Unlocking the lockdown

This week we actually started seeing other people in the flesh.

Classes started; things are steadily returning to normal.  Let's hope there are no new Covid-19 outbreaks.

With our new in-home classroom fully operational (yes, Mulan and I did watch the nine Star Wars movies during lockdown!), Mama started teaching in-person lessons on Monday.  I also taught a student there on Friday.  We keep appropriately distanced, and wipe down the equipment after each student.

Yesterday, Mulan and Miya had their first outside class in two months.  Their swim school has re-opened, and swimming lessons are back on (twice a week).  Apparently the pool has more chlorine than usual.  For now I think it's best if the girls just jump in and out of the pool directly and not use the swim school changing rooms.

Tomorrow, the girls will also return to in-person ballet lessons at Rowe Dance (three times a week).  It seems they will dance sufficiently distanced from each other, and surfaces will be wiped between each class.  Throughout the lockdown the girls were having their ballet lessons at home via Zoom, so it'll be great to get back to a large space for dancing.

We got word that Mulan's netball team plan to have their first practice in a week or so.  The tentative word is that the netball competition will start at the beginning of term 3 (end of July).

We've decided to not re-enrol in gymnastic lessons for now; we might return in term 3.

For now group music lessons at Belmont Music Centre are continuing online via Zoom.  Given the way singing aerosolises respiratory droplets, it's best to be safe about this.  (I'm the BMC manager, and my tentative thought is that if things go well we'll return to in-person lessons at the beginning of term 3.)

Mulan's private music lessons have been online via Zoom throughout the lockdown.  Her recorder teacher comes to us, and we'll re-start in-person lessons on Tuesday in our new classroom.  We go to Mulan's cello teacher's home, but since she has not created a secure teaching space we decided we'll continue with online lessons for now.

We haven't heard anything more about Mulan's athletics Interprovicials competition since they suggested it might happen in October.  We haven't done much (ie any!) athletics training during lockdown; we should probably restart.

We also haven't heard anything more about the girls' ballet exams, Mulan's music exams, or Miya's interschools swimming competition.  All may or may not be going ahead this year.

(Yes, our homeschooling includes a fair amount of external lessons / classes / competitions / exams.)

Music

I haven't written about Mulan and Miya's music learning this year.  Time for an update.

First of all Miya.

Miya is continuing at Belmont Music Centre this year.  It's her fifth year there, and last year she was fourth year recorder and third year violin.

BMC is set up to introduce music to children, focusing mostly on the first three years of learning an instrument.  Miya has got to the point with both recorder and violin that this year the most advanced classes for these instruments would be too easy and slow for her.

So, Miya decided to try some new instruments.

She would have loved to start the saxophone, but unfortunately there weren't enough student enrolments so BMC couldn't put on a class.

Instead, Miya decided to start both the clarinet and trumpet.  She also decided to enrol in the level 2 keyboard class (she had previously learnt a bit of piano with Nainai).  And finally, Miya is continuing in the string band, playing the violin.

In other words, Miya is learning four different instruments at BMC!

During the week Miya practices all four instruments, plus continues playing her recorder.  Her general approach is to play two different instruments every day.  Miya organises this entirely herself.  My only involvement is that I remind Miya that if she wants to learn something, then it's important to put the time in and do it most days.  Since she has chosen this year to enrol in so many music classes she needs to do a bit of music every day.  But if it's ever too much, then no pressure and she's free to stop.

With so much music, Miya is zooming ahead and so this term she has moved up a class level for all three classes.

Well done Miya!

During the Covid-19 lockdown, BMC has continued to have classes, but all online via Zoom. The bands are too big to meet together online, so string band has stopped for now.

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Last year was Mulan's fifth and final year at BMC; she was fifth year recorder, fourth year flute and second year cello.  As BMC classes are for primary and intermediate school aged children only, Mulan is now too old to attend.

However, for this year Mulan is still able to join in with the BMC string band, playing the cello.

To replace BMC lessons, Mulan is now having private lessons with two of her old BMC teachers -- Kevin in the recorder and Katie in the cello.  Both are brilliant musicians and super inspiring teachers.

Private music lessons are expensive, and so we have agreed that Mulan should only continue with them if she practices every day.  Just like Miya, if at any time she gets to the point where she is not enjoying it, there is no pressure at all and she is free to stop.  But if she chooses to have private lessons then she needs to put the time into doing serious daily practice.

Mulan also joins Miya playing music at home, playing around on other instruments in addition to her own, including keyboard, clarinet and violin.

With the Covid-19 lockdown, Mulan has been continuing with weekly private lessons with both Kevin and Katie online via Zoom.

Earlier in the year we had been talking with both Kevin and Katie about Mulan doing music exams (Mulan enjoys exams, and is happy to have a go).  Katie has been directly preparing Mulan for Grade 5 cello, and Kevin has been working with Mulan at Grade 5 level recorder.  With the Covid-19 situation things might be postponed, but no problem and no pressure.

Again, well done Mulan!

