Recommended Reading
Since September 2011, I’ve been teaching a small group of 12 year olds who are home educated. This is a new experience for me, and one that I have found exciting and stimulating.
We meet weekly for a 2-hour session, and this time is split into two separate lessons. One hour is teacher-led, with the group working on a range of English tasks designed to develop reading and writing skills and encourage an appreciation of literature. So far, students have worked on creative writing and poetry analysis. Discussion is an integral part of every lesson, but students are also developing their writing techniques and learning new vocabulary in order to express themselves more articulately.
The aim of the other hour is encourage students to carry out independent research. At the start of term, students were provided with a broad topic heading to inspire them. After initial group discussions to delve more deeply into the topic, students worked independently to decide on issues that they would like to research in more detail. They are now in the process of putting together individual projects which showcase what they have learned through independent study.
In a home educating environment, the approach to learning is wide reaching and open. As a teacher, I am enjoying this approach immensely. It allows me the freedom to set topics that lend themselves to in-depth exploration, and to be guided to some extent by the independent concerns and interests of the students themselves, rather than working to the boundaries of an enforced curriculum. I am, of course, monitoring the progress of each student, but more important is that students enjoy the process of learning without being hurried or pushed to meet an arbitrary target or level.
In addition, students are actively encouraged to make links across subjects, so as to ‘join up’ their learning in all areas of their education. There is time and space in every lesson to explore things in detail, and perhaps go beyond the boundaries of one academic discipline. This holistic approach is one that enhances and enriches the experience of learning.
If you are a home educating parent and feel your child might benefit from working alongside other children in a home educating setting, please get in touch.
