Is this a home schooling program?
Hands-on Home-learning for a Sustainable World is not the same as home schooling. Although your child will be learning from home, she will be officially enrolled in school. This means that her education is the responsibility of Oak and Orca Bioregional School, and although as a parent you will play a big role in assisting with the learning process, the teacher and the school are ultimately responsible. This also means that your child is required to meet all the learning outcomes set by the state of British Columbia (although she can do that in any way she wants), whereas in home-schooling there are no required outcomes and no teacher involved. Our program offers the autonomy of home schooling, as well as the professionally operated curriculum, resources, guidance, and assessment of a school.
What is my role as a parent?
The role of the parents varies according to the child's age. We believe in the importance of child-directed learning as opposed to teacher or parent directed. For this reason we encourage parents let children be as autonomous as possible and we provide many independent learning activities. For younger children these come with instructions in the form of drawings and for older children the instructions are in simple text. That said, even for independent activities, parents will need to be accessible to help with explanation or guidance when needed. And for younger children, many activities will need to be read and explained by parents. For some activities, parents may need to play a more active facilitating role, and in some cases (such as field trips) the parent will be directly facilitating the activity. The parent is also responsible for weekly communication with the teacher in the form of completing an online record-of learning and checking in with the teacher over the phone or through email. Please refer to the parent responsibilities page.
Can I choose my own curriculum?
Through our program, we provide you with packaged curriculum including guides on facilitating learning in the home, activities, and resources. Within this curriculum, there is an enormous amount of room for individual choice. The curriculum is individualized for each child's interests and needs because the weekly curriculum pack we provide is based on the parent's weekly reporting and conference with the teacher. Within those packs, the child will be able to choose which activities he or she does. The child will also have a lot of choice about how the activities are done. Many of our activities are general activities that can be applied to various subjects and in various ways. For example, and activity such as creating a mock interview or survey can be done with a variety of subjects, issues, and styles. Although we provide suggestions and guidelines for such activities, the activities can be fit to meet the child's interests and needs.
Does your program provide support right through the K-12 grade stream? If not, what grades do you enroll students for?
For our first year we are offering approximate grades K-3. Approximate Grades 4-7 will be added in subsequent years. We say approximate grades because we are an ungraded school and all children are enrolled as ungraded students. This means they are not compared with other children their age, they are working at their own pace and based on their own interests. Each child has an independent program. In the end, our programs will suit children from approximately age 5 to approximately age 12 or 13.
What kinds of work samples or evidences of learning are required with your program?
Evidence of learning will be assessed through oral conferencing and assessment, as well as through portfolios with work samples that the child and family have chosen to reflect the learning they have been doing. The child (with parent support) chooses samples monthly to send in to their portfolio. Some work may be used as examples in our newsletter. It is the child's choice as to whether they would like to have work published or not. Also, a daily log of activities that have been worked on is submitted weekly to teacher.
What criteria do you use in assessing these submissions?
We use individualized learning goals; therefore the criteria that is used for assessments is also individualized. Instead of a minimally meets/meets/exceeds standards grading system, we evaluate children based on if they are working on readiness, exploring a skill or have mastered a skill that they are working on. We help children to identify skills they are ready to work on, but most often children work on and master skills simply by choosing activities from the choices that are made available to them. Children enjoy the activities and master skills naturally without necessarily knowing that they are working. These skills are assessed based on simple oral questions the teacher will ask the child or ask the parent to ask and record the results. From this oral information, the teacher can determine how well the activities are meeting the learing needs of the student, and if more activities in a certain area are necessary.
Are report cards / grades required, and if so, how are they determined?
