Homeschooling for Gifted Children

What is Home Schooling and How Does it Work For Gifted Children?                

This page is written as my personal experience of homeschooling; in time I may rewrite it from a more authoritative point of view, but in the meantime I include it for whatever value it may have; in homeschooling, other people's experiences are often interesting.

During the 11 years I've been Mensa Gifted Children's Co-ordinator, most by far of the enquiries I've received from callers in all states, have related to schools.  Problems with schools.  Children who are unhappy at schools, bored at schools, "getting nowhere" at schools.  Schools whose principals insist children start learning the alphabet when they can already read at age 10 level; schools whose principals claim to cater for gifted children, but don't, and many schools whose principals won't accept any evidence that a student is gifted.

What parents say most often is: "We just don't want to see the potential lost that we know is in her or him".  Quite common is: "He or she is so happy in the holidays when he or she can do his or her own work".  There are some schools across Australia which are willing to be flexible, and create genuine programs appropriate for gifted children, but either they're private schools, in which case money is a problem, or they're public schools, in which case it's a problem if you don't live in the right area. 

The truth is, there's very little a parent can do to change the perception of a school under the administration of people who won't, or don't want to, address this issue.  Getting on the school board, lobbying, spending time to provide enrichment work as a volunteer parent, can all be done, and may help a little; but it won't make up for hours spent doing unnecessary work years below your child's intelligence level.  It won't change the reality of classroom life in a school whose administration doesn't want to make a huge effort to help its gifted students.  It won't help an unhappy child be happy again.

When I became Gifted Children's Co-ordinator, my daughter Nicola was a few months old, and I took the office due to my own interest in the area.  I expected her to be comfortably bright, but I had no foreknowledge whether she'd be gifted.  I wasn't concerned about the issue, because I was doing with her all the things one should do with a gifted child (since they're what one should ideally do with all children anyway), and we were having fun. I assumed that the relevant issues would unfold in time.  They did - we had trouble when she started school.  I thought I'd investigated the school well; it had a good reputation; I thought it seemed surprisingly good. 

But my daughter, who'd insisted absolutely on starting school the day she turned 5, quickly became deeply miserable.  Psychological testing found she was gifted.  She was above the 99th percentile, including her poor performance because she had profound dyslexia.  Both were contributing to her misery at school.  Her Principal did what many parents had described to me, and what I'd not understood the impact of at all: she refused to accept the tests.  My daughter had neither high intelligence, nor dyslexia; she was a child performing in the lower part of the class, and the school was quite happy with that.  My qualifications seemed to mean nothing where my own daughter was concerned; it was as difficult for me as for any other mother.

I still think it's appalling that this sort of thing should happen in a highly-reputed (state) school, but that principal probably did me a favour in one way: she presented me with an impossible situation for Nicola, so I had to do something.  It took me 6 months to face up to the fact, but since I wasn't working (due to an illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), and since I had a young daughter seriously distressed by 2 terms of school, with a problem the school wouldn't acknowledge, the best option for us was home schooling, called by learning-oriented home schoolers in South Australia "Home Based Learning", HBL.

I say it took me 6 months to face up to it.  Partly, it was a shock to face the fact that my happy, bright, fun child had dyslexia.  Partly, I did a lot of things I spend time advising others not to do: I set my standards for me too low, and for Nicola too high; I found it hard to believe she was really gifted, despite much evidence that she was, except that she didn't read.  Even though I'm a qualified teacher and Education Consultant I doubted whether I could do homeschooling, and worried what it'd be like.  I now know that almost all parents contemplating HBL feel daunted at the prospect, and doubt whether they can do it.

From my experience, given a few basic requirements, the main one being that there are other families homeschooling in your area with whom your child(ren) can socialise: don't worry, you can do it, and it's great.

My latest SA Homeschool newsletter lists the most commonly-asked questions:  How long have you been doing home schooling (HBL)?  (2 years at the time I wrote this)  Why did you start?  (Explained above.)  How did you start?  (See below.)  What do you think of the school system?  (Very disillusioned at that time.)  Did you opt out because it was so bad?  (Yes, although HBLers generally try not to go public criticising the school system.  This is mainly for self-protection.  Because of the legal compulsion to attend school, we have to work with its bureaucracy.)

Don't you have to be a qualified teacher, or at least have some level of experience or education?  (No. See Below.)  I can't stand my kids by the end of the holidays; how do you stand it all day?  (Most of that behaviour is caused by school; by being "let out of prison" for a short time.  You don't have to stand it, because HBL kids are not like that.  See below.)  Are there different types of home schoolers?  (Yes, very definitely. See below.)  How do you do it legally? (See below.)  How many people home school? (Noone knows; a SA Education Department official told me they believe it's 5 to 10 times as many as they know about.)  Where do you get resources?  (This is so easy; public libraries; bookshops; garage sales; the community around you; your child's enrolled school, if you wish to, and by negotiation; Internet; one is buried in resources.)  What checks are in place/ how do you assess/ what testing do you do? (See below.)  What about secondary school/ university entrance?  (See below) And the one everyone asks, as though we might not have thought of it ourselves: WHAT ABOUT SOCIALISATION?  (See below.)

