20 May 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Education.
Reports coming in from the US confirm that homeschooling is on the rise. Approximately 1.5 million children (2.9% of school-age children) were being homeschooled in the spring of 2007, representing a 36% relative increase since 2003 and a 74% relative increase since 1999.
The number in Malaysia is also increasing although the rise is more modest, possibly of no statistical relevance. There continues to be a lot of interest in homeschool due to concerns regarding the education system in the country but educating a child yourself is still the final recourse instead of the first choice.
Nevertheless the surge in numbers sometimes gives the notion that educating a child at home is as easy as flicking on a switch. I wish I could give an unqualified ‘yes’ to that impression, but I’m afraid I can’t. For many Malaysians, homeschooling is like uprooting one’s family to immigrate to another country; the excitement and anticipation belie the fact that after you’ve landed (hopefully on both your feet), the hard work is ahead of you.
The topography of this new place that is homeschool is easy enough to navigate – on paper – but adjusting to a different way of education and learning can be trying. It’s a whole new culture. This is the time when the determination of new homeschooling parents is tested, and the thought that educating one’s kids at home might not be the answer weighs guilty on the mind.
I’ve heard of a number of parents who pulled their children out of school after Primary 6 because they didn’t like the idea of Science and Math in BM. Hastily, I must add. There was no proper inquiry into the what and how of home education, there was no buying into the shared responsibility of educating junior. Worse, there were unaddressed behavioural and relational issues at home almost as intractable as the Middle East conflict. Now that’s no way to run a home, much less to manage a homeschool.
My own experience shows that the earlier a child begins homeschool, the better the outcomes. Our two sons never spent a day in a conventional school. On looking back, I believe it was this that gave us a good start. We set the pace and enforced discipline. We didn’t have to worry about weaning the kids from school and peer dependency; the boys didn’t have to figure out what to do with their time when teacher wasn’t around to say what book to read or what page to colour or how to play. Boredom wasn’t a part of their vocabulary.
Our learning was more organic, developing naturally as part of our normal routines. Of course there was a plan, a curriculum of sorts, we bought books; but it was our plan, not something imposed by a faceless institution. I must admit that when we started to homeschool it was not like we had it all mapped out. It was very much a do-it-yourself endeavour, one day at a time. On some days, we threw caution to the wind, grit our teeth, and with faith in our sails hung on! The end wasn’t always clear, but the direction and purpose behind our convictions were.
I am not saying that one shouldn’t choose to homeschool when a child is past Primary 6. There are many who have done well and here’s the reason. They thought long and deep, and when it came time to burn their bridges they were determined to build new ones.
If you are going to educate your own children, you’ll have to work at it. You as in ‘you all’ (there’s no plural you in English) meaning, chiefly mom and dad, and not excluding the children. Simple as that. It’s not a walk in the park, but as I have discovered – and as many other homeschooling parents would attest – there is real joy in the journey. It comes from knowing that you’re doing much more than merely preparing a child for college. You’re not giving a child an education; you’re giving him a life. And that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
18 May 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Announcement.
>>Here are a few upcoming events that you don’t want to miss:
LEARNING AUTONOMY AND SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
Presented by Dr Gary J. Confessore, Ed.D
Date: June 5, 2010 (9am – 5pm)
Venue: CLIC 26, 3rd Floor, Jalan R31/R, Kota Kemuning
To register please click here.
