Homeschooling (Pendidikan Nonformal)

[jstar]

I’m also not surprised you don’t get a lot of responses if you’re stating things like “THIS THREAD IS ABOUT …… NOT ….. !!!!!” in a very aggressive way insulting members for their limited intellect or poor comprehension skills [sic].

Often it’s just better to play along and to try to calmly steer the discussion back on topic.

 

[Shadrach]

I’m also not surprised you don’t get a lot of responses if you’re stating things like “THIS THREAD IS ABOUT …… NOT ….. !!!!!” in a very aggressive way insulting members for their limited intellect or poor comprehension skills [sic].

Often it’s just better to play along and to try to calmly steer the discussion back on topic.

So True! Actually, it states in the By- Laws, that posters are supposed to address the topic, Not what the other posters are saying. It's OK not to agree with what other people post, but not to degrade, or insult what the other person posts. That is what makes the World go round. If everyone thought the same, there wouldn't be anything New, or Creative!
Kind of like being Married to the same person for a long time. After awhile you know what the other person is thinking and what they're going to say! And when you are together and have a conversation with other People, you start answering for your Mate! BORING!

 

[serious_fun]

Serious fun- I think you made a rod for your own back here by engaging. When old mate loads all his "helpful research" that's unrelated to your specific question, better you just say "not relevant to my specific question. Please desist." No guarantee that will stop him, but at least you won't be wasting time and effort on him.

Thank you.

 

[serious_fun]

A brief list of "Homeschooling Methods That Work Best for Indonesian Families" is found here.

Please note that I'm not promoting the business which produced the list, nor any of their services.

I'll be more tolerant when posting here, and won't post any more on this thread until we speak to the local gov't dept. when registering for homeschooling. (refer to Article 6, Permendikbud 129 of 2014)

Article 6 (Google translation)

Homeschool registration can be done at the City or Regency Education Office with certain requirements including the identity of the parents and students, a statement letter from the parents or person in charge as well as the students, and school program documents through a learning plan.

 

[serious_fun]

My apologies for not providing feedback re: this move to homeschooling.

We started homeschooling our younger children a few weeks ago, with our first introductory lessons beginning on 15th July. Over that time we've modified the study timetables, the 'class' environment in our home, and method(s) of organization/prepping. The flexibility of the program makes that relatively simple and accommodates our needs (obviously).

One surprise so far was re: Article 6, Permendikbud 129 (2014), which I referred to in my post above. We were informed by the children's former school, which we just withdrew from after the 2024-2025 academic year, that they would inform the relevant authorities about our move to homeschooling. The former school just asked us for a signed letter for each student which explained what we were doing, and the letter which I submitted was quite general and even vague. In other words, we have not personally contacted any "City or Regency Education Office" regarding "Homeschool registration".

This is different from what we've heard about from homeschooling websites, and so I'm expecting a phone call asking us for something else such as the items actually mentioned in Article 6, Permendikbud 129 (2014). Tidak masalah.

The core curriculum which we're using is accredited and follows American standards. Most of the instructional videos provided are hosted on Vimeo, which is blocked in Indonesia, so our VPNs are needed during any online instruction.

I'll post more as we move along...

 

[Helpful Herbert]

Do you have to do lessons on religion and the pancasila which I think are compulsory for any education of kids in Indonesia?

 

[serious_fun]

Do you have to do lessons on religion and the pancasila which I think are compulsory for any education of kids in Indonesia?

ja, thanks for the reminder. We have included those subjects in our timetable; I've attached a copy of one of the children's timetables as an example of what we're currently doing. (I'll probably modify the timetables a bit if/when we need to submit some documents to a local authority...just to make sure that we have all the bases covered [baseball analogy - go Dodgers! ])

As one would imagine, the subjects and time slots are very flexible. We have extra activities not listed, such as book reports (one is due next week!), presentations on art history (one is due tomorrow!), visits to our church, outside physical education with local groups, etc., etc.

 

[Shadrach]

What if the Parents are Agnostic, or Atheists? Learning history is a separate matter! In this Country, there have been many different Religions. Are they all being represented? It's better that there should be separation of Church and State!

 

[jstar]

Agnosticism or atheism are not recognized convictions or beliefs in this country. There are six official religions, that’s it, make a pick.

 

[Helpful Herbert]

I'm interested to know who does the teaching?

 

[x799]

I agree with you a hundred percent

I’m also not surprised you don’t get a lot of responses if you’re stating things like “THIS THREAD IS ABOUT …… NOT ….. !!!!!” in a very aggressive way insulting members for their limited intellect or poor comprehension skills [sic].

