Instruction at the house

The term school at the house indicates a form of education, generally exempted by the parents with their children, apart from the traditional school context. This movement took a notable importance in the Anglo-Saxon countries (the United Kingdom, the United States) starting from the end of the year 1980.

Definition

This term is difficult to define because it includes several very varied philosophies and practices. There are also other terms (often anglophone) with slightly different connotations: homeschooling, unschooling , not-schooling (non-sco) or die-schooling (die-sco) and sometimes in French-speaking zone very disputed term: " instruction in famille".

One finds in the laws as well French as Belgian the concept of obligation “school” whereas in the facts it is about an obligation “of instruction”; itself frequently and radically disputed by many movements defending the “cause of the children” to the direction which Christiane Rochefort gave him.

In Quebec one prefers amply the term education , because instruction seems in charge of too imperative connotations, and only factual or operational. To support education would thus indicate an approach more Holistique, which is often the initial motivation of the parents.

However, one can consider that to inform means " to transmit knowledge and compétences" and to inform " to acquire knowledge and compétences" , and that education means as well to transmit as to acquire " values morals and sociétales". This nuance makes it possible to sometimes better include/understand the motivations of certain parents who choose the IEF.

Motivations

Certain parents do not send their children to the school and make the choice deal with themselves the instruction of their children, it entrust to professors private, religious, etc ou/et still to simply let them open out at their rate/rhythm.

The raison d'être of the choice to deal with the instruction of his/her child, or to freely let it “discover”, varies according to the families; for some they are teaching reasons, for other nuns or philosophical, for others still it is a solution which appeared to them necessary even saving following particular problems their children (health issues, problems school, financial, geographical, etc) and for others still, this choice was presented to them as a prolongation of the pleasure which they had already to live with their children and the desire to continue to deal with education or simply to accompany, the evolution, the instruction, the development of the latter. Lastly, an important reason of the choice of this form of education is often a mistrust compared to the institutional system of education.

An investigation carried out within the framework of the American census gives an outline of the motivations of the parents choosing not to send their children to the school in this country. Uperiority of education at the house for 50,8% of the parents;

  • religious motivations for 33,0%;
  • bad school environmental quality for 29,8%;
  • objection with the contents of the school programs for 14,4%;
  • insufficient level of secondary education for 11,5%.

In France, the main motivation seems to be “political” and psychological: to respect the freedom and the blooming of the children, to privilege a true social”, more autonomous and free life “. (Cf studies and talks 1997,2001…). But it is about the country of Catherine Baker and Christiane Rochefort.

DEBATEs

Advantages and difficulties

Jolyn Whitaker summarizes the advantages and difficulties with which the parents are confronted who choose the school at the house. The main advantages are the time spent with the children, the control of what the child learns, a greater implication in the transmission of values, the protection of the child with respect to negative social situations. It also quotes the pleasure of the parents to be implied jointly in the education of their children. Moreover, the school at the house makes it possible to the parents individually to deal with the child and allows them to adapt the training to its rate/rhythm and its difficulties. The possibility of a differentiated Pédagogie is also one of the main arguments advanced by Catherine Baker, one of the French-speaking references of the movement for the descolarisation.

The main difficulties mentioned by Whitaker are the cost, the motivation of the child, the need for defending the choice of the school at the house with respect to his/her child and others, the required effort to make sure that the child at the time of meeting other children of his age and the fear of the parents of being unable to cover the whole of the school programs.

Socialization

A frequent fear - more frequent fear within the general public than in the parents who practice education at the house - would be potential insulation undergone by the private children of the contacts with other provided education for children. Associations of promotion of the school at the house evoke all the subject on their Internet sites. Many parents precisely flee this made “socialization” of conformism, of social pressure exerted by the other provided education for children, of brimades and bad influences.

