- It teaches them the truth — the Bible, God’s Word.
- It teaches them to know the Creator — the only Living God.
- It fulfills the parents’ responsibility to educate their children.
- It allows the children to enjoy learning and flexibility and to cultivate their interests, giving them as much time as they need to learn the subject.
- It cultivates deeper family relationships.
- It shows good academic results.
- Total number of students reduced from 601,752 in 2001 to 511,306 in 2007;
- 66 % of children aged at 1-6 years in urban areas and 14 % in rural areas attending pre-school establishments (2003);
- 99.7 % of students were in the State schools (2002);
- Half of students take ethics and half take religion classes where 81 % are in Latin Catholic class;
- 631 children (age 7-16) were not attending school in 2005. Only 97 were due to disability and other 534 due to: reluctance to study, conflicts with teachers, willingness to work, asocial families, poor health, etc.
US Grants Home Schooling German Family Political Asylum
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/27/german-home-schooling-family-asylum
Couple who fled to Tennessee fearing persecution for keeping their
children out of school win first case of its kind in US
A US judge has granted political asylum to a German family who said
they had fled the country to avoid persecution for home schooling their
children.
In the first reported case of its kind, Tennessee immigration judge
Lawrence Burman ruled that the family of seven have a legitimate fear of
prosecution for their beliefs. Germany requires parents to enroll their
children in school in most cases and has levied fines against those who
educate their children at home.
Christians Uwe Romeike, a piano teacher, and his wife, Hannelore, moved
to Morristown, Tennessee, in 2008 after German authorities fined them
thousands of euros for keeping their children out of school and sent
police to escort them to classes, Romeike said. They had been holding
classes in their home.
Along with thousands of torture victims, political dissidents, members
of religious minorities and other persecuted groups who win political
asylum every year, the Romeike family will now be free to live and work
in the US. The case does not create a legal precedent unless the US
government appeals and a higher immigration court hears the case.
“Home schoolers in Germany are a particular social group, which is one
of the protected grounds under the asylum law,” said Mike Connelly,
attorney for the Home School Legal Defence Association, who argued the
case. “This judge looked at the evidence, he heard their testimony, and
he felt that the way Germany is treating home schoolers is wrong. The
rights being violated here are basic human rights.”
In 2006 the Romeikes pulled their children out of a state school in
Bissingen, Germany, in protest of what they deemed an anti-Christian
curriculum.
They said textbooks presented ideas and language that conflicted with
their Christian beliefs, including slang terms for sex acts and images
of vampires and witches, while the school offered what they described as
ethics lessons from Islam, Buddhism and other religions. The eldest son
got into fights in school and the eldest daughter had trouble studying.
“I think it’s important for parents to have the freedom to chose the way
their children can be taught,” Romeike told the Associated Press.
About 1.5 million US children are taught at home. In Morristown, a town
of about 27,000, the Romeikes have connected with other home schooling
families, organising field trips and other activities.
The German consul general for the southeastern US said in a statement
that mandatory school attendance ensures a high education standard for
all children, adding that parents have many educational options.
In 2008, the US government received more than 47,000 applications for
political asylum and granted 10,743, including four from Germany.
Connelly said this was the first time home schooling had been the
central issue in a US political asylum case.
guardian.co.uk (c) Guardian News and Media Limited 2010
annemiller @ January 28, 2010 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
News from Britain
Below are two notes we recently received from contacts in the U.K. We trust they’ll keep you praying for our brothers across the sea! For more information on the Badman Report mentioned, see this LifeSiteNews.com article. – Katherine
From Peter van Zuidam, NVvTO Secretary
The select committee of the English house of Commons on Education has given out a (so to say bipartisan) report on the bill introduced to impose supervision on home education in England. They have finally listened to most of the objections that were raised against the bill by English home educators and their organizations.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmchilsch/39/39i.pdf
See pages 5 and 6 for the summary.
