emphasis on the arts either because they already see the value of it or because their education was lacking in the classics such as books and music and they are happy to have a chance to learn along with their child. (Levison, 2001, paragraph 2)
That sounds wonderful, doesn't it, providing parents have the time, desire, and energy to participate wholeheartedly in their children's education. I understand from my research of Charlotte Mason's work that she greatly advocated such participation with regard to home schooling. Actually, so many web sites describe her philosophy on home schooling that I wonder if she were the mother of modern home schooling.

The downside, I have found, however, is that many starry-eyed parents who enrol their children in home schooling aren't prepared for the commitment required to help their children complete their courses. Charlotte Mason wouldn't have been impressed with that, right?

Anyway, the Awake! article (Home Schooling, 1993, p. 9) mentions:
'An eccentricity that has become a national movement.' That is how Time magazine recently described home schooling in the United States--a growing trend championed by parents who believe that the best education a child can receive is available in his or her own living room, not in the traditional classroom.
The article adds: "Support groups for home schoolers have also sprouted up in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Japan, and New Zealand, indicating that interest in home schooling is spreading around the globe" (p. 9).

At the global level, then, "Why are so many parents making the decision to teach their children at home? How effective is home schooling? Is it a choice worth considering for your family?" (Home Schooling, 1993, p. 9).

The worth of that choice gathers weight when we consider that
notable persons, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein, were schooled at home. In fact, compulsory-school-attendance laws were not introduced in the United States until late in the 19th century. So, according to author and home-school parent Kerri Bennett Williamson, home schooling is, not just a recent fad, but 'an old educational standard.' Indeed, home schooling was the standard for most people in Bible times. (Home Schooling, 1993, p. 9)
Biblical, or other religious, standards have prompted "from 50 to 90 percent of U.S. parents who practice home schooling [to] do so for religious reasons. These parents are generally concerned about protecting their children from what they perceive as atheistic influences in the schools" (Home Schooling, 1993, p. 9).

Along a similar mode of concern, "other parents have pulled their children from public schools to safeguard them from exposure to damaging immoral influences at an early age" (Home Schooling, 1993, pp. 9-10). But other reasons, too, exist for parents choosing home schooling. Some consider
educational rather than ideological reasons. They are fed up with overcrowded classrooms, low academic standards, and safety problems prevalent in many public schools. Disappointed by the often lackluster results of institutional teaching, they believe that they can help their children more by giving the one-on-one attention that home schooling makes possible. (p. 10)
There is lots to think about there. And who would argue that "George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein" didn't do all right by their home schooling programs?

Not me.

So there you are, Ms. Bowser. Thank you again for your kind comments. And thank you for opening a door to an interesting lady - Charlotte Mason. I'm going to check her work out some more.

Sincerely,

Dan



February 12, 2001

Dan,

Thank you for sending the Awake article. It raises many good points about home school. I am located in MO, USA. It has been a troublesome spot for my children to gain an education. By education, I don't simply mean being able to say that they can pass a test or find that great job at McDonald's. [Ha!] I mean it with all the complexity of [my son] being able to read and understand any great literature [he sets his] mind to reading, [and to] understand mathematics so that the world, the universe and the way that it operates becomes more clear.

So I wanted to hear your views on what I have been doing for the last three years with my son, which is homeschooling. You are right about the commitment, time, and organizational skills that it takes to do a great job in this endeavor. It definitely is not something to do without a great amount of forethought, thought, and afterthought. I am constantly researching, hence...I found your [column at Students On The Net]. I have been very curious about Singapore's math program. [I actually]...I purchased Primary Math books from Singapore.

Thank you for responding to my note.

Sincerely,

Crystal



February 13, 2001

Dear Crystal,

This has been fun. I've ended my obligation to the folks at Students On The Net, so I'm going to find another publisher to share our letters, in the hope that readers will benefit from our comments, my research, and your experience regarding home schooling. I'm going to contact Dorian Love, editor at The English Teachers' Online Network of South Africa. He has enrolled in The University of South Africa's distance education Master of Arts program. He might like to post what we've written.

Good-bye for now.

Dan



References

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1