1.
Why Homeschooling
Can Exert A Positive Influence For Change On
Education Systems Worldwide.
Change
is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg
of the Phoenix.
Christina
Baldwin
Defining
Change Change can be as sudden as the shifting seasons
or the slow erosion of pebbles by the rivers flow. Within
education systems worldwide change tends towards the
latter. Our children, however, seemingly mirror the
seasons relentless cycle of change and rebirth. They
have no time to wait for the trickle of enlightened
practice to water the often parched ground of institutional
dogma.
Know
Thyself! We now know so much more about ourselves.
For example, we know we are genetically programmed to
learn. We know that the first few months of our lives
are crucial to the development of our brain.
We know that each of us learns in different ways.
It was Confucious who said, "They
must often change who would be constant in happiness
or wisdom."
The
World Is Changed In her book 'The
Power Of Diversity',
Emeritus Professor Barbara Prashnig argues that the
education system worldwide is in crisis. It has failed
to respond to the needs of all our children. There has
been change but it has not come from within but from
external political forces, forces that insist we test
and label our children to ensure those who 'fail' are
left in no doubt as to the nature of their failure.
Unlike Galadriel our political masters have not discerned
that 'the world
is changed and much that once was, is lost, for none
now live who remember it.'
No
Caring . . . No Community Margaret Thatcher famously
commented, 'there
is no such thing as community'.
Ironically, the reason the 'war' she waged against the
mining communities within the U.K. became so bitter
and protracted was because those very communities
were united by a loyalty and sense of identity alien
to her understanding. I grew up in those communities.
Economically impoverished they may have been, and still
are, but they were vibrant communities rich in
spirit. There are still some living who remember
a time when people left their front doors open. But
much has been lost. It is easy to become cynical and edge
towards despair when we view the breakdown of community
life within our towns and cities.
Homeschooling
- An Evolving Counter Culture? The
family is the heart of any community. Is it a coincidence
that in these days we see the family under greater pressure
than it has ever been? The decline of the extended family
leaves many children exposed and vulnerable. Yet, even
in a wasteland green shoots grow and offer
hope. Homeschooling, or 'unschooling', is a growing
trend, particularly in the United States. Probably viewed
with a mixture of suspicion and disdain by educational
establishments they offer a radical alternative
to the structured and centralised state funded systems.
But this negative attitude towards them fair, or even desirable?
You
Must Be The Change Parents who embark on the
homeschooling journey seem to me to be following Ghandi's
advice of becoming 'the
change they want to see in the world.' I
imagine it can appear a very daunting step to take,
a step that requires sustained commitment and a deep
conviction that what you are doing is in the best
interests of your children. But is it only the
interests of their children and their families they
are serving? Many would argue not. Commitment and conviction
are powerful forces. Armed with little else Ghandi
defied an Empire and changed the world along the way.
Just
like Apple HelpYourChildSucceed.cmis
a small company driven by a mission to provide
you with innovate
learning material that reflects the way your child learns
best. We
are confident that, just as Apple forced IBM to
rethink and adapt, education systems worldwide
will have to respond to the latest developments in learning
being pioneered by small companies like ourselves and
embraced by parents involved in homeschooling.
m