From Roger Slack, Home Service
…In November 2008 Ed Balls, the UK’s Minister for Children, Schools and Families, commissioned a report on home education. The publication of the Badman Report in June immediately produced an outcry from home educators. It proposed compulsory registration renewed annually only with the approval of local authority officials who, on this side of the Atlantic, often know little about home education and are sometimes severely prejudiced against it. These same officials would be given power to interview home educated children without anyone else being present.
The management of the report was a travesty of democracy. Professor James Conroy, of Glasgow University, the only member of Mr Badman’s panel to have personal experience of home education: “In my 30 odd years of professional life in education I have rarely encountered a process, the entirety of which was so slap dash, panic driven, and nakedly and naively populist.” Its 28 recommendations were based on the wrong data, faulty evidence or in many cases no evidence at all. For example, it appears that none of the extensive and positive research from the USA was considered. I was amazed and ashamed to discover that such a report should be used to inform UK government policy. Many home educators believe Ed Balls had decided the recommendations before the report was written and Mr Badman knew it didn’t matter too much what he wrote. All he had to do was to fit a flimsy justification around them.
However, the minister has not had it all his own way. We have in the UK parliamentary select committees whose job is to scrutinise the work of government and they chose to look at the Badman report. I submitted to the committee some of the research (based on a list sent to me by Brian Ray) that could have been considered. Their conclusions, published last week, reveal they are not satisfied with the way the Badman Report was conducted nor with its handling of evidence and they disagree with almost all the major conclusions. Nevertheless the government ploughs on with Mr Badman’s draconian proposals.
We now know these proposals are due to be debated in the House of Commons on January the 11th. This is called the second reading of the bill. It is then due to go to the committee stage before it is sent to the House of Lords.
Please pray the Badman recommendations will either be rejected or will not complete their passage through parliament before the next general election, which must take place on or before June the 3rd. The UK has been a beacon of home education freedom in Europe. We want to keep it that way.
Katherine Loop @ January 6, 2010 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
New Study: Home-Educated Canadian Adults Excel
Our thanks to Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., president of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), for letting us know of this survey. It shares what many others have shared — home education works! – Katherine
By Patrick B. Craine
LONDON, Ontario, December 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new study released yesterday by the Canadian Centre for Home Education (CCHE) reveals that home-educated adults in Canada excel in all measured areas of adult life, including education level, religious observance, civic and community participation, life satisfaction, and income.
The study, entitled Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults, surveyed adults whose parents had responded to a 1994 study on home education. In total, the researchers collected 226 questionnaires. Ranging in age from 15 to 34, the respondents answered questions on a variety of topics for which Statistics Canada has comparable data from the wider population.
The results were astounding, says CCHE.
The study found that, when measured against the Canadian average, home-educated adults were more socially engaged and almost twice as likely to have voted in a federal election. Their average income was higher, with more self-reliant sources of income, such as investments and self-employment. In fact, of all respondents, there were no cases of government support as the primary source of income.
The respondents were happier in their work and about their lives in general. They also have more varied recreational pursuits. The study notes, for example, that the respondents “were much more likely than the comparable population to have read books and attended concerts of classical music or theatrical performances.” Overall, when reflecting on the value of being home-educated, most felt that it was an advantage in their adult life.
“In terms of income, education, entrepreneurial endeavours, involvement in their community, and all the other characteristics measured, home-educated adults not only excel, but also make meaningful contributions to their communities,” stated Paul Faris, president of CCHE. “They are the type of neighbours we all want.”
The full study and a synopsis are available here.
Katherine Loop @ December 16, 2009 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
Fathers Jailed in Germany for Opting Out of Sex-Ed Class
It’s easy to take our freedoms for granted — this article reminds us we live in a world that clearly recognizes the importance of training the next generation and wants to take that responsibility from parents. Please take a moment to pray for our brothers and sisters in Germany, that God would keep them strong and win the battles for them. – Katherine
Note: More details can also be found at this LifeSiteNews.com article: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09121108.html
The Salzkotten 8, Salzkotten, NorthRhineWestphalia, 10 December 2009
The attack against Christian families seeking to have some input into the
education their children receive in Germany is continuing. A number of
Russian-German families in an elementary school in this community are
withholding their children from attending Sex education classes. They have
also withheld their children from participating in a theater play, My Body
Belongs to Me, that teaches the children how to engage in sex.
