Homeschooling momentum gains upward traction
Homeschooling was initially a preferred route for learners with special needs and those who struggled to get placements, however more parents opt for this method for pure convenience. Recently a growing number of homeschooled students have been accepted to South African universities and because they are self-motivated and disciplined students, they have coped well with the demands of campus life.
HOMESCHOOLING in South Africa was illegal until it was recognised in 1996 under the South African School Legislation. Since then, it has grown significantly. Home education is a programme alternative to attending public or independent schools where a parent of a learner of compulsory school-going age may provide education for their children at home.
The lessons offered to learners must fall within the scope of the following compulsory phases of education: foundation phase, intermediate phase and senior phase.
The Department of Education legislated that parents and tutors are responsible for preparing lessons, personalising the curriculum, assessing their students, socialising learners, and managing learning time.
Parents may find challenges in balancing these various commitments with extra-curricular activities and social engagements of learners, however, modern methods are at hand. The curriculum has to be approved by the Department of Education.
Also read: How to cope with loadshedding & homeschooling
Exams and assessments are written at the curriculum provider’s examination centre. Some homeschoolers choose to work through a learning centre where the child enrols and attends classes. Usually these are small classes with tutors.
What is the biggest disadvantage of homeschooling? Common disadvantages of homeschooling include a lack of real-life socialisation, limited access to resources and facilities, the demanding load on parents, and potential legal challenges.
Homeschooling can be administered person-to-person or online. One great benefit of online homeschooling is that it offers the chance for introverted children to interact directly with their teachers. Traditional schooling methods often ignore the needs and questions of introverted children who may be too shy to speak up in class for fear of being ridiculed by others
Friends, Wendy Young and Shirley Erwee, established one of the most successful homeschooling programmes to date, Footprints.
They said, “There are plenty of success stories in South Africa that may inspire more parents to take this route. Achievements span across academic achievements as well as sport, music, business, ministry, community service and other accolades that homeschoolers have earned.
Also read: Exploring the hidden costs of homeschooling
“There are a variety of reasons to homeschool your children and any one you choose is valid. While there are many parents who believe that schools are doing a fabulous job with their children, there are an equal number of parents who find that a school has failed their child for one reason or another. ‘Failed’ does not refer to a pass mark for a grade but rather that they have failed to realise that each child is an individual or that each particular child learns differently to others, or even that the child has been bullied by peers. But in classes of 35-40 children, how can a teacher cater for each child?” Young shared.
Erwee added, “Home education offers parents the chance to hone their child’s gifts and talents and then raise them in their weaker areas to an acceptable standard. Homeschooling also allows parents to interact on a deeper heart level where their children’s characters can be moulded as they spend time together in the home environment.”
Also read: Home schooling: It may be trickier than you think
Young and Erwee narrated that more than 20 years ago they both had young families with children aged 10 and under. “We had been homeschooling for a couple of years, using American literature-based homeschool curricula. These were excellent, but we also wanted our children to learn about South Africa through stories.
The Department of Education requires that parents or tutors apply electronically, using the applicable application form, to the head of your Provincial Education Department and attach the required documents.
Upon registration, parents are obliged to keep a record of attendance, a portfolio of the child’s work, up-to-date records of the child’s progress, a portfolio of the educational support given to the child, evidence of the continuous assessment of the child’s work, evidence of the assessment and or examination at the end of each year.
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