THEAC Chair Quarterly Newsletter - March 2024
THEAC Chair Quarterly Newsletter
It is true that the older we get, the faster the year disappears. Here we are steaming into the Autumn months already. March is always a lovely time of year in Tasmania. We always seem to get one last blast of summer heat before the sun slips away for the cooler months ahead. The days are noticeably drawing in and the realisation that all too soon the long, lazy warm filled airy days will be replaced by the crisp, cool morning air and that delightful frosty crunch under out feet first thing in the morning.
As with every other new year, THEAC welcomes all new children and educators into the home education community. There are now 1498 students from 893 families registered for home education in Tasmania. We are still seeing an increase in children with Diverse Learning Needs entering home education. In 2024, THEAC in combination with the OER and Allied Health are aiming to provide further support systems to these families.
THEAC would also like to extend a warm welcome to our newest council member, Jon Targett. Jon replaces Caroline on council, and we are looking forward to working with him over the next 3 years. Jon has 4 children, 3 of whom are currently in home education. Jon has worked in education for over 20 years and is currently on sabbatical from teaching and is looking forward to assisting with the home education of his 3 children this year.
If you would like to know more about the other members on council, please refer to the link below.
https://theac.tas.gov.au/council-and-staff/
THEAC have had a busy start to the year. We are continuing to work hard to bring the home education community some pre-recorded seminars on Diverse Learning Needs (DLN). We are very excited to be working with Alison Hopwood (Occupational Therapist), Catherine Silcock (Speech Pathologist) and Justine Demaine (Behavioural Therapist) and we look forward to being able to share this information with you all soon.
For parents and carers with children who have diverse learning needs there is such an overload of information out there and it can be overwhelming at times to try and find a starting point. On top of managing day-to-day life and home educating, it can be difficult to find the time to research and keep up to date with the latest information. It is important to continue your research, even if you only pull one simple new strategy from a book or a podcast etc. it could make the world of difference to your child’s learning program and your day-to-day life. Sometimes simply reading or listening to a different perspective can be life changing.
I highly recommend Sue Larkey’s podcasts. I love podcasts as they are an easier way to try and keep up your research as you can listen while catching up on other things around the home or while out on a walk etc. I always enjoy Sue’s presentations. They are clear, factual, fun and energetic which makes engagement in them easy. I always learn new things and that’s something I love about the DLN field, there is always more to learn, more to improve on within ourselves as educators and more we can do to make our children in need feel comfortable in engaging in learning. Sue has an enormous list of topics within her podcast list. Please refer to the link to her website below.
https://suelarkey.com.au/podcast-listing/
I would also like to bring your attention to The Tasmanian Association for the Gifted (TAG). TAG works closely with families of gifted children and aims to support them in understanding and advocating for their unique needs.
Some of the ways TAG does this is by;
- Providing regular online information sessions for parents with topics ranging from identifying giftedness, understanding students who are twice exceptional (2E), accelerating gifted students, options for education pathways, writing learning plans and more.
- The TAG website tasgifted.com contains several useful links and resources that may assist parents of gifted children.
- TAG also offers a library of resource books which include teaching resources, parent and student reference books. These can be borrowed by our members https://TASGIFTED.librarika.com
- You may wish to register for TAG’s upcoming information sessions which can be found listed on their Facebook group (Tasmanian Association for the Gifted) and website tasgifted.com.
THEAC have recently established a connection with Autism Tas and we, along with the OER, are beginning to build a relationship between the two organisations to find ways in which we can support each other and the home education community. One of the areas in which Autism Tasmania has identified that may be of assistance to home education parents is a service they work in partnership with called Care2Serve.
Autism Tasmania is working with care2serve Tasmania to connect carers with FREE individualised support, to help them access resources, learn, and look after themselves so they can do the essential job of caring. This service aims to get you connected to a community, help you navigate services, support for your loved one/s and find time for YOU. Autism Tasmania and care2serve are also currently registering carers for a FREE all inclusive 2-day retreat. If you would like more information on how care2serve might be able to assist you, or if you would like to register for the retreat, please contact Autism Tasmania on 6722 5000 or email advisor@autismtas.org.au . Please note this is not a service provided by THEAC or the OER so all enquiries need to go through the above contact details.
Home educating is such a rewarding experience, but we must not forget it can be a very lonely and, at times, a disorientated journey. I have spoken previously about the difficulties of parenting a child with DLN, which requires a combination of ‘outside the box’ thinking and parenting. It can be difficult to go against the grain of traditional schooling and even more difficult to explain the reasons for doing so to family and friends. A personal experience recently provided a valuable lesson to be reminded on the restrictions that DLN can put in place in terms of educating a child. It was a reminder to lower expectations, forget about everyone else’s expectations and that this is OK.
Even though I have home educated for all these years, I needed a reminder that it’s OK to ‘let go’. OK to let go of what others think or judge, OK to let go of ‘normal’ schooling expectations, OK to follow my child’s lead in their learning journey. I tell people this all the time and I know how hard it is to let the concept of traditional schooling go and all that goes with that- the ‘9-3’ mentality, the worksheets etc. but it is amazing how quickly that can set back in, as one hurtles towards a Registration Officer visit, as I guess we have all been socially conditioned to the ‘normal’ way. I think there is a false expectation out there to have piles of paperwork ready upon the registration visit. Registration Officers (ROs) are there to help you along this journey, which treads a different pathway for all of us. There are now almost 1500 registered home education students in Tasmania and no two programs are the same. RO’s are there to help and support and guide you. They are looking for progress. Progress does not always equal mountains of completed work sheets or other paperwork. Progress can be evident in many other ways.
Learning happens ALL the time. It is not 9-3, it is not Monday to Friday, it is not happening when a uniform is put on, it is not only happening when seated at a desk, it is happening ALL the time. Give your child/ren space to learn. Embrace their areas of interest, let their learning take you on a journey of exploration, give them freedom and space to fine THEIR way of learning. Connect rather than direct.
You can pull learning out of just about any activity, it all comes down to recording it. This is not a simple task and is perhaps one of the key elements to a successful home education program. Record keeping is imperative for many reasons apart from the actual record of learning and events, it shows progress, development, and highlights areas that either worked well or didn’t work at all. Spend the time every day to make a record of the learning that took place. If your child is in refusal mode, there are areas of numeracy and literacy and other areas of learning that can be pulled out of any activity they do. Your job while they are on their own pathway is to record it. It is important to step outside of the framework you are living within and observe as an outsider. This then gives you time to record, reflect and re-set and forms a new pathway for future learning.
Embrace their journey. Give them space within their journey. Enjoy their journey! You will find after time that your journey starts to turn a corner and who knows where it might take you!
For those who are struggling to find support within their family/community for home educating their child you might find the following podcast helpful in providing an explanation to family/friends of how home education works in Tasmania-the processes involved-which can be a valuable insight for family members who may not be aware of the process. Home Education also varies state by state and this podcast is specific to how it works in Tasmania.
I would like to once again thank the Acting Deputy Director, Jo Spencer, for her continued support to THEAC and THEAC are looking forward to working closely with Jo and the OER staff once again in 2024.
Denise Cox
Chair, THEAC