There are 8 families involved. Each father of these families will be sent to
prison. The father of the one family was the first. He has spent 7 days in
prison and will be released tomorrow.
The state has fined these families several times, and the fines continue to
accrue. This is not a normal punitive fine but rather a special fine called
Bussgeld (literally called repentance money) that is designed to show
contrition for a wrong behavior on the part of the person being fined. The
time spent in prison does not count toward paying off the fine.
The Russian-German families refuse to pay their fines because by so doing
they would admit their guilt of a wrong behavior. Prison is all about
forcing them to comply — first to pay their fines and second to comply
with compulsory school attendance, which includes attendance and
participation in all classes.
Schuzh and IHRG Attorneys Gabriele and Armin Eckermann are acting as these
families legal advisors.
Richard Guenther
European Director, IHRG
Additionally from Joel Thornton, President, IHRG:
This type of persecution from German government officials against the
Salzkotten 8 shows how committed the German system is to punishing home
school families and others who do not comply with the compulsory education
laws, even when they are only removing their children from a single clearly
objectionable class.
Unlike American officials, German officials do not recognize the right of
parents to opt their children out of offensive classes such as sex education
which overrides the parents’ beliefs or desires for their own children.
One of the reasons for this is that German officials view the children as
belonging to the State, particularly during the time they are in school.
The IHRG has decided to take a more radical approach to the situation in
Germany. Early next year, January or February, we will be filing a civil
law suit on behalf of a number of home school families to try and force the
court to recognize the rights of parents to control the education of their
children. We will not continue to only react to these forceful actions by
state officials against these families.
To my knowledge, this is the first time these families have been public
about the persecution they are facing.
Please pray for the Salzkotten 8 families in this time of persecution.
Katherine Loop @ December 16, 2009 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
Europe Cracks Down on Homeschool Parents
This CBN article and video clip provide sobering details about the homeschool situation in Europe. Take a look and be reminded to pray for our brothers and sisters over there. We have so many freedoms here to be thankful for — and diligent to preserve!
Blog @ November 13, 2009 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
Calls Needed to Reunite Homeschool Family
- From the HSLDA e-lert service , October 7
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
We recently told you about the plight of the Johanssons, a Swedish family whose only child, 7-year-old Dominic Johansson, was seized by Swedish police from a plane just as the family was about to leave the country for a new life in India.
After investigating the facts surrounding the case, HSLDA President J. Michael Smith wrote to Swedish officials to protest this action.
Read his letter >>
Read the response from Mr. Berglind, minister of public affairs for the Swedish Embassy in Washington >>
Citing confidentiality concerns for not commenting on the Johansson case, Mr. Stigland noted that a county administrative board in Sweden is reviewing how it was handled by local officials.
In a telephone conversation with HSLDA, Mr. Johansson confirmed that he has been in contact with the county administrative board.
“They told me that they are looking into the case to determine if anything was done improperly,” he said.
And at a meeting with the social workers on Tuesday, October 6, Mr. Johansson was told that he and his wife would only be allowed to visit their son at the social workers office once every two weeks for a maximum of two hours.
What does Sweden hope to gain from such an aggressive action? The situation is tragic. It is deeply troubling that a Western democracy would go to such lengths to prevent a homeschool family from simply trying to leave the country.
Dominic has been traumatized, and his mother has been hospitalized several times because of the depression this incident has caused. Yet the social workers persist in keeping custody of Dominic. When Mr. Johansson asks why, they reply “Because it’s better for him.” According to Mr. Johansson, both he and Dominic have been subjected to psychological and other testing with results showing no valid reason for continued separation of the family.
In light of this aggressive behavior and because the Swedish parliament is poised to impose draconian regulations on homeschoolers, HSLDA is asking its members to contact the Swedish Ambassador to the United States.
Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafström can be reached:
By email: ambassaden.washington@foreign.ministry.se
By phone: 202-467 2600
By fax: 202-467 2699
Visit Swedish embassy website >>
First, we ask you to request that the Swedish government return Dominic to his family. The social welfare agency has taken custody of Dominic, and they have the power to return him to his parents. Request that they do so immediately.
Second, inform the ambassador that homeschooling allows children to thrive academically and socially. Valid research has demonstrated that homeschooling is a mainstream educational approach that works. Tell him that the world doesn’t need any more countries like Germany that repress freedom in education, and that a person should be permitted to opt out of public education because of philosophical or religious convictions.
In his letter to Mr. Smith, Mr. Stigland noted that since Sweden is a state party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, that the starting point for children is Sweden is the “ best interests of the child and the child’s right to be heard .” Mr. Stigland noted that social services have an obligation to “intervene and remove a child from the family if the child’s health and development are endangered.” Mr. Stigland noted that a child should be returned home as soon as possible if it was “in the best interests of the child.”
Of grave concern to HSLDA is Mr. Stigland’s citation of the legislative history of the Education Act which says: “The legislative history of the current Education Act states that home schooling in isolated cases, mainly in the lower grades, might be an acceptable substitute for education if a particular external circumstance exists. Examples of such are: if the child lives in a sparsely populated area or needs special care. Legal practice shows that the situation also arises when parents for other reasons, such as philosophical or religious, want to educate their children at home. In connection with the new Education Act, these rules are now being reviewed.”
The act is indeed being reviewed and the proposal is even more draconian. The proposed language would remove philosophical or religious convictions as valid reasons to home school. The new law would allow homeschooling only in “extraordinary circumstances” (read: never). If the proposed Swedish law passes it would become as bad as in Germany where homeschooling is effectively banned.
Mike Farris recently said in his address to the World Congress of Families, “Any nation that severely restricts the ability of parents to choose alternative forms of education, including home education, in the name of creating national unity, cannot call itself a free nation. Freedom necessarily requires the individual to have the liberty to think differently and believe differently than programs instituted by the current rulers of any nation. Educational freedom is the cornerstone for all freedom of thought and conscience.”
HSLDA encourages its members to communicate their concerns to the Swedish Ambassador. We hope that his influence may help correct an injustice and also pave the way for better laws for homeschoolers in Sweden
HSLDA thanks its members and friends for their ongoing support. It’s when all homeschoolers join together that we are most effective advocating for homeschool freedom in America and abroad.
Read the HSLDA article: “Sweden—the Next Germany for Homeschoolers?”
Katherine Loop @ October 21, 2009 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
Lithuania: Another Homeschooling Movement Begins
Report from HSLDA. Our thanks to Lifework Forum for the picture of the Juoniai family, and to Wikipedia for the European map.
A young Lithuanian family devoted to discipleship through home education is pioneering the movement for their people.
In September of 2008, ten international homeschool leaders joined HSLDA’s annual National Homeschool Leadership Conference. The following is an update from Gintas and Ina Juoniai, one of only two Lithuanian homeschooling families and the head of ‘eimos mokykl? namuose draugija, the Lithuanian homeschool association. By God’s grace, the Juoniais are pioneering the home education movement for their people.
Meet the Juoniai Family
Gintas Juoniai and his wife, Ina, are a Lithuanian homeschooling family, but they currently reside in Norway.
Both Gintas and Ina trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior as young adults and they now have a family of four children (two boys and two girls) ranging in age from 8 months to 8 years old.
When their first daughter was born 8 years ago, Gintas and Ina felt strongly that they should take full responsibility for this precious gift from the Lord. So instead of enrolling her in an institution for school, the Juoniais kept their daughter at home, along with the children that followed. After several years of home educating alone, the family met Curtis and Sandra Lovelace, who came alongside them with love and encouragement. (Contact the Lovelaces at info@LifeworkForum.org and www.lifeworkforum.org.)
