Many parents decide to apply for home education knowing that the home schooling framework will provide the children with conditions for development and growth/ShutterStock
Those who know home education will agree that it is the opening chord to the song "Somewhere over the rainbow", it is the highest expression of free choice in education and learning out of curiosity and interest.
Come learn about the quiet revolution that has been taking place in the field of education in the State of Israel for the past four years and opens a window to the world of unlimited possibilities.
These days, applications are being submitted for exemption from the compulsory schooling law and its popular name 'home education', even though learning in this framework is not limited only to the home, it still bears its name.
Every year, more and more parents are interested in home schooling, this usually happens around the age of 3 when parents are first required to enroll their children in municipal kindergarten, then other voices emerge from them and doubts arise regarding the maturity of the child and his readiness for the transition from daycare to kindergarten.
These voices are heard even after parents are impressed by the learning experience in the state frameworks, many parents decide to apply for home education knowing that the home learning framework will provide the children with conditions for development and growth, a better learning climate and will take into account their educational worldview that places the child at the center and provide stability in the reality of an Certainty and changes.
How do we know if home schooling is suitable for children?
In order to know whether home education is suitable for us and the child, we must first make sure that the infrastructure exists in which we can maintain the framework and that all the conditions are met in which we can realize home education at its best over time.
Worldview - the choice of homeschooling must stem from a cohesive worldview of the parents, who see this study as a space for development and growth that fosters an independent adult and encourages the creation of social relationships, exploratory learning, initiative and curiosity, a framework that places the child at the center, works on the path of "them" and not on Through the "Lao", the parent sees a significant factor and gives him the place he deserves in the process of accompanying and guiding the child in the daily routine.
Consent and partnership
- parents are partners with equal rights in decisions concerning the education of their children, parents who are married or living separately are required to be in complete agreement and partnership in the choice of home education, even if one parent carries the burden, the support and consent of the other parent is still required in the process.
As long as there is a dispute regarding the choice of home education, it may seep into the children and damage the texture and flow of the choice, therefore reaching common agreements and decisions before submitting the application.
The welfare of the child
- it is important to make sure that considerations of the welfare of the child are the leading consideration in the choice, that the home education framework is suitable for the child to whom the application is submitted and not to make a comprehensive decision that suits us as parents, but not the child.
There are families where some of the children are home schooled and some are not, these families know how to make the choices according to the child's character and best interests, listen to the child's voice and if he wants to experiment with a normal schooling framework or wishes to stay in it, the child's voice is fundamental and extremely important in the process.
Availability
- make sure that the main figure who will accompany the children as part of the home schooling is indeed available for this and that there is a clear division of time between work and being with the children, if both parents share the responsibilities within the home education framework, it is important that there be uniformity and a fixed division of time.
Limits
- Since the parent is the central figure in the process, there is a spillover between the role of the parent and the role of the teacher, therefore it is important to define boundaries in advance and determine where the study ends in the home setting and where the boundary between the role of the parent and the teacher crosses.
Defining the boundaries is important to prevent burnout and to maintain the parent's place in each of the roles he holds.
Dynamism
- it is important to arrive with an open attitude and the ability to learn and develop continuously, change and flexibility and not with fixation and rigidity.
What is right for one child, will not necessarily be right for another, what was right for one year, will not necessarily be right later on, be attentive to noises and changes in reactions and cooperation on the part of the children, the curriculum you worked hard to prepare may not be suitable, be alert to noises and be willing to be dynamic.
Social network
- creating a social network that is built from real human capital and not a digital network, this is important infrastructure work before entering the move.
It is important to create a social group with meetings on a regular basis in the residential area, in order to allow the children social connections.
Those who arrive prepared and ready for home education do indeed follow the rainbow/ShutterStock
Somewhere beyond the rainbow
is not a cliché, those who arrive ready and ripe for home education do indeed follow the rainbow.
This is a complete fulfillment of the freedom of choice to follow the heart and shape the world of our children by experiencing and tasting beautiful and diverse worlds of content through different means, learning spaces, creativity and personal closeness, guidance and direction, this is an opportunity to experience a second childhood and enjoy the uniqueness found only in this framework.
The guidelines for
multi-age
home education - in home education multi-age social groups are formed, the children will be part of a group in which children are slightly older than them and slightly younger than them and not necessarily in their chronological age.
For many ages, a huge contribution to the emotional and cognitive development of children, each child finds his place in the group with friends who are at his emotional and chronological age and makes a huge contribution to the group's diversity and richness.