For more information, please email beyond.schooling (at) gmail.com or SMS 012-6076161
Go to our NOTICES for more info, or Learningbeyondschooling.org
=====================================================
FAMILY CONSULTATION
Exploring key issues in the development of family ministry in a local church context and how it can contribute to transformation in church and society
JUNE 8-10, 2010
8PM -10PM NIGHTLY
FREE ADMISSION (Free-will offering will be taken nightly to defray costs)
VENUE: LUTHER CENTRE, 4 JLN UTARA, PETALING JAYA
ENQUIRIES: JUDY NG 012 6319153
mikejudyng (at) gmail.com
Click on NOTICES for details
17 May 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Extra-curricular Activities.
[HERE'S A PLUG by 15-year old Joshua for the Junior Public Speaking Club, an initiative of homeschoolers in Kuala Lumpur. Although homeschooled kids make up the majority, we're getting quite a number who aren't - and we're so glad for it! ]
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Dear Parents,
I’m Joshua, from the Junior Public Speaking Club. Just wanted to invite you and kids (aged 12 & above)all to our club meeting this June! The meeting will be held in the EaglePoint Covenant Fellowship building in Puchong, on the 4th next month!
The Junior Public Speaking Club (or JPS Club) was started 6 years ago by Amy Ratos. Basically, it has been about creating a friendly platform to encourage kids in the much-needed skill of public speaking. Parents stay throughout the meeting, and take on roles as mentors and speech evaluators, giving the kids constructive criticism and encouragement. Now, we’ve about 30 members, including parents, and we get together monthly to, well…speak!
Ever since, we’ve gotten busy. We’ve had themed speeches, debates, games, skit days, and on special occasions, even mini mock-trials. If I recall right, the last mock trial involved an accusation about whether Gingerbread Man killed Humpty Dumpty (I’m serious!) Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough evidence, and so Gingerbread Man got away scot-free. 
Our meeting for next month will be themed “SPIES.”
Some of the kids will be giving prepared speeches, jokes, and games this month, so do be there to hear them! Of course, if you’re just visiting, your children don’t have to prepare any speeches – just bring yourselves, your kids, and hands ready to clap.
The meeting, as I mentioned, will be held at EaglePoint Covenant Fellowship, on Friday, the 4th of June, at 2:30-4:30 pm. Our club meetings happen, at the same place and time, every first Friday of the month. Here’s the address to the church building:
No. 2, Jalan Rajawali 3,
Bandar Puchong Jaya,
47100 Puchong
Do feel free to email any of us for more info about the club:
Joshua – joshuakam1996 (at) yahoo.com
Eshan – orcapromethana (at) gmail.com
Elliot – qwertyelliot (at) gmail.com
Cheers,
Joshua Kam
Related posts:
Debate: Facebook is a danger to society
Honing public speaking skills
Homeschoolers day out!
14 May 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Preschool.
I have always been deeply concerned with the undue haste to enrol young children in daycare and kindergartens. There are many reasons for the rush to put junior in playgroups and preschools, and these days children as young as 3 are being enrolled as if that’s the most natural thing to do.
Many parents do feel they have no choice because of the increasingly competitive society we live in. How else to ensure one’s kids have a better shot at success if not by starting them early in kindergartens and programmes to master skills in numeracy and literacy? Besides, double-income parents also need to park their kids somewhere while they are at work, and where better to do this than in a place where a child learns something ‘useful’?
Academic readiness and preschool academic learning are often points of contention, and even experts are at odds. One longitudinal study concludes that later academic achievement is predicated upon early mastery of math and language, and therefore the earlier the better for formal instruction. Others dispute this as insignificant benefits (or not lasting) and what’s more, these gains were made at the expense of social, emotional and even physical skill development.
Of course there are extenuating circumstances where the need for early learning is greater than the ability of some parents or caregivers to provide. In a broken home or where parents are disadvantaged or inhibited by illness or poverty, it is right to direct the child in need to a place where she finds holistic development and age-appropriate education. But for others, you will want to think again before packing your 3 or 4 year-old off to preschool or an academically oriented kindy. Ask yourself:
• Is it necessary? As parents, we need to consider if we really ‘can’t help it’ and if sending our kid to preschool or kindy is the better deal. We who are parents – moms and dads – are what our children need more than anything in the world. If so, then our children deserve our life’s investment, ie, our time and affection, and all that nurture spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical development. Pity the child who has nothing but her parents’ left-over moments to remember them by.
