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Homeschool Australia!
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Teach your children from home! Welcome to the world of home education - learning without school! We officially began educating our three children in 1985, when our eldest was five years. In truth, we had helped them learn what they need to learn as they grew and explored and discovered this amazing world since the moment they were each born! I am a passionate advocate of allowing children to learn unhindered by unnecessary stress and competition, meeting developmental needs in ways that suit their individual learning styles and preferences. We are a homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning family! There are hundreds of articles on this site to help you build confidence as a home educating family. "Thank you... The information you supply is real and generous - fantastic reading. Your honesty is rare. Most books do not really explain 'how' as well as you do." Tracy Getting Started with Home Schooling: Practical Considerations by Beverley Paine
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Slaving Away in the School Factory Wendy Priesnitz, guest columnist One of the criticisms of families who live as if school doesn't exist is that the kids "aren't doing anything". or at least not anything they couldn't be doing on the weekends and going to school too. I used to try and convince these people that school is harmful, that there's not much real learning goes on there, that learning happens best as a by-product of living, and so on. But I've come to realize that it's a no-win argument because the criticism is based on emotion - in this case, resentment - rather than on facts. You see, the problem is that unschooled kids have fun. They play. They noodle around inside and outdoors, at home and in their communities, messing with projects, indulging their passions, and generally having a good time. These kids are continually demonstrating that learning isn't hard work when it is need- and interest-based, and when the learner is in control.that, in fact, learning (not to mention life) is fun, even exciting. They are showing that there is no need for being processed by means of mostly irrelevant prepared curriculum, stressful tests, or long hours spent listening to boring lectures or memorizing monotonous and out-of-context facts. Another part of the problem is that many adults feel like they are working longer and harder than ever before. And the message from government and those who want to "fix" our education system is that school kids need to work longer and harder too. Something not working? Then do more of it! Make the school day longer, eliminate recess, get kids into school at three and make 'em stay there until they're eighteen, assign more homework, give more tests, tighten up the factory quality controls.. At the end of the long, miserable process, the sausages kids leave the factory molded to work long and hard, in the same highly structured environments, doing the same boring work. To compound the problem, the skeptics and resenters are scared to death because those exhausting jobs that they slaved so hard in school for and paid so much tuition to prepare for - and cautioned life learners they wouldn't be suited for - are disappearing. At the same time, it looks like self-motivated, flexible, passionate, creative thinkers are doing just fine . And those are traits that are not well nurtured in the school factory. The cure, of course, is simple. People can expand the ranks of life learners! They can let their kids quit the factory, begin to enjoy life and learn ing . Unfortunately, what is simple is often not easy. And I understand that rejecting long-held beliefs and admitting you've been lied to and taken advantage of can take time. And it can be painful. But if you are moving in that direction, please believe that the way to ensure a happy future for your kids is to ensure they have a happy present. Living as if school doesn't exist pr ovide s the possibility for that and much more.
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Since 1989 Beverley Paine has steadfastly promoted and supported home education as an educational choice for Australia families. Her books and websites aim to demystify education, gently deschooling families so that they may meet their children's individual and unique educational and developmental needs. Her honesty, insights and wealth of experience continues to bring hope, reassurance and confidence to families. Beverley publishes her recent articles, tips and links to resources in her quarterly magazine, Homeschool Unschool Australia!
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education in Australia. State and Territory governments are responsible for regulating home education and have different requirements, however home educating families are able to develop curriculum and learning programs to suit the individual needs of their children.
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Pioneering members of the home education movement in Australia, Beverley and Robin Paine are passionate advocates of true educational choice for families. They began homeschooling their children in 1985 and three years later started the South Australian Home Based Learners network.
Beverley wrote Getting Started with Homeschooling in 1995-97 and continues to write books and booklets on home education. She balances spending time helping home educators with working in her garden and renovating her home, as well as continuing to build her collection of writing on a variety of homeschooling subjects. Beverley maintains an extensive collection of websites as well as several online groups supporting families teaching their children from home.
In 2007 Beverley joined the HEA and was a committee member for three years, editing and producing the HEA Newsletter, Stepping Stones for Home Educators magazine, annual Resource Directory and other publications.
If you'd like to keep in touch with what Beverley is up to her in her life, sign up for the Homeschool Australia Newsletter or visit her Homeschool Australia Facebook page.nor do they endorse or recommend products (other than their own) listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements.