HOME SCHOOLING FOR TODAY'S CHILDREN [BY-BALWANTSINGH BISHT]

 

Home-Schooling For Today’s Children

Introduction: In Covid-19, Corona period from the year 2020 almost all the schools are closed due to Lockdown in most of the countries in the world. So, Online classes and Homeschooling devices are in big demand. Coaching Institutes and Educational Institutions have developed some educative apps for the school children sitting at home. But in America and some countries in Europe, there are already Homeschools approved by governments. Homeschooling is a new trend in Asian countries but these are now, very popular and adorable.

HOMESCHOOLING

  

In recent decades, homeschooling, or the traditional practice of educating children within the home as against sending them to a public or private learning institution, is slowly making its way back to the educational mainstream. This alternative means of elementary and high school education dates back to 1906 in the United States when the Calvert Day School in Baltimore, Maryland offered the “curriculum in a box” partnered with a National Geographic advertisement. Shortly after its fifth year, almost 300 children employed Calvert’s instructional materials for homeschooling. Almost a century later, this method, alongside many other methods and materials developed, spread like wildfire not only within the U.S. but also to 90 other countries all over the globe. Notable home-schooled personalities include Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Dakota Fanning (famous Hollywood child actress), Christopher Paolini (book author), Sho Timothy Yano (an American boy of prodigious intelligence), Lynx and Lamb Gaede (the girls of Prussian Blue).

Conventional Homeschooling Method

CONVENTIONAL HOMESCHOOLING METHODS

 Throughout history, the methodology with which homeschooling is carried out has proven to be effective. However, as times change, so do the needs and requirements of the learners change. With this, certain modifications are required of the conventional homeschooling methods. Something more stimulating, more motivating, and worthwhile to encourage today’s children to learn and explore. Looking through the vast resources available on the world wide web under the subject of home-schooling, it could be seen that there has been so much improvement on how homeschooling is done through its century-long history.

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HOMESCHOOLING ATMOSPHERE 

From the crude and very simple methods and materials, new ones that are more sophisticated and complex have become available. Fresh ideas are readily offered on how lessons should be planned for children of varying ages. Suggestions for fun activities are also presented to always keep the homeschooling atmosphere exciting and something to be looked forward to by the children.

FRESH IDEAS FOR EXERCISES AND ACTIVITIES

It is understandable that kids have shorter attention spans that may usually be a deterrent in keeping their interest in sitting down and listening to a lesson. Taking this into consideration, doing field trips to museums, libraries, even zoos might just do the trick for the little tykes. In general, the conventional methods and techniques of homeschool need not always be applicable to all settings and apt for each child. Modifying these conventional methods by throwing in some fresh ideas for exercises and activities in such a way that suits the learner’s needs the best should always be regarded.

 Doing Home Schooling The Right Way

There is more or less a general consensus on the inherent value of education. However, people may often disagree about the right method toward achieving that education. The majority of the population would rather opt for institutionalized formal education, referring to education offered in public or private education institutions like primary and secondary schools. However, as has been the recent trend, many parents, in particular, have begun considering or even going on ahead with homeschooling their children.

 Homeschooling, prevalent prior to the inception of formalized school systems, is making a return to the mainstream because some parents either do not approve of the curriculum of school systems or are even against the idea of formalized school systems or find themselves holding greater capacity to educate their children in the best possible manner. Perhaps you are interested in homeschooling your child, and conceded, you have your own reasons for doing it. 

But just like picking a school for your child, the decision to home school is a very big one. This would most obviously translate to you taking your child out of a previous social learning environment and into the home to educate him or her; moreover, this also means that from then on, you are going to be fully responsible for the intellectual rearing of your child.

 It is perhaps for this reason that certain guidelines are set by the state or local education offices before you can actually homeschool your child. It is best to consider these guidelines first because your state can help you through the process, and moreover, may enlighten you on relevant issues on homeschooling. I'll expound further. The majority of states in the United States would require a legal minimum of state notification of your intention to home school your child.

 In a rare few (including Texas, Alaska, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma, among others), you may go on ahead with homeschooling your child without informing the state. Other states, however, would require you first to notify the state and afterward acquire your child's grade records should he or she have attended a public school. After this, some states may require you to create a curriculum you intend to follow for your homeschooling program, be accredited as a parent-teacher, and host a home visit by your local education officials. Later on, during the period when your child is already being homeschooled, some states may require you to submit to the evaluation scores, attendance records (states may require a minimum number of school days for home school too), and even test scores.