Often it’s just better to play along and to try to calmly steer the discussion back on topic.

. After reading through hundreds of posts and comments on this forum, I’ve noticed that Seriousfun often comes across as unkind or disrespectful toward others. This kind of tone pushes people away from the community. Many of us aren’t here for arguments—we just want to share knowledge and learn things that can make our lives as expats a little easier. At the end of the day, we’re all in the same boat, so there’s really no need to spread negativity.

 

[serious_fun]

I'm interested to know who does the teaching?

The homeschooling program which we're using has the entire (accredited American) curriculum framework, complete with instructional videos*, online practice levels, online activities, work packets (.pdf files to download and print), and an online assessment at the end of each unit. If there are issues and/or questions, then I am the instructor/guide.

*we must use a VPN to access the instructional videos since they are hosted on Vimeo (blocked in Indonesia )

NOTE: Make sure that your homeschooling provider/school/organization can provide written records of the learner's progress, etc. We were told that if one wants the child to return to a school in Indonesia, then one must provide "official" records of what the learner has done during the time spent homeschooling.

 

[serious_fun]

NOTE: Make sure that your homeschooling provider/school/organization can provide written records of the learner's progress, etc. We were told that if one wants the child to return to a school in Indonesia, then one must provide "official" records of what the learner has done during the time spent homeschooling.

We're looking at a return to private schools for our rascals, and as we discuss admissions with the various options we have had to submit reports from the time spent homeschooling.

It's been very nice to be able to easily print out reports via our curriculum provider's site.

Please keep this in mind unless you're eager to keep accurate records for every student's activity every day.

 

[gemima]

We're looking at a return to private schools for our rascals, and as we discuss admissions with the various options we have had to submit reports from the time spent homeschooling.

It's been very nice to be able to easily print out reports via our curriculum provider's site.

Please keep this in mind unless you're eager to keep accurate records for every student's activity every day.

I'm interested to know why you will stop?
I'm pretty opposed to homeschooling because I think its healthy for kids to mix with peers in school but I'm not a parent so my opinion is worthless.
How do you feel the year went for you and the kids?

 

[serious_fun]

I'm interested to know why you will stop?
I'm pretty opposed to homeschooling because I think its healthy for kids to mix with peers in school but I'm not a parent so my opinion is worthless.
How do you feel the year went for you and the kids?

I wouldn't say that your opinion is worthless...not having children offers a more objective (and rational?) perspective. 'The Joy of Parenting' includes a lot of emotional chaos which clouds decision-making!

The lack of a larger social network is the #1 reason. The kids are less eager to join in group activities with new acquaintances. I feel that this is definitely linked to being expats here; the hesitancy to assimilate is strong with them. (my eldest child attends a private school, and he invites the younger ones along for activities so the homeschooled kids aren't isolated, but still...)

The amount of time on computers is also an issue since we're working with an online curriculum provider. Screen time is already a problem since the kids LOVE video gaming, and we're not too thrilled with the hours studying online even with outside activities and more traditional work (reading, drawing, etc)

This reason may sound selfish, but it's very real: My wife and I feel 'boxed in' and limited. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I feel like a prisoner but my weekdays are very much focused on 'being there' for the homeschooling children. My wife has commented (complained?) that she hasn't really been able to have her group of friends over for coffee, etc. since the kids do the schoolwork in our dining area (large table to spread out materials, good wi-fi, air-con, etc.) Homeschooling does 'cramp our style' so to speak. (not that I have style )

Regarding how the year went: I was able to see work habits/self-management skills develop, and was able to observe how the kids reacted to certain subject areas, workloads, deadlines. There were frustrations with materials which didn't seem appropriate and, of course, some tech issues (e.g. site maintenance during testing). They sometimes needed more guidance than the instructional videos offered. I suppose that forced them to develop research skills; they were able to access alternative sources.

Academically, the kids stayed strong. In retrospect, I should have assessed their performance BEFORE homeschooling, but only did it recently. We had a 'Cambridge Insights' assessment administered for each of the kids, and the results were positive : the older child was 2yrs9mos ahead of his age group in most subject areas, and the younger child was 1 yr ahead of his age group except for Math (the weakest subject for that child) where the score was 'average' for the age group. This has been about the same in relation to classmates over the past years in school. In other words, they didn't fall behind, but who knows the level of achievement if they had attended a good school over the past 8-9 months.

Enjoy the weekend.