|
Preparing a Philosophy or Mission Statement
© Beverley Paine, 1997
(first published in Getting Started with Homeschooling Practical Considerations)
Evolving a statement of philosophy, sometimes known as a mission statement, is the first, and most important, step in planning an educational program. It is worthy of considerable time spent with partners and children discussing what education means to each of you. Your philosophy naturally determines your education goals, both long and short term.
For most people starting out putting their thoughts on paper is beneficial and is a useful reference when discussing their educational program with others. To begin you need to write down in a simple and meaningful way all the education, spiritual, social, moral and emotional reasons why you wish your children to learn at home. Focus on positive reasons, or desirable outcomes, changing negative statements into positive ones as you go.
This is a good opportunity to practice positive thinking which becomes invaluable when relating to others why you have chosen this educational path for your children. Everyone responds better to positive comments and you will find that others may feel less threatened by what they may see as a radical action taken by you. Thinking positively is one of the best ways to build and maintain self-confidence.
Your philosophy statement serves many purposes:
 it is a good guide and reference,
it instills confidence down the track;
and assists you in justifying your decisions and actions when necessary.
It can include any aspect of education you feel is essential, either intuitively or idealistically, including reference to commercial or other pre-packaged curriculum resources. The preparation of your philosophy statement is a good way to affirm your reasons for choosing home schooling.
The statement does not have to be long, or modeled on a philosophy document may have seen elsewhere. It is a statement of your education beliefs and long term goals, and will have more meaning for you if it is in your own words. If you are familiar with educational terminology use it; however, if educational terms confuse you, don't use them. Use your natural style of language and express, as simply as you can how you feel and what you believe about education.
Philosophy statements can change over time. As you become more experienced it is only natural that you may change some of your views and practices. Reading your statements periodically is a useful habit to adopt. This promotes keeping them up to date as you make additions and alterations when necessary. Changes are often prompted by new information or ideas you have come across as you practice home education.
Our philosophy statement formed the basis of our children's home education curriculum. I divided the statment into different sections, each focusing on a particular area of importance. Because it is such an important foundational aspect of the home learning program, it took several discussions and more than a few drafts to produce a document which clearly outlined our family's educational beliefs and needs.
Was this article helpful? Was it worth $1.00 to you?
Your gift of $1 or more helps to keep this site operating
offering encouragement
and reassurance to families
wanting
better outcomes for their children.
Beverley Paine with her children, and their home educated children, relaxing at home.
Together with the support of my family, my aim is to help parents educate their children in stress-free, nurturing environments. In addition to building and maintaing this website, I continue to create and manage local and national home educating networks, help to organise conferences and camps, as well as write for, edit and produce newsletters, resource directories and magazines. I am an active supporter of national, state, regional and local home education groups.
"You've been an inspiration to me, I love the way
you really listen to people." Vanessa
"Whenever I read your writing I always come away
with increased confidence in my ability to provide and
share a wonderful learning journey with my family!" Davina
"Your guidance, understanding, support and words of
wisdom changed our lives. We now offer support and
organise many homeschooling events for others." Lesley
"Thank you once again for your prompt and friendly service.
I am convinced that your books are going to add
quality and peace of mind to my journey of teaching my kids
at home! Just from studying your website, until almost
2am
in the morning, I 've been encouraged!" Louisa
"Thank you for all your many,many reassuring words
over many, many years. You probably don't know exactly how
valuable you are to the Australian Home Education community.
I've been reading your stuff for maybe 8 years or more now.
And I'm very grateful." Gythaa
|
|
Welcome to the World of Home Education
and Learning without School!
We began educating our children in 1985, when our eldest was five. In truth, we had helped them learn what they need to learn since they were born. I am a passionate advocate of allowing children to learn unhindered by unnecessary stress and competition, meeting developmental needs in ways that suit their individual learning styles and preferences. Ours was a homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning family! There are hundreds of articles on this site to help you build confidence as a home educating family. We hope that your home educating adventure is as satisfying as ours was! Beverley Paine
3 ESSENTIAL STEP BY STEP GUIDES
Let experienced home educators Beverley, Tamara and April walk you through HOW to create a learning plan that builds on solid foundations that works for YOUR family AND ticks all the boxes for home educaton registration!
|
Tap into Beverley's
experience
through her books
"Your books, your blogs helped me beyond words... they helped me to find comfort in knowing it is ok to choose exactly what is best for my family." Nisha
"Your books and information are mind blowing and already I am feeling good about this new experience." Diane
"Your guidance, understanding, support & words of wisdom changed our lives." Leslie
"I feel specially inspired by Beverley's words and, the more I read her comments, the more inspired I feel, since my need for support, respect for different parenting styles, and information are fully met." Marijo
|
 |
|
Australia's premier online annual conferences, lifetime access to video and audio recordings, freebies, notes and associated resource guides.
EVERY SUMMIT IS UNIQUE!
$29 each  2023  2022 2021
$25 each 2020 2019 2017
"Biggest and best Aussie homeschool event of the year!"
The information on this website is of a general nature only and is not intended as personal or professional advice. This site merges and incorporates 'Homeschool Australia' and 'Unschool Australia'.
The Educating Parent acknowledges the Traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Owners, the Custodians of Australia, and pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people viewing this website.
Home education is a legal alternative
to school education in Australia.
State and Territory governments are responsible
for regulating home education and have different
requirements, however home educating families
are able to develop curriculum and learning programs
to suit the individual needs of their children.
Without revenue from advertising
by educational suppliers and Google Ads
we could not continue to provide information
to home educators. Please support us by letting
our advertisers know that you found them on
The Educating Parent. Thanks!
|
About
Thank you for visiting!