Comments for Jozikids Blog

Comment on What if your child can’t go to a mainstream school? by Jodie

Jodie — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:18:39 +0000

Hi Stacey

I can understand exactly where you are coming from as i have travelled the same road with my little girl. She has been in countless schools who apparently deal with special needs all of whom where so accomodating at first and made empty promises. Large depostits where paid and high monthly school fees and at the end of the day i was told she would not cope.She would either be kept back again and again or else just told she would not cope. I was even told by an occupational therapist i should put her in a home and forget about her. As a parent you know your child is capable all they need is that individual attention love and patience and its amazing what these little blessings are capable of. I finally found a school by the Name of DLN when i walked into the school i immediately new this was the place for her. My daughter has cerebral palsy she looks like any normal little girl but once you get to know her you will pick up how easily she tires, lack of concentration, dragging her leg etc it breaks your heart . She started at DLN in grade 2 she was 8and a half. She is now in grade 4 and is 11years old never been happier and is getting an average of 70% .It can be done and like you , you eventually will find the right place for your child and when you do you will know it. These children with special needs are amazing and will teach us all alot they are the little blessings in life that make it worth living. There is always hope for these little things you just have to find the right school with the right people and DLN was the right place for my little angel. It has been nothing but a blessing in her life and mine.

Comment on Homeschooling vs traditional school, a mother’s experience by Tracy

Tracy — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:46:51 +0000

I also have 4 children who are very different and have different academice requirements, although none are disabled or require specialised care or tuition. We tried public schooling as well as private schooling. As a last resort we looked at homeschooling. I can’t begin to tell anyone how my life has changed for the better. My children are up before we are, sitting at the breakfast table and can’t wait to start their day. Our view was a little different on the entire home schooling debate. We had a look at a system that could supply us with our requirements as well as cater for the needs of each of our children. Since we have become a rainbow nation, the education system does not cater for parents who are wanting to have their children raised and educated with a good solid foundation from a religious point of view. We are not fanatically religious, but I do believe that children need a good basic foundation on which to build character and produce a well rounded and adjusted individual.
We have our children at a support centre where my children are taught using the ACE system and where there are other children whose parents have similar views and values. We have a certain responsibility to ensure that as parents we also give our commitment to educating our children, so even though they are at a support centre I still need to sit with them in the afternoons and “teach” them. There is no bullying tolerated, they are taught that even though there may be others that you may not like or get on with that they are also people with feelings, so learn to accept everyone.
I feel that if parents gave their children the time to become who they were meant to be, there would be a lot more children going out into the world being who they were meant to be, and not who society decided they should be.

Comment on Homeschooling vs traditional school, a mother’s experience by Nicky

Nicky — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:05:11 +0000

Hi!
Hope you all are well!
Most of us feel that we homeschool for ALL the right reasons and we as the parent should determine this as we are the caregivers. I homeschool my 6 and 4 your old boys. One extremely disciplined and the other a thumb twiddler. Both are different and in their differences, their spirits and hearts are best suited in a homeschool environment.

My 6 year old is a self learner and moves at his own pace; he grasps certain concepts quicker than he would with others. My 4 year old on the other hand is a kinesthetic learner, usually not entertained at schools, he usually needs to make a loud noise or go fetch something from his room that WILL help him understand what we are talking about.

Joshua who is 6 is involved in one extra curricular activity in the week that involves other kids mostly from privileged backgrounds. Other than that we are involved in many social work activities that involves the homeless, hungry and families that have been abandoned by AIDS. Both my boys are involved in a farming project that allows underprivileged families to eat from the patch that they have planted.

No they are not getting socialised as most homeschool kids are, but are learning a whole lot from the world we live in.

Homeschool is awesome, tiring, frustrating, gives you a sense of freedom in what you teach and how you teach, it allows you to experience the world without buzzers, you get to teach until your child understands.

Although, I have to say this, there are kids out there who do wonderfully well in a school environment.
Parents who also do well when their kids are at school.
Do what you feel is good for you, your children and over all your family.

Much Strength for your decision.

Comment on Homeschooling vs traditional school, a mother’s experience by Debbie Smith

Debbie Smith — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:36:05 +0000

THis is aside from homeschooling. My daughter who is 12 is eager to learn different languages. One of the languages she is interested in is Araibic. I see that you teach Araibic. Where are you located???

