a Kelowna, BC, support group for homeschoolers
Frequently Asked Questions
Those who are considering homeschooling want many questions answered. Those who are not homeschooling often ask questions, to which we might want a ready answer. What are the legal requirements for homeschoolers in BC?In BC, every child is legally required to be registered or enrolled with a school, whether public or private, by September 30th of the school year in which they turn 6.What’s the difference between registering and enrolling?A child who is registered with a school is an independent homeschooler. You can register with your local public school, simply advising them that you are homeschooling, or a private school. There are no requirements to report what your child is learning, and little or no money provided by the school for your educational expenses. The parent is considered the teacher.Enrolling your child in a DL (distributed learning) program with a public or private school results in a contact teacher being the one considered to be your child’s teacher, not the parent. Depending on the school, there may be curricula offered, money for educational expenses, library facilities etc, in return for which you must report regularly to the school and often send in samples of your child’s work. This is distance education, not “true” homeschooling in the eyes of the law.Who checks up on what I am teaching my children?If you’re registered, no one. If you’re enrolled, you will have a contact teacher at the school with whom you maintain a relationship throughout the school year. You may have a home visit. Am I insane planning to be around my children so much?Possibly, but only temporarily. Some people would be driven insane by forcibly removing their children from warm beds every morning when it’s still dark and getting them to school, picking them up from school, and following someone else’s schedule. Children are often happier being able to set their own schedule and follow their own interests, making for a more peaceful family life - maybe! We decided to give birth to our children and take care of their every need for the first few years. Some people think that this can continue for their entire childhood, rather than hand over the responsibility to another person or institution that doesn’t share their values. How much money do I get for educational expenses?This depends on the school. Register with a public school, and you’ll receive nothing. Register with a private school and you may receive $125 or so. Enroll with a DL program, and the amount increases to around $1000. How is the funding disbursed?Thanks to Bill 33, which stated that DL programs were no longer allowed to pay parents direct for educational expenses, the schools have had to come up with workable ways to allow the parents to buy what they need. Some schools have a list of suppliers where one can go and buy supplies, some schools insist on a teacher being present while supplies are being purchased, one very creative and unique school offers a reloadable Visa card that puts the control more in the hands of the parents and can be used anywhere they take Visa. Do my children have to be tested?There is mandatory testing for enrolled children in Grades 4, 7 and 10 called the Foundation Skills Assessment test. This testing is controversial, with some teachers and parents wishing to oppose it, as they consider it a farce and a waste of time and not a good measure of their children’s intelligence. It is possible to be excused from the test if the child is shown to be unable to participate, for example a Grade 4 child who has not yet learned how to read. What type of homeschooler do I want to be?It is important to ask yourself this question as it will set the tone for the type of homeschooling you want to see in your home.Are you the type who thrives on schedules, regularity, bookwork? More to the point, is your child the type who will thrive on a disciplined schedule?Or do you wish to let your child lead the way by following their own passions, setting their own “curriculum” according to their interests, even if this means that they don’t cover the same sort of material as the public school?There are so many ways to homeschool - classic, eclectic, unschooling, radical unschooling, traditional - that you need to figure out what’s going to work for both you and your child. It will save you a lot of difficulties later. What are my goals for my children/what are my children’s goals?Sometimes we have in mind our own goals for our children’s future, but we have to remember that the children’s goals are what matter, and that sometimes a heavily academic homeschool schedule followed by pressure to go to college isn’t going to work with a particular child. In the elementary years, goals are probably less important than in the high school years. As your child matures and gets a sense of where their passions lie, certain things may become obvious. Certain subjects or courses or activities may be chosen to steer the child towards his or her chosen goal. This will develop naturally from the child’s inclinations, and mentors and other opportunities can be sought to help the child along the path. What about high school?Many parents start out by homeschooling their 5 year old, with the thought that when the child is 15 they might just have to send them to school because the parent is doubtful about teaching high school subjects.A good approach is to take it one year at a time. Don’t