Definition
- It is important to start by defining what "learning" is in home education.
Learning in home education is not limited to the means defined by the school - textbooks and notebooks, but is done through exposure to a variety of fields and topics through different means - listening, watching, experimenting, researching, observing, talking, touring, writing, reading, drawing, drawing, building, and more For example, a tour of nature, watching migratory birds and observing phenomena in nature, can replace an informational text, bring it to life through an authentic experience and assimilate the concepts into the children's episodic memory, the created climate frees the child from the atmosphere of competition or competition and there is no "homework", learning is focused In presence, in the "here and now" and he gets the best out of it.
Measurement and evaluation
- the measure of learning in home education and the assessment of learning are done using the measure of enjoyment. Enjoyment is the measure of optimal learning, a child who enjoys the learning process will benefit from it and develop. It is very easy to identify a child who enjoys the learning process , from experimenting in nature, from observation, from building with materials, from climbing trees, from teamwork, from learning languages. In home education, parents are required to indicate by what means they intend to evaluate the child's knowledge according to the plan they have prepared, the measure does not have to be the tools used in the study.
Learning at a personal pace
- because the definition of learning in home education breaks the boundaries defined within the study, the child will always have a sense of achievement and ability, he learns at a personal pace adapted to him, every product he produces is good, learning takes into account the degree of his references at a given moment, and is not in competition or Pressure from the doubt, as long as he derives pleasure from learning, he will want to experience more of it, therefore it is important to leave a positive experience with a taste for more.
Personal mediation
- in home education, one of the parents is required to be the central figure accompanying the process.
Throughout the learning and daily routine, the parent is the mediator in social, educational and emotional situations, the parent accompanies and guides according to his world view, completely available for any call for help.
Communication and language
- the language in home education is built on close communication, as soon as the resources are unlimited, including space and time, there is no struggle and no competition between the children for the most valuable resources in the learning process, the interpersonal communication between the adult and the child and between the children focuses on the values of giving and partnership, the focus is on what is done Now, in the present experience and enjoyment.
Global family
- The families that study at home education are part of a large global family that maintains international ties, home education is common in many countries of the world and the relationship between the families is made following connections on a common background, new communities are born and collaborations and trips around the world are created, sharing experiences and ideas for enrichment and learning, the members form a support group , assist in providing information, advice or deliberation, the global picture of home education, provides a whole that creates for the child the feeling that he is part of something much bigger than the local one, provides him with security, belonging, a broader context and unique pride.
Integrating the digital
- digital means in the learning process have a very important place in imparting basic skills in the core subjects.
Studying with digital means provides acoustic conditions and a quality of learning at a level that exceeds an individual lesson, the integration of audio means and amplification with digital means that make learning a great and experiential pleasure, create an emotional connection and a respite from the daily rush.
Studying can be done through listening, talking and communicating with friends, apps, Zoom classes, studying and various software, writing and typing.
Studying with digital means in home education can miraculously improve the learning experience, compared to the traditional study framework and encourage cooperation in areas of thought that the child was previously shying away from.
Security and stability
- home education studies are characterized by stability, a sense of security and continuity, maintaining an unquestionable academic continuity and belonging.
For example, even during a war, studies can be held in a safe space in areas far from the fighting and in an open area and continue to meet friends, so today and also during the Corona period, when meetings were held in the open space, learning continued to take place even in circumstances where the education system was shut down.
Fields of knowledge
- the choice of fields of knowledge in the curriculum, in addition to the core subjects, are according to the inclination of the heart of the parent and the child, the possibilities are endless and the means accordingly, so for example it is possible to combine studying photography, programming, foreign languages, archaeology, medicine, communication and more, for high school students It is possible to combine degree studies at the same time as the curriculum, thus making sure that the child only studies subjects that he has chosen and feels a strong affinity for, which guarantees that it will lead to enjoyment and necessarily to success and an experience of competence.
In conclusion
, the global changes that have occurred in recent years have affected society and the economy in Israel as well and have led many families to recalculate a course and choose home education as a learning framework for their children.
Parents who choose home education, do so out of a deep sense of obligation, take responsibility for shaping their children's inner world, building their discourse and world of concepts from an unlimited space of possibilities and free choice, this is a demanding and binding task that has its own reward and the criteria for its evaluation are the children's happiness and success.
The author is Galit Elroy, BA in management and development of educational systems from the University of Haifa and a master's in public policy from the University of Tel Aviv, accompanying parents in the home education process, pedagogical supervisor and consultant for academic studies, children's writer, poet and creator.
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