Reaching Higher
Homeschool News
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A recent newsletter published by Leendert van Oostrum of the Pestalozzi Trust warning that homeschooling will be running into heavy weather in SA in the near future has caused a lot of concern and even fear among some homeschooling parents. It is an important letter to read in order for you to understand the possible threats to homeschooling freedom in South Africa.
Read it HERE
Secondly, reports in local newspapers about a family in KZN have also given some parents sleepless nights. This homeschooling family were recently forced to put two of their four children into school after receiving threats from government officials that the children would be placed in foster care if they were not sent to school by a certain date. Apparently they were homeschooling in isolation and the parents are not well-educated. They are also poor, uninformed and unempowered and so they were easily bullied into sending their children to school.
The government is apparently trying to sow fear by making an example out of the Zulu family in KZN.
Should we panic? What should we do?
In the history of homeschooling in SA, where families have been investigated for homeschooling, it has usually been because of social welfare issues and in many cases, like with the family mentioned above, it was apparently poor, isolated and possibly uninformed families who were victimised by government officials.
To avoid being the next victim you should be informed, know your rights, overcome your fears and be prepared to stand up to defend your right to home educate if necessary. Here are four points to encourage this:
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1. DON’T HIDE, GET CONNECTEDDon’t
try to hide the fact that you homeschool. Don’t homeschool underground
in isolation. Be confident and most importantly, GET CONNECTED. Join
your local support group, online support groups at yahoogroups and
Facebook, your provincial homeschool association, the national
Association for Homeschooling (its free) and/or the Pestalozzi Trust. Some
have accused the Pestalozzi Trust of sowing fear in order to boost
memberships to the homeschool legal defence association. Whether or not
you agree with this thinking or their methods, the record shows that the
Trust has done and is doing an excellent job as the watch dog of our
freedom.Most of us have become more informed about the
legalities of homeschooling and our rights because of the information
which the Trust has distributed freely among the homeschooling
community. Directly and indirectly we all benefit because of the Trust. Just
recently this campaign to raise funds for the Pestalozzi Trust, to
finance much needed independent homeschooling research was started by a
concerned homeschooling parent: Decriminalise Education in SA A
donation and spreading the word about it can greatly help the future of
homeschooling in SA. Give R100 or more for your children and their
children!As a community we need to put our differences aside and
stand united and support all those who are working for homeschooling
freedom in SA, in whichever way we choose.2. KNOW THE LAW ABOUT HOMESCHOOLINGYou
are not doing anything illegal, so you won’t be found guilty of
breaking the law if you are educating your children at home. Don’t allow
anyone into your home to investigate your family without a court order.If you are a member of the Pestalozzi Trust they will provide legal representation for you should you need it.While
it seems that government officials are intent on controlling
homeschooling, this is in conflict with the constitution so we may have
to stand up for our rights:As you will read in this article about Registering for Homeschooling, Article 51 of the Schools Act allows for children to be registered for education at home. This
means that we MAY register or we MAY NOT. At present the legal experts
advise us that if we register we may be submitting our families to
unlawful requirements, so if you want to homeschool in freedom, it may
be best not to do so and this would be a lawful choice to make.Read Registering with the Department as it explains some of the unlawful requirements. A
White Paper on Education and Training (Notice 196 of 1995, Department
of Education) explains the principles on which the SA Schools Act is
based. One of these principles that is applicable to homeschooling is the following:“Parents or guardians have the primary responsibility for the education of their children, … Parents have an inalienable right to choose the form of education which is best for their children,
particularly in the early years of schooling, whether provided by the
state or not, subject to reasonable safeguards which may be required by
law.” [Emphasis added]Don’t let some government bully take that right away from you. 3. OVERCOME YOUR FEARS
Firstly, figure out what it is that you fear: •
Do you fear that you might be found to be 'failing' your children's
education? Do you doubt yourself? Take a look at your children – you
know what they are learning, you know the state of their emotional
well-being and their physical health. You know they are better off with
you than at a school. You probably have books, resources and the
internet at your fingertips and although you are not trained to teach a
class of 35+ kids, as their parent, you are more than qualified to
educate YOUR children at home. • Imagine your worst nightmare -
the Dept of Education finds reason to investigate your homeschooling:
What do you fear that they would find?If your children are above
average and progressing well, then that should put your mind at ease. No
one can find their educating lacking.However, if your children are
not on the same level as their peers, this might be all the more reason
for you to be giving them the one-to-one tuition they need at home to
cater for their special needs – free from pressure and other classroom
stress.4. EXERCISE YOUR FAITHFinally,
while not all homeschoolers share our faith, those who are Bible
believers, need to put their faith in their Heavenly Father and stand on
the promises that are given in the Word. He promises that He will never
leave us or forsake us, that He will give us strength, guidance,
protection and supply all our needs. When fears come, this is the
time to go to Him and offload them and receive His love. When you are
lying awake worrying, give Him the burden for He neither slumbers nor
sleeps and you get some rest! Faith cancels out fear.We also need
to pray and intercede for homeschooling freedom, repent on behalf of the
sins of our nation and pray for righteousness to prevail instead.
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To sum up, the purpose of this newsletter was to inform you and encourage you to respond as follows:1. Get connected and support homeschooling organisations2. Know the law and stand up for the right to educate our children at home3. Overcome your fears and renew your mind 4. Exercise your faith in your Heavenly Father and pray for our nation Don’t panic! |
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Leendert van Oostrum of the Pestalozzi Trust posted the following on Homeschooling in South Africa on Facebook on 1 February 2014:
"Membership
of the Pestalozzi Trust is NOT an alternative to registering with the
education department. Neither are the two mutually exclusive - you can
do both.
Having
said that, we find that the small percentage of Pestalozzi Trust
members (about 5%) who are registered with the education departments get
involved in about 80% of the conflicts with officials that the Trust
has to resolve.
In
other words - families registered with education departments are FAR
more likely to get problems with officials than those who are not.
For
an extensive analysis of the issues related to registration with
education departments, please see the lead article ("To Register or not
to Register") in the August 2012 edition of "Homeschooling News".
The publication can be downloaded at http://www.pestalozzi.org/nuusbriewe/2012.1.pdf "
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