Yesterday we had a panel of people who either taught their children in home schooling or were home schooled themselves. I found this lecture eye-opening and interesting from the perspective of a future educator. Although home schooling for some is a perfect combination, for many others it is highly unrealistic. However, I think there were many ideas we can take from the structure of home schooling and use it in public schools.
Some of the ideas that stuck out in my mind were
1. Tailor the education to the student. When a child is home schooled he or she is the only student in the class, his or her entire education is tailored to fit his or her needs. Although one on one in public schools is impossible, we can use this to have smaller class sizes with a smaller teacher to student ratio.
2. Not sticking to the curriculum or the book. Home schooled children develop the skills that they want to learn. There is motivation, interest, effort, and more learning being done when the children explore ideas. Basic skills such as math, reading, observation, etc. come along with this structure.
3. Using resouces, experts, and hands on activities to learn and discover. Home schooled children might not have very many resources, however, they are being taught how to find what they want to know. Going out into the community is an important part of one's education. This can be modeled in public school more, as well.
4. Learning because they want to. Home school children do not have required grades. They have the motivation to learn for the right reasons, not for their GPA or grades.
5. One of the most interesting to me was the children would learn to read when they were ready. This could be nine years old. This could be easily changed in public schools. There is not a real need for a five year old to be able to read unless they are wanting to and wishing to do so. Children develop at different stages. A child should not fail first grade because he or she cannot read yet. Studies show that there isn't a real advantage to reading early. Eventually the students who took longer, catch up and do not feel like failures because they didn't read as a five year old.
Some of the ideas that stuck out in my mind were
1. Tailor the education to the student. When a child is home schooled he or she is the only student in the class, his or her entire education is tailored to fit his or her needs. Although one on one in public schools is impossible, we can use this to have smaller class sizes with a smaller teacher to student ratio.
2. Not sticking to the curriculum or the book. Home schooled children develop the skills that they want to learn. There is motivation, interest, effort, and more learning being done when the children explore ideas. Basic skills such as math, reading, observation, etc. come along with this structure.
3. Using resouces, experts, and hands on activities to learn and discover. Home schooled children might not have very many resources, however, they are being taught how to find what they want to know. Going out into the community is an important part of one's education. This can be modeled in public school more, as well.
4. Learning because they want to. Home school children do not have required grades. They have the motivation to learn for the right reasons, not for their GPA or grades.
5. One of the most interesting to me was the children would learn to read when they were ready. This could be nine years old. This could be easily changed in public schools. There is not a real need for a five year old to be able to read unless they are wanting to and wishing to do so. Children develop at different stages. A child should not fail first grade because he or she cannot read yet. Studies show that there isn't a real advantage to reading early. Eventually the students who took longer, catch up and do not feel like failures because they didn't read as a five year old.
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