The Juoniais’ Homeschool Philosophy’Family Discipleship and Academic Excellence
Gintas and Ina homeschool because they believe it is best for their children:
Pioneering the Movement
Gintas and Ina’s desire is to love the Lord with all of their hearts and souls and strength, to raise their children for God’s glory and His Kingdom, and to be His faithful servants and walk His path of truth each and every day. Not only do they strive for this in their own family, but they also long to share God’s plan for the family and homeschooling with others. To this end, they have started the Lithuanian Homeschool Association ‘eimos mokykl? namuose draugija, which they are publicizing through www.smnd.lt.
Although they are only one of two known Lithuanian homeschooling families, Gintas and Ina are persevering, and they continue to reach out to other European families. One of their ultimate goals is to form a coalition of Christian homeschooling families in Europe.
Earlier in 2008, Lifework Forum, run by Curtis and Sandra Lovelace, held a homeschool conference at Gintas and Ina’s home. Nationals from Norway, Lithuania, Finland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jamaica (via England), Cambodia, and the USA participated.
Lithuania’s Homeschooling Legal Climate
The Constitution of the Lithuanian Republic states that primary and secondary education is free until age 16, that everyone has a right to an education, and that education is compulsory. School attendance is mandatory for children ages 7 to 16. There is no state religion in Lithuania; the school system is secular.
Lithuania’s Law on Education guarantees a parent’s right to choose an educational institution for his or her children. However, parents must comply with local school requirements to homeschool. The law allows homeschooling (referred to as ’self-education’ or ‘independent studies’) as long as parents generally follow the state curriculum and have children examined by local school officials once or twice per year.
Children wishing to be homeschooled must be listed with a local state or private school, must sign a contract with that school (parents sign on behalf of the child until he or she is 14), and apply for permission to be homeschooled.
Then it is up to the school authorities to establish and oversee the order. There is a so-called ‘order of independent studies’ in which it is stated that ‘independent studies for a learner can be organized only by the school which has an educational program chosen by the learner.’ Usually this order is applied to gifted children and only in some schools, so local schools are not always aware of the provision.
The Law of Education states: ‘Parents (foster parents, guardians) must send their children who have reached the age of 6-7 to school,’ and ‘A learner has the right according to his abilities and needs, to study at school or independently and attain an education level and qualification that meets state standards, to study according to an individual program of studies, to study in a psychologically, emotionally and physically safe environment based on mutual respect, to have a learning workload and a workplace that conform to health (hygiene) requirements.’
Article 18 states this about self-education: ‘The purpose of self-education is to provide an individual with possibilities for continuous independent learning supported by the surrounding information space (libraries, media, Internet, museums, etc.) and life experience gained from other persons,’ and, ‘A person’s competence acquired by way of self-education may be recognized as being a part of a formal education program or a qualification as prescribed by the government or its authorized institution.’
The number of Lithuanian children who are being homeschooled is not clear because children being taught at home are registered at a local school and counted as a ‘normal case.’ The statistics that are available indicate that homeschooling may be gaining popularity:
A Prayer for Europe
Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights states: ‘No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religions and philosophical convictions.’
Gintas and Ina’s prayer is that this article will not disappear or be lost in long corridors of bureaucracy and wrong interpretations. They ask that we keep Europe in our prayers, specifically that families will have enough strength to keep Gods commandments:
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NIV)
You can provide financial support to the homeschooling movement in countries like Lithuania by donating to the Home School Foundation’s International Homeschooling Fund.
Juoniai Family Photo Credit: Lifework Forum.
Europe Map Credit: San Jose, Wikipedia. Image coloring and appearance modified and arrow added. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this map under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License“. The map has been created with the Generic Mapping Tools: http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/ using one or more of these public domain datasets for the relief: ETOPO2 (topography/bathymetry): http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global/global.html, GLOBE (topography): http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/topo/globe.html, SRTM (topography): http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/
Katherine Loop @ January 28, 2009 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
Taiwan: Homeschooling Movement on the Rise
In September of 2008, ten international homeschool leaders joined HSLDA’s annual National Homeschool Leadership Conference. The following is an update from Mrs. Chuo-chuin Fan, who founded and now helps run the Mujen Chinese Christian Home Educators’ Association. This organization is the largest multi-denominational homeschool support group in Taiwan, has more than 270 homeschooling families, and is operated mainly by volunteers. This update introduces Chuo-chuin, recounts the birth of her homeschool organization, and describes the present and future of Taiwanese home education.