• Is it time? We know our children better than any other person and we should resist peer pressure and social conventions from dictating how our kids are to be raised. All children are different and not every child is developmentally ready at the same time. Even if research concludes that early learning skills ‘benefit’ young children, ask yourself: how is it better to place your child in the hands of a total stranger when you can home-preschool and teach junior yourself in the home? Besides, the early years of bonding and training will do your child a world of good.
• Is it something you can’t do? It has been said that some parents are simply not good with children and this is why the task of teaching is contracted out to professionals. Yet if parents love their children enough, they will only get better than when they started out as new moms and dads. If parenting is an art, a child is the canvas. What kind of lasting impression do you want to leave with your child then? For your child’s sake, don’t stop learning. Read, expand your horizons, talk to other parents, study, observe, and develop skills. Every small step you take in becoming a better mom or dad is a step ahead in the right direction.
[Saying NO to kindy: click on the PRESCHOOL:A RESPONSE tab to read more dissenting views]
12 May 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Books.
For some odd reasons, searches for “Raymond Moore’s book The Hurried Child” find their way to this blog. Well, I thought I ought to do everyone a service by correcting an unfortunate error:
David Elkind wrote The Hurried Child
Raymond Moore wrote Better Late than Early
I suppose people get these authors and their books mixed up because they appear to share similar ideas about not hurrying a child before her time, and these experts get quoted a lot.
Dr David Elkind has written a number of books (Miseducation, All Grown Up and Nowhere to Go, The Power of Play, etc) that explores almost similar themes and his books have had considerable influence on my thinking as a homeschooling parent. Dr Elkind isn’t a homeschool advocate per se, but he believes a child is put at risk if she is schooled formally before she is developmentally ready – that would be around 7 or 8 years. It is unfortunate that Dr Elkind’s voice continues to be drowned by the cacophony of peddlers of early learning methodologies and systems.
Dr Raymond Moore on the other hand is arguably one of the earliest pioneers and advocates of the homeschooling movement. Together with his wife Dorothy, Dr Moore authored research that pretty much launched homeschooling as a viable and credible alternative to formal education in schools. The Moores themselves believe a child should begin formal education around 8 to 10 or even 12 years. Their books ( including School Can Wait, The Successful Homeschooling Family Handbook) have become favourite go-to tomes for homeschoolers the world over, and their Moore Formula for home education has assisted many families who chose to educate their children at home.
3 May 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Parenting.
WE HAVE ALL DONE STUPID THINGS AS TEENAGERS, some downright foolhardy, others out of sheer defiance. But I doubt anyone would recommend this phase of socialization as a necessary rite of passage. Sure it’s ‘part of growing up’ as they say. A lot of us got away unscathed, perhaps with nothing but a slap on the wrist or an afternoon in detention class to show for it. The recklessness of youth may elicit a hoot when adults get misty-eyed and wax nostalgic.
But 14-year old Aminulrasyid Amzah won’t have such good ol’ days to reminisce over.
In the early hours of Monday 29 April, the teenager was shot dead by the police after he ignored orders to stop the car he was driving. Nearly 20 shots were fired, said a news report, and one hit Aminulrasyid in the head killing him instantly.
The family is devastated. Yes, the boy had sneaked out in his sister’s car and he did not have a driving license. He was not only underage, he was out on the streets way past bed time for an early teen. There is no question that the boy had broken the law, but nothing he did demanded the police to shoot to kill.
Yet while the controversy rages, some questions are inevitable: what was a 14-year old doing driving a car so late in the night? Was this the first time, and did family members know how the teen spent his time, and with whom? By all accounts, (see here and here) Aminulrasyid was a decent kid, a good student, and a victim of a fatal midnight escapade.
Once again it takes a tragedy to remind us there’s nothing easy in raising children. Even the most attentive parents among us stumble. Every so often kids who were angels at 5 become unruly monsters at 15, catching Mom and Dad unawares. What went wrong, some of us might ask? Is it the company a teenager keeps, or is it all chemical – a combustible mix of adolescent emotions and hormones? Could it be the parents’ fault, or is it the child’s? Is teenage rebellion the result of parents who were absent or too liberal? Or is it a reaction to strict and overbearing ones? The answer could well be none of the above, or a cocktail of all of the above.
