1. Why Homeschooling Can Exert A Positive Influence For Change On Education Systems Worldwide.

Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the Phoenix.
                                                    Christina Baldwin

Defining Change
Change can be as sudden as the shifting seasons or the slow erosion of pebbles by the rivers flow.
Within education systems worldwide change tends towards the latter. Our children, however, seemingly mirror the seasons relentless cycle of change and rebirth. They have no time to wait for the trickle of enlightened practice to water the often parched ground of institutional dogma.

Know Thyself!
We now know so much more about ourselves.
For example, we know we are genetically programmed to learn.
We know that the first few months of our lives are crucial to the development of our brain.
We know that each of us learns in different ways.
It was Confucious who said, “They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.”

The World Is Changed
In her book ‘The Power Of Diversity’, Emeritus Professor Barbara Prashnig argues that the education system worldwide is in crisis. It has failed to respond to the needs of all our children. There has been change but it has not come from within but from external political forces, forces that insist we test and label our children to ensure those who ‘fail’ are left in no doubt as to the nature of their failure. Unlike Galadriel our political masters have not discerned that ‘the world is changed and much that once was, is lost, for none now live who remember it.’

No Caring . . . No Community
Margaret Thatcher famously commented, ‘there is no such thing as community’. Ironically, the reason the ‘war’ she waged against the mining communities within the U.K. became so bitter and protracted was because those very communities were united by a loyalty and sense of identity alien to her understanding. I grew up in those communities. Economically impoverished they may have been, and still are, but they were vibrant communities rich in spirit. There are still some living who remember a time when people left their front doors open. But much has been lost. It is easy to become cynical and edge towards despair when we view the breakdown of community life within our towns and cities.

Homeschooling – An Evolving Counter Culture?
The family is the heart of any community. Is it a coincidence that in these days we see the family under greater pressure than it has ever been? The decline of the extended family leaves many children exposed and vulnerable. Yet, even in a wasteland green shoots grow and offer hope. Homeschooling, or ‘unschooling’, is a growing trend, particularly in the United States. Probably viewed with a mixture of suspicion and disdain by educational establishments they offer a radical alternative to the structured and centralised state funded systems. But this negative attitude towards them fair, or even desirable?

You Must Be The Change
Parents who embark on the homeschooling journey seem to me to be following Ghandi’s advice of becoming ‘the change they want to see in the world.’ I imagine it can appear a very daunting step to take, a step that requires sustained commitment and a deep conviction that what you are doing is in the best interests of your children. But is it only the interests of their children and their families they are serving? Many would argue not. Commitment and conviction are powerful forces. Armed with little else Ghandi defied an Empire and changed the world along the way.

Next Post: Homeschooling-My Brother’s Keeper

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