A Bit of Political Advice to Home Educators by Craig Smith

Posted on 2012-11-01 by Barbara

Greetings

I really want to encourage as many home educators as possible to write a submission today because this Bill COULD effect you down the line at some stage and it WILL effect some home educators now.

Craig wrote these two great articles for TEACH Bulletin when ERO reviews were stopped. Only 35 a year are being done now:

These two links are good to read if you have never read them before. They are also good to read again to be reminded of these things.

NO MORE Home Schooling ERO REVIEWS!!!

NO MORE Home Schooling ERO REVIEWS!!!

A Bit of Political Advice to Home Educators

A Bit of Political Advice to Home Educators

Craig said that there is a time to speak up and a time to remain silent.

This is a time to speak up so…

Please put a submission into the select committee today

Online submissions close at midnight

mailed and delivered submissions close at 5pm

68 submissions here to help you write your submission: https://hef.org.nz/beneficiaries/submissions/

All the information you need is here: https://hef.org.nz/2012/make-a-submission-reject-compulsory-early-education-for-3-year-olds/

Support groups should also be putting in submissions – please make sure the support groups you are involved in have or are putting in submissions.

Please forward this email to other home educators and other home education email discussion groups.

Thankyou
Blessings
Barbara

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Related Links:

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From the Smiths:

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

Updated 5 October 2012: One year on (Craig Smith’s Health) page 7 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/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

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Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

Make a submission: Reject compulsory Early Education for 3 year olds

Media Release 9 – Social Security Bill Should Treat Home Education as a Legitimate Choice

Posted on 2012-10-31 by Barbara

1 ½ days left to put your submission in – Please do it online now incase it does not arrive in time by post. Details here: https://hef.org.nz/2012/social-security-benefit-categories-and-work-focus-amendment-bill-3/

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Media Release – Social Security Bill Should Treat Home Education as a Legitimate Choice

October 31, 2012

Palmerston North, NZ – The Home Education Foundation (HEF) of New Zealand hopes that Parliament and the Select Committee now considering the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill will treat home education as a legitimate choice, says National Director Barbara Smith.

“Home education in New Zealand has come from very small beginnings to be recognised by the Ministry of Education as a viable educational option,” says Mrs Smith.

“In July 2009 the Ministry reduced the number of reviews of home educators, saying ‘This programme is considered to be low risk to the education priorities of the Government.’

“At the time a senior member of the Education Review Office told the Home Education Foundation in personal correspondence, ‘The reality is home schooling has been found to be low risk.’ He went on to note that home educators make use of support networks, that home education is recognised as a viable option, and that over the years the Education Review Office has received ‘mostly positive’ feedback on home education.”

Mrs Smith says this was a vote of confidence in home educators in New Zealand. “Over the years, the evidence showing home education as more than equal to schooling in registered institutions gets higher. As time goes on and the number of home educators grows, we can only expect to see that evidence mount up. It’s time the rest of the government followed the Ministry of Education in affirming home education as a wonderful, viable alternative to institutionalised learning.”

With this in mind, Mrs Smith argues, the Ministry for Social Development has no right to demand compulsory preschool attendance under the new bill.

“Home education provides incredible benefits to children. A parent can give a child a brilliant classical education encompassing all the great subjects of Western civilization with little more than an internet connection, a library card, a little encouragement and a passion for knowledge. Meanwhile, a child attending a state school is held back by the government curriculum and teaching aimed at the lowest common denominator.”

Unfortunately, Mrs Smith says, Ministry of Social Development policy refuses home education exemptions to beneficiaries. “Under MSD policy, beneficiaries can only get an exemption to home educate if it would be ‘unreasonable’ for their child to attend school. And under the new bill, that will be extended to preschoolers so that if you are a beneficiary, you will only be allowed to be with your 3-5 year old children if it would be ‘unreasonable’ for them to attend preschool.”

Mrs Smith hopes that the bill will provide an opportunity for New Zealand to rethink its attitude to home education. “We want Parliament to reject the ‘social obligation’ provisions that will force parents into an educational programme they don’t like, want, or support. We want them to affirm that beneficiaries can bring up good children without being told what to do.

“But we’d also love it if Parliament used this opportunity to address the MSD’s policy against home education. Under the Education Act, parents already need to prove that they can teach their children ‘at least as regularly and well’ as in a registered school, before they are granted an exemption. These are the only criteria in the Act, but the MSD’s policy adds the requirement that beneficiary home educators prove that it would be ‘unreasonable’ to send their children to school. Honestly I find it amazing that a government ministry can add to the law like this and I hope Parliament will take a very serious view of their actions.

“The Ministry of Education believes that home educators can do at least as well as a registered school, and the laws of New Zealand give them permission to try. It’s amazing that the Ministry of Social Development is so far behind the times.”

Mrs Smith encourages all concerned Kiwis to make a submission to the Select Committee by the deadline on November 1. Materials for writing a submission can be found at www.hef.org.nz.