We believe in un-graded, non-threatening assessment. We do not grade the children, nor do we have expectations based on age. Our report cards are anecdotal only, and reflect the learning and accomplishments the child has made. They are positive and non-threatening comments on what has been achieved, goals the child has for the future, and suggested learning activities and strategies that might be helpful. A second section of the report card is a child self-assessment. This section may be even more valuable than the teacher completed part. Together these sections are intended to record learning and progress and inspire future learning towards self-set goals and objectives. Reports are drawn from assessment questions posed by the teacher, work samples, communication with the family, and daily activity logs submitted weekly.
In addition to providing anecdotal reproting, the teacher will also keep track of skills learned in a checklist type format. This is how we ensure that children are progressing towards the learning outcomes outlined by the BC government. These checklists are used by the teacher to locate gaps in knowledge and understanding. Teachers then suggest activities and areas of study that will help the child to understand areas that they have not chosen on their own. In this way, assessment inspires new goals and new learning.
How frequently would a family be contacted by the teacher?
Weekly teleconferencing or email contact with the teacher and on-line submission of daily activities (submitted at least weekly) allow the teacher to keep track of the child's learning progress. The child will be visited at home once or twice a year.
How much money will be reimbursed per student?
The ministry no longer permits us to reimburse parents. However, on top of a carefully designed, packaged curriculum, we budget some money that can be used specifically for each enrolled child. An expense budget of up to $300 per kindergarten child and up to $600 per older child is available each year for things like resources, materials and classes. The teacher and the family decide together what would be most useful to enrich the child's educational program. Since the recently changed law does not permit DL programs to reimburse a family directly for money spent, we must now pay the company directly for an item or service they provide. This has had the impact of making our policy less flexible, because we now need to develop a relationship with each company. Please see our expense budget policy for more detailed information.
What curriculum, books, library access or other academic resources do you provide to students and parents?
Our curriculum includes carefully designed learning activity cards that emphasize exploration, hands-on experience, natural growth, cooperation, and skill development. In this way children are not taught, but rather teach themselves by exploring, experiencing and learning the BC ministry, bioregional and global learning outcomes. We do not use or require specific texts. We do however have a suggested list of books, most of which can be attained at your library with corresponding open-ended activities.
What other services does your program provide to students and parents? (i.e. networking, field trips, use of facilities, etc.)
We provide networking possibilities that could include newsletters and 'pen-pal' writing groups. In Victoria, subject to enough interest, we may be able to provide group opportunities for field trips, museum trips and potlucks. Our small school house could be used after school hours or on weekends for group activities if a responsible person took on a coordinating role.
Do the teachers involved with this program have experience with the differences between homelearning and school-centred programs?
Our school has a history of providing support to homeschooling families including drop-in and fieldtrip opportunities. As an independent school we have sought and developed a comfortable, community-oriented atmosphere in which we deliver experiential child-centred learning. We are not a traditional teacher-led school, and will support parents to offer child-directed learning in your home.
Is the program respectful of different homelearning philosophies?
Yes, our program is specifically designed to be flexible to the child's interests and pace, as well as the family's educational philosophies. Teachers are willing to work with parents to deliver a curriculum that suits the philosophies of both the school and the family. As long as the family is willing to complete the activity logs, conference and take suggestions from the teacher and fulfill the parent responsibilities, we will be able to accommodate most of your needs for holidays, time with relatives, flexible learning, etc. If you are completely unschooling, this program is probably not for you.
How do you accommodate unstructured homelearners?
Our programs may or may not meet the needs of unstructured home-learners. We provide non-linear, non-sequential learning activities that are exploratory and experimental in nature. Families have the opportunity to choose how and when these activities are offered. Furthermore we encourage and provide space in daily logging for 'life-learning' activities. These activities are valued as educational and will be assessed as such. Some structure is however required. Our programs do meet the BC curriculum, and we expect to be able to find some way to interest each child to learn the skills and knowledge mandated. We do recommend some daily routine, to allow children the time and space to learn naturally. Contact with our teachers is mandatory, and in order to develop a working relationship, we would expect some of our materials and suggestions to be used. Daily logging of learning activities is required, and the children must be learning and progressing, though at their own pace. Children in Oak and Orca programs are enrolled as ungraded learners, meaning that they follow the BC curriculum in their own way and at their own pace.
