Homeschooling in Singapore

Counting beads before lunch, cuddling over philosophy at sunset …
by Joanne Wee

“I don't want to go to school!” How many times have exasperated parents heard that familiar refrain? However, parents of home-schooled children will probably never hear that because for them, school and home are one and the same.

Home-schooling seems to be gaining in popularity, with more than twice the number of Primary One-aged students being home-schooled now as compared to six years ago. Even actress Evelyn Tan has chosen to home-school her children.

Why home-schooling may be difficult for some
So what makes some parents choose home-schooling for their children? After all, Singapore's education system is supposed to be one of the best in the world and recently, parents of children of preschool age have been encouraged to send them to preschools.

“Apart from cognitive skills, preschools also emphasise on social and emotional skills - for example, sharing and how to speak to your friends,” says Ms lobelia lsmait senior vice-president for Business Development, Cherie Hearts Group International Pte Ltd. “If your child is the only child at home, and is not exposed much to same- aged peers, he might experience a culture shock in Primary One.”

''However, if the family is able to strike a balance between honing the cognitive as well as social and emotional skills in the home learning environment, home-schooling could be equally successful.”

Then there is the question of PSLE. Home-schooled children now have to take the PSLE and are held to a higher benchmark than publicly schooled children. One George Rocknathan, whose son was home-schooled, wrote in to The Straits Times last year, questioning this. The Ministry of Education (MOE) replied that the benchmarks for home-schoolers were pegged at the 33rd percentile of the aggregate score achieved by all merged-stream pupils who take the PSLE in the same year.”

Home-schoolers are also excluded from the Secondary One posting exercise; they may only submit their choices for secondary schools a few weeks after the mainstream pupils, and are given fewer options. “They can approach the schools directly, or seek help from the Ministry of Education (MOE) to facilitate the admission,” suggests MOE.

Thus it is not suprising that parents who choose to home-school their children, feel strongly about their reasons for doing so, which range from protecting their children from negative peer influences, to wanting their child to be educated in a moral values-based environment and curriculum, with parental involvement.

A tale of two home-schooling families
Her children were hired on the spot
Esther Chin has been home-schooling her three children for the past 15 years. Her youngest child is now 17 and has one more year before she completes her high school education. For those considering home-schooling, Esther advises: “Please be 200% sure. You must have your husband's support.

''As a Christian parent, l feel it was important to inculcate positive values and principles in my children, so as to better prepare them for the real world. Though I believe a public school education is good, spending quality and quantity time with my children were my priorities then.”

Esther chose a Christian-based curriculum which cost about USD$1,800 a year. She explains: “We were required to keep our own records with a template provided by the school to monitor the chlldren's progress Once a student reached the 12th grade, it was compulsory for the child to be accredited. At the end of the 12th grade, the student had the option to sit for the SATS.

“We had to be disciplined, or else we would not have been able to finish the 170 lessons within the school year. If we didn't know the answers, we consulted the other home-schoolers in church.'' Did her kids test the limits more because she was their mum? “No,'' she replies. “I explained the matter of home-schooling carefully to them.''

When asked how she kept track of whether her children were keeping up with their publicly schooled peers and if she was worried that they might not qualify for the local universities, she candidly replied: “To be honest, I didn't know. I told my kids, I don't know what the future holds. I am just taking things one step at a time.”

There were limitations to home-schooling. For instance, her children could not do science experiments in laboratories because they did not have the facilities. But socially, her children benefited from the large home-schooled community in her church. The group also began organising field trips to widen the children's horizons.

Her two older children went on to secure good jobs in the pharmaceutical and IT industries. She says, with a hint of pride: “When my daughter presented her qualifications to the company, they hired her straightaway. As for my son, he had just left the office after the interview when they called him and offered him the job.”

One of the best things that came out of home-schooling her kids? Her strong bond with them that endures till this day: “I knew what was going on in their lives.”

The personalised approach
Meanwhile, Martin Rushton, who has been home-schooling his nine-year-old daughter since she was two, decided to do so because he wanted a personalised and involved approach to her education. With 25 years of experience in the educational field, he decided to develop his own curriculum for his daughter based on his philosophy of stimulating intellectual curiosity and encouraging a child to be cultured.

He says: “My approach is Socratic and Classical, one which involves philosophical questioning and appreciating literature. I select curricular materials which encourage children to think logically, such as Philosophy for Children and books by Stephen Law. I stress universal humanistic moral values, such as discussed in Dan Barker's Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong and Dale McGowan's Parenting Beyond Belief.''

Though he is British, Martin is familiar with the requirements of the PSLE, as he teaches primary school children part-time at an enrichment centre and has an older daughter who sat for the PSLE and is now in a public secondary school. He regularly tests his younger daughter with assessment books from Popular to ensure she is well-prepared for the nationwide exam.

Martin feels that his family enjoys an exceptionally close relationship and plans to continue home-schooling his daughter till she is 12, after which he will let her decide whether she wants to continue being home-schooled or go on to a local secondary school.

While Martin, Esther and their children are the success stories, we are sure there are others who have given up, as home-schooling may not be for everyone. lf you are thinking about home-schooling your children, do consider Martin's advice: “Think through (home-schooling) thoroughly. Make sure that the interests of the child are central. Once you have made the decision, be brave; don't be discouraged by wider societal concerns and prejudices.''