Khan Academy: Miya 5th Grade

Almost a year ago I wrote that Miya had finished Khan Academy 4th Grade maths.

Several days ago Miya completed 5th Grade, and has now started 6th Grade (as of today 5% complete).

Over the past year Khan Academy added a lot more questions at each grade level, and so Miya also spent some time re-completing the earlier grades that had more questioned added.

If Miya was in the US she'd be at the very youngest end of 4th Grade, so things are continuing to go smoothly and steadily at a year or so above her age level.

Well done Miya!

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At the same time I wrote that Mulan was starting to work on US High School Mathematics I.

At that time Mulan had been zooming ahead fast with her Khan Academy progress, and things were starting to get a little stressful and not so fun for her.  So it was great that Khan Academy added lots more questions, and Mulan has spent the past year relaxedly re-completing the earlier grades.

As of today Mulan has 98% completed 8th Grade and 78% completed High School Mathematics I.

If Mulan was in the US she'd be in 7th Grade, so like Miya she's doing work a year or two ahead of her age.

Well done Mulan, too!

Elizabeth Bartholet's homeschooling article

Lately, every once in a while I read in some online homeschooling discussion group about Elizabeth Bartholet's 2019 article on homeschooling (which was published in the Arizona Law Review).

The article is 80 pages long -- a bit of a time commitment to read in full!

However, it looks to me that most online social media commentators are relying on much shorter reviews of the article, rather than reading the article for themselves.

Unfortunately, these reviews are of mixed quality, and some misrepresent what Bartholet actually says.

Therefore, I warmly encourage all those interested in homeschooling to take the time to read in full the original article.  Read the original; don't trust reviews (including this one)!

Here's the article.

Significant portions of the article are focused on the unique US situation.  But there's also a lot that is generally applicable to homeschoolers everywhere.

As I see it, this eloquently sets out the right starting attitude to take (page 23):

Subsets matter. Our child protection system operates on this principle. We could say that because most parents don’t abuse or neglect their children, we don’t need a system protecting children against abuse and neglect. We could say that because most people don’t commit murder we don’t need laws prohibiting murder. But we don’t. 

We say instead that we need systems designed to protect at-risk subsets. We should have a comparable system governing homeschooling, designed to ensure all children an adequate education and adequate protection, even if we believed that most homeschooling parents are capable of and interested in providing such an education and that few would abuse or neglect their children when free from any surveillance in the privacy of their homes.

In any discussion about homeschooling, I think we shouldn't lose sight of this essential point.  If what we are advocating doesn't help the weakest members of our society, then we're going down the wrong track.  If the homeschooloing system we are arguing for doesn't help those at-risk children, then we are doing it wrong.

I think too often homeschoolers start out with talk of freedom, or rights.  But overly focusing on freedom or rights is a mistake.  Yes, freedom is very important.  Yes, rights (or at least certain rights) are very important.  But far more important in this particular situation is making sure that the weakest, most vulnerable members of our society are well cared for and that they are not neglected or abused.

What I like about Bartholet's article is that she gets these priorities right.  She cares about the vulnerable children, and this article is about working out ways to minimise harms to them.

We may debate the details and final recommendations, but I think her starting approach is spot on.

For this reason, the facts matter.  In this article there are many pages overviewing both the statistics and the individual cases where US homeschooled children have been abused or neglected.  There are also many pages which set out the details of the legal and political situation which has allowed these tragedies to happen.  I don't know enough about this to comment on whether it is accurate, but the scholarship and referencing is extensive.

After 70 pages of explanation and evidence, Bartholet ends with the recommendation that children should be compulsorily required to attend school, except in cases where their parents/caregivers apply for and receive an exemption (pages 72-73):

The new regime should deny the right to homeschool, subject to carefully delineated exceptions for situations in which homeschooling is needed and appropriate.

The application for exemption should be strict enough such that it (a) discourages negligent or abusive parents from applying and (b) accurately identifies worthy and unworthy applicants:

Parents should have a significant burden of justification for a requested exception. There is no other way to ensure that children receive an education or protection against maltreatment at all comparable to that provided to public school children. 

Bartholet thinks that these exemptions should only be given on a case-by-case basis in situations where it has been clearly shown that homeschooling that child would be better than schooling at the local school:

Exceptions might include situations in which gifted artists or athletes want to pursue careers that demand flexibility inconsistent with normal schooling. They might include situations in which the local schools are seriously inadequate to serve children’s needs, as where children are at risk for bullying or racism, or where children with disabilities cannot receive needed services. They might include situations where parents can demonstrate they would provide a significantly superior education to that available at the public school.

Moreover, Bartholet thinks that homeschoolers should still attend school part-time, in some appropriate form:

When exceptions are granted, children should still be required to attend some courses and other programs at school including, for example, civic education, arts and physical education, and extra-curricular activities. 

This is because (besides physical abuse) one aspect of reported homeschool child abuse/neglect in the US is that of one-sided and partial education.  These abused children were not exposed to legitimate alternative points of view and values:

This is important to ensure exposure to alternative views and values, a broad range of activities, socialization, and contact with mandated reporters. 