Before giving a quick summary of the "see belows", I'll mention the thing which has been most surprising to me about HBL: it turns out not really to be a schooling choice, but a whole life option.  Once you experience it, and think about it, it makes sense.  We all know that until quite recently the most common method of schooling in the UK for those who could afford it, was to send their children to a private boarding school, even in the Primary years.  To most of us in Australia this seems strange, sad, even horrible; one wonders why people would have children, only to send them away from home for most of their lives; (other than when necessitated by geographical isolation.)

Well, it's a continuum; once you've done HBL for 6-12 months, you find such pleasure having your children share your everyday life, you begin to feel the same about daily school attendance.  Why send your children for most of their day to be with strangers you know nothing about, have little contact with and less control over? Why only see your children when they're tired from a day at school, when the school's demand for homework intrudes again on your time?  Your children as part of your life become something you don't want to give up, quite apart from home schooling.

To the "See Below" section:

How do you start? 
Most families try to create a small "school" in their home; a curriculum and especially a timetable.  This is the main reason one feels daunted at the prospect.  Only a very few families stay with this method; most find it's unnecessary, and doesn't even work well.  With gifted children I think it would rarely be the best method. If you can say, as I mentioned above "He or she's so happy in the holidays when he or she can work at what interests her or him", you can begin to understand the idea.  Most find that a 1-2 hours core of "hands on" work most days, or some days, amply covers the Primary curriculum, and the flexible activities of the family, the interests and hobbies of the children themselves, far exceed it.  

Teaching qualifications/ Education level of parents:  
Teaching qualifications aren't required, rather evidence of a genuine intention to provide an education program for one's children.  Regarding the education level of parents, many research studies from the US (naturally HBL is wider spread and longer established there) consistently show home schooled children perform better academically than their peers (they are, of course, a selected group).  Also, surprisingly even to me, studies consistently show no correlation between the education level of the parents, and the academic performance of the children; from high-school drop-out parents, right through to tertiary educated, and those with postgraduate qualifications.  Interesting.

How do you stand your kids all day?  
Do you know of the concept of "street-smart"; children who live on the street, or spend a lot of their time with some who do, becoming far tougher, meaner, harder, than kids living in a happy home, or even a not so happy one?  Well, there really is a comparable "school-smart" - kids who attend school have to become tougher, meaner; do become angry, bored, frustrated and rebellious.  Notice the media coverage about the bullying which is still common in schools, and think about it.  Similarly, think about how you'd like to have your day regimented right down to how you sit, stand, and look, often by an authority you don't even like, or feel doesn't like you.  It can be hard enough as an adult in the work-place, when one's supposed to have developed some skills for coping with life.

HBL kids don't develop many of those "I can't stand those kids" behaviours unless you run your home like a Borstal.  This isn't idealism on my part; it's fact from observation.  One example: with a group of around 30 HBL kids we attended a Police lecture on Road Safety, usually given to school groups.  After a long (more than 1 hour) session of instruction, the time came to fetch crash helmets to move out to the Bike Road Safety area.  The Sergeant said routinely: "Now, I want you to go quietly, with no pushing and fighting, and get yourself a helmet."  Our group, ranging in age from 3 to 14, simply took their helmets and moved outside.  "Pushing & fighting?"  I noticed he'd said it, but it went right over their heads; it's not the sort of thing they do.  With what I consider to be extraordinary politeness, even the preschool children had sat patiently through the long and rather rambling lecture. Homeschool children are not often asked to sit and be bored; at a pinch they will do it generously when asked to.

Different types of Home schoolers.  
A (to my knowledge) very small group of unusual, perhaps anti-social perhaps just very private people, does home schooling.  It may be this minority which has given the concept a tacky image to some people.  Another small minority of families, (this was a surprise to me), have always done HBL - quietly, keeping a low profile, it's been an Australian choice possibly dating to pioneer days, when most learning was "Home Based".  Often these families have gone on to tertiary studies; they may have 2nd or 3rd generation HBL children. 

About a third of home schoolers make the choice for religious reasons; these seem often (not always) to be the families who keep to a more rigid, scheduled time-table approach. 

