Home Educators are Shaping the Future

"History tells us that whoever controls the text books, controls the future. The hearts and minds of our children are of paramount importance.

World leaders know that. That's why the contest for who controls the classroom is fought so contentiously." 

~ Kirk Cameron, Husband. Father. Actor. Filmmaker of The Homeschool Awakening

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In the past few months, home educators around the country have attended public hearings hosted by the Portfolio Committee of Basic Education (which is a parliamentary committee) At public hearings, citizens can orally voice their views on the highly controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (aka the BELA Bill).

According to reports, home educators in every province so far, have attended in proportionally large numbers and many have addressed the committee. Even more commendable is that fact that many home educated children have stepped up to a mic in front of hundreds of people and shared their experiences of home education and their concerns about the proposed new legislation with the Committee.

Whether or not the Committee will favour the concerns of home educators or not remains to be seen, but the win for the nation is that we have two generations, both parents and children, who are freedom-keepers and home education ambassadors. They are well-informed, well-spoken, bold and self-confident. They are influencers, nation builders and cultural architects, working for a better country, with better laws and better education. These children are our future leaders!

Wherever young people are growing up, they deserve to know what's going on and how it will affect their lives and their future. They deserve a voice and apparently home educators have many voices!

"They have been the most vocal and organized opponents of the Bill and it is most probably testament to their political acumen that much of the coverage that the Bill has received has been about homeschooling. It is also the reason that many parents in the general school community think of the Bill as a homeschooling bill. The Bill will reshape the education landscape not just for the less than 50 000 homeschoolers but for the more than 12 million learners in public schools." ~ Christopher Cordeiro of Learn Free

Nelson Mandela said: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Home educators are doing that. The children of the homeschool movement have the potential to be world changers, because home education is an educational choice that works.

We salute the parents and children who have represented all of us at the public hearings and encourage others to attend the remaining hearings, if not to speak, then to support those who do.

Here's a table of scheduled public hearings, plus links to home educator groups that you can join to for tips and advice to prepare for the hearing.

BELA Bill Public Hearings