Hi everyone.
You know the saying "It takes a village to raise a child"? I think it can also apply to education. I have a 8 year old son currently enrolled in the 2nd grade at a local primary school but would like to home school him in the near future. I want to create an educational program that combines the benefits of traditional classroom education and homeschooling.
Traditional Classroom Education
The main benefits of a traditional education are the development of students' socialization skills and having a teacher that is knowledgeable in the subject. However, because classes have 30 or more students, teachers are unable to give individual attention to students, also parents have little say or control in the content of the school's curriculum. Moreover, this type of education relies heavily on passive learning , in other words learning from books and then testing on what the students have memorized. Sound familiar?
Homeschooling
The reason homeschooling is becoming more attractive to parents is that they have total control over what their children learn as well as how they learn. Although parents make the best teachers, it's not possible for them to be knowledgeable in all subjects. Plus children may have difficulties in learning how to socialize and cooperate in a home school setting especially if the child doesn't have any siblings or if there is a big age gap between siblings.
Searching for a better education
As I was researching the myriad choices of schools (local and international) in HCMC, I found that none of them met the standards I was looking for (not that I have extremely high standards). These schools were either too far away, too expensive, their representatives couldn't answer basic questions about the curriculum or teachers...you get the idea right? Then I started looking at homeschooling but my son, an only child, wouldn't be able to socialize with other kids which I think is critical in the healthy development of children. Plus it is a daunting task to assemble a curriculum from scratch in all the relevant subject areas.
I started to read the posts in this forum on the many concerns parents had about educating their children in Vietnam. This led me to an idea. What if there was a school that combined the best elements of homeschooling and traditional schools? I call it community homeschooling (patent pending ) where like minded parents share their time and resources to help each other educate their children. Each parent are knowledgeable in some areas but lacking in others. Some parents can develop the curriculum in one subject while other parents develop other subjects. I know parents are busy and have to work myself included but homeschooling involves dedicating some of our time for the betterment of our children.
I live in Tan Phu District, near Dam Sen Park and currently in the process of starting an after school STEM program for secondary and high school students. I have a large room that is divided into a small classroom and a larger work area for students to do projects. Once finished, in about 2 months, the room will be equipped with computers, printers, science equipment and air conditioners. During weekday mornings and afternoons the room will be available for homeschooling.
I am posting this to see if there are any parents in HCMC interested in starting this community home school. If you are interested please private message me on this forum and send me your email and phone number. Once I get enough parents involved, we can set a meeting and share our thoughts and maybe come to a consensus on how to begin. Hope to hear from you guys.