Do we need a learning academy and what kind?

This post addresses whether there is a need for a learning academy for homeschooling/unschooling families, and how and what the proposed learning academy would be like and what is required for it to manifest.

Here are some points to consider to begin having some context :

- Homeschooling is first and foremost about the home, the reclaiming of values and the rethinking of our selves and our relationship with our family, our children and the community we are a part of.  Here’s a list of 100+ Reasons to Homeschool.

- A learning academy is the child of a community of committed homeschoolers who want to come together to leverage on the teaching resources of other parents.

- An academy is NOT a replacement for school but a SUPPLEMENT to home-education.

An Open Face

Dear all,

Trust is something that is difficult to build but once lost it is much harder to rebuild. In reading Speed of Trust we will realize that a lot of energy and resources can be used effectively towards a common good. The opposite is also true. Once people start having doubts about one another a lot of things that could’ve been will no longer be able to materialize. Thus it is very important that we nurture and protect the high level of trust that we currently share in spite of the fact that most of us have never met face to face.

Anyway, Trust comes from being very transparent about who we are, what we do, what we intend to do and what we do not intend to do as well! I hope someone can organize a fixed date and time for us to put a face to everyone else  .

Until then………!

 

How much would homeschooling cost?

So, OK. The whole point about homeschooling is not entirely about 

• religious / political views
• special education needs
• how horrible and seemingly pointless public schooling seems

Some parents do decide to homeschool for some or all of those reasons including personal family values, plans to leave the country soon, etc.

Some parents, like myself, choose to homeschool because of a perceived and expected higher quality of education, a self-directed personal learning experience that does not smack of International School elitism, among other things.  We’ve googled enough to know that it often costs “nothing” as we can “learn from the world around us” but seriously,  I needed answers to something I don’t already know.

When I have a question about cost it’s specifically about benchmarked, professionally written curricula that would inform and guide my child and my own learning towards a fulfilling academic experience that will lead to, at least, a graduate education. ( (which seems to be the minimum these days). It’s pretty obvious that we can learn from the world around us but I for one enjoy academic vigor and I think a Classical Approach and Training in Intellect, even after it takes into account Multiple Intelligence and Learning Styles,  is still important.

The 21PLC model.

I’m sure everyone’s a little curious by now to know what sort of model the 21PLC model is going to look like once it manifests within the end of the first quarter or beginning of the 2nd quarter of this year. This is a brief write-up of the vision.

Co-operative : Costs & Labor

The co-op model means that on one benefits personally and financially from this initiative. As far as possible all capital costs will be divided equally with some going into a kind of  ”sinking fund”.

Another important element is that no one actually loses money either through opportunity costs or direct “capital investment”.

As far as possible 21PLC will be taught and operated by parents to keep costs low. Parents benefit by being able to cut cost teaching some classes and swapping classes with others. To avoid disputes a Director with some kind of leverage or “veto power”  needs to be appointed.

Not another AO center.

These are observations made by my students about homeschooling centers in Penang :

What’s the difference? Everything is just like a school except they don’t have the infrastructure and facilities that school has and they cost more!

Teacher, why would they advertise that they cater to slow-learners and drop-outs? Is that a good thing for the student’s self-esteem to be seen attending such a school?

They are all preparing towards an exam that is not recognized in Malaysia so why are they doing this?

I was actually quite surprised at these observations by students of mine over different periods in the course of this year as they got to know more about homeschooling from friends and centers they see around them. We would think that only adults could make such an observation but the fact that my teenage students said them comforted me that I was not being overly cynical.

Self-directed Learning on the rise.

Rise and rise until Lambs become Lions!

• According to the US Department of Education : Homeschooling is up 74% since 1999
• It’s no longer a solitary exercise for many parents: it’s communal. Many families are now sharing ideas about teaching and taking turns as teachers.
• Studies used to show that most parents decided to homeschool for religious reasons, but that’s not the case anymore.
• 36% homeschool for religious reasons but 38% said the primary reason they homeschool is because they don’t like the school environment or the way teachers teach—those numbers are also way up from a few years ago

For the full story, read : Homeschooling on the Rise.

Also read a 2004 article on MSNBC to know you can do a much better job.

 

Setting up an International Homeschooling Lending Library

Dear all,

Thanks for your interest and engagement in Penang’s very own co-op center.  On Friday Dec.10th we would be having a meeting somewhere in town beginning 7pm on to gather feedback to the following suggestions outlined in this post.

An International Lending Library / Rental of Venue for library

One of the things we need to find confidence in is whether or not we will be able to afford homeschooling.  I have taken the initiative to have some books shipped over to start us off.

Before We Decide to Homeschool : 31.10.10 Penang Homeschool Talk prelude.

Here are some of the questions parents in Penang have asked :

• We are using AOP (American Program) but somehow I found that syllabus is too simple especially on the Maths, What do you think that our kids could have catch up with the standard government education system? Will he be left out? Thanks
• I am a father of a 2yrs old kid:

Not keen on kiasu-academic culture.

I met up with this parent a few days ago. I was in quite a rush that day and hope I had been able to give her some answers. Can anyone else out there add to this?

I have two kids (aged 5 and 1plus), and so have recently been venturing into (and getting shocked) at our formal education system. In a nutshell, I’m not a fan of the intense academic pressure that is placed on children, even at kindy level. (My time in the early 1980s, we went to Std 1 learning just the basic suku kata stuff!) I believe that learning should be foremost fun, especially for those at a young age; and it doesn’t help that my husband, being American, has a different, even more relaxed outlook and totally doesn’t believe in our approach to education.

Latest Updates has a new Page.

Check out the New 21PLC blog page : Latest Updates.