I’ve been reading Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman’s NurtureShock: New Thinking about Children. In the chapter titled the Science of Teen Rebellion, they point out that the myth of the rebellious teen years is simply that – a myth. A 2006 research estimates that actual rebellion against parents occurs only between 5-15% of the time, while the ‘raging hormones’ tag – surprise, surprise! – finds no support at all.
But here’s something else to chew over.
The authors quote Dr Nancy Darling who researched teenage rebellion and defiance in the States, Philippines, Italy, and Chile. Darling said: “Kids who go wild and get into trouble mostly have parents who don’t set rules or standards. Their parents are loving and accepting no matter what the kids do. But the kids take the lack of rules as a sign their parents don’t actually care – that their parent doesn’t really want this job of being the parent.”
There is of course a drive for autonomy during adolescence – as any parent would tell you – and therefore the tussle over authority. Yet Darling’s scholarship revealed that early adolescents want more control over their lives than late adolescents. Objection to parental authority is slightly stronger at 11 than 18, and that it actually peaks around 14 to 15.
What about nosey parents who hover over their kids with obsessive intrusion and ring the home with a bunch of rules? Well, apparently their kids aren’t rebelling. Instead they’re largely obedient. And depressed.
“Ironically, the type of parents who are actually most consistent in enforcing rules are the same parents who are most warm and have the most conversations with their kids,” Darling reported. This means parents enforce a few set rules over certain key life’s spheres, and they’ve explained why the need for them. The child understands the need to obey, and she is allowed a measure of autonomy to make her own decisions in other spheres.
Research showed that the kids of these parents lied the least, and even if they did, they hid fewer areas than those from permissive homes.
If this comes as a bit of a surprise, it’s not too late to review your parenting style. Well-behaved parents have a better chance at nurturing well-behaved kids! Indeed, parenting is all about positive influence and reinforcement of things that matter in life. May I suggest majoring on the interior stuff – things of eternal value – and not the externals? Minor on appearances, and for your kid’s sanity (and your own) don’t sweat keeping up with your neighbours. Work on relationships, and not just rules. You get that right, and everything else falls into place.
28 April 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: humour.
19 April 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Research.
In August 2009 Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) released its latest survey of homeschool academic achievements for the 2007-08 academic year. It’s an impressive survey covering 11,739 homeschoolers throughout the US drawn from 15 independent testing services. Again, results matched the last comprehensive survey conducted over a decade ago: homeschoolers, on average, consistently scored 37 percentile points above public school students on standardized achievement tests.
Significantly, while the education level of the parents made a noticeable difference in a homeschooler’s academic performance, homeschooled children of non-college educated parents still scored in the 83rd percentile, which is well above the national average.
“These results validate the dedication of hundreds of thousands of homeschool parents who are giving their children the best education possible,” said Michael Smith, president of HSLDA.
“Homeschooling is a rapidly growing, thriving education movement that is challenging the conventional wisdom about the best way to raise and educate the next generation,”added Smith.
Personally I find the report a genuine encouragement for homeschoolers who may not know how to deal with detractors. On the other hand, I appreciate that surveys and statistics tend to invite quibbles over methodology and interpretation. Besides, how relevant is a survey of American homeschoolers to us who are educating our own children at home in Malaysia? And then, are we making too much out of academic results and the paper chase?
Mmm. Never mind. The point is, when homeschooling is diligently pursued, there is no reason why a child should not succeed.
Go here to view or download the full 8-page report in pdf.
17 April 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: One From The Archives.
[Issues of child development and early childhood education continue to garner great interest, least of all to homeschoolers. In November 2002 I wrote this piece after attending a workshop on Theology of the Child (organised by Baptist Theological Seminary), and hosting a homeschool dialogue, both held on the island of Penang. It's reproduced here as part of our occasional postings from the Homefrontier archives].