For the majority of the partisans of the school at the house, their choice improves in fact social development of their children. Indeed, for those, the last years in an establishment are the only ones during which the schoolboys will be separate artificially in partitioned groups of the same age (by economic efficiency and not preoccupation with a quality). These partisans affirm that the children educated at the house live a healthier and more natural socialization, because they interact more with people of any age. This led to the influence increased of the adults and least on behalf of the other children, which produces young riper citizens.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, a certain number of studies, often financed by organizations of promotion of the school at the house, try to evaluate the consequences of schooling at the house on the “sociability” of the children. The results are in general extremely positive (studies of Larry Shynes & alt.).

Certain authors, Robert Epstein, ex-writer as a chief of Psychology Today, consider that the prolongation of obligatory schooling and the fact “of parking” the teenagers between them infantilisent, whereas the teaching personalized in contact more brought closer with adults, like the instruction at the house, allows a faster maturation and to avoid the crisis of adolescence. Crisis which is mainly a consequence of this long compulsory schooling during which teenagers are treated like children and have like models and companions only of other teenagers.

Higher learning

Lastly, criticisms relate to the difficulties of adaptation to the school system in the higher learning.

Always according to the defenders of the system, it of it is nothing in the facts. They quote, in support of this thesis a French study on the not provided education for families carried out by Jennifer Fandard, according to whom the best availability in time makes it possible to widen the contacts, facilitates the adaptation to any kind of mediums and situations including the university situations.

In North America, more particularly anglophone, many establishments of higher education (including Harvard) accommodate pupils having been educated at the house. '' Universités “sympathetic nerves” towards the children educated at the house ''. According to Inge Canon, managing director of Education More : “A great number of these establishments particularly seek these customers because of her maturity, of its capacity of personal reflection, its creativity and its solid education.”

Legal situation

In Europe, the possibilities of the instruction in family are different from one country to another.

In Germany, the children are obliged to go in a school, because the school attendance is compulsory there (number of Länder tolerate the school at the house however). It is about a law passed under the Nazi regime “'' Schulpflicht ''” and which was only amended in 1945 without benefitting from these amendments to authorize teaching at the house by recommending simply a “ Bildungpflicht ” (to have of teaching). These last years, one saw several parents put at the fine and even imprisoned to have refused to send their children to a public school of which they find the lesson incompatible with their religious principles. '' Baptisten nehmen Kinder aus der Grundschule '' the most frequent objections of these parents relate to the early sex education their children (as of the primary education) and of the non-observance of the religious fact under cover of a laic neutrality which they consider atheistic and militant.

However, in other countries like England, Ireland, France, Italy, Switzerland or Denmark the freedom of instruction exists in the law and the parents can thus choose to inform themselves their children. Sometimes however, in these countries, the governments try to found controls.

With share in Germany where - as one saw - the schooling of the children must be done obligatorily in a school and where families fight to obtain freedom to inform their children, pay fines and go even in prison because they do not want to put their children at the school, the other European countries tolerate the parental instruction more or less, either because this possibility is not taken into account in the law as in Spain, or because they accept it under certain conditions: for example, income and diploma of one of the parents in Italy, and often by imposing a control of knowledge or trainings.

Sometimes these controls are in connection with the national plans, as in Belgium or in Austria, where the children are subjected to a national school examination, often they leave a teaching freedom to the parents as in France, in Italy, or in Denmark where the parents can even choose their inspector.

In the majority of the Swiss cantons, the instruction is obligatory without precision of place. This makes it possible to the families to ensure the schooling of their children residence if they wish it; they must however yield with school controls of inspectors entitled to check that obligatory education is indeed assured.

To the Netherlands, the parental instruction is submitted to authorization and is allowed if the parents advance religious reasons or educational choices; teaching choices not being taken into account. In France on the other hand, the setting in front of religious choice is strongly likely to compare the family to a sectarian frequentation, which can generate complications.

In a general way, in the majority of the countries, the laws are not very defined compared to the parental instruction and very often, a gap in the law makes it possible each one (families and authorities) to make according to its convictions, the States tend to reinforce controls even if the Universal declaration of the Human rights as well as the European Convention of Human rights (P1-2) and the European Charter affirm the right of the parents clearly to choose the type of education to be given to their children.

