House policies are generated and revised by residents, including dispute resolution procedures Power skills such as effective self-expression and collaboration are built into community life, practiced and coached.
Moms will identify, pursue and create a documentation system of preferred modes ofengagement with their children’sschools. An individualized, in-house summer reading program will be developed for each school-age child and planscreated with house mothers for intentional year-round support of a language and literacy rich home environment.
Ongoing adult discussion, review and implementation of Pyramid Model strategies for supporting healthy social and emotional development in young children inform awareness of teachable moments that relate to all areas of learning. A calendar of important events in each family’s life will allow anticipation of and preparation for children’s upcoming transitions in care or education settings.
The reasons for home schooling are complex. Most who home school do it for ideological and philosophical reasons. This can include the belief that households provide a better environment for children to learn or that formal systems are unable or unwilling to meet the needs of children.
But the research shows that for 40% of households, we don’t know their reason for choosing to home school.
Those who home school argue that it allows a focus on individual student needs – rather than just on grades; offers flexibility in learning; provides a safer learning environment; increases sociability with mixed-aged people, whether in the community or through extended family members and friends; and that this makes home schooling a better choice.
The 2014 NSW parliamentary home school inquiry did raise concerns about child protection issues in home schooling. Its report argued that, unlike formal schools where children are continually observed, there is no ongoing daily oversight of home-schooled children. Part of the authorised person’s role (the accreditor) is to ensure they view children who are home schooled.