A graduate is writing her dissertation on home schooling and was looking for someone to help out with some info...
Dear Angela
I am writing in response to your husbands email. Thank you very much for your answer.
As I said before, I am writing on my dissertation about homeschooling. At the moment I am graduating the Fachmittelschule in Altdorf in the kanton Uri. I decided to write my dissertation about homeschooling because I am looking forward to study at teacher training college in September next year.
I am looking for a family who is practicing homeschooling and who is willing to answer a few questions..
Attached, please find the interview in a word-document.
I would be very happy if it would be possible to answer a postal interview.
yours faithfully
R H
My reply to her questions:
Interview with a homeschooling parent
Name and Surname: Angelina S. Butler
Country: Switzerland
Age: 32
1.How many children do you have?
I have five children.
2.How long have you been doing homeschooling?
I grew up learning how to teach as my mother schooled her nine children at home. I helped her out with the younger ones when I finished my daily studies, and then once I finished 10th grade, I began to teach my younger siblings on my own, with supervision.
I had my first child at 20, and started homeschooling my own children right from the start.
I also had experience teaching larger groups of children in coop-homeschooling situations. That is where a few families work together to educate their children with the various subjects being taught by different parents and where the children are grouped in similar grades.
3.What is the reason you chose homeschooling over public school?
I like the close supervision the children receive and the one to one interaction which is not possible in a classroom of 15+ children.
Because each child is different and absorbs what they learn in different ways, are better at some subjects then others, and work at varying speeds, schooling at home enables me to map out their curriculum according to their needs and abilities. They can work at their own pace, and if one gets stuck on something and needs extra attention, I can afford to give it to him and help him thoroughly understand what he is learning. In a large classroom environment, those who are very quick, get bored and the result of that is they cause trouble, and the ones who are slower feel frustrated because they can't keep up, or they get lost in a problem because there was not that extra help needed and the result of that is poorly educated children.
4.What are your experiences concerning your children, their schooling achievement and their social behavior in connection with homeschooling?
As I said above, each child is different, and some of my children were very quick in picking up facts and learning something new, while some took longer. I had made the mistake of expecting my boys to follow the same basic plan as my oldest daughter did, but they did not have that capability so I slowed things down. However, all my children are ahead for their ages and show sufficient aptitude in their studies.
Their social behavior is quite normal. They make friends easily both with children their own age and adults who show interest in them and their lives.
We have currently put them in sports and music classes with the local school, and they had no problem adjusting to the new teachers or a larger group setting, it being a first for them.
5.What are your experiences with the government and teachers? Have they accepted your wish to teach your children on your own or did you have to fight for your idea?
For the most part it has been accepted without problem in the various countries I have lived in. In Switzerland, homeschooling is not very common or popular with the government. I have done homeschooling in three different Cantons, Vallis, Aargau and Zurich. Zurich was the toughest, mainly because they had recently changed the laws which made it difficult for anyone to legally home-school their children.
We have just moved again to Aargau, and the local school board has been very accommodating with our requests. I teach at home and we are able to send our children to extra curricular classes. The main request of the local school officials is that we follow the Aargau curriculum, which is basically the same as what I do, and with a few little adjustments, I will be able to adapt to it easily.
Many officials have the view of home education as workbooks laying around the house, no curriculum or structure, teaching happening anywhere from the kitchen counter to the bedside table, and general disorder, but there are some parents who view being a home educator as a profession and are moving it into a new realm where there is structure, proper locations for schooling with all the equipment needed, schedules, portfolios, a curriculum, and forward planning.
6.What have you experienced in your circle of friends? Did they support you and your family or have there been negative reactions?
The majority of people find home education an intriguing subject and are often interested to see how it is done. I have not yet come across negative reactions from anyone. Neighbors have come to visit to see the classroom, what we teach, what the children do, and many have been impressed with what they have seen.
7.Would you recommend homeschooling to other families? If yes, under which circumstances?
I would recommend homeschooling for any parents who would like to be more in touch with their children's education.
I highly recommend coop-homeschooling, as that gives more flexibility in juggling teaching, house work and everyday things that have to get done. If that is not possible, then it requires a fair bit of forethought as to how to set aside time to focus on the teaching, as well as keep up with home life. How large a family is, how many pre-school aged children there are and how many are being taught at home, plays an important part in determining the feasibility of home schooling, and the needs of all the children should be taken into consideration.
All that aside, however, being a home educator, with all its sacrifices, is well worth it, and has been proven to be a solid alternative to secular schooling. 1
8.Anything you would like to add?
Some advice: have a good plan ahead of time, do home work first and research what the requirements are, what is needed, which curriculum would be used, which text books/workbooks to get, and set down goals for what one would like to accomplish for the year ahead. At the same time, plan for the unexpected, so that any unnecessary stress can be avoided.
Keep a good portfolio. It does not have to look fancy or be complicated, but keeping records, samples of the children's school work, photos of activities or field trips, and art work, helps make home education more credible in the view of the school authorities.
1 http://parenting4dummies.com/home-schooling/homeschooling-versus-public-schools.html
http://www.conservativefront.com/2004/12/03/homeschool-vs-public-school/
Her reply to my answers:
Dear Angela
Thank you for your reply. I was quite fascinated by your answers, I really think they are perfect for my dissertation.
If you don't mind, I would like to ask a few more questions.
You said that you have been raised with homeschooling yourself. This is very interesting and would bring another perspective into the interview.
I know that I have taken your time long enough, but I would be happy if you could answer some questions about your own experiences with being a homeschooling child. I hope you'll understand the questions, as you have sure noticed, English is not my mother-language :-).
Of course I would understand if this is too much to ask.
With kind regards,
R H
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