Response to MEC’s remarks about Home-Education on 9 August 2007

by A Daddy


The article below appeared in the Mercury on 9 August 2007. I thought I’d make a few comments, which I also forwarded to the Mercury.
At first when I read the article I thought of this one liner – “What’s worse – Ignorance or Apathy? – Who knows? Who cares?”
I read it again and thought of this quote – “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”
Then I wondered how some people can think its right to think you’re right when you think its right to be wrong.
Then decided to write a response.
I wonder – Is it proper to slam home education by saying it has a serious negative impact on the overall development of children?
Depends – If you have interviewed every single person who ever received home education and you find everyone to be underdeveloped in some area – your “slammation” may have grounds. If not, it is worth as much as a statistic that is made up on the spot.
If someone reckons that schools are microcosms of society, it is probably also possible that that same person could surmise that an aeroplane can fly through a watermelon. You see – A watermelon is 80% water and a cloud is 80% water. An aeroplane can fly through a cloud. Therefore an aeroplane can fly through a watermelon.
If you think that education is much more than simply failing or passing, you are right. As a matter of interest – failing, passing and socialising are words that are entirely divorced from education.
Identity, purpose and legitimacy, on the other hand, is a large part thereof.
That said - One should never assume that all parents who homeschool, educate their children.
Education has to do with assisting/training an individual to reach his/her potential and doing what he/she was created for. It has nothing to do with exclusivity or academics. It has everything to do with clarity of focus.
In conclusion I can agree with Mark Twain who said – “Never let your schooling interfere with your education.”



By Colleen DardaganMEC slams home education
August 09 2007 at 07:46AM
KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Ina Cronje has slammed home education, saying it has a seriously negative impact on the overall development of children."I am utterly against it. Part of a child's learning is to socialise and learn to cope in the world. If schools are microcosms of society, depriving the child of that learning experience will have a very serious impact on overall development. "Children may do well in a subject, but education is much more than simply failing or passing," said Cronje, while confirming there had been an increase in the number of registrations for home schooling in KZN over the past year.
Home education is under the spotlight in South Africa, with research findings by the national Education Department due to be released soon.Leendert van Oostrum, head of the Pestalozzi Trust, has dismissed the findings, saying the process was flawed and the results would not accurately reflect why parents chose to school their children at home. The trust is a Gauteng-based legal defence fund for home school parents who find themselves in conflict with the Education Department."The department only tendered for a survey of those who are registered and, according to our records, less than five percent of the estimated 80 000 children being home schooled in the country are reflected on departmental records. Any research based on the number of children listed with the department cannot accurately reflect the many different reasons parents choose to home educate their children."Hersheela Narsee, head of the research project at the department, said the results of the study, which involved 2 900 registered children, were due for release in the next few months. According to the national department, KZN had more than 500 children registered for home schooling, the highest number in the country.Education spokesperson Christi Naude said the number of children registered did not correlate with the national department's figures. "We had 400 registered, but that is not accurate.Then the computers were stolen at our offices in Ulundi, so we only have records of 155 children - we have had an increase of 70 percent in registrations in the last year. However, this figure is also not reliable as many parents do not inform us when they decide to stop home schooling and send their children back to public or independent schools."Narsee described the monitoring process in KZN as difficult. "Distances and human resource capacity issues in the department are key barriers. For example, to monitor over 500 home learners in KwaZulu-Natal it would require officials to travel 60 840km and 877 man days a year for a single, three-hour visit to each of these home sites," she said.Van Oostrum said according to his records most parents chose not to send their children to public schools precisely because they didn't want them to follow the national curriculum."The new curriculum shows all the hallmarks of revolutionary education practice based on Marxist theory. Children's religious and cultural identities are shifted by interfaith and multiculturism to common identities. In fact, I believe the Department of Education's curriculum is so prescriptive, it borders on the unlawful."

Why Home Schooling, You Ask?