About the Home Education Foundation

The Home Education Foundation has been informing parents for 27 years about the fantastic opportunity to de-institutionalise our sons and daughters and to embrace the spiritual, intellectual and academic freedom that is ours for the taking. Through conferences, journals, newsletters and all kinds of personal communications, we explain the vision of handcrafting each child into a unique individual, complete with virtuous character, a hunger for service to others, academic acumen and a strong work ethic. For more information, please visit www.hef.org.nz or more specifically hef.org.nz/2012/make-a-submission-reject-compulsory-early-education-for-3-year-olds/

Appeared here:

Scoop: Bill Should Treat Home Education as a Legitimate Choice

Voxy: Education as legitimate choice under Bill

Contact

To learn more about this bill, please contact

Barbara Smith
National Director
PO Box 9064
Palmerston North 4441
New Zealand
ph. 06 357-4399
06 354-7699
barbara@hef.org.nz

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Related Links:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Smiths:

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

Updated 5 October 2012: One year on (Craig Smith’s Health) page 7 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/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

*******************************

Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

Make a submission: Reject compulsory Early Education for 3 year olds

Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

Posted on 2012-10-31 by Barbara

Online link to make your Submission online

HERE

(go to bottom of page)

You need to complete the verification check before they can access the submissions page.

There is no need to do two submissions when you do it online. You only need to do it once!

Please also make sure that your submission has been accepted and that you get a Reference number.

Submissions close 1 November 2012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Related Links:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Smiths:

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

Updated 5 October 2012: One year on (Craig Smith’s Health) page 7 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/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

*******************************

Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill

Make a submission: Reject compulsory Early Education for 3 year olds

Media Release 8 – Social Security Bill Will Cause Real Hardship to Real People

Posted on 2012-10-30 by Barbara

Media Release – Social Security Bill Will Cause Real Hardship to Real People

October 30, 2012

Palmerston North, NZ – Barbara Smith, National Director of the Home Education Foundation of New Zealand, is asking New Zealanders to show support for beneficiaries against the new Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill. Under the Bill, “social obligations” will compel beneficiaries to send their children to preschool, register them with health professionals and attend all the core Well Child checks. Mrs Smith believes that these obligations will cause untold emotional and financial hardship for responsible parents.

“Recently I was able to read the Attorney-General’s report on the Bill,” says Mrs Smith. “The Attorney-General concluded that the social obligations aren’t discriminatory because ‘they are designed to be beneficial.’ He went on to say that if discrimination does occur under the act, ‘the disadvantage is outweighed by the best interests of the child’.

“Perhaps, if the Attorney-General had heard from as many concerned home educators and single parents as I have, he would not have decided that forcing children away from their loving parents to be sent to preschool is beneficial or in a child’s best interests.”

In a submission posted on the HEF website, a young New Zealander from a sole-parent family said, “I think it is terrible to expect parents to put their children into ECE or school, if they don’t believe in doing that. It upsets me that my mother is so stressed out about this, she is a good mother, has always looked after us kids so well and always puts us first. It stresses me out to see this happening, and it is making me wonder how I am going to be able to help my family if this happens and my mother gets her benefit cut in half! This isn’t fair, it isn’t fair to punish us, and it isn’t fair to punish our wonderful mother!”

Mrs Smith says, “The government needs to understand that parents who make the decision to keep their children at home do not do so because they’re lazy, stupid, or unloving. Quite the contrary.”

One mother, an ex-kindergarten and school teacher, stated in her submission, “I have a hundred reasons why [my daughter] will not be attending daycare, preschool, kindergarten or school. I have overheard four-year-olds using language that would make a sailor blush. I have observed persistent bullying. I have observed children wailing for hours for their mothers. I do not want my daughter in that environment.”

Another mother says, “If this Bill were to be passed I would live in fear of my husband losing his job or having an accident that would mean that we rely on a benefit for our survival. If I were in a situation where we depended on a benefit, then my children and I would be financially disadvantaged as I am very passionate and believe so strongly in the way I am raising my children that any benefit we were on would be reduced as I would not comply with this Bill if it were to be passed. Neglect and fraud are not the only reasons why beneficiaries would not ‘toe the line’.”

Other mothers point out the emotional toll that destruction of a treasured way of life will have on families that are already struggling financially. “The stress involved in separating a child from its parents is immense and the emotional trauma from having a parent enduring their own anguish from being jobless, having to be on a benefit, and then being torn from each other is even more emotionally damaging to a child.”

One mother, home educating her daughter on a benefit, says, “My child has never attended public school. To force her to attend now, as a teenager, would be to cause her great harm.”

She goes on: “I have taught my child to be proud to live in a country which helps all its citizens in the different ways they need, including providing financial support if they cannot work. I have also taught her to look constantly for ways in which we can give back to the community, for example through volunteer charity work. This has been my method of counteracting the fallacies that receiving a benefit is shameful and that making money is the only thing which gives a person value.

“I must now explain to her that the National government is sending an implied message that all beneficiaries are at risk of abusing their children, are incapable of providing their children with a quality home-based education, and are cast so low in society that their human rights can be stripped from them and their freedoms revoked.”

Mrs Smith encourages all concerned Kiwis to make a submission to the Select Committee by the deadline on November 1. Materials for writing a submission can be found at www.hef.org.nz.

About the Home Education Foundation

This appeared here:

Scoop: Social Security Bill Will Cause Real Hardship to Real People

Voxy:Social Security Bill ‘will cause real hardship’

Contact

To learn more about this bill, please contact

Barbara Smith
National Director
PO Box 9064
Palmerston North 4441
New Zealand
ph. 06 357-4399
06 354-7699
barbara@hef.org.nz