MORE and more parents are opening up to the idea of homeschooling.
With the rise of bullying in schools, health concerns, hours of getting stuck in traffic, and increase in educational costs, it is logical for some families to search for alternative ways they believe can benefit their children best.
In the talk given by international speakers and couple, Edric and Joy Mendoza, last April 15 at the Victory Hall, Robinson’s Place Bacolod, homeschooling is gaining much traction mainly because the learners of today need more than what has been traditionally given.
Edric, a former TV anchor of ANC’s “On the Money”, is the founder of Homeschool Association of the Philippine Islands (HAPI) and president of Homeschool Global while Joy is a bestselling author and blogger of the awarded site “Teach with Joy”. Together, they journey into homeschooling with their six children and they share their stories and insights through their newly launched book “Why You Should Homeschool.”
The couple related their meaningful, sometimes hilarious, experiences in homeschooling where they expressed how a lot of “magic moments” come to play when the family learn together as a united culture. Although the challenges are ever-present, they said that the gift of being able to tailor-fit their kids’ education to their interests and personalities, as well as develop self-directed learners are worth it.
Their eldest son Elijah, also shared his memorable events of being homeschooled. He spoke of being grateful for the opportunity to travel with his parents and help them out in their talks while baby-sitting his infant sister.
During the interactive session, my take-away words are:
1. CHANGE
We need to change our views about learning. Instead of instructions and information that can just be easily googled, the focus should be on learning effectively and developing necessary life-skills that can help children adapt to varying circumstances. This comes from recognizing the fact that in a world of internet savvy students, teachers no longer need put on the robes of having to know everything. Instead, they would need to become more of influencers and facilitators ushering in wisdom while providing a caring and nurturing environment.
2. PREPARATION
The power of time can be maximized through individualized moments with each of the children, learning through physical experiences, addressing learning gaps, and instilling healthy mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aptitudes. Life-skills have to be given more weight in education to prepare them for the challenges that goes beyond the academics.
3. CONVICTIONS
Developing children’s capacity to make decisions based on the right values is one of the most important duties of any guiding adult. Being able to guide them to be good people with strong convictions for integrity maybe any parent’s ultimate legacy.
And even for those whose kids are in educational institutions, homeschooling is still an option.
According to Laksmi Martinez Flores, the talk’s co-organizer and a homeschool parent herself, an after-school/homeschool program may work as a support to traditional school methods. This is when parents spend time to instill values and lessons not taught in the four corners of the classroom, or to delve deeper into the subjects the child is highly interested in but cannot do so within the regular class schedule.
Whatever our choice of educational method is, Edric reiterated the point that what matters most is how our children can learn best. And it is through loving care, helping them pursue their interests, giving them choices about learning and the opportunity to observe models of success, giving them feedback and encouragement, having them do what they’re ready to do, letting them experience lessons first-hand, and exposing them to active lifestyle, sunlight, and other healthy practices – all the qualities that mirror a loving home.