© Written by Robyn, South Africa

Almost every day people ask me – What are your reasons for home schooling? I sit there open mouthed having a million thoughts in my heart but not one in my head. I stumble over my two sentences and feel like I have lost an opportunity to express something really important in my life.

I believe that we all choose our quality of life. We play a big role in who our children grow up to become. I feel that I am making the very best possible and informed decisions for my family and for my children. And those decisions include home schooling. Home schooling is so much more than simply doing school at home ~ it is a lifestyle. A balanced all-round education is important but what I am also hoping to instil from a young age is a love of learning that will grow with them for the rest of their lives. I want my children to understand that it doesn’t really matter what they grow up to become but who they grow up to become.

One of the most important things for a child to grow up with is a good self-image. If they have this, and truly believe in themselves, then they can do anything! Who is going to give them their self-worth, this positive understanding that who they are is enough and always will be? Who is going to teach them that it’s possible to be perfectly at peace with yourself and happy with the way life is at the moment, in the good times and the bad? That it’s good to take risks and learn from your mistakes? It’s good to believe that you can do anything, and to deal with the disappointments along the way? Are the most expensive schools going to teach them this? The best paid teachers? Or maybe their peers, the children all born within 6 months of each other? Or what about the government who choose the curriculum and run the schools? NO, I am sorry but I have decided that I am going to be the one who is going to take full responsibility for my children.

Now comes your argument ~ But don’t you think it’s necessary for a child to learn to deal with bullies, competitiveness, failure, being laughed at, judged, ridiculed by authority, exposed to all sorts, and to go through 12 years of worldly experiences so that they can become tougher, face life and cope in the ‘real’ world? I shouldn’t even need to answer that, but I will if I must. Is it not better to equip a child with a childhood of positive and happy experiences to prepare them to ‘cope’ in the real world? A positive, happy, well-balanced child with a great self image who has spent their entire childhood in a secure and loving environment where they have been understood and encouraged, praised and accepted. Will that person not be able to cope far better with the ‘real’ world? Many studies done on home-schooled children prove this very point.

This poem stuck in my mind for years, it confirmed for me that throwing children ‘in the deep end’, or letting them learn to cope is not the way I want to do things.

The Swimming Lesson ~
Feeling the icy kick, the endless waves
Reaching around my life, I moved my arms
And coughed, and in the end saw land.

Somebody, I suppose,
Remembering the medieval maxim,
Had tossed me in,
Had wanted me to learn to swim,

Not knowing that none of us, who ever came back
From that long lonely fall and frenzied rising,
Ever learned anything at all
About swimming, but only
How to put off, one by one,
Dreams and pity, love and grace,-
How to survive in any place.

~ Mary Oliver
For further information on HOMESCHOOLING IN SOUTH AFRICA:
Visit Robyn's website

ADD can increase ability to learn!

By A Daddy

I have attended many lectures and workshops and listened to many teachings. Some were excellent and I was able to learn a lot. Others were the perfect breeding ground for Attention Deficit Disorder.

Now that I’m a parent, who believes that the answer for Education is at home, I have to make sure that my kids and those I talk to do not develop Attention Deficit Disorder while in my company.

How do I do that?

I have to make sure I do not develop CBS – (Continuous Boredom Syndrome).

Now, we all know that boredom is one of the biggest enemies we have to fight when we have to, or even want to, learn.

And what’s the main cause of boredom?

You guessed it.

Style! The style of the one who has to ensure that learning takes place.

So, if that’s true, how does one ensure that one’s style is not boring?

Good question. I’m glad you asked.

The answer is very easy.

Study the Master Teacher and imitate Him.

So what are the characteristics of His style?

I’ll tell you in a moment.

But first I would like to submit that He may have encouraged ADD.

Don’t look surprised. ADD is a good thing!

It stands for:

AUTHORIZATION to DISCOURAGE DULLNESS.

And if you focus on that it will increase your ability to learn.