The remaining almost 2 thirds choose HBL for various reasons to do with concern for their children, and/or about education itself.  My explanation at the beginning of the article puts me into this group.  I find that in this group are many gifted children, although their parents don't always have that concept, or know that the child(ren)'s giftedness is a factor in their unhappiness at school, and their easy and enjoyable experience with HBL.  Another group has special learning difficulties, sometimes vague and subtle ones, which have made their time at school difficult, and which often respond well to the creative and patient work of parents over time.

Legality:  In all states I believe it's necessary for a child to be enrolled at a school, and for the parents then to apply for and be given, exemption from the child's attendance.  The details vary from state to state, and are changing currently, but in all states it can be done.  Queensland is the only state in which home schooling is technically illegal; but even so it is done, and is tolerated by the Education Department.

Checks, testing, assessments.  Different people use different methods.  Educational material graded to year level is readily available; I bought some excellent material recently from a supermarket.  I like to look at the work of my daughter's school-attending friends from time to time.  Many gifted children are great personal testers and assessors. 

Many schools are happy to provide assessment material, but this is usually an empty exercise as HBL children are usually well in advance of their school year level, gifted children naturally especially so.  (A HBL family we spend a lot of time with had a problem with their last visit from an Ed Dept. officer; their 3 year old sulked for 2 days because he hadn't wanted to hear her read; in the perception of the Ed Dept she's not "at school" yet, of course.  This is a family with no interest in gifted children issues, just happy kids and fun learning.)  Back to assessment: checking with the comparable school year level is the main answer; after all, that's all the school would be doing.  If you want more than that, do whatever meets your needs.

Tertiary education.  
The families mentioned who've been home schooling for decades have shown us HBL is no bar to tertiary education.  In fact, most universities have always had means of accepting students other than via the state HSC/Matriculation or whatever.  Entering Uni before the normal chronological age has been a problem for gifted children, rather than gaining university entrance as such. Many HBL children return to school during the 2ary years in order to complete the school requirements for tertiary entrance. Some do a TAFE course first in order to show they can complete study in a scheduled environment. There must be other routes to tertiary entry, because HBL children do go on to tertiary study.

Finally, the big question:  SOCIALISATION.  Except for the very few already mentioned, who don't want to interact with society much, socialisation is of course one of the needs HBL parents see as more important even than schools do.  I think it's definitely true that it is probably not possible to carry out a HBL program unless there is an active community of HBL families in your area.  Socialisation is a very big part of any homeschool program.  Through newsletters HBL communities organise group outings and activities, of the same type which schools organise.  Through personal contact families network and get together with other families purely for the kids to play, & the parents to "socialise"; there are always so many fascinating things to talk about in HBL; parents can hardly get enough of it, though they may see each other 1-2-3 times a week. 

Among the group of HBL families my daughter & I interacted with, an organised outing or activity was usually followed by kids playing, parents talking, regrouping to someone's home, sending out for take-away around dinner time, and getting home about 9-10pm.  Starting from an outing which began at 10 or 11am, that gave the kids a lot of socialising; and that was only on the organised days, as opposed to the spontaneous ones.  The main problem with socialisation is that it becomes harder to keep in touch with your friends who still go to that odd institution, school.  Mainly for that reason, we used to slow up our HBL in "school" holidays, to catch up with them.

Socialisation can be a problem for families who are very geographically isolated; unless at least 2 or 3 other families with similar aged children near them are interested to take up HBL, that's a hard one to solve.

In time my daughter developed an undiagnosed illness which gradually made it less and less possible for her physically to get to the outings and activities.  After some time she gradually lost touch with her homeschool friends, and I realised that because we couldn't take part in the activities of the HBL community it was better for her to return to her enrolled school, so that whenever she was well enough to attend, school would be there for her.  This was a different school and has been nothing but supportive to her; so one adapts to circumstances as they arise.  I know that our HBL program would have been of great benefit to Nicola both with regard to her giftedness, and to her dyslexia, if she hadn't become ill. 

The truth is that none of the above questions are the biggest problem with homeschooling: the biggest is expense.  If HBL requires one wage-earning parent to give up work, it's an option more expensive than the most elite private schooling.  However, if Dad or Mum are out of work for any reason, or if either is at home to care for pre-school children, or if you simply want a delightful lifestyle, good education, happy children and parents, I can certainly recommend that you try it to see how it works for you.

On another page I mentioned that I don't advocate early entry to school for those gifted preschoolers who early become fascinated with learning and academic work, and avidly want what to do what our society would call "school work".  I recommend homeschooling.  In this case, I recommend it even if one wage-earning parent does have to leave work for one or two years.  I believe children with such drive and commitment to learning, but who are still only aged 4 or 5 years, are likely to do much better, be much happier, and be far less at risk, by being assisted to create their own homeschooling program, than by beginning school early.

© 2000  Helen Dowland
This page was last updated on Wednesday, 25 January 2006 06:45 PM

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