Home Schooling

Chester4

*** Sin Bin ***
Feb 12, 2004
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I am very disappointed in the schools here in Sosua and am thinking about home schooling my 13 year old son. I would like to get into contact with anyone else home schooling their children.
 

daddy1

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Feb 27, 2004
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Chester4 said:
I am very disappointed in the schools here in Sosua and am thinking about home schooling my 13 year old son. I would like to get into contact with anyone else home schooling their children.
What exactly are you upset about chester...please feel free and share this info, as far as home schooling, the issue is kind of sensitive especially if you want him to continue his education in the U.S. your going to need to register as a home schooler in order to for them to validate records, and following proper curriculum, any have info because sister is home schooling in D.R....bu one thing for sure it can get very expensive, but do research on internet, there is a big community of supporter for home schoolers on the net, just do yahoo or google search you'll see.
 

MaineGirl

The Way Life Should Be...
Jun 23, 2002
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Sylvia, take heart. Let me know what you find out. Best to contact the ministry of education in Britain and find out what they require for homeschooling. That way when your kids apply to school later they will have the proper documentation.

I was homeschooled in Maine for a few years and we were required to register with the state. We had an approved curriculum and my mother administered all assessments.

Oddly when we entered public school at ages 10 and 11 (my brother and I) we were both immediately placed in the gifted program because we were yards and yards ahead of the local schools.

The fact is if you have the time and interest to invest in your kids' education, it can be far superior to the local schools. There is a stigma to homeschooling--that people who do it do so for religious conditioning or because they have an agenda. My mom homeschooled us because we were twenty miles from school and the school was crap. And we had a working farm. I am still convinced that the best learning is outside of a school building.

My soapbox--I'll get off it now--good luck to you!!!
 

Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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Agree with all said -- homeschooling may result in a much superior academic education.

But what I have read is that the main downside with homeschooling is the loss of sociability lessons. Dealing with other children and teachers breeds skills that are invaluable in life, probably more useful than the learning the children will get in the books. And if you are a foreigner, note that schools provide a support system of friends and relationships, useful even for the parents.

If the academic level is not good, that is the easiest to fix with afternoon classes or tutoring, even summer courses abroad or in the country.

In the case of MaineGirl it made sense, given she was 20 miles away from a school. I don't think a school should be more than 20 minutes away.
 

RHM

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Sep 23, 2002
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Dolores said:
Agree with all said -- homeschooling may result in a much superior academic education.

But what I have read is that the main downside with homeschooling is the loss of sociability lessons. Dealing with other children and teachers breeds skills that are invaluable in life, probably more useful than the learning the children will get in the books. And if you are a foreigner, note that schools provide a support system of friends and relationships, useful even for the parents.

If the academic level is not good, that is the easiest to fix with afternoon classes or tutoring, even summer courses abroad or in the country.

In the case of MaineGirl it made sense, given she was 20 miles away from a school. I don't think a school should be more than 20 minutes away.

Homeschooling can yield excellent results. It all depends on who is doing the schooling. I have tought kids who were homeschooled early on in their lives and have found the overwhelming majority of them to be pretty sharp. But they all had sharp parents who were excellent instructors.

As for social interaction, it is VERY important that the kids be enrolled in some activity where they interact with other kids and other adults. Sports, language schools, Judo, Karate, Soccer, Clubs...anything really. Just make sure the kids pick their activities so it doesn't seem like more work for them.

Scandall
 

MaineGirl

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Jun 23, 2002
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More thoughts for you Sylvia...

One of the benefits of homeschooling in terms of socialization is that children learn to interact with all ages. For me it was beneficial to learn from a variety of older adults who were master gardeners, scientists, artists, writers--you can see the types of circles you need to develop. Also, my brother and I were in play groups with other children--we had time to just be! I have retained many of the friends from that time, going on twenty years of contact.

Children also develop less of a "group mentality" which I am sure parents on the board can attest to being a somewhat annoying character trait. Fads and trends do not have to be catered to. Students can focus on their individual strengths. Achievements are not compared on a large scale, allowing a student to feel successful and gain confidence.

Enrolling in "extracurriculars" serve the social purpose of recess, lunch, and class time in a traditional school. The amount of social time I have to effectively turn in to knowledge acquisition in a traditional classroom (remember I am a certified teacher) is, I assure you, overhwelming at times, esp. with teenagers.

The guidelines for what you are required to teach are very clear. The ministry of eduation knows exactly what it wants to see in a graduate. If a homeschool student can work this to their advantage, it becomes a very easy process of meeting the standard. For my part, I always finished my assessments very quickly because I learned that the time left over was my time to be creative. My brother might spend six hours a day at school work and I spent 4, meeting the same standard.

Be aware of standardized tests which your kids must take. In the States it ranges from the SAT, to the ACT, to the learning results for individual states. In Europe they have A-levels, right? Know now what is on the exam. If the kids need an eight week prep course or something, you can handle it.