France

The law Jules Ferry instituting obligatory education specifies “obligatory education can be given either in the public or deprived establishments or schools, or in the families by the parents, or one of them, or any person of their choice. ” (Currently L131-2 article of the code of education). It is on this legal basis that since 1882 a few thousands of families continued to directly ensure the instruction of their children.

Compulsory education in France was reinforced in 1998 in a law of exception aiming at the sectarian organizations. The Official Bulletin (internal review of the administration of education) of May 20th, 1999 specifies that “Without calling into question the instruction in the family which can answer social situations, family or medical particular, the law affirms, for the first time, the priority given to the instruction in the educational establishments. ” Ségolène Royal adds in preamble to her circular: “Each year, several thousands of children escape the School from the Republic. Too much often, these children is maintained in a state of inculture, ignorance, or worse still, is embrigadés, alienated, maltreated. ” The law makes compulsory an annual control of teaching throughout all period of obligatory education: from 6 to 16 years. Under penalty of a fine of 1500 €, the parents have the obligation to declare, with each return to school or in the eight days in the event of change of mode of instruction, with the mayor of their commune of residence which they will ensure the instruction in the family. The simultaneous declaration with the inspector of Academy is also obligatory.

The MIVILUDES will specify in his report/ratio 2003: “The Minister for state education thus charged the unit with the inspectors of academy, directors of departmental services of state education to take care of the reality of “the instruction in the families”. This legal possibility is used today on the unit of the territory for nearly a thousand of children. When the parents conceal themselves with this obligation, a description is carried out near the public prosecutor. To note that the suspicion of sectarian drift appeared only very seldom during these controls. ”

The report/ratio 2006 of the MIVILUDES published in January 2007 stresses that: " These territorial bodies of inspection continued to be active in several fields, in particular the control of the instruction in the family, even if it is necessary to take care not to consider that the parents who educate their children in residence or private establishments except contract belong to the sphere of the activities of nature sectaire."

Belgium

In Belgium,

  • the parents (or persons in charge legal) of the child (from 6 to 16 years) must inform the school inspectorate.

  • They sign then a “contract” in which they are committed informing their child and to present it to the follow-up examinations of competence.
The parents are held to ensure or make ensure a teaching of level equivalent to that imposed on the schools recognized by the authorities. A control of the level of the studies is carried out during the year when the child reaches the 8 years age, 10 years, and 14 years. Examinations are added to it to 12 years (certificate of basic study), as from 13 years (certificate of orientation A) and as from 15 years (certificate of secondary education of the second degree) (central jury) Arrêté Government of the French Community (of Belgium) fixing the conditions to be able to satisfy compulsory education by exempting a teaching in residence This law has just been cancelled by the Council of State (on May 30th, 2006). We do not know how the legislation will evolve/move (Cancellation). The obligation of instruction is full-time until the fifteen years age and comprises at the maximum seven years of primary school education and at least the first two years of the secondary education of full exercise; to in no case the obligation of full-time instruction does not exceed sixteen years.

Canada

If education in residence is allowed Canada, the precise situation varies province in province. Sometimes it is enough simply to announce to the Minister of education provincial its intention to be prevailed of its right of teaching to residence to his children. Sometimes, the provinces more meddle impose regular examinations to the taught children in residence. New laws are unceasingly proposed in the provinces, they generally tend to restrict the freedom of the parents.

Quebec

Education in residence in Quebec is subjected to article 15 (4) of the Law on the state education of Quebec which exempts the following children to attend a public school: “the child who receives at the house a teaching and saw there an educational experiment which, according to an evaluation made by the school commission or with his request, are equivalent to what is exempted or lived at the school”. Let us note that the incidental clause “according to an evaluation made by the school commission or with its request” was added with the original text which was definitely more liberal of spirit. Each school commission evaluates the children and interprets this text differently. Some are opened with this original pedagogy and not very demanding, others require of the parents to justify their right, their motivations, the evidence of a “socialization successful” with of the same children age, the adopted teaching method. There are even known a case where parents however university saw themselves removing their children by the Direction of the protection of youth.

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