Right, back to the style.

It is my belief that no one who listened to the Master Teacher was ever bored.

And He learned from His dad, who incidentally is also my Dad.

And all of us have the privilege to learn from both of them.

I’ll give you a couple of characteristics of their style – Bruce Wilkinson introduced me to it – and if you use it appropriately and in consultation with them, results are guaranteed.

Here they are:

Their style was and still is:

Memorable – Think of the rainbow – not just talking, but also showing a memorable picture
Unexpected – How many times have you heard a donkey speak?
Visual – Think of Daniel’s dream
Unique – Angels announcing the Birth of our Savior
Multi-sensory – How many senses do you think was utilized during those ten plagues?
Captivating – Very few people would not concentrate if a hand writes on a wall.
Incarnational – Don’t just talk – Do what you say.

Now how many cases of Attention Deficit Disorder would have been diagnosed if we incorporated all off the above in our style?

Probably none!

So let’s start promoting ADD – AUTHORIZATION to DISCOURAGE DULLNESS.

Now if you’d like to have some more exposure to this – attend one of my workshops.

Topics that will be discussed: What is Home Education, Legal aspects, Reasons to Home Educate, Developing the whole person, 21st Century education and how it should be different and much, much more.

We look forward to hearing from you.

What is this “thing” called Home Education?

By A Daddy

Based on some recent discussions I was involved in, I believe it might be useful to have a fresh look at “Home Education”.

So, in this article we’ll have a quick glance at its definition in terms of the Schools Act which reads as follows:

“The learner receiving education at the learner’s own home.”

Not a bad definition. Incomplete, but not bad!

So let’s analyse it a bit by asking some questions! (I’ll give very short, introductory answers to these questions.)

Question 1 - What is a learner?
(This is a fairly easy question. The answer is also not difficult.)
A learner is someone who learns!

Question 2 – If there is a learner, does that imply a teacher?
Probably, yes. However, the teacher does not necessarily have to be a physical person.

Question 3 – What is then the role of the teacher?
(This is another fairly easy question, but the answer could be complicated, because the role of a teacher is not to teach.)
The role of the teacher is to ensure that learning takes place, (i.e. not to deliver content).

Question 4 – What is education?
The Latin word being EDUCARE means “leading out” or “leading forth”
In short this means – Do not try to put in that which was left out, rather get out that which was put in!

Question 5 – Does a learner/teacher need a curriculum?
Absolutely, yes!

Question 6 – What is a curriculum?
A curriculum is a course of action, (i.e. not a set of books).

Needless to say a course of action is only important if you know where you’re going. If you do not know where you’re going any road will take you there.

Question 7 – Where does training fit in, or do we only educate our kids?
We should train up a child in the way he should go. That follows that training is crucial. (More on this in a later article.)

Question 8 - What is a home? (Do not confuse it with a house.)
A home is a place where you feel safe, where there is a wonderful AROMA, where one receives one’s heritage. A place where every individual has found and fulfils his/her role. (More on this in a later article as well.)

Enough for now.

If you are interested in attending a workshop where we will have a fresh look at this and many more aspects of home education, please call and you can attend one of my workshops.
In the workshops we discuss and think about many issues which parents face on a day to day basis. These issues include legal aspects, socialization, sport, academics, making sure you have a balance. How do we stay relevant in the world we live in? Overview of the educational environment in SA. Reasons to home school. The primary needs of kids and developing the whole person. What to teach and what to avoid. Introduction to learning styles and thinking preferences. Different purchased curriculum and how to approach it. And much, much more …

If you would like to contact Niell (aka A Daddy) please leave a comment and we will get back to you...

Minister implies Pioneers on track!?

By A Daddy

In this follow-up article I shall address some of the other areas which I found of interest during the Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor's presentation at the GIBS Forum Event of 17 August 2005.
The presentation was mainly to people in the large business sector. The topic was - "Transforming Education in South Africa".
The minister mentioned some action and focus areas which she said the Department is working on.

