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This article was printed from AllMalaysia.info
Article's URL: http://allmalaysia.info/services/pri...eople/10786170
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Home-schooling: a need for openness

The Education (Amendment) Act 2002 made it compulsory for parents to enrol their children in a primary school up to Year Six.

However, based on the discretion of the Education Minister, he may exempt any pupil from this compulsory education.

In 2002, before the compulsory education law was passed, David Tan, a leader by default of a casual group made up of home-schooling parents in Kuala Lumpur, said that his family and another family went to the Education Ministry before the Education Act came into force and enquired about the status of home-schooling in Malaysia and were told that they could easily apply for exemption.


Amy Delph: "Homeschoolers are more articulate."

“We were happy with the news and informed the rest of the families. When the bill was passed, many law-abiding home-schoolers went to the ministry to register their children but found that no one knew how to process the applications. Several home-schoolers later found that their applications were rejected,” he said.

Some parents were shocked, he said, to find on the application form that they had to fulfill three conditions if they wanted to be exempted: the child must be exceptionally gifted or intellectually or physically disabled and the schools cannot meet this need, if family members travel abroad frequently. If home-schoolers are to be exempted, parents must ensure that they follow the national syllabus.

As the result of the confusion and what the parents perceived as a lack of openness on the part of the Government, parents decided not to apply because not only was there too much hassle, the ministry sent them a “warning letter” to send their children back to school.

Although home-schooling in Malaysia is currently a grey area for many interested parents, Singapore and Thailand allow home-schooling.
“Schools may be doing a good job in some ways, and it is just one way in any democratic society. There must be diversity of choices and accessibility to all forms of education. Home-schooling is valid, legitimate and proven,” Tan said adding that in the United States it is part of the mainstream system.

Mix and match curriculum
Most Malaysian home-schoolers use textbooks for their curriculum. However, parents mix and match books from various publishers that are suitable for their children’s level and need.

Among the publishers commonly used by Malaysian home-schoolers are the Alpha Omega and Sonlight, a literature-based curriculum which requires intensive reading.

There are also classical studies that build thinking skills and logic such as Greek, Latin and rhetoric, unit studies for various aspects of knowledge on one subject and core studies for the different ages.

On the other extreme is unschooling. It has no loyalty to any syllabus or system. Parents teach their child when the time is right and when the child is interested because it is believed that children left on their own are inclined to learn something new. Some parents also put their children through apprenticeship.

Critical thinking
Said Amy Delph, who has a Master’s degree in Education from the United States: “Home-schoolers are more articulate and I don’t have to direct them as much because they are more independent.”

Delph drew up the Edison Explorer, creativity and critical thinking curriculum, which is popular with some home-schoolers in Malaysia.
She saw that Malaysian college students lacked the creativity and critical thinking that the American degree programme required and wanted to do something about it.

“They have a hard time with discussion and defending an opinion. They wanted me to give them all the answers all the time,” said Delph who used to teach in a college and prepare students for studies in the US.
Since it is difficult to change older students, Delph decided to start a programme that is fun-filled for children aged six to 12.

Formal education for everybody is a new thing in history. People used to learn a lot from their parents and through apprenticeship, she said.

While the Malaysian Government may fear extremism in home-schooling, it should respect that parents are legitimate teachers and guardians of their children’s lives.

Dialogue and openness to see what home-schoolers are doing would be a good start in addressing the issue.

“When both sides are open, there is a chance to see what is happening. When things are hidden, they can go wrong,” said Delph.


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Update: In Jusco Pearl Magazine (July 2007 issue). There is an article about homeschool in Malaysi** and it stated that homeschool is legal and approved by MOE. For whom got the copy of it, please do contact Admin via email - metsukistudio@yahoo.com. Thank you!