New normal of homeschooling

NO CAPTION, BUT MUST USE CREDIT: Photo: Reuters

DURING his April 10 announcement of the extension of the movement control order (MCO) to April 28, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin used the phrase “the new normal”.

He wants people to accept that what was usually done before can no longer be done, citing examples such as shaking hands (“We must adapt to the new normal, says PM”, The Star, April 11; online at bit.ly/star_normal).

However, whether the true meaning of “the new normal” is comprehended by many remains to be seen.

Addressing the concerns of many parents, the PM also mentioned “home-based learning”. I believe this does not refer to conventional homeschooling.

Homeschooling was suggested as an alternative to conventional education by American educationalists John Holt and Raymond Moore. For parents who doubted educational reforms, homeschooling became an option. Elizabeth Bartholet, in an article that appeared in a law review journal and titled “Homeschooling: Parent Rights Absolutism Vs Child Rights To Education & Protection”, describes homeschooling as a realm of near-absolute parental power. Misuse of it could be detrimental to a child and the nation too.

In Malaysia, prior to 2003, parents could choose to homeschool their children without restrictions. The Compulsory Education Act 2003 now requires parents to apply for permission from the Education Ministry to do so.

In my view “the new normal” of homeschooling is more about parents taking ownership of educating their child. The current norm for many parents is that their responsibility is fulfilled by sending their child to school. I feel many parents believe teachers should shoulder most of the responsibility since they are getting paid to educate children.

Covid-19 and the MCO will change that division of responsibility and the new normal will be for parents to be much more responsible. All education stakeholders should combine their efforts to ensure that this new normal of homeschooling will be effective.

It is also time for the Education Ministry to harvest the various education initiatives undertaken over the years.

For example, during the tenure of the current PM as Education Minister from 2009 to 2015, high performing schools were identified that were supposed to lead the way in increasing collaboration between teachers and parents.

I would like to propose the idea of schools recording videos of lessons that can be posted online. Parents should then sit together with their children and view the video. Hopefully, they will be able to answer any questions their child might have. Ideally, though, parents should view the video on their own first and communicate with the teacher if they have doubts or questions before they sit down to watch with their children.

Besides increasing interaction between parents and children, rapport between teachers and parents is also built. The Education Ministry could develop guidelines on how to implement such an idea.

At the end of the day, we should all remember that if we fail to adapt, nature will force us to change.

DR RAMESH RAO

Kuala Lumpur