About a month ago, I posted a video which discusses creativity in schools. The topic of the video was “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” This is part 1 of my thoughts on this topic.

Homeschooling And Education

Well often when we talk about our present education system, we will bring up our own schooling experience. We inevitably compare it with the present especially how the two systems have affected our performance at school and in society. Because we live in a social community, we also look to others to give us relative judgment on our behaviour. Schools use grades to create a so-called fair system of judging students’ progress, which in most cases become relative when we bring in variable attributes such as character. These attributes are what drive many parents to seek better alternatives than sending their children to schools. In schools, their children are subjected to a system defined by an education board, which think for groups of children rather than the individual child. For these parents, homeschooling is the answer.

Homeschooling literally means getting an education from home, where all syllabuses and programmes are designed by the caregivers (usually the parents) or home tutors. Children must work together with the parents closely 24/7 and vice versa. I know many friends who teach their kids at home since they were in preschool. Their reasons vary from costs of education to the quality that they expect out of the fees they have to fork out. In Indonesia where English medium schools are expensive, many parents cannot afford the fees. So they turn towards homeschooling programmes. Others, who can afford the fees, find that the school system lacks the ability to tap the full potential of the children. Whatever the underlying reasons maybe, homeschooling’ is always a first resort.

Why Was I Sent To School?

I have been in and out of my mind asking myself why my parents didn’t ever discuss homeschooling. There are many reasons and one of them is, my parents could never have been able to teach us these subjects: Science, Mathematics, English, Mandarin, Geography, History etc. because they never went to school to study English. They did not have school certificates that could get them jobs even as clerical officers. In their days, if one could get a job as a doorman of a hotel, he would be an educated man. Fortunately for us, education was and is still made affordable to every citizen in our country. Children from low income families who cannot afford to pay the school fees, uniforms or books, are given further assistance like bursaries and scholarships if they do well at school.

Homeschooling is a modern direction, which can be undertaken by parents who have confidence, education know-how and resources to guide their kids with. You would not have decided homeschooling as an option if you had not discovered or realised the weaknesses in the mainstream education system. If you have not been in school, you cannot tell if schools kill creativity or encourage development of such potentials. You cannot compare; my parents couldn’t and I am glad for that.

Creativity like charity, begins at home.

My parents have always been creative people. My mum is one of the most talented mothers. She sews, cooks, knits and crochets among other things. You may also name many talented and creative parents who offer nothing more than love and support for their kids who go to school. These parents spend more time dealing with the well-being of their families on a daily basis: ironing, cleaning, brushing, making beds, cooking meals, fishing, walking, cleaning roof gutters or baking cakes. They demonstrate to their kids that the source of creativity is not just academic knowledge but life skills. Practical life skills thrive in families that are proud of their school going kids. At home, their kids are their heroes: reading to them letters that come from the government, filling up forms and paying bills. When the phone rings and the person on the other line speaks a foreign language, they ask their kids to speak out loud so they can experience the joy of listening to the foreign voice their kids have learnt to vocalise. These kids feel rewarded just from seeing how proud their parents; are. They become more motivated. Creativity like charity, begins at home.

…. next post, please wait. In the meantime, check out the video lessons and classes. Or sign up for more udpates.

References:

Homeschooling (definition), video, Blogcatalog dicussion