worry about the teen years until they are upon you, and when they arrive you will probably find that your teen has very firm ideas of what he/she wants to learn/do and will be getting on with it with minimal input from you. In many ways, the “high school” years can be easier than the earlier years, if you allow a teen the freedom to follow their chosen path. What about socialization?This old chestnut is dragged out by non-homeschoolers who have an archaic view of strict parents keeping their children at a desk, drilling them with facts, and refusing to let them play with other children!Are they isolated? No way. Homeschooled children are at home with their siblings and parent(s), they go out into the community with their family and meet people of all ages, and they have friends, whether homeschooled or not. Aren’t you worried your children won’t “keep up” with those in public school?Those who wish their children to learn exactly the same curriculum as the kids in public school can enroll with SCIDES, which means that their child will do the same work as the children in school and send it in for marking and grading. Enrolling as a distance learner with any public school that offers such a program will ensure that the child will be expected to follow the public school requirements.However, it is worth asking yourself whether it is really necessary to “keep up” with the schedule set out by the public school. Why should a child learn about a particular subject at a particular grade level? There is no reason why an enthusiastic child, passionately interested in history, shouldn’t be way ahead of those in public school, even if, for example, his/her math or writing skills are a little slower to develop. Many children have attended school after years of homeschooling and, despite their parents concerns that they may have problems, have taken very little time or effort to “fit in” or “catch up” to their peers. But is it legal?Of course. Go back to the first question - what are the legal requirements for homeschoolers in BC?How are your children going to learn how to compete? Concerned grandparents are often the ones to ask questions that you never would have thought of. Are they worried that your child will not have fair competition, if his/her siblings are of different ages, and they are not at school with 30 of their peers? Perhaps a reasonable answer to this is that co-operation is more important that competition, fostering a healthier sense of friendship, teamwork and community. A sense of fair play and good sportsmanship will evolve naturally as the child learns about what it takes to maintain relationships with the people around him/her.
How do you organize your day? When do you teach your children - morning, afternoon, evening? How many hours do you spend each day doing "proper" teaching with textbooks?
This is different for everyone. It is up to the parents and children to organize their day in a way that works for them. If the children tend to be late risers, not really being alert until noon, then the parent will be tearing her/his hair out trying to start "doing school" at 9am. Be flexible. If you want to spend some time each day teaching formal curriculum, try to do it in a way that works for everyone with the minimum of stress. Bear in mind that, although public school kids attend classes for up to 6 hours a day, you can probably achieve the same result in an hour a day.
What do the reports look like? How many hours to complete?
The reports that one submits to the DL school vary, depending on their expectations. There may be a weekly online report or a three times a year submission of a portfolio. Each program is very clear about their requirements.
For example, Self Design (Wondertree) asks for weekly online reports and weekly hours forms. It is necessary to report at least 25 hours a week of learning - however, owing to Self Design's unique philosophy, they consider almost anything the child does to be learning, including conversations, and do not require a portfolio of the child's work as "proof". Many people include photos with their reports. This only takes about an hour a week per child.
How do I manage to cover all topics to make sure my children have a great future? How do we keep track of the school's curriculum to compare with our homeschooling pace.
What we need to remember is that we cannot possibly teach our children everything. To try to do so would result in burnout. Also, it is not necessary for our children to be academic geniuses for them to have a great future. We need to decide what is important to us, the values we want to pass on to our children, the life skills we would like them to have, and take into account their abilities, interests and passions. Their health and happiness is foremost.
If you want them to follow the public school curriculum, enroll them with a public school's distance ed program. They will tell you what you need.
Will it be expensive to homeschool my children?
Not if you don't want it to be. As mentioned before, if you register your child as an independent homeschooler, you may receive a small amount of money for educational expenses. Enroll as a distance learner and the reimbursement is considerably more. However, access to nature, a library and the big wide world is often curriculum enough, and is mostly free.
And here's a link to an article from Secular Homeschooling to make you smile ;o)
http://www.secular-homeschooling.com/001/bitter_homeschooler.html