Homeschooling a probable option

If you are a morning riser, you must have met children as young as three being driven in shuttles or walking to school as early as 6am. These children are sometimes dozing a clear indication that their sleep was interrupted. This is what most Ugandan children go through every school day to beat the traffic jam and be early for classes which usually start at 7am in most urban schools. It should be recalled that in March 2017, Education minister Janet Museveni ordered schools to stop opening as early as 6am and not close as late as 8pm. However, more than a year later, the directive still seems to have been ignored.

According to Rose Margaret Katengeke, a counselling psychologist at Pearl Africa School, forcing a child out of bed as early as 5am could cause them to hate school.
“A child who is woken for school at 6am is likely to sleep in class leading to poor concentration and performance hence hating both school and the teacher,” she says.

Is your child is experiencing the same? Maybe it is time to try homeschooling. The Rev Abel Wankuma Kibbedi, a lecturer at Uganda Christian University, Mukono, says he homeschools his two children that are currently in Grade Five. He opted for this, when upon returning to Uganda from the US, his children could not easily fit into the Ugandan education system.
“My children could not easily communicate with their colleagues and I saw this as a hindrance to their learning. I also wanted them to continue with the US curriculum which forced me start them on a homeschooling programme,” he explains.

The requirements
Emmanuel Mugarura, the head of education at Kampala Smart School, says before parents choose to homeschool their children, there are key aspects to note such as designing a personal learning plan and academic framework for the child. “This includes selecting a curriculum, instructional resources, learning applications and continuity plans,” he explains. Mugarura adds that a parent needs to provide weekly opportunities where the child meets with other children for interaction.
Rev Kibbedi says he blends the Uganda curriculum with that of US. “Since I am a teacher myself, I set aside two hours every day to teach them and every Wednesday for field study. Their classes start at 8am shortly after they have had their breakfast,” he says.

The reverand adds that the field study is important because it gives the children a feel of what they learn theoretically which helps break the classroom boredom and keeps the interest in learning.
Mugarura, however, says it is important that a parent gets a certified teacher for assessing the child. This he notes is vital for evaluating and assessing the progress of the child.

Socialisation
Rev Kibbeddi notes that though many people discredit homeschooling claiming that it limits the children from socialising, to him, school is not the only avenue for socialisation saying a child needs to be taught how to socialise right from home.
However, he says, it is advisable for parents of homeschooled children to register them with homeschooling clubs which will be an opportunity for them to interact with the rest of the learners.

No time wastage
Grace Lubega, who homeschools her 6-year-old says some of the time children spend at school is wasted in waiting for other children to concentrate, understand a concept, or complete an exercise so the whole class can move on. But with homeschooling, she says, you only concentrate on one child which in makes learning faster.
“With homeschooling the learning is child-led. You can go according to the child’s pace rather than the child having to go at the class’s pace,” Lubega observes.

Affordability
Rev Kibbedi says one of the reasons he chose to homeschool his children was because it was cheap as compared to paying termly school fees.
“I wanted my children to have international education but most of the international schools in Uganda are not affordable to an ordinary Ugandan. Their tuition starts from Shs1 million onwards. But with homeschooling I have avoided all those unnecessary costs. I only hired a home manager who helps teach my children when I leave for work at a reasonable cost. I also took my children to a homeschooling club. I download their exams from the internet, so I do not pay any institution to asses them,” he explains adding that people should stop calling it a system for the rich. “All that is needed is a study room, scheduling an appropriate time and commitment from the side of the parents,” he observes.

The other side
According to Macbeth Kamakune, a parent, homeschooling requires a lot of time on the side of parents which makes it hectic. “It is the best option of educating children especially the young ones but some of us are at work by 8am and we return late in the night making it impossible.” Similary, Michael Rwamafa says it may be difficult for people who cannot teach. “Not every parent has a gift of teaching, and if you are not a good teacher what do you do?”

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