HOMESCHOOLING is an option some parents have chosen when their children come of school age.
A reason, said Joy Tan-Chi Mendoza, wife of Edric Mendoza, president of Homeschool Global (formerly known as TMA Homeschool), is that with all the influences in school, like peers and the media, some parents choose to homeschool their children to influence them during the time when they can still be more finely honed.
“Parents must know how they want their children to become when they grow up. Before they can do that, they must first examine themselves,” she said. “Think of what your priorities are. What do you really believe is best for your child? What are your goals? That is how you make the decision on your child’s education.”
Joy said some parents choose homeschooling because they want their children to be “academically better” and they want to influence the formation of their children’s character traits. She said students today brave the traffic and bad weather when they go to school. Their safety is also at stake every time they go out of the house. Homeschooled students and their parents have all the time on their hands.
“My husband and I imagined how our kids will be 10, 15 and 20 years from now. We said we want our kids to really love God and be successful in life. I was homeschooled myself and I feel it was one of the best decisions my parents chose when I was growing up,” she said. Joy homeschools her five children, ranging in age from 2 to 13. She said that at the end of the day, “the choices we make all boils down to character formation for our children.”
“As a mom, we think about these things: How can we best teach our kids to love God?” she said. At Homeschool Global, the pioneer of homeschooling in the Philippines, homeschooling is a system of education where parents create an ideal climate for their children to achieve success.
“While some schools offer overcrowded classrooms, homeschooling will give you a climate consisting of a home conducive to learning, committed parents, a customized curriculum, a comprehensive support system and clear goals toward true success.
“Being able to homeschool is a privilege that not many can avail themselves of, but for those who can, it is life-changing,” Edric said. “It takes extra effort, especially for parents who are also breadwinners, but the rewards, they say, are worth it.”
He said there are 15 million school-aged children in the Philippines, and only about 700,000 licensed teachers in public and private schools. The enormous task of educating Filipino children can’t be placed on their shoulders alone. Thankfully, there is a solution: homeschooling.
Decades ago, homeschooling wasn’t popular with most parents, because of the misconception that only licensed teachers are knowledgeable or equipped enough to teach their children. But with the Internet and plenty of resources available today, knowledge is easier to access so educating kids from the comforts of home no longer seems daunting.
Now more and more parents are practicing home education for their children.
As best-selling author and homeschooling advocate Debra Bell wrote in the latest edition of her book The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling, “Our pioneer days are over.”
Gerry Argosino, Homeshool Global managing director, said he never regretted the day he decided to homeschool his child for he was able to spend more time with his son the whole time.
Homeshooling, Argosino said, made them closer. In a typical Philippine classroom, 40 or more students compete for a teacher’s attention during lessons. The wide attention gap can sometimes be hard for students to hurdle.
For Marita Abarquez, a graduate of De La Salle University, this means shy students will be more quiet, and participate less in school discussions. This is one of the reasons she opted to homeschool her son Paolo.
“Nothing beats one-on-one instruction,” Marita said. “My son can ask any question whenever he wants, without being scared of being judged or ignored. I chose homeschooling to build up my son’s confidence. In our homeschooling journey, he has unconsciously started stripping away his shyness and fear toward people because of the confidence he has gained.”
For Arlan and Bles de Guzman, looking for innovative ways to teach their children through homeschooling enables them to personalize lessons that match each of their four children’s respective learning styles.
The de Guzmans plan the lessons ahead before the week begins, and most lessons focus on developing logic and exercising critical thinking skills. By the week’s end, they assess if each of their children really understood and mastered their assigned topic, before proceeding to the next lesson or theme. On a typical day, the household is up as soon as the sun rises.
When Dr. Nyree Umali-Matanguihan and her husband Rey decided to homeschool their kids, they had to make some sacrifices. “It’s a challenge for me to work and, at the same time, homeschool two children,” Nyree said.
“I’ve decreased my clinic hours significantly, so that I could spend more time with the kids doing homeschool, but it feels the hours in the day are still not enough,” she said.
Matanguihan has no regrets.
“We get to nurture each of our children’s uniqueness. They don’t have to compete with other kids just to feel better, and I love the one-on-one interaction we have with them. We also get to travel during off-peak season because we are not bound by rigid school schedules. It’s like the world is our classroom, and they get to see how their mom and dad ‘fix people’s eyes’ when we bring them with us to work. The kids have time to explore their interests and get to develop friendships with kids and adults of all ages. These are just a few of what I love about homeschooling,” she said.
While these three families have very different homeschooling schedules and styles, the one thing they have in common is their home-education resource and support: Homeschool Global. Many graduates serviced by Homeschool Global have gone on to enter top universities and colleges in the country.
Homeschool Global has been the pioneer of homeschooling in the Philippines, and now serves families across 21 countries, offering US and Philippine accreditation.
To serve them better, Homeschool Global is now expanding to establish hubs all over the globe (as the new name connotes).
Apart from the education systems designed to support families (and the upcoming global hubs), Homeschool Global’s competitive edge includes customized or personalized education, intentional parent involvement, and the opportunity to be more involved in the community and, thus, help build the nation.
The Philippine Constitution upholds the right of parents to teach their own kids (Article XIV, Section 1). This resulted in the Department of Education (DepEd) creating a “Home Education Program” (Memorandum 216, Series of 1997) to encourage and protect over 12,000 homeschoolers in the country. From this number, about 7,000 are affiliated with the different homeschool providers that comply with the DepEd standards and requirements. The rest are unregulated.