The Road less traveled

...yes, we are choosing the road less traveled. Where it will lead us and how it will turn out will be all dependent on us... and by God's grace!

Homeschooling is foreign to most Filipinos. When I opened the idea, we were swamped by so many questions:

* Is it allowed here?
* Why? is she failing? 
* How about socialization skills? Baka maging anti-social or worst, loner.
* What kind of education will she get?
* etc, etc

Let me try to answer as best as I can...

Is it allowed here?

Yes.  Apparently, there are several schools offering distance educations for several years now. In fact, the University of the Philippines already has Open University for college students! Surprise!

Homeschools in the Philippines

Why? Is she failing?

To borrow a popular local lingo:

"Pagnag ho-homeschool, bagsak na agad? Di ba pwedeng talented muna?" or better yet "genius muna" and our traditional school can not support his/her needs?

Apparently,  comments like these are born out of ignorance.  So let me enlighten the uninformed...

There are so many reasons why families homeschool. Most Filipino families do so because: (not in any particular order)

* They find the Philippine curriculum inadequate
* One-on-one education is far better than generalized education
* They want to take charge of their kids education and values formation
* Child with special health concerns
* Kids with special needs (sadly, our traditional school do not and could not support them)
* Kids with special talents (i.e. sports, arts)
* Families that travel a lot

Of course, DEPED also has a special program for children of the less privileged who wants to finish college. But I will not delve into that anymore.

How about socialization skills?

The most feared "effect" by the uninformed.

And this is not true. In fact, as per observation, most of those who are homeschooled can carry a conversation with an adult, like an adult.

Most homeschoolers are part of a support group. Where group activities can be conducted for a chance for kids to meet fellow homeschoolers and do activities together.

And if your kid is into other activities i.e. sports, music, art, dance, theater, etc., being anti-social will be far from being true.

In the case of Gia, she is going into homeschool at 13years old. Has been to a traditional school where she had a lot of socialization. And, she is into ballet, where she has to interact with her teachers and fellow ballet students.

So this is the least of my fears...

What kind of education will she get?

A lot and far better based on what I observed and what I have seen and read.

What and how the child learns will be dependent on how good and patient the parent-teacher or tutor will be. Of course, the curriculum adopted is an important factor too.

Most of the homeschools here in the Philippines are DEPED accredited. If you prefer to use your own curriculum, there are some schools that lets you do so as long as it satisfies DEPED's guidelines.

And, the most important part is, they will not be limited to the classroom in their learning! The world becomes their classroom!

Lifepac uses a lot of experiments, field trips to neighborhood parks, places, and activities outside of the classroom.  Making learning a lot of FUN!

With that, let me share Robert Frost's popular Poem:

 Looking forward to a school year of so much learning for both Gia and myself!

Why we did --- a fast tracked decision

Homeschooling in the Philippines is relatively young. Mostly done by missionary families based here. It was only in the past 10 years or so that Homeschooling has gained popularity for so many reasons.

No, we decided to homeschool not because it is the "in" thing now, but for reasons I think will be best for my daughter, Gia.

The Journey

Ever since Gia decided to pursue her love for ballet at the age of 9, when she decided to audition as a scholar of Ballet Philippines CCP Dance School for the season, I have already entertained the thought of homeschooling as a possible and viable alternative for her to get quality education while she continues to pursue her love for dance, when the time comes that it will be impossible for her to balance both.

Fast forward to summer vacation of 2011--- during our trip to the US, I believed it was God's will for us to meet some of my friends' and classmates' families who turned out to be mostly homeschooling. I was impressed by how the kids turned out. They were smart, confident, can carry a conversation with adults and talented too. The wealth of their knowledge was short of amazing!

Events and observations I had of the way the traditional school where Gia went for 1st year high school that year,  has fast tracked my decision to take the road less traveled. It suddenly dawned on me that I was paying so much for my daughter's education, but I still end up teaching her and/or getting her a tutor and she ends up stressed everytime.  How costly can education be in the Philippines?

Add to that the realization that most traditional schools in the Philippines still do not recognize the fact that not everyone wants to be a doctor or,  that some students want to be artist doctors. In short, multiple intelligence is still foreign to the Philippine curriculum.

The Decision

It was in December of 2011 that we, Gia and I, decided to explore more the world of homeschooling. After a not so pleasant and very disappointing experience with her previous school. 

When I opened the idea to Gia, she was immediately enthusiastic. I discussed with her the pros and cons. But she was willing to make it a go. Thus started my serious research on homeschooling in the Philippines.

The WHYs:

*  Flexibility in time

   Juggling school and pursuing your talent/s is not possible in a traditional school especially if you want to be good in both (by good I mean, able to still continue her ballet schedule/classes, yet not sacrificing her studies).

   Gia ended up stressed everytime. The demands of school and the extensive ballet training she has just did not give her enough time to juggle both.

   Her school do not recognize artistic pursuits of their students, unless,  that particular activity is sanctioned by the school.  How lame is that?

* Quality of education and teaching method is not worth the money I pay

   No, I am no expert. But as a mother, and as her tutor, I can not help but observe how they are being educated. A bit disappointing for a supposed "one of the best" schools.

  But this I know a bit, you do not include in an exam, topics you have not tackled yet. Nor give it as a reading assignment before the exam. I understand if they are in college, but high school? 1st year high school?

*  Develop an upright and moral child

   The last, but definitely, not the least.  In fact, the most important reason of them all.

  Again, I am no expert here. But whatever good or bad experiences I may have gone through in life will be a far better lesson I can share and impart to Gia . With the help of the Bible, the awesome curriculum we have adopted, and God's grace, I pray that I will be able to raise an upright and moral child.

The Choices:

Wow! I did not know that there are so many different ways to homeschooling. As I researched, I considered, rejected, reconsidered various options for us.

These are the resources I initially checked:

Homeschooling and Open Universities in the Philippines

Home Philippines

From here, I was able to check the links and check the schools' credentials and curricula.

In the end, we zeroed in on two options:

1) Homestudy  - via Colegio de San Juan de Letran's Homestudy program

    Initially what we considered. It requires the student to report to school 2x a week to take validating tests per module and/or for reinforcement sessions.

    This is ideal for those who do not want to do a drastic withdrawal from the traditional way of schooling. The student has more time, but what is important, as with homeschooling, is the discipline of the student to study on his/her own and finish the module at the designated time.  Here, students still get to school, can join the regular school's other activities i.e. field trips, parties, etc. if they so desire.

    Pros: flexible time, traditional curriculum, still able to join usual school activities

    Cons:  relies more on reading the modules, not so sure if module includes supplemental learning activities, almost the same cost as traditional schools (costs includes the same miscellaneous expenses I do not see any use of)

2) Homeschooling - via Harvest Christian School International 's Distance Education program

    But finally decided on this program. Although the school is based in Cebu, we do not have to go to Cebu often. What made us decide on this is the combination program they offer.

    Gia will be learning US-based curriculum program for Bible, Language Arts, Science, Math and electives and Philippine-based curriculum for History, MAPEH, TLE, Filipino and Computer.

    As I researched more on the Lifepac curriculum, I was convinced this is the best for Gia. And validations from my friends in the US and Gia's enthusiasm when I showed her the scopes of the subjects,  finally made us decide on it.

    Pros: flexible time, dynamic curriculum, includes supplemental learning activities that are practical and fun, cost is relatively cheaper, easy to follow

    Cons: I have yet to discover as we go along. I will share as we go along the Pros and Cons we discover.

So as we begin our school year on Monday, June 11, Gia and I are determined to rock homeschooling! By God's grace, we know we can...!