Nobody would call you old fashioned if you ride a bicycle, read a book, or tied your shoelaces.
Have you ever heard it said (or maybe even said it yourself) that A.C.E. resources are "out of date"?
I heard this from a parent who had heard it from another parent who heard it from a school that had decided to stop using A.C.E. as its primary resource.
Now, I've been teaching in schools since 1980, and I agree that the education system has changed a lot since then. Some things haven't changed, however, such as Pythagoras' Theorem, Ancient History, the Alphabet and Newton's Laws of Motion. On the other hand, it could be argued that trying to teach the same way as back then might be considered "out of date", but have all the changes in Education all been positive?
Here are some things that would be considered "out of date" if you dared to conserve the past in modern education:
Good writing begins with mastering English grammar (Ah, that's right... they're trying to bring that back in, now that the teachers have missed out on learning it);
Handwriting, spelling and punctuation will always be valuable skills;
Numeracy involves learning - often rote learning - basic skills, times tables, long division and multiplication and not relying on calculators, computers or iPads;
Good science involves learning basic principles, theories and laws;
The Bible is historically reliable and the starting point for studying history;
Families were created according to an ideal pattern. Other patterns may exist, but they are not (by definition) ideal.
If you want to prevent bullying, the best way is to closely supervise social interactions and teach Jesus' "Golden Rule", not make children role play gender reversals and direct them to questionable or pornographic websites.
A lot of people are afraid of change, and a lot of people are afraid of not keeping up. Change is good if there is a clear improvement involved, but we should always be wary when change is introduced to something that works perfectly well and has stood the test of time. "If it isn't broken, don't fix it."
Brisbane Celebration!
If you're within Coo-ee of Brisbane, come along to our Celebration and Information day at Burpengary on Saturday, the 14th of May.
It will be an afternoon event, from 2pm. Afternoon tea and activities for the children will be provided free of charge after the "formal" proceedings.
This will be a great opportunity to ask questions about SCEE's plans for Redwood College and for homeschooling in Australia and specifically in Queensland, so feel free to invite interested friends and family.
Graduations
Awards
Information
Fellowship
If you would like to attend, fill in the RSVP Registration form on our website (Members/Member Area/Events then under Celebration click Register, or go straight there by clicking here.
How Now Shall We Live?
SCEE offers a senior secondary Christian Worldview course which we very often recommend for a year 12 certificate Bible subject choice. It is based on the book How Now Shall we Live, by Charles Colson.
The book contains study guide questions, and SCEE provides tests and keys, but up until now families have had to source the book for themselves.
The great news is:
SCEE now has the book in stock so you can order it, along with the Study Guide Key, Tests, and Test Keys (including teacher’s notes and glossary).
Please ask us if you wish to discuss where this course might fit in your student’s pathway.
Helpful Hint! Sign that Checkup!
By the time a student does a PACE test, he or she has done no fewer than four assessments with supervisor checking, scoring at least 90% and - if necessary - had opportunity to plug any gaps and receive intervention from supervisors or tutors. Therefore, it would be next to impossible to fail a test... right?
This is certainly true if the parent-supervisor does the right thing with the "Supervisor-score", Checkup and Self Test.
While it is still possible for a child to struggle with certain concepts, for example in maths, and "just not get it", it should never come as a complete surprise to the parent. A student should never get through a PACE with the appearance of mastery, only to fail the test.
Our training video, "Assessment #2 - Formative Assessment (Checks)" details the way of getting the most out of the scoring strips and checkups, and you would do well to review this several times.Don't take shortcuts.Use the checkups to get a picture of how the student is progressing. Isolate any problem areas before they become issues. Quiz the student on random points, focusing on areas where problems are obvious from the scoring. Ask questions in a different way from how they are in the PACE, to make sure they are not just memorizing phrases.
This is why it is important that the child does not even do the checkup until you have checked their work. Have them come to you for permission to do the checkup, and only give them permission when you are satisfied they are ready. Finally, sign or initial the checkup as your mark of approval to continue. This simple signal becomes a habit that will prevent any future corner-cutting, and keeps the process orderly and far more likely to succeed.
You know what's going on. They know you know. You know they know you know... and they know it.
Website Forms - important announcement
On our website, we use a number of forms for various communications, including submitting test results, enquiries and Celebration RSVPs. The companies hosting the forms have recently updated them, resulting, in many cases, in their not working. Sometimes, information was saved but never sent to our email, and sometimes no information was saved at all.
Regular emails have always made it through, so in many cases we put a notice on the form asking that requests and information be sent via email instead.
We believe that the forms have all been fixed and work properly, after weeks of frantic work and testing on our part.
If you have sent a form during March or April and have not received an expected reply, please let us know.
Also, when we send reports at the end of Term 2, please check them thoroughly to make sure all of your results have been recorded.
We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused, and thank you for patiently working with us through this "crisis".
Round off your children's education with Student Convention
Bookwork is only part of their learning. At home, your children also learn hygiene, relationships, perhaps cooking and gardening, as well as all those lessons and clubs they might be involved in.
Many educational outcomes are fulfilled when students prepare items for Student Convention with the added bonus that there is external assessment and feedback available as well!
Add to this the other benefits and fun of Student Convention:
Fellowship and friendship that could last a lifetime
Competition in sports, arts, drama, and more, for children 11 - 18 years old*
Fun, challenging, life changing evening programmes
Private accommodation for families
Three square meals per day
* Ask us about children under 11 years old.
Whether your children like to participate as individuals or as part of a team, Student Convention is an opportunity not to be missed!
Now is the time to start saving for the highlight of the year!
Does your child enjoy homeschooling?
Please send a brief comment from your child. We would love to include it on our website, to encourage new families.
A couple of lines is plenty. We will use first names only.
Christian Homeschooling Conference For Mothers
June 4th & 5th, 2016
Kingscliff, NSW
Be inspired and encouraged at this annual conference for Christian homeschool mums.
More details and registration at their website: http://mumheartconference.com/
April will be there representing SouthEast Home Education and SCEE.
Science puzzle
Try this calculation exercise. It might just astound you! We will acknowledge in our next newsletter the first three students who email us the correct answers.
Draw a circle, diameter 2 cm. This represents our sun.
How far from the centre of this circle would you draw the Earth, on the same scale as the sun?
What would be the diameter of the drawing of the Earth?
How far away would you draw Pluto to show its average distance from the sun?
How large a circle would you draw to represent Pluto?