Note: If you’d like to learn more about Taiwan or share some interesting facts with your children, check out the CIA’s World Factbook.
Meet Chuo-chuin
Chuo-chuin Fan is a pioneer in the homeschooling movement in Taiwan. She has home educated her own children for years, and they are currently 23, 20, 15, and 13. The oldest just graduated from college, and the second is a student at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia. Though she is still homeschooling her youngest two children, Chuo-chuin spends much of her time building home education resources for families in Chinese countries.
Thirty years ago, Chuo-chuin and her husband moved to the United States from Taiwan to attend graduate school. At about the same time, Chuo-chuin became a Christian.
As Chuo-chuin furthered her education in both academics and Scripture, she and her husband were convinced that they should homeschool their own children. Using techniques learned at the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia, various resources, and the Bible as their first and utmost textbook, Chuo-chuin and her husband began teaching their children at very young ages.
Building a Foundation During the Early Years
The family lived in Richardson, Texas, during their early homeschooling years, where they spent a total of 7 years. As the only Taiwanese family in the area and brand new at homeschooling, they relied on the generous support and encouragement from several local families.
Chuo-chuin will never forget one of those mothers’ selflessness in driving her daughter to spend time with Chuo-chuin’s daughter, Katherine. Katherine was the Fans’ firstborn and the only Chinese girl in their support group, and the friendship helped alleviate her loneliness. This gesture was a huge encouragement to the whole family and set an example for them to model to other families in later years.
Back to Taiwan
Thirteen years ago, Chuo-chuin’s father was diagnosed with a brain tumor, so the family quickly decided to move back to Taiwan to be with him. The Lord was gracious and granted him another 7 years of life, and he eventually accepted Christ as his personal Savior six months before he left this world to be with the Lord.
After Chuo-chuin and her family moved back to Taiwan, some Taiwanese parents became interested in the Fans’ educational methods. At the same time, the Lord miraculously opened the door and legalized homeschooling in Taiwan, even before Chuo-chuin and her husband had a chance to lobby for it. In September 1999, Chris Klicka of HSLDA was very helpful in providing model legislation and law summaries from the States that were used as basis for proposals for subsequent regulatory policy.
On September 6, 1998, the Fans invited a few friends over to share their story. The invitation quickly spread by word of mouth, and over 20 families came that day. This was the birth of the Chinese Christian Home Educators Association (in Taiwan).
Homeschooling in Taiwan Grows
For the past 10 years, the Fans’ organization has become the channel between the government and the homeschooling movement. They have organized various support groups and book fairs, published newsletters, designed teaching material for brain-injured children, held Bible Camps, Chinese Literature Camps, and Youth Camps, and appealed cases on behalf of members and even non-members. The culmination of all the outreach efforts was their first youth team sent to help the Taiwanese aboriginal children with their schoolwork last summer. The team won the hearts of those children as well as those of their parents.
Taiwan is the size of New Jersey or Israel but has the population of Australia (approximately 22 million). Currently, the compulsory school attendance law only applies to students up to the 9th grade in Taiwan. There are about 1,200 elementary and middle school-aged children receiving education at home this year and half of those 1,200 students belong to the homeschool association.
In the past, China and Hong Kong have asked the Chinese Christian Home Educators Association to help with their countries’ homeschool movements. The Taiwanese homeschoolers ask for our prayers as they seek to assist these countries as their brothers and sisters in Christ. Their hope is that as the homeschool movement advances there, a spiritual revival will soon follow.
For more information about homeschooling in Taiwan, see www.hslda.org/hs/international/Taiwan.
