Why do we need a Homeschool Awareness Week?
To really see how many of us there really are! And let everyone else see how many of us there really are! Let’s show support for each other whether we’re currently homeschooling, veteran homeschoolers, planning to homeschool, or support a family member who homeschools…
There are still false assumptions that very few people in one’s own community homeschool; that we are isolated from other people because everyone else is at school while we sit around at home all day…and after school, too, apparently. Of course we have days when we do stay at home with the family, and I love those days. But we also go on lots of field trips, playdates, and classes with friends; run errands together; and play with the neighbor kids after school…
Let’s support each other in our unorthodox educational paths!
To read more from this blog: http://nourishinggenius.com/2013/09/17/homeschool-awareness-week/
Home Education in New Zealand
What are you or your Support Group doing this week?
History:
1996 MHE (Manawatu Home Educators) held an Awareness Week in Palmerston North in 1996
1997 First National Home Education Awareness Week in New Zealand.
From TEACH Bulletin
It has been proposed that the week of 20-26 October 1997, be declared New Zealand Home Education Week. Home Schoolers all over the country could use this as an opportunity to do something special to raise their profile locally and develop a bit of positive public relations. This could help in gaining the movement a bit more credibility, especially when applying for grants or discounts with resource suppliers, or for admission to tertiary institutions or gaining help and advice from schools and perhaps even the use of some of their resources. And of course the benefits would be examined by more people, thereby bringing more people into the home schooling movement and your local support group.
Last year the Manawatu Home Educators held a series of activities which really were successful. Start with these and add more ideas and use the ones that would suit your group the best:
- public debate
- coffee morning at public venue
- hold your weekly support group meeting at the local shopping centre’s open plaza area
- get a local DJ to interview a couple of you on their station as part of the week
- have a delegation of home schoolers present the mayor with some token of the week, a professional looking declaration, suitable for framing or some home baking done by home schooled children or some craft items done by the home schoolers
- have a contest among your home schooled children to write an essay or short story espousing the wonders of home education. Advertise this in the local papers so that the winner could be printed.
- Maybe throw the competition open to all school children! Get someone to offer a cash prize to really encourage captive school children to think along home schooling lines!
- Perhaps we could get the Ministry of Education to approve of the following Resolution, and each local support group who felt like taking part could make an appointment with their local MO and/or mayor to present them with a copy of the Resolution plus again some items produced by local home schoolers (a choral item, a framed photo of an earlier accomplishment by home schoolers, like a shot of children sitting on top of a mountain of kleen sacks full of rubbish the home schoolers had collected from the local beach, park, reserve, or a formal invitation to your end-of-year Bar-B-Q so that that dignitary could make the award presentations for the year to the children and deliver the end-of-year speech), ensuring the press is there to take the photos and get the story for the papers.
- Brain storm among yourselves: then share your ideas through TEACH Bulletin (or TEACH-eForum) and also what you think of the following Resolution:
Whereas home schooling is the fastest growing educational alternative in New Zealand; and
Whereas home schooling families contribute significantly to the cultural diversity important to a healthy society; and
Whereas NZ is a place where diversity and individualism are championed; and
Whereas parents who provide education for their children at home exemplify the independent NZ society; and
Whereas home school families tend to be strong, healthy families who contribute greatly to NZ Society; and
Whereas the cost of educating children at home saves money from the government general fund; and
Whereas home school students are proving themselves by excelling in college and in the work force;
Be it Resolved the New Zealand Ministry of Education approves of home schooling as an important part of New Zealand’s educational infrastructure meriting ministerial sanction and protection; and be it
Further Resolved that the New Zealand Ministry of Education supports the right of parents to choose home schooling as the educational alternative best suited for their children; and be it
Further Resolved that the Ministry of Education and district management areas are encouraged to cooperate with parents who are teaching their children at home; and be it
Further Resolved that the Minister of Education is respectfully requested to direct the Ministry of Education and its district area management to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that they do not unnecessarily interfere with parents exercising their right to home school their children; and be it
Further Resolved that the Minister of Education establishes the week of October 20-26, 1997 as New Zealand Home Education Week.
HEAW (Home Education Awareness Week) has happened every year since 1997. Some Support Groups have a number of activities during the week. It is in the first 3 weeks of the 4th term depending on Labour Weekend and any special requests for a certain week. Initially those involved liked HEAW to be in the second or third week (depending on Labour weekend) – they wanted to use the first week for getting organised for it because they did not want to be organising it in the holidays. Times have changed with new people around so if a Support Group or a number of people want a specific week then that can be arranged. For this year, this week, is HEAW.
More on Home Education Awareness Weeks from the past: https://hef.org.nz/category/home-education-awareness-week/
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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/
This link is motivational:https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/
Exemption Form online:https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-exemption-form-now-online/
Coming Events:https://hef.org.nz/2013/some-coming-events-for-home-education-during-2013-2/