These focus areas are the following:

1. To provide a basic educational foundation for kids. This includes reading, writing, and maths. To address the resource problems. Although there is a severe lack of teachers, there are also some schools that do not even have basic facilities such as toilets. Resources include these as well as many other needs.
2. To expand grade R so that the department would have 10 years of compulsory school attendance.
3. To successfully implement the new curriculum with a specific focus on maths and science. She acknowledged that there were initially a few implementation problems, but according to her most of these are now sorted out.
4. To recapitalize and develop FET institutions.
5. The improve on the scarcity of research and development projects in South Africa.
   

The floor was then opened for comments, questions and remarks.
Remarks and responses thereto included the following:

1. There are 920 teacher education quality assurance programs. (This probably does not make standardization an easy task.)
2. Regarding ABET the Minister believes the country needs a mass illiteracy campaign.
3. Something was mentioned about e-learning. There's apparently an e-learning policy - (E-learning sounds like something that can be done at home. This should be positive for home-schooling!?)
4. Someone said that graduates should be jobless as they have to create jobs. That's when Sam, the toilet man, told his story.
5. At that stage someone alleged that matric results are being tampered with. Maybe even adjusted upwards "slightly" as skills do not support grades.
   Although the Minister denied all of these she did mention that South Africa should perhaps, like other countries, have an entrance exam for Universities. Why should South Africa be so "special" that we do not have one?
   I then thought she said that one should focus on things such as reading, writing, maths and SA History for such a year and not specialize immediately e.g. BCom, BA, etc. as is currently the case. She later denied that she said it when a lady from a placement agency confronted her with this.
6. There was also some mention of assistance for people with disabilities and that little was being done in this regard.
   

I perceived most of the comments from the public to have a little bit of a negative bend which indicated to me that SA business was generally not ecstatic about the state of the educational system.

However, what's very pleasing is the fact that the Minister really seems interested in education.

She's generally looking out for the best interest of the kids of South Africa?

Based on this I will assume that the Minister should not have a problem with home-education.

In conclusion, Professor Gill Marcus of Gordon Institute of Business Science (who previously held positions of inter alia deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank and Deputy Minister of Finance), was part of the audience and wished to make a few closing remarks.
During this she made a challenge which went something like this:
"People in South Africa have now identified problems in the educational system. Let's stop looking at the Department of Education to solve these problems and ask ourselves: What am I going to do about the situation?"

Together with me, all the other home-schoolers in the audience probably said to themselves:
"Wow, I have already risen to the challenge - I have taken responsibility - I educate my kids at home!"

So, what I really want to get to is this following:
Our generation is the first generation of legal home-schoolers in South Africa. We are therefore pioneers. Pioneers explore un-chartered territory.
Now, although we have to make sure that we do not fall into some of the pit-falls of home-education there is one thing that we do not have to worry about and that is:

We do not have to be concerned that we are not giving our kids a good education.

Even if education was just about academics, which it's not, we would still pass with flying colors.

Third grader can excel in graduate position!

By A Daddy

I attended a GIBS Forum Event in August 2005 where the Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, made a presentation on the topic - "Transforming Education in South Africa."
She discussed a few action and focus areas which she said the Department is working on. (Sounds a bit like Liberty - we're working on it.) Many of her comments, which I shall not address in this article, were very comforting to me as a home-schooler from a legal point of view as she clearly indicated that the "system" still lacks the means to lay an adequate basic foundation for children.
However, the topic which I'd like to touch on in this article applies to the real world.
A young black man, if I recall correctly his name is Sam, made an interesting contribution in response to the Minister's statement that some 15% of graduates in South Africa are unemployed.
Sam said that he started a business that employs some 290 people. Some of his employees are graduates. Most of them love their work, do it well and are paid a decent salary. So what is this business? Wait for it….
They clean toilets for companies.
Am I degrading cleaning toilets?
No, of course not. Toilet cleaning services are as essential as any other service one can think of. What this young man did was to identify a need, come up with a solution and he now provides a service to companies. That is called problem solving.
So what's the point I'm trying to make?
The point is - One does not need a degree to come up with a solution to a problem!
However, should one come up with a solution to a problem, it seems like there are many graduates around who would be more than willing to work for you!
Am I against having a degree?
No, I have one myself.
The point is - A qualification does not guarantee success!
If it did, would we have 15% unemployed graduates in a country which says it so desperately lack skills?

