7 week online conference on post-pandemic future of home education sponsored by the Harvard Kennedy School Taubman Centre for State and Local Government.
More information here: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/taubman/programs-research/pepg/events/future-homeschooling
Home educators in other parts of the world need our help!
Today we will focus on an email sent out by the HSLDA to encourage us to help home educators in Portugal.
Please take the time to read this link and send a few emails. You can copy and paste information from the link or you can write your own email then use the link provided to translate your email before sending it off.
Thanks for your help!
“As at 1 July 2020, there were 7,192 homeschooled students. This represents 0.9% of total school enrolments as at 1 July 2020.
“Out of the 7,192 homeschoolers 65.0% were aged 12 or under, 70.2% had been home-schooled for less than 5 years, and only 4.2% had been home-schooled for 10 years or more.
The box below provides a number of downloads relating to the number of students in homeschooling.
Between 1 July 2019 and 1 July 2020 there was an overall net increase of 619 students; 1,607 students entered into homeschooling and 988 students finished homeschooling.
There were 1,347 students entering into homeschooling in the year ending 1 July 2020, 82.2% were aged 12 or under and 0.9% were age 16 or above. Of the students entering homeschooling during the year ending 1 July 20, 70.9% identified as European/P?keh?, 14.8% identified as M?ori, 3.4% identified as Pacific, 4.2% identified as Asian, and for 0.7% of homeschoolers ethnicity is unknown.
There were 1,005 students finishing homeschooling in the year ending 1 July 2020, 43.5% were aged 12 or under, and 22.7% were 16-years old or above. Of the students finishing homeschooling during the year ending 1 July 2020, 25.5% had been in homeschooling less than a year, 43.2% had been in homeschooling for 1 – 5 years, and 10.9% had been in homeschooling for 10 years or more.
The box below provides a number of one-on-one dimensional tables relating to homeschooling turnover.
For more information go to: https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/homeschooling
Statistics in New Zealand have not been released yet. They are usually put up on the MoE website during November. Even when they are released it won’t show us the full increase in home education, due to Covid, because the figures are for the year ending in July each year. In New Zealand we will have to wait until this time next year to see the full results. It seems that there are still a lot of families applying for exemptions still for their children.
This following article is in the USA
“State-level data show just how dramatic the surge in homeschooling has been.
“Friday, December 4, 2020
“Many families took one look at their school district’s remote or hybrid learning offerings this fall and said “no, thank you.” That’s the message gleaned from national and state-specific data on the surging number of homeschooled students this academic year.
“Prior to the pandemic and related school closures last spring, there were just under two million homeschoolers in the US, representing about 3.4 percent of the total K-12 school-age population. According to recent polling by Education Week, that percentage has more than doubled to nine percent this fall, or nearly five million homeschoolers. This estimate mirrors related polling from Gallup in August suggesting that 10 percent of US students would be homeschooled this year.
“State-level data show just how dramatic the surge in homeschooling has been, particularly in areas where many district schools continue to be closed for full-time, in-person learning. In Massachusetts, for example, the Boston Globe reported last week that 7,188 students statewide transferred from public schools into homeschooling this year, compared to only 802 homeschooling transfers last year…”
Read more here: https://fee.org/articles/homeschooling-more-than-doubles-during-the-pandemic/
The article finishes with:
“Parents I have interviewed told me that they had been considering homeschooling for a long time but lacked the catalyst to give it a try until now. Seeing their children flourish outside of a conventional classroom could lead many of these parents to continue homeschooling post-pandemic. As an article in The Atlantic stated: “COVID-19 is a catalyst for families who were already skeptical of the traditional school system—and are now thinking about leaving it for good.”
“Once life returns to normal, new homeschoolers may also discover that real homeschooling is much better than the pandemic version they have experienced. Local homeschooling groups will regain their full vitality and sociability. Museums, libraries, and local businesses and organizations will return to offering their suite of homeschooling classes. Daily activities will take place more often outside one’s home than inside it, and homeschoolers will once again be deeply connected to the people, places, and things of their communities.
“This fall, millions of new homeschooling parents have realized that their children can learn without school. When the world reopens to them, they will find that homeschooling is even better than they imagined.”
I have just been asked this question. I thought others might like to hear my answer. I also thought others might like to share their experience in the comments.
Hi Barbara,
I’m interested in gaining support for going right through home-educating without getting any externally moderated ‘for credit’ qualification. I spoke with another Barbara who finished her five kids without any NZQA piece of paper, and she told me you and Craig also did this, and are great advocates for home educating however the parent prayerfully decides. Am I along the right lines with my understanding? Are you able to offer support/advice to me who really wants to go the route of (like many American homeschoolers) just creating the kid’s transcripts and not fussing over ticking boxes and doing things a certain way or a certain amount for moderation and credit?
My answer:
Yes, you are on the right track. Find out what your child wants to do, then go to the gatekeepers of that. From 13 or so, go up to the polytechnic / university / business admissions officer and ask what they need to know to get in. Go back home and study that. When finished studying that go back again and ask for more studies etc. Do this each year until they are accepted in. At the same time get your children doing work experience. Ask friends/relations with businesses (or cold turkey and just approach businesses) for unpaid work experience – one or two weeks. Then ask for a reference at the end. These references are like GOLD.
Also ask for work experience at the job of their choice as well as a variety of jobs. Always ask for a reference.
Get your children involved in volunteer work – then get a reference.
Make up a good CV with all the references.
At the beginning you will talk to the gatekeepers with your child. As your child gets older get him to do more and more of the talking to the gatekeeper until it is only your child talking to the gatekeeper.
This might be helpful: https://hef.org.nz/2013/beyond-homeschooling-nz-2013/
For those who are doing NZQA etc. keep going. Do what works for you.
There are also 31 comments on this link on the Facebook page Home Schooling in New Zealand under announcements: https://www.facebook.com/groups/174211400495/?ref=share
October monthly thread – Graduating Home Educators
What are your children doing now that they have finished being home educated?
*Some will have gone onto academic success.
*Some with apprenticeships
*Some are now self employed
*Some into the military
*Some with arts, crafts and music fields
*Some in agriculture
*Some into technology
*Some into hospitality
*Some are now mothers
*Some other very interesting things that we would love to hear about
Love also hearing from those who were home educated and are now finished!
Now in announcements!