I REFER to recent letters on the Ministry of Education's (MOE) approach to homeschoolers.

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Glad to know that there are only 26 home schoolers as compared to nearly 50,000 children in national schools. I felt sorry for the 26 who are deprived of a normal childhood and the 7 who maybe given sub-standard education by their parents. Some asked what I meant by normal childhood. As 50,000 children are enrolled in national schools, it is a norm to attend schools. Normal childhood means going to schools, having classmates and schoolmates, participating in inter-class games, competing in inter-schools and national events, learning and socialising in groups, having laboratory work, learning from different teachers, friends, learning to fend for ourselves and acquiring useful skills to face the real world etc.

Many of the parents who home schooled their child had gain their knowledge from attending schools themselves and it is selfish of them to deprive their children of this experience. I have fond memories of my school days and some of my closest friends are my schoolmates from different schools. It is inconceivable to me not to attend normal schools.

To each his own.

betterment, how do you address those who have said that homeschooled children might not have found a good fit with mainstream schools eg via ADHD, dyslexia, religious beliefs etc?

would national schools for instance accommodate such students to the extent possible, or do such students and their parents/guardians have to contort themselves once again to fit the law/"norm"?

Since there were 26 home-schoolers and the benchmark was set at 33 percentile, I'd say statistically the results of home-schooling are not statistically different from attending school.

Don't listen to betterment. His poisonous comments and weak arguments are well-known and effectively countered in:

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BFor...ry_309138.html

betterment said:

'It is inconceivable to me not to attend normal schools.'

And there's the rub: a closed and prejudiced mind.

Rational and well-educated people will evaluate matters on the basis of evidence. Having evaluated the evidence, such people may stick to their (now informed) original opinion. However, they will be generous enough to accept that in a pluralistic society, others may not form the same conclusion and will conduct their lives differently.

On the basis of evidence, betterment is not a good advertisement for the products of national schooling. Fortunately, he is not statistically significant.

To me, it's not whether homeschooling or national schooling produces better PSLE/O Level/A Level results. Of course, homeschooling could produce students who score equally well or better in the PSLE than students who are products of national schooling.

But, many students in schools pick up subtle qualities or skills not tested in the PSLE and such qualities or skills are things that parents of homeschooled students are depriving their children of. These qualities or skills include how to interact with other children, how to build up team spirit with fellow classmates and CCA members, how to work with non-family members in school projects, and even how to be a leader as the students assume leadership positions like class chairman or prefect.

All these subtle qualities require individual students to interact with their fellow students of various family backgrounds, which will in turn prepare them for the re
While I agree that parents have a right to choose homeschooling for their children, Ial workplace out there. Homeschooling does not offer that kind of interactive environment for a holistic education.
personally wouldn't choose or recommend it. There is more to education than just performing well in the PSLE.

Sorry for the last bit there. I forgot to follow up with my 'cut and paste' and editing before posting. It should be...

"All these subtle qualities require individual students to interact with their fellow students of various family backgrounds, which will in turn prepare them for the real adult workplace.Homeschooling does not offer that kind of interactive environment for a holistic education.

While I agree that parents have a right to choose homeschooling for their children, I personally wouldn't choose or recommend it. There is more to education than just performing well in the PSLE."

Hi HelenaYeo

In fact, a powerful argument for homeschooling is that it enables the holistic development of a child rather than the narrow, drilling and repetitive focus on academics and exam-testing as evident in the national schools. Your expression 'There is more to education than just performing well in the PSLE' is a clarion call of homeschoolers.

Do you have personal experience of homeschooled children or are you merely speculating, as so many do, that homeschooling parents are depriving their children of socialisation opportunities, team spirit building etc?

Homeschooling does not mean that the child is kept at home sitting at a desk by himself or herself with a parent poring over books. Homeschooling parents are passionate about the education of their children and are fully aware of what a wholesome education entails. Homeschooling parents regularly organise get-togethers with other homeschooling families for trips to the Botanic Gardens, swimming pools, jumble sales, Hays Dairy Farm etc. Many homeschooling families are actively involved in church groups, boy scouts, girl guides etc. Many homeschooling children attend ballet lessons, music lessons, badminton matches, martial arts etc. As a non-homeschooling parent, you are probably not aware of this community and its activities.

In contrast, a lot of the socialisation that goes on in national schools is unwholesome and negative. Many children are bullied by their peers. Children sit in a class with forty strangers of the same age; in some schools, of the same sex; usually the same nationality. At recess time, most children associate only with members of their same race.

In contrast, if you saw a get-together of homeschooling children, you will see children of differing ages, sexes, races and nationalities.

Another powerful argument in favour of homeschooling is that it enables a parent and child to be close. This allows the child to inculcate good moral values. Many national school children see little of their parents (who, understandably, are busy working etc), and as a result we see a deterioration in the children's moral values.

With regard to preparation for the workplace, a key aim of homeschooling is to encourage a child to be self-motivated and independent. In national schools, children are spoonfed and do not develop self-reliance.

You make the mistake, as most do, of assuming that education only occurs in the classroom.