Foreign languages are required at university and undoubtedly your kids will test out of this requirement. Ideally you will expose them to a third and fourth language, like German, Japanese, Chinese, French. I wouldn't sweat this component one bit since they will be able to test out at university.

Math is very important depending on the career! The sciences, too, of course--maybe you can enroll them at local colleges before they take exams in these areas. They may not be university-quality as you know it, but they will undoubtedly prep your children for the next level, especially if you get them in early, like 16 and 17. Chemistry, physics--the higher maths and sciences especially are good to be exposed to in different situations.

For literature and grammar, there are several excellent courses of study available. This will turn both teacher and students into readers and writers. The dialogue between teacher and students becomes very advanced because of the sheer focus of the situation.
 
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Chester4

*** Sin Bin ***
Feb 12, 2004
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MaineGirl said:
More thoughts for you Sylvia...

One of the benefits of homeschooling in terms of socialization is that children learn to interact with all ages. For me it was beneficial to learn from a variety of older adults who were master gardeners, scientists, artists, writers--you can see the types of circles you need to develop. Also, my brother and I were in play groups with other children--we had time to just be! I have retained many of the friends from that time, going on twenty years of contact.

Children also develop less of a "group mentality" which I am sure parents on the board can attest to being a somewhat annoying character trait. Fads and trends do not have to be catered to. Students can focus on their individual strengths. Achievements are not compared on a large scale, allowing a student to feel successful and gain confidence.

Enrolling in "extracurriculars" serve the social purpose of recess, lunch, and class time in a traditional school. The amount of social time I have to effectively turn in to knowledge acquisition in a traditional classroom (remember I am a certified teacher) is, I assure you, overhwelming at times, esp. with teenagers.

The guidelines for what you are required to teach are very clear. The ministry of eduation knows exactly what it wants to see in a graduate. If a homeschool student can work this to their advantage, it becomes a very easy process of meeting the standard. For my part, I always finished my assessments very quickly because I learned that the time left over was my time to be creative. My brother might spend six hours a day at school work and I spent 4, meeting the same standard.

Be aware of standardized tests which your kids must take. In the States it ranges from the SAT, to the ACT, to the learning results for individual states. In Europe they have A-levels, right? Know now what is on the exam. If the kids need an eight week prep course or something, you can handle it.

Foreign languages are required at university and undoubtedly your kids will test out of this requirement. Ideally you will expose them to a third and fourth language, like German, Japanese, Chinese, French. I wouldn't sweat this component one bit since they will be able to test out at university.

Math is very important depending on the career! The sciences, too, of course--maybe you can enroll them at local colleges before they take exams in these areas. They may not be university-quality as you know it, but they will undoubtedly prep your children for the next level, especially if you get them in early, like 16 and 17. Chemistry, physics--the higher maths and sciences especially are good to be exposed to in different situations.

For literature and grammar, there are several excellent courses of study available. This will turn both teacher and students into readers and writers. The dialogue between teacher and students becomes very advanced because of the sheer focus of the situation.

Thank you MaineGirl for all your advice and support. My daughter was home schooled in England for one year before we came to live here. We both enjoyed this very much. She is now 15 and will be going back to England to continue her studies. My son who is 13 enjoys school life but does not want to study in Spanish anymore. We have decided that he will probably go to Dr. Bobs school in Sosua and in a couple of years either return to England or go to school/college in the States or Canada. My daughter is at Dr. Bobs school she has had so much help from Karen her teacher and has been getting top marks.
 

MaineGirl

The Way Life Should Be...
Jun 23, 2002
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I had the pleasure of meeting Karen over Easter. We spent hours by the pool on Easter Sunday sharing stories. It was a blast.

Dr. Bob does work with eyes, I believe. As far as I know they go out into the dumps.
 

gamana

New member
Apr 24, 2006
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Homeschooling families

Hello,

Have recently moved to the north coast of Dom. Rep. and would like to meet up with some homeschooling/alternative/waldorf families. Is anyone aware of any groups/families?
 

gamana

New member
Apr 24, 2006
225
2
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Homeschooling

Have recently move to DR from the US and was wondering if you found any homeschooling/alternative groups or families.
 

Joseph567

New member
Nov 13, 2006
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More info for Homeschooling in the DR, Homeschool Support Group

RHED-Red de Hogar Educadores Dominicanos
(Dominican Homeschoolers Network)

Is a group founded for helping existing homeschoolers, and people who are interested in starting to homeschool.

Presently there are homeschool groups in Santo Domingo, Santiago, and San Pedro de Marcoris.

Homeschooing is a growing alternative to traditional schooling in the DR that has been featured on TV, Radio and Newpaper articles.

If you need any information regarding homeschooling in the DR, official certifications and diplomas, Spanish curriculum, or any other info feel to contact me:

Joseph A.
email me at: joseph@homeschoolersinmissions.org
(809) 304 0520
Coordinator RHED
Santo Domingo
Se Habla Espanol