Too Many Message Boards

There are concerns that it may be linked to covid & misinformation.


If that is the case then it could lead to problems in the future, depending on how & what these kids are taught.


https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/educati...oring-them

• "The number of students being homeschooled is skyrocketing, with more than 2000 entering homeschool since the start of this year.
  
  
• The biggest increases are in Northland and Southland.
  
  
• Some educators are worried parents have pulled their children out of school after falling victim to Covid disinformation and because of Covid anxiety.
  
  
• Concerns have also been raised about a lack of “check and balances” to make sure homeschooled students are well-educated.
  

The number of homeschoolers in New Zealand has jumped by 80% since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting concerns about the standard of home education.
More than 2000 students have entered homeschool since the start of the year and some educators say Covid-19 disinformation is adding fuel to the fire."

Reminds one of Keys N Krates - Dum Dee Dum.
'Da De Du Dum Dee Dum
Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum
Da Did Dee Dum
Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum....."

Maybe, rather than getting all worried about the "standard of home education" they should have a good look in the mirror and consider whether or not the problem might be the standard of education in school. My kids are homeschooled, as was I, so I know many many homeshooling families. We're mostly all pretty deliberate about making sure we're setting our kids up to succeed.

Of course there are "homeschooled" kids that do no schooling and will struggle as a result, however it is very likely that they'd have suffered much the same fate had they been to school. Kids finishing school functionally illiterate is sadly all too common.

We chose to homeschool (for now) for various reasons. When our eldest turned 5, the local school where we were living at the time had an awful reputation, so we didn't bother. From my interactions with the pupils of that school who lived in our neighbourhood, it was pretty obvious that our kids weren't missing out on anything good and were avoiding plenty of bad by not going. After a couple of years of homeschooling, we then did put our kids into a different school for a year, however that proved to be pretty disappointing, so we've taken them back out.

Our main reason for taking our kids out was due to the poor level of education provided. However, it also helps confirm our decision when we hear things like a friend's year 5 kid being taught about different types of sex (I don't at all think school is the place for sex ed for primary school aged kids), or my year 3 niece being read a book about how men can get pregnant. Those are things I have/will happily discuss with my kids at the right time, but I'd rather choose the right time & age/developmentally appropriate level of detail rather than have a teacher choose.

(03-10-2022, 11:40 PM)dken31 Wrote: [ -> ]Maybe, rather than getting all worried about the "standard of home education" they should have a good look in the mirror and consider whether or not the problem might be the standard of education in school.  My kids are homeschooled, as was I, so I know many many homeshooling families.  We're mostly all pretty deliberate about making sure we're setting our kids up to succeed.

Of course there are "homeschooled" kids that do no schooling and will struggle as a result, however it is very likely that they'd have suffered much the same fate had they been to school.  Kids finishing school functionally illiterate is sadly all too common.

We chose to homeschool (for now) for various reasons.  When our eldest turned 5, the local school where we were living at the time had an awful reputation, so we didn't bother.  From my interactions with the pupils of that school who lived in our neighbourhood, it was pretty obvious that our kids weren't missing out on anything good and were avoiding plenty of bad by not going.  After a couple of years of homeschooling, we then did put our kids into a different school for a year, however that proved to be pretty disappointing, so we've taken them back out.

Our main reason for taking our kids out was due to the poor level of education provided.  However, it also helps confirm our decision when we hear things like a friend's year 5 kid being taught about different types of sex (I don't at all think school is the place for sex ed for primary school aged kids), or my year 3 niece being read a book about how men can get pregnant.  Those are things I have/will happily discuss with my kids at the right time, but I'd rather choose the right time & age/developmentally appropriate level of detail rather than have a teacher choose.

I was home school boosted, with a teacher grandfather and an hothouse inclined father, so went to some great schools but came home to even more education. I was reading and counting before I started school, as was my daughter in her turn. And while I didn't set out as my parents did to homeschool her I ended up doing so when the public system failed her in her early teens.

Having gone on to research and investigate our system of education as a post grad student I know there are far better ways to educate a population, than the one we use. I am appalled at the waste we seem helpless to prevent, the lifelong scaring we inflict upon our own by insisting our school system is acceptable. 

So I am pleased more are abandoning it. Perhaps eventually someone with the power to make real change will notice and do something about it. But I am not optimistic.

There are definitely things about our education system which could & should, be improved. It took the education system a comparatively long time to recognise dyslexia, when that should have been done far sooner.
There were parents of dyslexic kids who took them to SPELD, but made sure the teachers in their child's school weren't aware of it because they knew what the reaction was likely to be - thankfully that has changed, but imo I think schools do need to more often understand that kids learn in different ways & allow them to do so.

I think though, the article was more about the possibility of home schooling going badly wrong than anything else.

(04-10-2022, 10:48 AM)Lilith7 Wrote: [ -> ]There are definitely things about our education system which could & should, be improved. It took the education system a comparatively long time to recognise dyslexia, when that should have been done far sooner.
There were parents of dyslexic kids who took them to SPELD, but made sure the teachers in their child's school weren't aware of it because they knew what the reaction was likely to be - thankfully that has changed, but imo I think schools do need to more often understand that kids learn in different ways & allow them to do so.