Every Child – A Masterpiece

By A Daddy

Some time ago I had the privilege to present workshops for a certain well know organization. One of the people involved in my training for the workshops was a guy called Brad Sadler.

He was one of the best speakers I had ever heard. I was a little intimidated by the thought that I had to do presentation on the same topic as he did in weeks to come.

So after his presentation I said to him: Brad, my background is not as bad as yours. I’ve not done as many bad things as you have. I’ve not committed any crime that I ended up in prison for. I’ll have to use some of your stories during my presentations.

Brad didn’t even hear me. He just went on about how wonderful life was and nobody really cared too much about the stories. What they liked about him is that he gave them hope.

I went on to do the workshops and before most of these Brad would phone or send a sms or do some or other thing to encourage me.

And when my workshops went very well Brad was delighted and if it went very bad Brad was ecstatic. Whatever happened, Brad was overjoyed.

Gee, I haven’t spoken to him for more than a year. Hold the thought; I’m quickly going to phone him.

…

I’m back. I feel great. Obviously I’ll feel great. I’ve just spoken to Brad.

Now, you might wonder why I’m telling you this.

I’m telling you because Brad is an exhorter. He is what one might call vintage exhorter. One of the best I’ve seen. Definitely the best I have personally met. I have a daughter that is a little like that. Always ready to encourage everyone.

And that’s great, but we are all different.

I’m not saying we should not all encourage each other. I’m just saying – We are all different!

Some are perceivers.
Some are servants.
Some are teachers.
Some are exhorters.
Some are givers.
Some are administrators, and
Some love to give mercy.

Then again the perceivers, teachers, exhorters and administrators generally love to express themselves with words and the servants, givers and mercy people love to express themselves with deeds.

So if you have a little teacher in your home, you might struggle to get his mouth shut. But if you have a little servant, you might struggle to get his mouth open.

Many people do not understand this and then they think there is something wrong if a child either doesn’t talk or talks too much.

But that’s not the only place where people are different.

We also have different ways to remember things – Some remember visually, some auditory, some kinesthetically and some tactile.

Then we all also interact with information differently – Some are analytical and some are global.

Wait, there’s more – Howard Gardner came up with the concept of Multiple Intelligences. That is really just different ways people are smart. Just seven of the ways you can be brilliant is as follows – Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal and intrapersonal.

And then we also have different thinking preferences. That has to do with your left and right brain.

And as if that’s not enough people also have different dominance profiles. That means they have dominant eyes, ears, hands, feet and so on. And depending on your dominance, you will have a different style.

And by the way, everyone then likes to do things at different times of the day, at different temparatures with different shades of light. It just goes on and on.

Right, I’ll stop now. Although there are probably thousands of other differences and unique little things about every individual which no one even knows about yet, I think I have made the point.
Every individual is a work of art and can be a spectacular success.

So please don’t be discouraged or overwhelmed. I didn’t say this to confuse you or frustrate you. I told you the above for one reason and one reason only.

Every child is a masterpiece. And your little masterpiece has a role to play and a place to fit.

And there is no way that anyone can give you a quick model answer on how to train up your child. And don’t ever dare to compare your child with any other child.

It takes wisdom, time, patience and perseverance and probably a few other attributes in that category to get the answer and complete the marathon.

So keep on. If you struggle, ask for help. Don’t give up. Don’t worry. Don’t try to be perfect – But definitely be real.

