KNOWLEDGE LAB

Towards creating a more balanced and ‘wholistic’ education

WHY HOMESHOOLING IS THE FUTURE

Homeschooling offers parents and students a variety of affordable study options as well as
flexibility. It is the future of education. Students can study from home and then meet the
teachers at designated times for face-to-face lessons and exams. This is making education
cheaper and more accessible to students.
However, this is a very new and strange concept in Botswana for primary and high school
students. Nevertheless, this is the future of education as more and more parents embrace the
concept for the following reasons given below.
It is cheaper
In most cases, what a parent pays per student for one term in a private International school is
what they would pay for a year. The impact of this is that now you can afford to give your child
an international education. Many parents who have been struggling to pay school fees can now
relax and comfortably afford to pay for the same education. All the student needs is a
computer, parent support and our support and the programme will run.
Education is individualised
A student studies at their own pace through written text, teaching videos, illustrations and
animations until the content is mastered. Studying individually has a higher success rate than
learning in a classroom with a group of students. Students in a classroom have to maintain the
same pace whether they grasp the content or not because the teacher moves on to the next
concept when the time allocated is completed. If a student is slow, they are left behind; if a
student is fast, they have to wait for the others.
The students who are left behind have to go for further tuition lessons after school or in the
holidays to keep up with the class pace. This causes discouragement in many students and the
stigma of being ‘slow’ breaks down the student’s self-esteem. In the long run, a student
becomes disinterested in academic studies and gives up hope of ever achieving their dreams.
Studying individually at one’s own pace, gives every student a chance to do their best and
achieve their goals and dreams.

Wholistic education – less time on academics

When a student studies individually, they generally cover more subject content than they
would have if learning in a group. What can be covered in two or three days in one-on-one
learning, would normally take one full week in a classroom setting. This means that the parent
or teacher who is working with the student can have more time to engage a student in other
non-academic activities. Morning hours are usually enough to cover academic content which
frees up the afternoons for other activities such as: practical activities for better understanding,
field trips, art, music, drama, sports, cooking, apprenticeships, information technology, library,
and any other interests the student may have. This creates a more balanced and wholistic
education which every parent wants for their child. Many parents today wish they had been
given the opportunity to develop their natural talents and interests when they were young
rather than trying to do it when they are adults. Today’s parents want more for their children
than just academic grades. Online basic education can be a solution for this problem.
Wholistic education is a better way to prepare students for the future global society which is
already a reality for the current young generation. Many young people today have multiple jobs
and businesses which they operate to make ends meet. Full-time jobs are less and less available
in today’s economy.
Opportunities have to be created by offering a skill or service for a few hours to clients. A
student who has fully developed their natural gifts and talents by age 18, will always have
clients who need their services, and with innovation and creativity in marketing online, they can
build future businesses.
Blended learning
Blended learning limits the amount of time a student spends on the screen. Students do not
spend the whole learning session looking at a screen. Rather, this is combined with other off-
line activities. In addition to the e-learning element, a physical teacher or a parent is required to
give learning support to the student such as oral discussions, explaining concepts further,
explaining vocabulary/instructions, following the timetable, performing experiments, guiding
research, submitting assignments etc. The platform gives each student assignments to complete
after each module, practice questions, experiments and exams which are done offline using
workbooks and printouts. Thus, the learning experience for the student alternates between
reading on the screen, writing by hand on the workbook or printout, and interacting with the
physical teacher. This experience is called blended learning.
Integration with other curricula
The curriculum gives the parent or teacher room to add on other subjects that are beneficial for
the individual student. The core subject requirements at the primary level are maths, English
and combined science. This leaves room for adding other subjects like social studies or
geography and history, religious education, a language, art, music, IT and more.

The Botswana context

Homeschooling is definitely an emerging and viable option for the education system in
Botswana. Homeschooling, also known as home education, is the education of students at
home or various other places by a parent, facilitator, tutor or online teacher. Homeschooling as
we know it in today’s world is still very new in Africa. It is practiced mostly by expatriates and
the middle class in society who would typically enroll their children in private schools. Although
homeschooling as a concept was practiced in Africa as the mainstream traditional education
system before the 1800s, it has now returned in a different form to a different generation. The
alternative, private schooling, is expensive. Parents looking for an affordable, quality education
settle on homeschooling where they can control costs and maintain quality.
There are many motivations for parents wanting to homeschool their children – typically this is
due to an increased interest in getting more involved with the student’s education. The above
can also be a result of bullying, standards of local curriculum, racism, lack of faith-led teaching,
or not being able to cater for students with special needs.
Homeschooling can include different methods of learning such as online learning, outdoor
lessons, self-directed learning, following specific curriculums. Knowledge lab is a great option
for children wishing to be homeschooled. Whether the child will be studying at home with the
support of a parent, or at a study centre with the support of a tutor, we are here to support.
The core idea behind home-schooling is to tailor make the instruction to the learning speed,
and in the style, most appropriate for learners. Home schoolers get the chance to explore a
range of topics that might not be normally offered until high school and/or university. They can
study psychology in grade four, or finance in form 1, while many home-school families do teach
English, math, science, and history, education is by no means limited just to those subjects.
Many parents seek out home-schooling because their kids need more one on one attention.
Home-schooling is often a great solution for kids who are advanced learners, as well as kids
who feel disengaged in school, bored by the curriculum, or struggling with a learning disability.
Unfortunately it is surrounded by many myths and misconceptions. Defined as an instruction in
an educational program outside of established schools, home-schooled kids have the same
access to online learning, friendships, and extracurricular activities as the typical public school
student — but without many of the drawbacks, like standardized lesson plans and bullying.
Currently, there are approximately two million children home schooled in the United States –
and that number is growing by about 10 percent per year. Studies show that kids who are
homeschooled perform well on standardized tests, excel at Universities, become self-directed
learners, and succeed as adult employees. Parents are the first teachers; they provide the moral
and social skills necessary for a viable community. Studies have shown that when parents are
empowered then their offspring have a better chance of reaching their full potential.
Following on the footsteps of global giants who have changed the course of history, among
them Sir Albert Einstein who is famous for the theory of relativity. The Einstein’s could not
afford to send their son to school and so homeschooled him with the help of a medical student
who tortured him in maths and science. The list of homeschooled geniuses in politics, literature
and entertainment includes among other former President of America, Barack Obama, the 28th
President of America President Woodrow Wilson, famous novelist Agatha Christie, famous poet
William Yeats, musician Taylor Swift who was too shy to go school and two tennis pros Venus
and Serena Williams. The two sisters showed promise at the game of tennis at a very early age,
so their father decided to homeschool them to fit their practice schedule into their education.
Homeschooling is the future. “Education is changing and soon the conventional going to class
and attending lessons is going to be obsolete. Homeschooling in developing countries is
predominant, parents use DIY approaches to teach -anything to change the conventional style
of teaching that is in public schools really.
In as much as homeschooling seems to be a good idea it is not a one size fits all – it is not for
every parent, parents can get homeschooling training on how to handle their student (child)
even emotionally.
Embrace the global shift. This is the wave of the future.

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KNOWLEDGE LAB

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