SINGAPORE: For a young Sukesy Mattar, studying at an international school in Kuwait, where she lived with her family till she was 11, provided her with a vibrant, holistic experience. “We studied lots of different things, like handwriting and poetry.
The Big Read: Not for the faint-hearted - inside the world of homeschooling and how to tell if it works for your familyThe Big Read: Not for the faint-hearted - inside the world of homeschooling and how to tell if it works for your familyNew: You can now listen to articles.SINGAPORE: For a young Sukesy Mattar, studying at an international school in Kuwait, where she lived with her family till she was 11, provided her with a vibrant, holistic experience.
Having enjoyed the lifestyle that homeschooling afforded both her son and herself, Ms Mattar continued to homeschool her second and third children until they were 16. A particular incident tilted the scales in favour of homeschooling for Ms Tupili, who had left her career as an architect after the birth of her first child.
“And a few incidents like that happened and I felt that there was no life at such a young age. That was very sad.” Their son, Timothy, eight, has been homeschooled since he was three, while his younger sister, Mikayla, four, is currently receiving early education at home. “This also gives our children a common educational experience, which builds national identity and social cohesion,” the ministry said in response to TODAY's queries.
But the ministry said that this number is likely to be fewer than that for primary school for each cohort, as many homeschooled children do eventually enrol in mainstream primary schools or secondary schools. Associate Professor of Sociology Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir, from Nanyang Technological University, said that homeschooling parents have chosen to “take ownership” of managing their children's education instead of relying on the mainstream system.
In the US, the number of homeschooled students rose from 2.5 million in 2019 to 3.1 million in 2021, corresponding to about 6 per cent of school-age children in the country, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. In Mrs Gwyneth Nyoto’s case, she called the MOE's Compulsory Education Unit to indicate her intention to homeschool her oldest child Lukas, who is now 10.
Subsequently, the officer informed Mrs Nyoto, who has a master’s degree in religious education, that enrolling her son in a primary school was mandatory by law. This should include the proposed teaching schedules and details of the children’s learning in the different areas. “You have to show them the materials you will use to teach your children, and they will check where you homeschool, like if the TV is too near and all that,” she said.
It added that the visits allow the officers to understand from parents about their homeschooling progress, strengths, and areas for improvement. Students who do not meet the Achievement Level of the PSLE's posting group 1, which is between 25 and 30, must be enrolled into mainstream schools. These students' admission would be “subject to the school’s prevailing vacancies and admission criteria, which may involve school-based assessments”.
“Part of being gifted is the asynchrony of development. He may be more developed in the cognitive sense, but another part of it may not be as critically developed, which is up to us as the parent to observe and give this one-to-one attention,” Ms Tang said. Many parents are also drawn to the prospect of offering their children a holistic and creative education that goes beyond academic excellence.
Entrepreneurship fairs organised by the homeschooling community teach her daughter business skills, financial literacy, and adaptability. Singapore's Primary 4 students also achieved the highest global reading proficiency in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study results. “Homeschooling offers a competing narrative . There is nothing wrong with studying maths, English, science, but why must students learn them all in the same way?” Ms Fung said.“Why can’t they be appraised with creative projects that are less stressful? Why can’t parents mix and match?”While homeschooling affords flexibility and personalised education, it also presents its own set of challenges.
Since she has all her children study at the same time, she must ensure that each receives individualised attention in subjects where they excel or struggle. “In school everything is prepared, you have all the teachers there and the children can learn everything they need. For us, we have to actively look, ‘Where am I going to find someone whom they can learn history from?’ for example,” she said.
Several youths who had transitioned from homeschooling to tertiary education told TODAY that they generally enjoyed their homeschooling years, but some initially struggled with group work in university. She initially struggled with social cues, citing an instance where a minor disagreement among her canoeing teammates caused her significant anxiety as she took it very personally.
Associate Professor of Sociology Tan Ern Ser, a sociologist from NUS, said that homeschooled children may face such issues raised by Ms Ess when they miss out on having exposure to a microcosm of Singapore society by not participating in the mainstream system. He added that children in the same family may also respond differently to homeschooling methods due to individual differences.
To address these challenges, Assoc Prof Tan from NIE suggested that parents who lack confidence in teaching subjects like literacy and numeracy can use online learning platforms to support their efforts.
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