And always remember – “You were born an original, don’t die a copy.”

South African Homeschool curriculum

by Wendy Young

Part of being a parent is ensuring that your children get the best education that you can give them. For some it means private schools, others may prefer a Christian school, but in South Africa there is a huge growing community of homeschoolers. www.south-african-homeschool-curriculum.com helps this community to raise their children according to Godly standards, get organized in your home, develop long lasting relationships with knowledge and offers you a wonderful literature based curriculum, Footprints On Our Land, to use with your children. Footprints On Our Land gives you a magnificent arm chair journey through South Africa and its history, stopping to discover the geography and people of this land. There are three programs - Little Footprints (Ages 4 -8), South Africa's Heritage (Ages 7 - 12) and Footprints into the 21st Century (Ages 12 - 16). Shirley and Wendy, owners of www.south-african-homeschool-curriculum.com , also have a FREE monthly encouragement E-zine for homeschool families. Be sure to visit.

Cooking Kids

by Annie Austin

My 10yo son has decided to learn to cook; we have incorporated it into his homeschooling activities – after all what is cooking if not reading, maths and science all rolled into one.

Here is one of his favorite recipes, it is easy to make with some supervision and tasty enough for the whole family to eat. This Veggie Bolognese is enjoyed by everyone in our family from my 1 year old to the adults to the cats and dogs!!

My son now does most of the preparation himself (including cutting onions and putting the pasta into the boiling water, but you can let kids do as much or as little as they are up to doing – even just measuring some of the ingredients is a maths lesson)!

Veggie Bolognese Sauce and Pasta:

For the Sauce
1 cup red split peas
2 large carrots
2 sticks celery
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
500ml veggie stock
250ml tomato ‘sauce’
Salt to taste
Fresh parsley & oregano

I usually make my own stock and tomato sauce (see next entry) but this can be the store bought kind if you prefer. The carrots, celery and onion come straight from the garden as do the stock and tomato sauce ingredients.

Let the kids start by washing their hands and donning their aprons (look out for child size apron pattern soon!!). Then wash all the veggies, peel the onion, top and tail the carrots.

The veggies can now be either mixed or grated in a food processor – kids love this part and it is something even the little ones can safely do.

Heat the oil somewhat in a pan, remove the pan from the heat (I usually let my son put the pan on a heatproof pot holder on the table next to the stove) add all the veggies & herbs, mix well and return to heat.

Allow to cook for about 5 minutes until veggies are starting to soften.

Add the split peas, stock and tomato sauce, removing from heat before doing this – the reason I remove the pan from the heat each time is just an added safety measure for the kids. Mix all ingredients well and allow to cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. More stock can be added if necessary.

While the sauce is cooking, cook pasta of your choice to accompany this.
This is also great with a bit of percorino cheese on top.

Be sure to pop in again for more mouthwatering kid’s recipes!!


Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce Recipe

2kg tomatoes
1kg onions
1 house of garlic
3tbsp olive oil
Fresh parsley and either basil / thyme / oregano

Tomatoes can be blanched and peeled, but I generally omit this step unless I am using really tough skinned tomatoes.

Chop the onions and fry lightly in olive oil. Add the tomatoes and herbs mix well and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes until ingredients have cooked down and most of the liquid has evaporated. If you want a really chunky sauce, keep out about 500g tomatoes and add these in about half way through cooking.

The riper the tomatoes the tastier the sauce will be, and of course if you can grow your own organic tomatoes and leave them on the vine until really ripe all the better!! This recipe is a really great way to store and freeze excess tomatoes for the winter.

This sauce can be bottled and frozen – I use glass bottles – mainly as it is a good way to recycle them and also I try to avoid plastics as I just don’t trust that the chemicals will not leach out of them especially during freezing. If you are using glass, make sure to only put the lids on the jars after the contents have frozen to prevent the jars from cracking.