My husband Jim and I have 5 children (yes, they are ALL ours) 4 of whom learn at home, one started high school in grade 9. We have come to believe learning is more effective when it is self-directed, and so we try our very best not to inflict uninvited teaching upon our children. They […]
A Day In The Life of an Unschooling Family Read More »
Recently OFTP received a letter which elicited a lot of response from the membership on the oftp email list. It is quite possible that the views expressed are common among people considering home education as a means of choosing something besides a problem-ridden public school system. The writer, more than likely not conversant with home
A Perception of OFTP Read More »
Editor’s note: Patrick Farenga of Holt Associates/Growing Without Schooling, presented a speech at Pennsylvania State University’s Conference, “Education and Technology: Asking the Right Questions,” in October 1997. Here are excerpts from that speech. However, to me and many people, the effectiveness of homeschooling is not measured by school test scores. Among the many reasons for
Homeschooling: Creating Alternatives To Education Read More »
Basically, homeschooling refers to doing school at home. That is, reproducing the teaching methods of school, but doing it at home. Now, this can be done in many different ways along the scale between homeschooling and unschooling. Some people carry it to the extreme of setting the alarm and being at the kitchen table (or
Schooling and Unschooling at Home Read More »
It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; with out this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. Albert Einstein His eyes
I have never in my adult life been treated as cruelly as I was for the 7 years of elementary school. If that was supposed to prepare me for “real life,” I guess I haven’t yet entered “real life.” Tia Leschke, homeschooling parent My objection to the social life of almost all schools is that
So — What About Socialization? Read More »
“Questions and Answers” is a forum for OFTP members to inquire, share and learn together. We look forward to your input and experience as we put forward questions and answers from home-learning families across Ontario. Q: Help! Does anyone out there have experience with late readers? My daughter is seven and not reading well yet.
Q & A: Experience with Late Readers Read More »
In the March 5, 1997 issue of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, [United States] Secretary of Education Richard Riley is quoted as saying that he wants homeschooling representatives to attend a national forum to bring “the nation’s best teachers” together to address [the] country’s education challenges. The article states: “Home-school students score significantly higher on standardized
Support for Home Based Education by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley Read More »
Editor’s note: Because so many new home educators are concerned about how this “radical” decision to take responsibility for their own children’s education will affect them in later years, it is sometimes helpful to look at what has happened to kids who have been through the experience already. I asked Brenda Shaw, a home-educated young
Home-Grown Ontario Kids Grow Up Read More »
All homeschoolers in Ontario should know what the Education Act says about homeschooling. In section 21[2], the Act says that a child is excused from compulsory attendance at (public) school if he or she is receiving “satisfactory instruction at home or elsewhere.” Section 24[2] states: “Where the parent or guardian of a child considers that
Home Education and the Law (1996) Read More »