REQUIREMENTS FOR HOMESCHOOLING

1-It is very important for you to find out the different requirements for homeschooling in your state. For one, it will help you make sure that once you home school your child, your child's education is actually being recognized by the state. Without state approval, your homeschooling may not be regarded, which may increase the difficulty for your child to move on to a university or college.

2- Second, the state may provide you with various forms and guidebooks as you home school your child. This assistance may prove valuable to you, especially if you are homeschooling for the first time.

3- Third, by finding out these requirements, you will be able to submit to the state all the required documents that you must submit periodically. In this way, you are also assured that your child is at par level with any other child enrolled in a regular school setting. In the same manner, by approaching your local education authority you may actually inquire about the college application process of homeschoolers.

4- Homeschooled children may be required a marginal number of steps that regular applicants are not required to take in order to qualify for their chosen university. Some universities may require your child to take the G.E.D., an exam that will help test the sufficiency of their knowledge from home school to be considered as qualified college applicants, while others may require state accreditation.

 Moreover, by visiting your local education authority you will also find out the various state and local government scholarships for which your child may or may not qualify. While homeschooling may pose some added burden once you are ready to return your child to a regular school system, it has proven beneficial to many in the past. Visit your state or local government education office in order to make an educated decision, and in order to get the approval, you'd need to push through with homeschooling your child.

Tips on Effective Home Schooling

With mounting concerns about overcrowding and the quality of public education, parents are increasingly considering the homeschooling alternative. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the number of students being home-schooled is about 1 million and growing. While there are many philosophies and approaches to homeschooling, all parents want to see their children reach their full potential. Here are some tips from SFK Media Specially for Kids Corp, the company that developed the ReadEnt at-home learning program. 

* Learn about your local regulations governing homeschooling. Education laws vary by state and town. 

* Involve your child in the curriculum. Let your child choose some of the workbooks for each subject, but steer him or her to the appropriate grade level. The more your child is involved in the process, the more excited he or she will be about the subject matter.

 * Designate a separate area of your home to serve as the “classroom.” It should be someplace that is comfortable and free of distractions.

 * Connect with other home-schooling families through community groups or online. Such groups often organize field trips, discuss approaches to homeschooling, and share stories and advice.

 * Keep your child active. It is important that home-schooled children socialize with others. Encourage your child to become active in sports, music, or clubs, just as any child attending school.

 * Look for “teaching moments.” For example, if you bake cookies at home, ask your child how many you baked. If you take a walk to the park, turn it into a lesson in science and nature. 

* Use unique learning tools to keep your student interested. SFK’s Reading Movies, for example, improve reading, comprehension, and vocabulary skills and are entertaining at the same time. 

These interactive movies use a patented technology called Action Captions in which each spoken word appears on the screen in real-time, without interfering with the flow or entertainment of the movie. As a result, reading and spoken language skills develop naturally. The movies are available in a set of three DVDs featuring such classics as “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Gulliver’s Travels” and “The Trojan Horse.”In India Pt. Vishnudatt Sharma's PANCHTANTRA is very popular in Homeschooling. It enables Listening and Reading skills among children in HOMESCHOOLING.

THIRD BURDEN ON INDIAN WOMEN / HOME SCHOOLING

Ramnath Kovind, the president of India said in a letter to a year book giving his advice on work from home culture in schools during corona epidemic, that during covid-19,corona period, the Indian women have to undergo the third burden of teaching their children and helping the children to complete their school work from home. Some women have to finish their office work along with kitchen work or the home maker women are always busy in kitchen looking after the children and aged family members. Now, one more duty is expected from women of the family, the school work from home, if the children are in lower classes. The president of India said, work from home has some benefits for school going children as they are safe inside homes under the control and guidance of their senior family members. But on the other hand, the male members shift the responsibility on the women members of the family. Thus, the Indian women have to bear this one more duty of work from home of their children during corona period when the school are closed and the on line teaching is in practice. 

The school children are leveled to mobile phones or computers to response their teachers online in every walk of time-table. So, the mothers are aware to furnish the co-curricular activities of their children. The president of India, Ramnath Kovind told in a letter with a title ARISE THE FUTURE BACKONS for the year book that both the male and female members of the family should share the responsibility of school home work or work from home during corona period just to relieve the women already under the load of domestic responsibility. It would lead the problem smoothly and the work from home culture should go pleasantly.