The content of this four-session, 5.5 hour course (available in online lecture video format only) involves material that everyone involved in a child's learning should know about, as the implications for how we are approaching our children's education are quite profound, regardless of whether the child is at school or at home. This particular course expands on the factors involved in the home schooling advantage and how best to optimize a child's learning from home.

Course Description

Dr. Gordon Neufeld and his daughter, Tamara Strijack, join forces for this powerful argument for home education. The most difficult part of the home education endeavour is usually not the task itself, but rather the stress of swimming against the stream of received wisdom in today's society – that school is necessary to become properly socialized, for personal well-being, and for optimal development. What Gordon and Tamara do is turn this argument inside-out and upside-down, equipping participants with the conceptual confidence that will not only answer any remaining self-doubt or concerns, but also remove any felt need to defend oneself in regards to home schooling decisions. But more than this, home educators (including potential home educators) not only need to know that this arrangement can work well for many students, but also WHY it works and WHAT MAKES it work. Without this crucial knowledge, home educators can easily stray into issues of curriculum and technology and as a result risk compromising the very factors that provide the home schooling advantage.

The responsibility of education regardless of where it is being offered, is a) to provide the conditions that preserve a child's love of learning, b) to optimize a child's potential for learning, c) to preserve a child's emotional health and well-being, and d) to prepare a child for assuming a meaningful role in adult society. It isn't that schools cannot provide these conditions, it is just that many homes could do this better. Not every home of course – we all know that - but there are many more homes that could that aren't, leaving their children's education highly compromised as a result. Gordon has spent his career advocating for the conditions children require to realize their full potential, regardless of whether this be within the context of school or in the context of home. This particular seminar is focused on providing these conditions in the home setting.

This joint endeavour is sweetly ironic as Tamara's deep dive into the developmental paradigm came from hearing her father, Gordon, being interviewed on the radio about the advantages of home education at a time when her own sensitive and shy daughter was struggling in kindergarten. Once Tamara understood what home education had to offer her children, she never looked back. What she managed to preserve for her two daughters was an incredible love of learning that has stayed with them through university. Gordon has addressed many home schooling conferences over the years and was the keynote speaker and featured presenter for the first global conference on home education in Berlin in 2012. Tamara is very involved in supporting educators in both home and at school and has practical advice no matter what the educational path followed.

Some of the questions to be addressed include: What are the implications of home education for learning, for socialization, for emotional health and well-being? What are the factors that should be taken into consideration when making the decision? What are the risks involved in home education and how should these be managed? What are the signs of a child in trouble, at school or at home? What if a child has no motivation to learn or has special needs? What should be the basic role of the parent in home education? How does school-led online learning differ from parent-led home education? Are there models of education that we should be aspiring to that brings in the best of both worlds? These questions – and many more – will be dealt with from an attachment-based developmental approach.

Suitability/Applicability

The course is suitable to all who are interested in the core issues of education, but is focused particularly on the parents who are taking, or wish to take, more responsibility in their child's education. This course can also help equip parents who may have the luxury of school shopping, with the understandings necessary to inform their decisions.

Formats & Fees

This course is available in Lecture Video Format only – filmed lectures or presentations that can be streamed or downloaded without having to access our virtual campus.

Course Outline

Session 1 – Socialization Issues: dispelling the prevailing myths
In the first session, we take a look at the big picture of how children best become fit for society and for peer interaction. The purpose of this session is to equip parents and teachers with the conceptual tools they need not only to guide a child's path, but also to deal with the myriad of myths and superstitions in this arena because of the amount of ignorance that still exists.

Session 2 – The Relational Factor: why home education works so well
The second session is all about the empowering role of a child's attachments in the learning process. It is also about the major impediments to learning that exist when the attachments of a child are not aligned to those educating them or are not properly engaged. Harnessing this natural power is the role and challenge of anyone involved in a child's education, regardless of the venue.

Session 3 – Back to Basics: what students truly need
In the third session, we take on the idea that children NEED school to learn and develop. We explore the four things that a child truly needs to become all they were meant to be, including as learners. We also explore the role of parents in meeting these irreducible needs, whether their child is learning from home or from school.

Session 4 - Student Engagement: launching the learner from home
In the fourth session, we tackle the issue of student engagement. This is the most significant challenge of education, regardless of the path taken. Nothing is of greater concern to parents and teachers everywhere than how to get a student turned on to learning. We will explore two universal keys to student engagement and three specialty keys that are only to be used when the child is ready for them.

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