Any homeschoolers out there?

[bbop]

Is anyone homeschooling their children in Australia or know of people who do? I am interested in finding out which curriculum people find best aswell as the rules for homeschoolers. I know they vary from State to State. My children have been homeschooled now for 2 years, but follow an American curriculum. We thought it might do them good to start their new school year in September with an Australian curriculum so they can get into the swing of things before we actually arrive (don't know when that will be).

Any info would be appreciated.

[Alida]

Hi, bbop, we're not there yet, but I did accumulate a bunch of info on homeschooling in OZ, since we are happy homeschoolers ourselves !!

I'll give you what I have, but you'll most probably find much, much more just by 'googling': homeschool in Australia.

Here goes:

http://homeschoolads.proboards51.com/

http://www.homeschooling.com.au/

http://www.australianhomeschoolcurriculum.com

http://hea.asn.au

http://www.perthhomeschoolers.com/forum/

Hope it helps ! Delve in there, when we get to go down under, I might just go knocking on your door ...

A

[PrissyMissy]

Hi

I also homeschool - have been homeschooling for over 3 years now - but we are based in NZ.

I have called the homeschooling department, but things are very different in Oz compared to NZ.

Everybody does there own type of curriculum, but I know ACE is not that accepted in Oz on its own.

We don't do ACE because I found it very limited - but I do a mixture of everything, including bible study.

Please pm me with what you guys are currently doing and where you are locating to in Oz.

We are arriving in Brisbane on the 17 June.

Would love to catch up with some other home schoolers out there.

We have two girls, aged 5 and 9 (turning 10 in June) who would love to be more interactive with other home schoolers.

D

[Patty]

As registered homeschoolers in Perth, we have an annual meeting with a moderator from the Education Department. They generally employ retired school principals to do the job. We opted to continue using the same American curriculum that we used in South Africa, and 'Australianise' it where necessary. Our moderator has been very impressed and supportive to the extent that he happily wrote a reference letter to help one of our daughters with her university application.

In our experience the ACE curriculum is widely used here. We personally know of several people who used it and are now coping very well at university. Anyway, whichever curriculum you use, most school leavers from outside the mainstream will have to write an admissions test to get accepted into a university. The Australian one accepted by many universities is called the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT), but some also accept the American SAT which is run several times a year in Perth. Another excellent option for homeschoolers wishing to gain access to university is to first do a few entry level units through Open Universities Australia, which is like UNISA on steroids, and open to anyone over age eleven. TAFE is another good option in and of itself, or as a pathway to university

In short, Australia is a great country in many ways, but it's especially magnificent for homeschoolers! Tertiary studies are very accessible, as are the more everyday needs such as social groups, sports, drama ... whatever floats your boat!

[bbop]

Thanks Patty, I was also looking into ACE, I just have a problem that they will probably use the words 'Christian' on parcels/envelopes and then we are bound not to receive our things as we are still based in the Middle - East. I have sent them an email and await there response. I found that most other distance education institutions do not offer classes for students unless they are based in a specific area within Australia, this is really making it difficult for us.

What is the general passmark in Australia? Using the American system, my children have to obtain 70% in every subject in order to pass - huge difference from SA!

Thanks for the links Alida - checked them all out

[Filla]

Evening, I have been homeschooling in SA for the past 7 years. I have a 12, 10, 8 and 2 year old. Up to recently I had used an informal curriculum mainly due to financial reasons and also because of the different personalities of my children.

Had I known when we began, that we were going to immigrate to Oz, I would have approached my homeschooling a lot different incorporating more English and some of the Australian curriculum.

Now I find myself at a crossroad. My oldest has expressed an interest to attend high school when we get to Oz. That may be a viable option since she does have a strong personality and are your typical prefect, head girl persona. Yet my other two is not as strong and are still forming their believes.

But I do feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment with the pending move, three children different grades and full curriculums each as well as a 2 year old that needs stimulation. Though a very pleasant child she is disruptive while the others do their school work.

It does however seem that homeschooling in Oz are more widely accepted and aren't terrorized politically.

So I gues I want to know why you chose to homeschool in Oz while having a variety of good schools around. What curriculums are available? I would like to research some of them.

How does the entry pathways into universities work?

You speak about support groups where can I contact people that homeschool on Western Australia. We hope to move to Perth or Bunburry by the end of the year, beginning next year. Our PR 190 Visa was granted two weeks ago.

Regards Vicky

[Filla]

Evening, I have been homeschooling in SA for the past 7 years. I have a 12, 10, 8 and 2 year old. Up to recently I had used an informal curriculum mainly due to financial reasons and also because of the different personalities of my children.

