“Off to school... at home” plus 1 more |
| Posted: 07 Aug 2010 09:09 PM PDT Hafiza Abd Rahman teaching her children at home. The 56-year-old mother was concerned about their educational progress and decided to homeschool them. It was not an easy decision. "I took my children out of school when my oldest son was in Form Two, my second son in Year Four and my daughter in Year Three.
She was also disturbed by the social problems in schools. "There were too many negative incidents at that time that pushed me to look for an alternative."
"My husband was not receptive to the idea at first. He was concerned that my sons would not be exposed to sport. Some family members and friends also had their reservations. "Nevertheless, I went ahead and had no regrets.
"The curriculum also allowed my children flexibility in learning and enabled them to learn at their own pace. It honed analytical and evaluative thinking skills." Gwen's 22-year-old son is now furthering his studies in university and her other two children, aged 17 and 18, are in Grade 11 and 12. "Upon completing Grade 12, the children will be able to sit for the international Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which will enable them to pursue tertiary education at private universities in the country as well as overseas." Contrary to popular belief, homeschooling, she says, does not deprive children of proper social development. "My children are a part of a network of homeschoolers. There are plenty of opportunities for them to mix with their friends daily. I also encourage them to go for field trips and camps. "However, I won't recommend homeschooling to everyone. It is only for parents who have a certain level of discipline, commitment and willingness to play a key role in their children's learning process." After two years of conventional schooling, Suraj Singh, 40, decided to homeschool his 9-year-old son. His son, who was then in a private school, had difficulty understanding his lessons. "He found Bahasa Malaysia the most difficult subject to comprehend. He was also burdened with a lot of homework and couldn't cope. "He was not excited about learning or going to school. For him, learning was stressful." Suraj said he heard about homeschooling from a couple who was teaching their child at home. "Since I had quit my job and was staying at home, I decided to give homeschooling a try. In January, I took my son out of school. "I selected a curriculum that was based on mastery learning. He could learn at his own pace and progress without pressure. There were no schedules to meet and it was not exam-oriented." He said his son had shown tremendous improvement over the last six months. "I don't fix schedules for him. I am coaching him to be independent and responsible. Unlike in school where the emphasis is on rote learning, he is learning to think, evaluate and draw conclusions and is enjoying it," says Suraj, who is planning to homeschool his second child as well. For extra-curricular activities, Suraj's son attends a soccer programme and swimming lessons. "School is not the only place where my son can learn social skills. It can happen anywhere," he says. Hafiza Abd Rahman, 26, has no plans to send her children to school. She strongly believes that learning should be at home under the supervision of parents. "I began homeschooling my son since he was a year old. He is now 6 and I am doing the same with my other children who are 4, 3, and 1. "I intend to homeschool them until they are 17. It is a decision I made with my husband," she said. Hafiza and her husband are web designers who work from home. She is not against conventional schooling but dislikes the emphasis on examinations and the labelling that comes with the results. "I came from that public school system. I had a good time learning and socialising. It also gave me the opportunity to further my studies at Multimedia University. "However, I also value the time my grandparents and parents spent with me at home, teaching and always guiding me to seek knowledge. "This motivated me to be involved in my children's learning process," says Hafiza, who shares her homeschooling experience on her blog LittleKittle.com. She does not follow any particular curriculum but mix-and-matches several to suit her children's needs. English is the medium of instruction. "The Internet is rich with information. Then, there are books and magazines. To teach my children piano, I went online to learn from Andrew Furmanczyk, a 24-year-old professional pianist from Canada. "To encourage my three daughters to take dance lessons, I enrolled in a dance class. " My involvement in their learning process makes them happy and they are always keen to learn. "The best part is learning is not forced. It has become a fun activity in my home," says Hafiza. It is important, she says, to set up a learning corner in the house for the children to read, write, draw and conduct experiments. She also has a daily schedule drawn out for each child, which includes outside activities and community services. "The daily schedules instil a lot of values. There are prayer times and visits to the mosque for spiritual development. The children are also given tasks to keep the house clean. "We also expose them to charity work by visiting orphanages. Of course, there is also play time." Everything is working out very well for her children, says Hafiza. "My 6-year-old son enjoys photography. He takes pictures for my blog. My husband also has introduced him to graphic design which he has taken a liking to. "As for my daughters, they like art and craft," she says, adding that she'll be preparing her children for the SAT. Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2010 05:14 AM PDT HELPERS ~ Udated 04.23.09
Wednesday, August 4, 2010 Edition BACK TO SCHOOL Nurturing HIV positive ex-prisoners POLITICS IN BRIEF WEEKLY UPDATE Amanda Young seeks School Board seat PEOPLE AND PLACES ~~ SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK NEXT WEEK Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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