100th Anniversary of Discovery of South Pole was 3pm yesterday

One hundred years ago on the 14 December 1911, Roald Amundson won the race to the South Pole.

From the New York Times:

When Roald Amundsen’s ship, the Fram, left Norway on Aug. 9, 1910, it carried, in Amundsen’s words, “nineteen men, ninety-seven dogs, four pigs, six carrier pigeons, and one canary.” The ship was nearly 20 years old, and the expedition leader, Amundsen, was 38. He was already a formidable polar explorer, but this voyage to Antarctica and the South Pole made him one of the greatest explorers who ever lived.

On Dec. 14, a century ago, Amundsen and the four members of his team reached the South Pole. “That day,” he wrote, “was a beautiful one,” and at 3 o’clock in the afternoon they planted the flag of Norway, each man with one hand on the flagpole. Like so many other days on that polar journey, that day was “like a pleasure trip,” as Amundsen later reported. The weather was good, but even better was the planning. The Norwegians were born skiers, excellent dog handlers and skilled navigators. They proceeded across the ice exactly as they had done across the ocean, fixing their location again and again by dead reckoning and with sextants. They also left innumerable cairns and markers to guide them on their return.

In his book, “The South Pole,” Amundsen makes none of this sound heroic. He admired the English for their “pluck and grit,” but what you feel in reading his account is joy and adventure. Even now, Amundsen is too little admired, mainly because his straightforward success was eclipsed by what a member of Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition called the “first-rate tragedy” of Scott’s polar push, which ended in the deaths of Scott and his four-man team.

On Dec. 14, Amundsen was at the pole, writing a letter to Scott wishing him a safe return. Scott was 34 days behind him, on a different route. Scott’s journal for that day reads, “We are just starting our march with no very hopeful outlook.”

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From the Smiths:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/

Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here

*****

Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

Explanation on the decrease of Home schoolers during the 2010/11 year

  • Between 1 July 20010 and 1 July 2011 the number of homeschoolers decreased by 265 students – a 3.9 per cent decrease.

Figure 1: Number of Homeschooling Students 1998-2011
pubID106004-fig1

For more statistics: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/schooling/homeschooling/homeschooling-as-at-1-july-2011

 

 

I have had many comments from families concerned about the decrease in the numbers of home educators over the period July 2010 to July 2011. It would seem that it could be related to the number of home educators who are now doing 3 or more papers with the Correspondence School. It would seem that these students are no longer counted as home educators but as being included on the Correspondence School roll.

Here are some of the comments:

Can we find out how many were homeschooling then went to doing 3 subjects at Correspondence school – so not legally homeschooling but still at home studying with their families?

and another this email shows the heart of the matter

Just wondering where these figures come from?
When teenagers join the Correspondence School as full time students – we return our exemptions and stop receving the allowance – and are classified as not home schooling.  This is simply not true – although I am classed as my daughter’s supervisor now, I am definitely just, if not more involved in her education – including hands on learning – day to day, and every day I ‘teach’, I just don’t get paid for it, or recognised as such.
We have just completed our 10th year of homeschooling.  The only difference between being at the Correspondence school or not, is that I no longer have to ‘source’ my curriculum, but we spend many many hours ‘supplementing’ and ‘researching’ to fill in the ‘bones’ of the Correspondence School curriculum, I am definitely teaching! G………. is certainly still being home educated!
Just wondered if many students were being classed as no longer homeschooling when they join the correspondence school from the MOE’s perspective, and if so, I certainly challenge these figures.
Kind regards to your family from ours.  May you know the Lord’s continued peace and joy and may this Christmas be very special for you as a family.  You are still in our thoughts and prayers.
Blessings
P……………
Proud to be a homeschooling mum for 10 years!
To God be the glory
So, I think we can safely say that the numbers are not declining – they have just been adjusted.
Although we continue to be concerned about the numbers that give up each year.

Between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011, 1,106 students commenced homeschooling

Between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011, 1,371 students finished homeschooling.

This year the number appears to be larger but we are not really sure where the MoE has made their mistake in their figures.

•    210 students (15.3 %) finished their homeschooling within a year of starting
•    843 students (61.5 %) finished within four years
•    513 students (37.4 %) had been homeschooled for 5 or more years

Did 1566 students or did 1371 students finish homeschooling in 2010/2011 year?

The % figures do not add up either. The MoE has their figures adding up to 114.2%.

I will contact the MoE to see if this can be made clearer.

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From the Smiths:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/

Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here

*****

Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/
and
https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

Posted in MoE

Ethnicity of Homeschoolers

Almost all (98.3 per cent) of homeschoolers reported their ethnicity. Of these:

  • 81.6 per cent identified as European/Pakeha
  • 10.4 per cent identified as Maori
  • A lower proportion of homeschoolers were identified as being Maori, Asian or Pasifika than compared to students attending regular schools


Figure 5: Comparison of School Students and Homeschoolers by Ethnic Group at 1 July 2011

pubID106004-fig5

For more statistics go to: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/schooling/homeschooling/homeschooling-as-at-1-july-2011

Posted in MoE

Homeschoolers by Region

  • Nelson, Northland and West Coast regions had the highest proportions of homeschoolers compared to the total school populations in those regions.
  • Gisborne, Otago  and Hawkes Bay had the lowest proportions of homeschoolers in relation to their total school populations
  • The majority of homeschoolers (73.3 per cent) reside in the North Island, with 23.2 per cent in Auckland

Figure 4: Percentage of Homeschoolers by Region at 1 July 2011

pubID106004-fig4

Note: Not applicable includes Not applicable, Chatham Islands and Correspondence School

 

For more statistics: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/schooling/homeschooling/homeschooling-as-at-1-july-2011

Posted in MoE

Age Distribution of Homeschoolers

Of those being homeschooled, 61.3 per cent were in the primary school age range (5-12 years old).

Table 1: Number of Homeschoolers by Age and Gender as at 1 July 2011
Age Male Female Total
5 2 5 7
6 209 231 440
7 295 269 564
8 278 269 547
9 283 300 583
10 302 331 633
11 309 292 601
12 335 288 623
13 299 305 604
14 299 274 573
15 288 271 559
16 160 147 307
17 111 122 233
18 55 65 120
19 27 28 55
20 23 18 41
21 11 13 24
22 1 1 2
23 1 0 1
Total 3,288 3,229 6,517

For more statistics: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/schooling/homeschooling/homeschooling-as-at-1-july-2011

Posted in MoE