This excerpt is from the book ‘The Homeschooling Handbook’ by Lorilee Lippincott, 2014. It is an excellent reference for all things homeschooling, and contains lots of lovely case studies from families who have successfully embarked upon this journey.
This particular chapter refers to a speech from Sir Ken Robinson on education in 2006. For those that aren’t familiar with Ken’s work, I would highly recommend that you watch some of his Ted talks. You are in for a treat.
He talks about a very important idea that relates to the fact that we don’t know what kind of a world we are training our kids for. Right now, we know that computer coding and security are growing fields for future employment, and we know that nurses are currently in demand, but if our children are only starting school now, what world will they live in twenty years from now?
When I look back, I can clearly see twenty years ago, that the world was very different to now and there is no way I could have predicted the changes we made. Twenty years ago, for us, we didn’t all have personal home computers, cell phones for children, televisions that screened 24 hours a day, social media accounts and 3D printers that printed tools for the astronauts in the space stations to fix satellites. It is a very different world to now, and twenty years isn’t very long ago.
The education system was originally designed with the end goal in mind of workers skilled to a particular level, able to undertake a certain kind of work. Those days have long passed. It is now not possible to predict exactly what skills our children will need to fulfil jobs in their futures. The jobs they will undertake possibly haven’t even been invented yet.
“Do our kids need more advanced math, better computer education, better environmental training, or do they need wilderness survival and disaster training? We really don’t know.
But instead of this being a reason to stay awake all night immobilised by fear, this can free us to pursue a deeper kind of learning. What Sir Ken Robinson points out is that we need to be teaching our children creativity. Instead of teaching them the knowledge for their future lives, we need to be teaching them the skills so they can adapt to whatever life brings”.
Well said Lorilee and I agree with you. There are certain skills that if children really grasp these during childhood, they will be well adjusted and adaptable for whatever future awaits them:
Obviously, the skills of reading, writing and arithmetic are important forms of communication and definitely still skills to learn, however a lot of those skills can be learned at the same time as the skills listed above are being honed. If your child embarks upon any career in their future, the skills listed above are all skills that will assist them achieve success.
When we choose to educate our children at home, we have the freedom to alter the curriculum to ensure that the skills above are being developed well alongside the core curriculum subjects we decide are important as a foundational base of knowledge to build upon.
Up to 2 hours of lessons a day, plus hands on activities means you can easily give your child a quality education at home.
View Course OverviewInstant access. No credit card required.
We respect your privacy and won't give your email to anyone else.
Please watch our getting started video which covers a lot of the questions you may have.
The Parent Dashboard is where parents manage their Functional Education account. You can manage your plan and billing, update payment details, add or remove students, change a student’s class, view invoices, and check learning access and progress.
Students use a separate Learning Hub login to access their lessons.
New to Functional Education? Create your parent account here.
Already have an existing Functional Education account? Connect it here.
Parents can sign in to the Family Dashboard here to manage their plan, billing, students and progress.
New to Functional Education? Create your parent account here.
Already have an existing Functional Education account? Connect it here.
Start your 7-day free trial here. Create your parent account, choose a course and plan size, then add your student or students. No credit card is required to start the trial. Here is a video explaining how to get started.
Classes are numbered by the equivalent year of schooling: Class 1 is the first year, Class 2 is the second year, and so on. Choose the level that best matches your child’s current learning needs rather than relying only on their age.
If the class is too easy or too hard, you can easily change it from the Family Dashboard.
A Family Pass supports up to five students from the same family. Parents manage all students, billing and progress from one Family Dashboard account.
Each student has separate Learning Hub access and progress. Students do not share the parent’s dashboard login.
Don’t have a Family Dashboard yet? Create your parent account here.
If you have a Family Pass, sign in to the Family Dashboard and select Add student in the Your students section. Enter the student’s details and follow the prompts. Each student needs their own email address so their learning access and progress stay separate.
If you are not currently on a Family Pass, use Change plan on your dashboard to choose a plan that supports additional students.
Don’t have a Family Dashboard yet? Create your parent account here.
Sign in to the Family Dashboard. Your trial summary will show when the trial ends and which plan you selected. Choose Start plan, review the billing details, and add your payment method through Stripe Checkout.
If you are currently on a free trial, sign in to the Family Dashboard when you are ready to continue. Your trial summary will show the plan you selected; choose Start plan to continue with that plan, or Change plan to review other options before adding your payment method.
If you do not continue, your 7-day trial ends automatically and you will not be charged.
Your 7-day free trial ends automatically unless you choose Start plan in the Family Dashboard and add a payment method. If you do not continue, you will not be charged.
Check your spam or junk folder first, then make sure you entered the correct email address. You can request a new verification code from the Family Dashboard sign-in screen.
If the code still does not arrive, contact support@functionaleducation.com and tell us the email address you used to register.
Sign in to the Family Dashboard. On your Current plan card, select Change plan, choose Weekly, review the billing summary, and confirm the change.
You do not need to cancel or wait for your current billing period to end.
Don’t have a Family Dashboard yet? Connect your existing account here first.
Holidays are easier with the Family Dashboard. Sign in to the Family Dashboard and select Pause or cancel on your Current plan card.
Choose whether to pause for a number of weeks or until a specific restart date. No charges are made while your plan is paused, and billing will restart on the date you choose. Your students can continue learning until the access end date shown in the dashboard.
Don’t have a Family Dashboard yet? Connect your existing account here first.
If you need help with your account, billing or student access, email support@functionaleducation.com.
For account and billing questions, please include the parent email address associated with your Family Dashboard. For student-learning issues, include the student’s name and learning login email.
You can start your child anytime.
This question is on the MoE application form in New Zealand.
Functional Education delivers lessons that align with the standard NZ curriculum. They are designed to sequentially follow the natural learning progress for each year level. There are planning sheets provided for each topic covered and these sheets contain learning goals and outcomes so that parents can clearly see what the child is aiming to achieve. The senior classes from Class 4-7 have weekly spelling tests. Each topic is designed to have a project/presentation at its conclusion. Some children will present to their families, others will access our platform and share their projects with 'classmates' and receive/give peer feedback as part of this process.
School workbooks are kept as a record of the child's learning throughout the year, along with handcrafts, art and photographs.
Below is a playlist of videos that cover the learning steps for each class, in reading, writing and maths. You may find this useful when applying for an exemption. There is also a short description of what we cover in each course on the curriculum overview page.
Use the playlist button (top right of this youtube player) to skip between classes and subjects)
Home schooling applications are different in each country and region. Before you apply to have a homeschool exemption we suggest you follow these steps:
If you are in New Zealand, and need further help with your exemption, Cynthia Hancox has various resources on her website that can help, as well as an application writing service. Cynthia and her team have processed many exemptions for families planning to use Functional Education.
To view all the relevant laws and requirements for homeschooling in New Zealand. You can read the entire Education and Training Act 2020 here
Our friend Cynthia Hancox has written a fantastic summary of the act here: http://www.cynthiahancox.com/information/relevant-laws-education-and-training-act-2020
Fran’s teaching style is warm, calm, and consistent. Many parents tell us that children who flatly refused to participate in school activities are willing to try Functional Education — often because the classroom pressure is gone, the sensory environment is controlled, and the same familiar teacher shows up every day. The 7-day trial is the best way to find out. There is nothing to lose.
This is the question almost every parent asks. The short answer is: not with a structured programme in place. Functional Education covers all core learning areas at the appropriate level for your child’s year. Many families find that their child actually progresses faster at home, in an environment where the pace is theirs and the anxiety is lower.
info@functionaleducation.com
Questions? Chat directly with the principal on Facebook Messenger.