Had I known when we began, that we were going to immigrate to Oz, I would have approached my homeschooling a lot different incorporating more English and some of the Australian curriculum.

Now I find myself at a crossroad. My oldest has expressed an interest to attend high school when we get to Oz. That may be a viable option since she does have a strong personality and are your typical prefect, head girl persona. Yet my other two is not as strong and are still forming their believes.

But I do feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment with the pending move, three children different grades and full curriculums each as well as a 2 year old that needs stimulation. Though a very pleasant child she is disruptive while the others do their school work.

It does however seem that homeschooling in Oz are more widely accepted and aren't terrorized politically.

So I gues I want to know why you chose to homeschool in Oz while having a variety of good schools around. What curriculums are available? I would like to research some of them.

How does the entry pathways into universities work?

You speak about support groups where can I contact people that homeschool on Western Australia. We hope to move to Perth or Bunburry by the end of the year, beginning next year. Our PR 190 Visa was granted two weeks ago.

Regards Vicky

[BellaR]

The best thing we ever did was take our kids out of the ACE system, it's brain washing at its best. Our kids were on the ACE system at a school for a few years before our eyes were opened. Putting our children in a mainstream school was the best thing we ever did, it was difficult for them initially but they soon soared. I would warn anybody out there to avoid ACE at all costs! You are doing your children a disservice. I personally don't see how the ACE curriculum and system is allowed and accepted in any country.

My 2 cents ...

[bbop]

Hi BellaR,

Why do you say that? What do you mean by brainwashing? I am looking into them at the moment as they offer to international students as well.

[BellaR]

Hi BellaR,

Why do you say that? What do you mean by brainwashing? I am looking into them at the moment as they offer to international students as well.

Gosh! Where to start....?

First of all, the curriculum is ultra-conservative (to me it seems almost cult-ish, I'm almost reminded of the Amish). They put more emphasis on kids learning the Bible verses than on the work. And please don't misunderstand me, I am a Christian, but this was ridiculous.

The content is only American and extremely dated at that, one would swear it was 1950.

The content is also very very limited.

The curriculum is based on reading ie. the child reads a bit of text and then answers questions on that text. That is it! And the questioning is ridiculous eg. A mountain is a very big hill. Question. A mountain is a very big _________. Seriously, that is it. Now that might seem fine for a grade one learner but this way of questioning continues throughout, right up to matric. There are no paragraph or essay type questions. I had to teach my kids these things and thngs like letter writing etc. Learners are not taught to think and reason for themselves. They are also not taught in any other way besides reading and answering, and as we all know, kids learn in a variety of ways, not only one. Heaven help your child if they're a weak reader because that is the extent of it.

Learners "score" or mark all their own work besides the final test that comes on completion of a "Pace". This leaves a lot of room for cheating and believe me, it is almost epidemic.

If the learner fails a test, they get to do it over and over until they pass it - the exact same test! (then parents get a report at the end of term and are overjoyed that their fluffy bunny got a 95% average!!!! Little do you know that your child wrote the same test 5 times!!!

ACE has an extremely bad reputation at mainstream schools because the teachers have seen how far behind these kids are and then they are left to pick up the pieces.

ACE made my kids extremely lazy where the schoolwork was concerned and they were shocked at the level and amount of work they should have been doing. My oldest son had to redo a grade when we finally out them in mainstream. We felt so guilty!

Of all the ACE graduates I know, only ONE has gone on to university, and this was only after she had completed bridging courses. All the other graduates have ended up in dead-end jobs, many choosing to work at an ACE school as this is all they know.

Universities in SA (I don't know about Australia) will not accept ACE students, the people trying to sell you the program will argue differently and tell you there is a "discretionary route" to follow.

The people selling the curriculum make it seem like the perfect thing for our kids, but let me tell you, if I could turn back time and redo it, I would steer as far away from ACE as possible!

Hope that answers your question.

[bbop]

Yeah it does. I am relieved to say that I took a look again at the school and I had the wrong name, it is the Australian Christian College that I am looking at and not ACE. Anyone had any experience with them? According to their website it seems pretty much the same that we are doing now, but just Australian based, which is what we are after.

[PrissyMissy]

Bella R - I agree 100% with you.

I looked at two friends books who are following ACE - and I was also surprised at how many things had scriptures to learn - I found even in the maths and history books I had looked at - there were references to the Bible.

I am a Christian - but I found it over the top and not like they were actually learning the subject, i.e. maths or history.

That is my 2c.

[bbop]

Hi PrissyMissy,

I sent you an email. We are looking into Australian Christian College. I also don't see the need to burden a child with having to learn bible verses - there's Church/Sunday School for that.