You can provide financial support to the homeschooling movement in Taiwan by donating to the Home School Foundation’s International Homeschooling Fund. For more information, go to www.homeschoolfoundation.org/funds/international.asp.
Picture Credits: Picture of Taiwan is from the CIA’s World Factbook, courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. Picture of the Siouguluan River in Taiwan, Hualien is by prattflora, and shared on wikipedia.org.
Katherine Loop @ January 7, 2009 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
South Korea: Homeschooling Prospers by Families Helping Families
In September of 2008, ten homeschool leaders from around the world attended HSLDA’s annual National Homeschool Leadership Conference. The following is an update from Bernie and Linda Beall, who work through Family Mission International (FMI) to assist South Korean homeschoolers. This update highlights two South Korean homeschooling families, describes FMI and the Bealls’ goals, and summarizes the legal climate of homeschooling there.
Bernie and Linda Beall, veteran homeschoolers, serve with Family Mission International (FMI). For the past five years, their mission team has been working to assist the development of the South Korean homeschool movement. The following two stories demonstrate the impact that the Bealls’ ministry is having and how the homeschooling movement is affecting Christian families in this country.
Ministry Encourages Families to Homeschool
Five years ago, Pastor Kim Won Tae and his family attended one of FMI’s first homeschool conferences. At the conference, the mission team challenged parents to take responsibility for the discipleship of their children. Pastor Kim and his wife became convinced that God wanted them to withdraw their children from a high-quality school where they were already academically excelling and bring them home to focus on spiritual and character development. The family has been delighted with the results. Though very few curriculum and supporting resources were available when they began, the family has watched God bless their act of faith. Because of the excellent results Pastor Kim and his wife saw in their children, they began encouraging other families to homeschool. Pastor Kim’s church now has a thriving homeschool academy, which currently supports approximately 50 homeschooling families.
The Excellence of Homeschool Worldview Curriculum
The second story is about Pastor Lee Je Hun. Pastor Lee began homeschooling three years ago and quickly saw this as not only a new education program for his children, but also as a ministry calling for himself. As he began to examine Christian worldview-based curriculum from America that the Bealls had provided, he was astounded by the depth of these teachings. He remarked, “What middle school and high school students are studying in these homeschool curriculum surpasses what theological education I received in seminary.” With his wife and two children, Pastor Lee has dedicated himself to assisting their church of 10,000 people with becoming a “model church” with the goal of supporting and developing thousands of homeschool families across the nation.
FMI’s Homeschooling Ministry – American Homeschool Families Helping Korean Families
One of FMI’s goals is to support the development of homeschooling in South Korea by connecting American homeschoolers to Korean homeschoolers. The Bealls have helped several American families move to South Korea, and they spend an extended period of time discipling South Korean families through weekly co-op and training meetings. They also help South Korean families travel to America for home-stay experiences and are encouraging families and homeschool graduates to help with tutoring Korean students through an online program called Homeschool Friend.
Legal Climate
Currently, homeschooling is not technically permitted by law in South Koreabut neither is it prohibited!
Homeschoolers have been able to peacefully remove their children from public school without any government intervention. The South Korean government’s new 2008 administration has announced plans to legalize homeschooling by 2010. Despite this good news, it is not yet clear what restrictions and requirements might be attached to this legalization. Chris Klicka of HSLDA plans to provide model legislation and to assist the process.
The current Christian homeschool population is estimated to exceed 1,000 families; the total homeschool population is about double that number.
For more information about homeschooling in South Korea, see www.hslda.org/hs/international/SouthKorea.
You can provide financial support to the homeschooling movement in South Korea by donating to the Home School Foundation’s International Homeschooling Fund. For more information, go to http://www.homeschoolfoundation.org/funds/international.asp.
Katherine Loop @ December 8, 2008 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
International Homeschooling Report 2: Mexico, Homeschooling Ministry Gives Hope to Families
Note from HEAV: Our thanks to HSLDA for forwarding this report to us.