Comment on What if your child can’t go to a mainstream school? by Sandra Wiese

Sandra Wiese — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:52:32 +0000

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-04-20-special-needs-an-unrelenting-fight

Hallo and thank you Jozikids and Stacey for speaking about this difficult dilemma that we face in SA. Please read my article in the Mail & Guardian about my special needs son and the struggle to find him a school! Love Sandra

Comment on Homeschooling vs traditional school, a mother’s experience by Mignon

Mignon — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:45:56 +0000

A very uninformed view of homeschooling. Home educating a five year old for 3 months does not constitute experience! And yes, socialising your children requires effort. But if you read ANY study about about homeschooling anywhere in the world you’ll find that overall homeschooled kids are BETTER socialised than school-going kids.
Discipline and routine are just as essential at home as at school and those harsh realities about bullies are learnt at the soccer/swimming/gymnastics/whatever club/s that your children attend.

Comment on Homeschooling vs traditional school, a mother’s experience by Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:59:23 +0000

There are LOTS of home-schooling groups out there! Parents and children meeting with other parents and children, co-operative learning groups, outings specifically organised for home-school groups, activities and lessons specifically aimed at home-school children. Home-schooling is NOT isolating at all, if you make the effort to be a part of your community. My daughter goes with me everywhere, she interacts with people from baby right through to adult, she learns about the real world, she certainly does not lack in discipline and routine, but we follow her own routine, not one dictated by bells and administrative staff. I don’t see why she should be exposed to bullies at an age where she is still broadening her horizons and eager to try out new things regardless if she fails or not, a bully would ruin that for her, why expose her to that now? Schools group children by age which is very much NOT what the real world is like.

Comment on What if your child can’t go to a mainstream school? by Rakhee

Rakhee — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:23:40 +0000

Thanks for your article.I wish to highlight a few inaccuracies.There are very limited resources for autistic kids in SA.Autism affects one in 54 boys and one in 88 girls.Looking at the stats it is very common and prevalence is increasing yearly.There very few autism specific schools in SA are EXTREMELY expensive.Medical funders do not cover a fraction of the OT,SIOT, and Speech therapy that autistic kids require daily.We are faced with the same three options detailed in your article.The education system:primary,high school,tertairy education simply does not accomodate autism.Employment opportunities are dismal.An autistic child will most likely be dependant on the parent lifelong. Thus the journey is indeed very similar to yours.

Comment on Homeschooling vs traditional school, a mother’s experience by Alison

Alison — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:03:03 +0000

I have been home schooling for 3 years. I have 3 children aged 8, 6 and 3. My eldest went to school for a term in grade one. We decided to home school because our children are so different and we did not feel one type of schooling would work for them. My daughter is arty and a dreamer while my middle boy is very bright and can sit and work on one thing for ages. It was not just the education we were thinking of but also the social aspect. At school my daughter only only played with children her own age and when we home school they learn to get on with all ages. They don’t even notice there is a age gap and when in the working world you work with all groups of people. Social aspect is a HUGE myth with home schooling. It is very much up to the parents how much they expose their children to others. That said there are also school going children that are very shy and ‘anti social,’ so it depends on the child. I feel that parents know what is good for their children and what will work for them! Home schooling works for our family. My children are happy, doing very well at school, participate in a lot of sport and social activities. I would say to anyone who is thinking about home schooling to really research what will suit your family.

Comment on Why I don’t envy stay-at-home moms by Bella49

Bella49 — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:46:55 +0000

Wow, I’m glad I read this and all the responses. I’m a STAH mom to two boys, 3 years and 9 months old. I’ve experienced envy from working moms and condescending remarks from people who think STAH moms sit with their feet up watching soapies all day!

In the end, people must remember a choice always means giving something up. If you choose to stay at home, you gain a lot by being with your children, but if we’re honest we also lose something in terms of intellectual and career stimulation. If we choose to work, we lose time with our children and gain an enormous sense of guilt.

@Ela – I couldn’t have said it better. We lived in the UK for 5 years and there you can have maternity leave for 12 months (the last 3 months being unpaid); you can job share (wouldn’t that be a fantastic job creation idea for SA?); and working from home is supported much more than here.

As for myself? I chose to stay at home. Some days I know I’m blessed; on other days I long for a career where problems are solved simply by hard work and logical thinking (try applying that to a toddler refusing to eat/have a nappy changed/sleep/stop throwing things/stop screaming…)

As I said: a choice always involves giving something up.