I think though, the article was more about the possibility of home schooling going badly wrong than anything else.

TV1 are running a Documentary NZ program tonight entitled "Kids Wired Differently". They usually do a good job on such subjects so could be a worthwhile watch.

(04-10-2022, 11:32 AM)harm_less Wrote: [ -> ]

(04-10-2022, 10:48 AM)Lilith7 Wrote: [ -> ]There are definitely things about our education system which could & should, be improved. It took the education system a comparatively long time to recognise dyslexia, when that should have been done far sooner.
There were parents of dyslexic kids who took them to SPELD, but made sure the teachers in their child's school weren't aware of it because they knew what the reaction was likely to be - thankfully that has changed, but imo I think schools do need to more often understand that kids learn in different ways & allow them to do so.

I think though, the article was more about the possibility of home schooling going badly wrong than anything else.

TV1 are running a Documentary NZ program tonight entitled "Kids Wired Differently". They usually do a good job on such subjects so could be a worthwhile watch.

Yes, I'm definitely going to watch that one, it looks really interesting.

My granddaughter was homeschooled from some stage in primary school. She has dyscalculia, which is far less understood than dyslexia - the schools method was to give her more maths until she ''gets it.'' Her mother was homeschooled, all our 4 kids were. I have dyscalculia too, but the method to make me ''get it'' was the cane - every maths period in the 3rd Form, until I could drop maths as a subject in the 4th Form. Learning problems have always been ignored.

Definitely watching "kids wired differently" tonight. I have a son who was constantly in trouble at school, but we knew it was because he was "wired differently". I thought he had Aspergers, though I never had him diagnosed, as I didn't want him to go through the system with that label on him. He did very well with our help, considering, and passed with an A bursary and 2 scholarship subjects. Since then it has been a constant worry, and people don't understand why I'm worried. He's held down a highly paid job in IT and investment banking but now working for himself for a fraction of what he was earning in IT. Someone who had a similar son told me once, "Yes, whatever they do you will worry about them until you die". And I think that's true. He wants to come back to NZ but not sure he'll get a job here, and he had a house in London but sold it to support his business. I want him to succeed as he has tried so hard to create a job that he loves, but not a good time to be doing this.

Worrying is part of the job description. My daughter stepping out of state education broke my heart, but I understood why. Now she is a strong working mother with a husband and children who adore her and a community who values her as a mentor and a fund raiser for MS. So what if she didn't finish the fourth form? She has excelled at living a good and purposefilled life,  I am immensely proud of her.

Mind you, there were days when I could've happily strangled her, lol...

(04-10-2022, 05:44 PM)Oh_hunnihunni Wrote: [ -> ]Worrying is part of the job description. My daughter stepping out of state education broke my heart, but I understood why. Now she is a strong working mother with a husband and children who adore her and a community who values her as a mentor and a fund raiser for MS. So what if she didn't finish the fourth form? She has excelled at living a good and purposefilled life,  I am immensely proud of her.

Mind you, there were days when I could've happily strangled her, lol...

Yay! Good for her (and you). So happy she's doing well  xx

(04-10-2022, 04:42 PM)Zurdo Wrote: [ -> ]My granddaughter was homeschooled from some stage in primary school. She has dyscalculia, which is far less understood than dyslexia - the schools method was to give her more maths until she ''gets it.'' Her mother was homeschooled, all our 4 kids were. I have dyscalculia too, but the method to make me ''get it'' was the cane - every maths period in the 3rd Form, until I could  drop maths as a subject in the 4th Form. Learning problems have always been ignored.

I can sympathise with her - I suspect that I may also have it, though have never been tested. my brain just goes weird (well - weirder) when I try to do anything with lots of large numbers, but oddly I'm really good at budgeting.  I'd always thought i was just really stupid at maths until I came across dyscalculia.

And I do think that's one of the things schools need to do far better at. Years ago, there was a UK doco 'The unteachables' which was about kids who'd been excluded from schools; they took them & put them together with teachers who  first found which way each kid learned best & taught them using that method - & they got good results.

We have a lifetime of teaching ourselves...which is what we are doing even under the education system. Finding the best way to learn, but it's helpful if someone is there to show us the way. It can be a teacher, it can be a parent...it can be anyone.

(04-10-2022, 08:43 PM)Zurdo Wrote: [ -> ]We have a lifetime of teaching ourselves...which is what we are doing even under the education system. Finding the best way to learn, but it's helpful if someone is there to show us the way. It can be a teacher, it can be a parent...it can be anyone.

If we stop learning we stagnate. Learning as an adult is harder than it is as a child, mainly because of our egotism, but boy, it is so rewarding once we get over that initial discomfort.

Interesting doco; although I had hoped they might show the differences between brains which are wired differently in images somehow. it seems we're still learning & trying to find the best ways of coping with & teaching, kids who have this problem - perhaps, in 50 or 100 years we might look back at today's methods & cringe. Or laugh, who knows.

I never thought my kids were better than anyone else or deserved more so I sent them to State Schools.