In September of 2008, ten international homeschool leaders joined HSLDA’s annual National Homeschool Leadership Conference. The following is taken from Mike Richardson’s presentation at the conference and describes his family’s ministry though Vida Nueva Ministries.
From Candidate for State Legislature to Homeschool Dad
In the mid-1980s, Mike Richardson ran for the Georgia House of Representatives. During his campaign, a small group of homeschool families invited him to speak to them. Through that contact, Mike became close friends with Daniel, a local high school teacher and homeschool father.
Daniel and his family had a tremendous impact on the Richardsons. It was through Daniel’s teachings as well as his example in daily life that Mike and his wife Pam decided to begin homeschooling their three children in 1986. (Seven of the Richardsons’ ten children are still at home.)
Mike credits Daniel for his accomplishments in the Spanish-speaking world:
“The things that I learned from “sitting at Daniel’s feet” have become the basis for any success that we have had in our ministry to Spanish-speaking families throughout the world. Daniel, not Pam and I, is the one who truly deserves the praise for the homeschool work throughout Latin America. His faithfulness in mentoring one person has brought many rewards in the kingdom of God.”
Ministering to the Spanish Speaking World from Mexico
Mike and Pam Richardson have lived in Mexico for the past fourteen years and have orchestrated a national homeschool conference in Saltillo. Seven years ago, they began a second homeschool conference near Mexico City. In 2008, the conferences had a combined attendance of nearly 3,000 people, from 22 of the 32 Mexican states as well as several other countries.
Richardson will tape each speaker and have the speeches transcribed, translated, and re-taped. These tapes are sent free of charge to families throughout Mexico who request them. He is also involved in providing translations of several books on home education including books by Gregg Harris, Mike Farris, and Chris Klicka.
Since 1996, the Richardsons have published a bi-monthly Spanish homeschool magazine, “El Hogar Educador,” which currently ministers to 4,500 families in 32 countries. The newsletter offers many tips on homeschooling and raising a Christian family.
The Vida Nueva Ministries Gives Hope to the Poor
The admission to the homeschool conferences and the newsletter are free, so that the expense will not discourage many families who have very little money.
“Vida Nueva Ministries has changed the lives of hundreds of families, giving them hope for the future for their children,” says HSLDA Senior Counsel Christopher Klicka. Recalling his past experience as a speaker at the Saltillo conference he continued, “Families came to me with tears and heartfelt thanks for Mike Richardson’s homeschool ministry. They testified to how their children were being blessed. Without the Richardsons’ providing free registration at conferences, free tapes, and a free home education newsletter, homeschooling would be an impossibility for these families.”
In the past, HSLDA has supported the El Hogar Educador by providing them a printing press to meet their needs in the area of publishing a Spanish newsletter and Spanish books.
Richardson’s El Hogar Educador is fulfilling his two-fold goal for the ministry: serving as a conduit for the gospel, and supporting homeschool families. Homeschooling is providing an answer to the poor education in Mexico and is enabling families to work together.
Mexican Legal Homeschooling Climate
Mexico is the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the worldsecond only to California. In Mexico, parents can homeschool their children without any significant interference from the governing authorities, and they praise the Lord for His blessing in this area!
Not Without Challenges
Despite the positive homeschooling climate in Latin America, leading the homeschool movement in Mexico has not been without its challenges. The past year has been very challenging for the Richardson family and their ministry. They have passed through many highs and lowstragedies and triumphsand these ordeals have truly been the most mentally and spiritually challenging trials of their lives.
However, the Richardsons desire to not live a mediocre lifebut to live life to the fullest, serving God with their whole hearts. They appreciate your continuing prayers for their ministry and family as they seek God’s guidance and direction.
For more information about homeschooling in Mexico, see www.hslda.org/hs/international/Mexico.
You can provide financial support to the homeschooling movement in Mexico by donating to the Home School Foundation’s International Homeschooling Fund. For more information, go to http://www.homeschoolfoundation.org/funds/international.asp.
Katherine Loop @ December 3, 2008 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)