Welcome to the Homeschooling in South Africa website!
What will become one of the most profound historic health events across the globe, has catapulted children, their parents and their teachers into what we now know as “Remote Schooling”. There are many names given this phenomenon we have come to know as our new normal, but I choose this particular name for its all-encompassing and definitive description.
THE ROLE OF TEACHER vs THE ROLE OF PARENT
Traditionally, home education/schooling has been more of a lifestyle than an academic choice. Parents bring their children home, or decide early on that they want to educate their children from home, for the sake of preserving the sacredness of the family unit. In fact, homeschooling predates any other kind of education, and mainstream schooling as we know it is a relatively new beast in the greater scheme of things. That is not to say that it’s simplistic or minimal in any way.
Mainstream schooling is a complex and deeply intricate and it takes an educator years to learn and master the tools they need to wield in a class of 30 or more children. It is not for the feint of heart! For this reason, Homeschooling is set apart from regular schooling, and is listed and understood as an alternative to what society around us accepts as the ‘norm’.
Right now, the fringe has become the norm and parents everywhere in South Africa are learning how to be home educating parents. WELCOME to our world! You will find that it is as difficult as you imagined, yet easier than expected. You will find that you have a secret well of inner patience and peace as you watch your little ones flourish in their homely environment, and then you will look for an escape from the incessant responsibility as you protect this new territory of yours like the proverbial momma bear!
Bitter sweet may not be the exact term to describe this, but let’s use that for now, because it is kind of accurate.
Since you don’t plan to keep this up for years on end, let’s start by setting a time limit. I know this is ambitious given that we have not even heard from our President for over a month now, and we are clueless as to when our “new normal” will begin)
In the following weeks, we will explore possible scenarios you may encounter. For now, start thinking about where you want to see your child end up in terms of education – what will suit him best and what can you afford?
Hi, this is a comment.
To delete a comment, just log in and view the post's comments. There you will have the option to edit or delete them.