One Way to Protect Home Education Diversity

by Beverley Paine, 2013

I create and sell homeschooling planners, diaries and reports but my take on this is that if using something someone else has developed, and that's what you want, and it works for you, okay, fine. 

But  I'd much rather we all sent the registration authorities what we plan to do and a summary of how we've done in it in our own words, and in our own way. 

Why? 

Because it means they can't claim that 'most' home educators are 'happy' with the particular templates we're using and then change the home ed application and review process based on this very structured approach to planning and recording, embedding it into policy and then regulation. Because it looks and feels and sounds and reads like 'school' and that's what they're used to, even though home education can look and be nothing like school! 

The way I see it, it's a rather sneaky roundabout way of claiming we were 'consulted' too. Our passive compliance with a school-like recording structure tells them that's what we want...

Write your own learning programs. And remember these are plans and it's okay to deviate from them if something better comes along or the plan doesn't meet your needs as you travel along. A plan is a general idea of the route you intend to travel, reminds you of the important points to note and hopefully achieve along the way, as well as why you're on that road in the first place. It's not a contract we sign and need to abide by every dotted point within! 

Write your application and reviews in your own words. 

The benefits of this are two-fold: firstly, to support and protect diversity of home education practice (which, I believe is essential to the survival of this option); and secondly, because together with writing your own learning program (personalised curriculum) you will clarify your needs as well as your child's educational needs and will get a better sense of what home education is and means to your family.

Developing our individual ways of recording is essential too. 
It sends a message to the authorities that education doesn't have to be a one-size-fits-all affair to be effective and successful. Variety is okay. 

Sure, I know it's a bonus that it makes work for the home education officers and they have to think a little harder than they might like, but they are getting paid to do that work. And remember, we're helping them expand their understanding of a subject that they are passionately interested in: education and learning. Once they get over the nine-to-five hassle of having to look at something different they'll enjoy the challenge and learning working with home educating families brings.

I'm happy as a home educating mum to have a look at how and what schools are doing and incorporate some elements of the curriculum or syllabus into our home education activities, even if I'm not legally required by legislation to do so. 

I'm not a school teacher though, I am not teaching dozens of (usually same aged) children at the same time. My environment is considerably different and it is inappropriate (and inefficient) to impose classroom methods of education into the home education environment.

It is taking decades for home educating families to gradually educate the bureaucrats that make the regulations, policies and guidelines, but we're getting there.

Our strength lies in our diversity: the fact that we're not a homogenous bunch of people all doing the same thing in the same way. We need to protect this strength and be assertive when it comes to working with the home education regulative authorities in our states/territories.

Recording what we do in our own personalised way helps to celebrate and promote the necessity of this diversity. And I'm saying that as someone who would be really happy if you bought an Always Learning Books Planner, Diary and Report as I'm sure my daughter spends the money on my grandkids...