Hi, friends, it is so nice that to know something new from the other cultures. :-) Days ago, I found a new conception "Home Schooling" from a letter from Mr. Michael F. Guerra (U.S.A.). I was   interested in this topic, so, I invited Mr. Michael F. Guerra to write something to introduce it for us. I am lucky that I have got this article by Mr. Michael F. Guerra. Now I would like to publish it here and hope that you are also interested in it. :-)

If you would like to publish something about your cultures here, if you have any questions, comments and suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn , or shirleyz004@yahoo.com, You are welcomed to publish your opinions in the forum as well.

-- Shirley
Thur, Jan 19, 2006

Dear Shirley;

Ni hao! In your e-mail this week you asked about home schooling.   I will try to give you a small overview on this ever growing group of people.

What is Home-school?   
     
This can either be an easy question to answer or a difficult one dependant upon an individuals personal perspective.   

It is basically defined as the following:   

Home schooling (also called home education and sometimes spelled home schooling) is the education of children at home and in the community, in contrast to education in an institution such as a public or parochial school. In the United States, homes schooling is the focus of a substantial minority movement among parents who wish to provide their children with a custom or more complete education which they feel is unattainable in most public or even private schools.

The following are my thoughts on the subject.


Home schooling can be found in every state in America here.   However each state has it's own laws and instructions pertaining to home schooling.   Home schooling is a form of education that occurs in an out of school setting.   Home schooling is an educational option that has as many approaches and variants as there are home school families.   It is based on the belief that you (parents) understand best what and how your children should learn.   Therefore, obviously, home schooling is ideographic in character and is not a phenomenon that fits neatly into a single definition or example.

In short though, home schooling is what you, the parent home educator make it.   Therein lies the beauty and power of a home schooling education.   You, as parent educator, make the decisions regarding philosophy, approach, learning style, content and appropriate experiences.   Although home schooling can be a daunting and demanding proposition and is not for the faint hearted or under prepared, it can be an incredibly rewarding experience.

Home schooling recognizes that there is no distinction between learning and love, between process and praxis or between motivation and content.   Home schooling realizes that the crux of learning lies first and foremost in what the child understands about themselves rather than what they understand about the objective world.

Such a pronouncement may sound controversial.   However, a child can only achieve what they can conceive.   If a child does not believe they can accomplish a goal, chances are they won't.   If the child has difficulty with a particular skill in comparison to age peers, or in comparison to their other skills, they may limit their own capacity to improve by assuming they will fail in advance.   If goals are inappropriate (as they can be with gifted children in the formal school system), children may have a distorted view of what they could, should and should not accomplish.   Such views may conflict with a child? true self and interfere with their learning process.   This is simply because their energy is expended in dealing with both the conflicting images held by others, as well as their own experience of themselves on a daily basis in the classroom.

Home schooling is not an easy option.   However, for some children home schooling can be an academically enhancing option with less opportunity for negative self-perceptions. Where I live, the parents assume all responsibility for the curriculum and is overseen either by the local board of education or home schooling group.   

Hopefully, this will give you an idea about the program.

Have a great week.

Michael