WE HAD JUST FINISHED INTRODUCING OURSELVES when a gentleman at the end of the table asked, “Your sons are both ‘normal.’ So why are you homeschooling?”
We get that quite a bit, usually from parents who assume that only ‘special’ kids need home education. At our dialogue on homeschooling held in Penang, a good number of the 12 adults present were parents of children with learning differences or disabilities.
I tried to explain that while homeschooling is probably one of the best things you could do for children with learning disabilities, it works just as well with any child. Perhaps even better. That’s because homeschool recognises that every child is special, each requiring individual attention that is so critical to learning. In a secure home where love abounds, habits of heart and mind find fertile ground to flower.
When we first started to educate Ethan and Elliot – turning 13 and 11 respectively – at home all these years ago, our primary concern then was the state of the education system. The horror stories were universal. Not knowing any other options, many of our friends and relations ushered their children through a wretched rite of passage, setting aside their better judgment while keeping their fingers crossed at the same time. Could there be another way, we asked?
Thankfully we were introduced to homeschooling, and to quote Robert Frost, taking the less traveled road has made all the difference.
7 years later, we’re more a family now than we could ever imagine. We have reclaimed childhood for our children, and I am happy to report that they are both imbued with a lively curiosity and love for learning. They’re no angels of course, but there is a depth of character that we find encouraging. Besides simply fulfilling our adult roles as teacher, we are humbled by what our children have to teach us as well.
All this came home afresh to me as we sat through a workshop on Theology of the Child held in the Baptist Theological Seminary in Batu Ferringhi, Penang. The 2-day dialogue preceded our homeschooling meet during that long festive weekend and thus provided new insights that confirmed personal convictions. While children and childhood are nettlesome to many parents, I saw how the Bible itself was unapologetic in their affirmation.
For instance, after making a study of situations featuring children in the gospels, Dr W.A Strange in his book Children in the Early Church contends that, “The coming of the kingdom of God did not make children into adults, but affirmed their childhood.” Instead, they were held up as models for discipleship, he writes. Dr Strange also notes that “Jesus’ openness to children was for their own sake, not principally for their potential, and it was something unique to his ministry.” Now, there’s food for thought.
As participating theologians, teachers, pastors and care providers talked about the marginalisation of children, we questioned how the church – of all institutions! – continue to erect structures that put kids in their places without considering the negative signals they convey. The separation of children from adults (and their parents) in a worship service is one example, although there have been positive changes in recent times.
We also looked at how society (usually with the connivance of parents) view children as mere commodity to achieve personal ends. Is it any wonder so many fall through the cracks, sapped of all vitality and purpose? They join the ranks of the disillusioned who cannot reconcile belief with practice. Worse still, these same children grow up learning that ‘face’ matters more than faith.
On the other hand, there’s Jesus of whom Luke 2:52 declares, grew “in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.” When one looks at the broader context that includes v39, it is quite apparent those qualities were not birthed in the barrenness of good intentions.
Three parties were intimately linked here: Firstly, that Joseph and Mary did “everything required by the Law” provides a significant clue. I’d like to believe Jesus’ parents exemplified a lifetime of daily obedience beyond superficial rites that began with the dedication of their firstborn. To borrow Eugene Peterson’s phrase, the first task of parenting involves ‘a long obedience in the same direction.’
Secondly, it is the Lord who through his grace and mercy ultimately gives growth. After all, it is the Spirit’s business we are told, to work transformation “with ever increasing glory” in His people (2 Corinthians 3:18). Finally and not surprisingly, the child whose heart is thus prepared grows strong, “filled with wisdom and grace.”
So, am I saying that homeschool is the magic bullet? Of course not. A dynamic tripartite relationship between God-Parent-Child is what counts most of all. But if you are seeking a better way to realize these important goals than that which conventional educational systems offer, you might want to give homeschool some thought, and educate your own children at home .