This approach seems the only one that will ensure an adequate education for most children. The goal is not to indoctrinate children in one “majority culture” perspective, but to expose children to the wide range of views characteristic of our democracy and the wide range of abilities and learning needed to function in this democracy.

My main thought after reading this is that it is not overly strict; surely most parents who present a clear and sensible application for an exemption would pass:

(a) Bullying is common in most schools (as I wrote here, reports show that a quarter of school children are bullied on a weekly basis), and this is one of the reasons many choose to homeschool.

(b) Another common reason people homeschool is because of individual learning differences or disabilities, which don't work in a classroom setting.

And most importantly, (c) generally the teacher-student ratio for homeschoolers is much better than in schools, and so where homeschool parents can show that they are organised in their teaching it should be easy to show that they will provide a superior education.

If exemptions are given to all families who give reasonable explanations of their situation, it might turn out that Bartholet's suggested system is not much different to New Zealand's system!  The only added bonus would be what I have previously argued for -- better community interaction between homeschoolers and their local school.  It would be awesome if our local school allowed Mulan and Miya to join them for team sports!

But I say this slightly flippantly, and this is not the end of Bartholet's requirements.  On pages 75-76 Bartholet outlines some pretty strict yearly requirements for ongoing exemption.

From my armchair, to me most of these requirements look unnecessary for the protection of the children.  After all, the children are required to attend school part-time and would be getting checked by school teachers.  I wonder to what extent these requirements are practical protective checks as opposed to merely burdensome disincentives to reduce the number of homeschooling families.

But I don't know enough about the unique US situation to know if US homeschooler child abuse is so serious and prolific that more extensive yearly checks are required.

Regardless of this, as I see it, the main weakness of Bartholet's article is that she does not clearly link her specific recommendations with the empirical evidence of abuse/neglect.  That is, it is not clear why each recommended point is necessary to the aim of reducing abuse/neglect.  Why should those particular requirements be the right set, as opposed to some other set or some subset of her requirements?  Why does Bartholet not consider an alternative set of requirements?  This is a pity, because as I see it, the essential issue here is which specific set of requirements is the best one to protect children.  Merely stipulating one possible system, without argument or comparison, doesn't help solve the problem.

To return to Bartholet's starting thought above, we need to protect subsets.

But just as we need a system that protects the subset of children who are abused or neglected by homeschoolers, we also need a system that protects the subset of children who struggle to fit into traditional schools.

As I see it, Bartholet's proposed system goes too far the other way and makes it too burdensome for competent homeschooling families to get on with educating their children.

As unpopular from both sides as my position may be, in my opinion we need a middle ground that provides more checks and protections than is currently in place (definitely in the US, and also quite possibly in NZ), but not to the extent that Bartholet recommends.

Covid-19-proof (?) schoolroom

On Thursday, New Zealand dropped down to Covid-19 Alert Level 2, and things are starting to reopen. Well done NZ!

We decided that Mama would re-start in-person teaching on Monday, in our new (hopefully) Covid-19-proof schoolroom (what used to be Mulan and Miya's bedroom).

Just in time, we finished the painting yesterday.  This is what it looked like six days ago:

And this is what it looks like today:

The students will go in and out the French doors, staying at the desks and a couple of metres away from Mama.

We ordered three new (wipable) chairs two weeks ago from Warehouse Stationary.  According to the website they still haven't been packed yet.  We've got a couple of old wooden stools that the students will have to uncomfortably perch on until the new chairs turn up.

At the same time we ordered a multimedia projector from Harvey Norman -- it also hasn't arrived.  Mama will have to teach old-fashioned style for now.

The real lord of the flies

The fictional story, Lord of the Flies, was written by "an alcoholic, prone to depression; a man who beat his kids."

What would real people do if they were marooned on an island?

Hopefully, and quite likely, they would do what these real-life boys did.

Mulan's new room

The lockdown house painting continues.

This is Mulan's new room (the old guest room) six days ago:

And today:

(Iron Man, Laolao's old work colleague who we acquired last year, is happily guarding Mulan's books!)

Miya's new room

The four of us live in a 4-bedroom house.

One of these bedrooms is set up as a schoolroom for Mama's work, where students come for Chinese language lessons.

In our new Covid-19-world we've had to change things.  Our schoolroom was upstairs, with the students walking through our living area to get up there.  But that's not going to work, once in-person lessons restart in (hopefully) a couple of weeks.

So, we've done a bit of room-moving.

Last night, Miya moved into the upstairs (ex-schoolroom) bedroom.  Up until now the girls have shared a room, and Miya was super-excited to have her own space:

We'd painted the room five years ago when we set up the schoolroom, so it only needed a quick freshen-up repaint before she could move in.

Out of sight around to the right in the photo there's a second bed, and for now Mulan is also sleeping in there.  Our next task is to finish painting the guest room, and when that's done Mulan will move into her own room.

Finally, the girls' old room will be done up and turned into Mama's new schoolroom.  It has French doors that open up at the front of the house, so students can come and go directly from there.