Learning in the Absence of Education

Essays on Homeschooling

© Beverley Paine

Natural Learning
(continued)

Make it clear to the child you expect responsible behaviour and model it yourself. This involves consulting with the child and allowing he or she to be involved with decision making. Risk taking is a natural part of development.

Discuss goals together, and how to implement and evaluate effort - for example ask what they want to do, how they want to do, what they will need, and what it should look like when finished. Value the process, it is more important than the outcome. Be interested but not overwhelming. Be sensitive to the fact that it is their learning, not yours.

Involve them in everyday ‘real’ life. They may need help to finish most tasks but this is real learning and develops self-esteem and responsibility.

Don’t ‘test’ the children too much. Children are quite able and do challenge themselves as part of their own development. They adequately ‘test’ themselves when they know they can succeed. Allow this intuitive knowledge to flourish. Left alone, children never fail - we ‘fail’ them all too often.

Allow the child to be your teacher as well. Respect their knowledge and abilities as different, but equal in value to your own.

Don’t clutter up life with unnecessary rituals and interruptions - things that could cause obstructions to the children’s activities. Be sensitive to their needs as well as your own. If you give them a lot of time, they will be more willing to compromise and co-operate for you. However, all children thrive on some routine; predictability offers security. Learn to close the door to outside activity sometimes, to turn off the phone.

Examine carefully the need to ‘finish’ everything - a seemingly important aspect of our culture. Is the learning in the ‘doing’, or the ‘done’? Perhaps it is not as important to finish as to recognise the accomplishment in learning new skills and abilities. Discipline is learned gradually.

Encourage children to ‘have a go’ before demanding or asking for help. This means allowing for accidents and mistakes. Mistakes are simply lessons - treat them as positive learning experiences, not disasters!

Take the children seriously. Observe them closely without invading their privacy. Children are the first and best source of information about themselves, not the latest child development best seller. Take note of their comments, questions, answers, behaviours, interactions, etc, and then interpret the observations to see how you can enhance their development, how you can help them grow and learn.

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More than 60 essays covering a wide range of home schooling concerns and issues, such as late readers, value of play, socialisation, learning maths, part time school, and thoughts on testing. Learning in the Absence of Education is an intimate and honest look at day-to-day homeschooling life spanning several years. Includes articles on learning maths, reading and writing, spelling, socialisation, part time schooling, fathers and homeschooling, value of play, grading and testing, coping with stress and illness, and much more.

"These essays are the real life experiences of a long term home educator and activist and make inspiring reading... a valuable resource for all those interested in home education.... What I particularly appreciate are the personal day-to-day stories that are so specific in the incident or outcome These are essays written over time that reflect natural learning (read life) as it really happens.

I really enjoy Beverley's writing style in this book. It is very direct, sometimes even challenging the reader. She tries to be scrupulously honest always so we read of advantages and disadvantages of whatever topic she is discussing. She will also point out the ideal situation and how she thinks she falls short. Sometimes she is self-deprecating; sometimes she glows with enthusiasm for their successful lifestyle. There are touches of humour and sometimes wry cynicism.

Hopefully this book will answer many people's questions and fears about natural learning. It is all in here: how right it feels when natural learning is working well, what happens when we have insecurities ourselves, and the results so far. By presenting the natural learning case in this essay style, Beverley has been able to reflect the different moods, the ups and downs, that make the book a valuable resource for all those interested in home education, whatever their current style."
Janine Banks, home educator, Qld

ISBN 1876651016, 128 pages... $22.95

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Homeschool Australia SA HE Network Unschool~Kidz! About Beverley Paine

Disclaimer: The information on this page is opinion,
written by someone without legal qualifications.
Always seek qualified legal advice if in any doubt as to your legal position.