What does the family "get" out of registration with this program?
What do your Bioregional and Global curricula offer?
This program offers education that is both bioregionally and globally oriented. Bioregionalism fosters a sense of deeply belonging, intimately knowing, and truly loving the land, the community, and the history of one's region. By emphasizing the interconnections between social justice, economic, environmental, and political issues, global education promotes a sense of connection with and social responsibility to people living around the world. Bioregional and global education both place emphasis on the importance of community and cooperation. Children are encouraged and empowered to be active, responsible local and global citizens, thus building a more peaceful, just and sustainable world.
How is the program planning to grow and develop, and are there procedures in place for families to provide feedback towards this development?
We are planning to add subsequent grades as well as further expanding our curriculum over the next few years. Aside from weekly communication with the teacher, formal procedures for providing feedback will be developed in the fall. We encourage the suggestions of any interested person.
Does your program require parents to participate in provincial testing?
Our K-3 program does not include or require provincial testing. As in any independent school, we are required to administer tests at grade 4 age and grade 7 age. As your child reaches these levels, we will recommend taking these tests as a comparison with what other children are doing at the same age. These tests are not intended to be a hardship to any student. In cases where there will clearly be hardship felt by the child, we would excuse the child from that test. We do not use the results of these tests for grading or assessing the students. Also, as with anything that goes on in schools or schooling programs, the parent has the final say as to whether the child will attend the test or not. An absent child is simply absent!
How are the teachers are involved, the assessments conducted and what is the time commitment required from our son in order to meet all the "learning outcomes" prescribed by your school/the Ministry?
Our distance program will provide you with many activities and a format for education that should complement anything that you do yourself for home-learning. It is our priority to provide interesting choices for the children, and for them to then direct their own learning by choosing which activities they would like to do and what their own personal goals are. We suggest working on educational activities several hours per day. We also suggest that you develop some routines that allow your son to know what to expect each day. However, each family will develop their own strategies for home-learning through our program based on family needs and learning styles. There is also a commitment on your part to keep track of what your son is doing educationally (including your own activities and spontaneous play that is used to develop concepts.) We require a daily form (5-10 minutes per day) to be filled out and these forms to be submitted at least weekly. You would connect with your Oak and Orca teacher weekly (either by email or telephone) to discuss progress and answer your questions.
The children achieve BC curriculum outcomes at their own pace, and are not graded or assessed based on their age. The certified Oak and Orca teacher would help you in your quest to interest your child in learning activities of all kinds. She will also help your child to set goals and determine a path towards achieving them. She would assess your child for the purpose of helping you select activities that are at the same time interesting, at the correct level, and suited to your child's learning style. She would also collect work samples, chosen by you and your child as samples to show what he has been working on. Through informal assessments (asking questions of both you and your son), the teacher would keep track of progress through the learning outcomes. She would also provide you with anecdotal reports outlining his achievements and progress towards his own goals.
Could you provide an example from your curriculum to better understand what your methodology and content of teaching is?
Our methods derive from our child-directed educational philosophy. We believe that a child, whether in school or out, should never be discouraged from learning in a self-directed manner. Their schooling should be structured so as to encourage learning when it occurs naturally, to allow for choices in learning activities, and to teach strategies for self-directedness to all students. To this end, we provide packets of learning activities from which the children can choose the most relevant or interesting activities. As we are an ungraded school, our activities are designed to encourage and challenge children at the level they are at, not based on their age. These packets are determined by what skills the child is working on and what they find appealing. In addition to providing the core subjects, our program offers Bioregional and Global content. The content and methods of our program assert that the most important skills children need to learn are those that will allow them to enjoy learning for the rest of their lives.
Please email your questions to hands-on@victoria.tc.ca