13 April 2010
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Child Development.
Some years ago I picked up an article in TIME expressing concern over the driven child, children – and babies – pushed to artificially pump up their IQ. Looking back (the piece was first published in 2001!), this disturbing trend has continued and many homeschoolers with young children or infants have not been spared either. Tell me if this piece is outdated or unfounded. Titled The Quest For A Super Kid, here’s an excerpt and link to the whole article:
THE PHENOMENON OF THE DRIVEN CHILD has been coming for a while, but it was in 1994 that the new breed was truly born. That was the year the Carnegie Corp. published a 134-page report describing a “quiet crisis” among U.S. children, who it argued were being ill served by their twin-career parents and their often failing school systems. The report’s findings were worrisome enough, but buried in its pages were two disturbing paragraphs warning that schoolkids might not be the only ones suffering; babies could be too. Young brains are extremely sensitive to early influences, the report cautioned, and the right — or wrong — stimuli could have a significant impact on later development.
Those paragraphs went off like a grenade in the otherwise unremarkable study. The press ran alarming stories about blameless children being left behind. The White House called a conference on childhood development. Parents snapped up news of both, hoping it wasn’t too late to undo whatever damage they had unwittingly done to their kids. “Every parent began to worry,” says John Bruer, president of the McDonnell Foundation and author of the book The Myth of the First Three Years. “They thought, ‘If I don’t have the latest Mozart CD, my child is going to jail rather than Yale?’”
In order to make up for their feared lapses, parents indeed started buying the approved kinds of music — and a whole lot more. A study conducted by Zero to Three, a nonprofit research group, found that almost 80% of parents with a high school education or less were assiduously using flash cards, television and computer games to try to keep their babies’ minds engaged.
Child-development experts, however, consider these sterile tools inferior to more social and emotional activities such as talking with or reading to children. These specialists agree that the only thing shown to optimize children’s intellectual potential is a secure, trusting relationship with their parents. Time spent cuddling, gazing and playing establishes a bond of security, trust and respect on which the entire child-development pyramid is based. “We have given social and emotional development a back seat,” says UCLA’s Tyler, “and that’s doing a great disservice to kids and to our society.”
Trying to pump up children’s IQs in artificial ways may also lead to increased stress on the kids, as the parents’ anxiety starts to rub off. By four or five years old, the brains of stressed kids can start to look an awful lot like the brains of stressed adults, with increased levels of adrenaline and cortisol, the twitchy chemicals that fuel the body’s fight-or-flight response. Keep the brain on edge long enough, and the changes become long-lasting, making learning harder as kids get older.
But the fact is, the kids don’t have to feel so pressured — and neither do their parents. It is true, as the marketers say, that a baby’s brain is a fast-changing thing. Far from passively sponging up information, it is busy from birth laying complex webs of neurons that help it grow more sophisticated each day. It takes anywhere from a year to five years, depending on the part of the brain, for this initial explosion of connections to be made, after which many of them shut down and wither away, as the brain decides which it will keep, which new ones it will need and which it can do without. During this period, it’s important that babies get the right kinds of stimulation so their brains can make the right decisions. The right kinds of stimulation, however, may not be the ones people think they are.
Asked in a recent study what skills children need in order to be prepared for school, parents of kindergartners routinely cited definable achievements such as knowing numbers, letters, colors and shapes. Teachers, however, disagree. Far more important, they say, are social skills, such as sharing, interacting with others and following instructions. Kids who come to school with a mastery of these less showy abilities stand a better chance of knocking off not only reading and writing when they are eventually presented but everything else that comes along as well. “Intelligence is based on emotional adequacy,” says child-development expert T. Berry Brazelton. “The concept of emotional intelligence is at the base of all this.”
[Read the rest of the article here]
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Other related posts that might interest you:
A child’s work is play
Life in the fast lane
Finding balance in a hurried world
Preschool for a headstart?
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