AHEA Review Committee

As part of a regular review, the AHEA board has formed a Review Committee to gather information and input from AHEA members on the “nature of AHEA” – AHEA’s values, philosophy, objects, bylaws, articles, and major policy documents – in order to confirm or change the direction the organization should take in the future and bring forward at the next AGM any necessary or proposed changes.

This committee will include long-time AHEA members Don Reid, Tom Lipp and Ray Strom so that AHEA’s history can be considered as part of the committee’s body of information. Input should be submitted in writing by AHEA members directly to the Review Committee.

The committee:

• will include at least three but no more than five members,
• will not include current board members nor any person employed by a school board or authority or in a position of authority with the same, and
• will gather information for a period of approximately six months from the 2017 AGM.

Recommendations by the committee will be presented to the board by no later than November 1st 2017 so that committee recommendations in Notices of Motion can be published in order to give public written notice to current members of any changes being proposed at the April 2018 AGM.

Please email your input toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

My name is Chantelle, I'm 15 years old. Everyone we come in contact with effects us. Friends, family, and the people that surround us in our everyday lives. In schools, where kids spend about six hours a day, five days a week, they are heavily influenced by the people around them, which are the teachers and their fellow students. So who is influencing them the most? Well, with the average class size in Alberta being as many as 28 children to one teacher, they are learning how to talk to other people, how to interact with others from other children.

When I am at home, the people who are making their impression on me? My parents. They are my examples of how to maturely interact with other adults, how to hold conversations and speak civilly to others. In schools how many times do you see the teachers talking to each other? Maybe a couple times a day in the few minutes in between classes, but when you have a bully who is being rude to other students, that is what children are picking up, that that is how you speak to other people, and are then treating other students rudely, who will in turn treat others like that. The primary influences in their lives five days a week are children talking to other children. When we have to run to the store for milk I see my parents talking to the cashier, or when we are at a camp or event I see them talking to other parents, and I see them making conversation and that is where I pick up how to talk and interact with other people. One of the benefits of homeschooling is something kids in school simply don’t get, which is modeling and practice; we model ourselves after our parents, and then we have the opportunity to put into practice what we are learning in our everyday lives.

Thank you, and God bless,
Chantelle

The Celbrate Home Education Rally featured several youth who wrote about their home education story. Here is one feature story:

Casey's Homeschooling Success Story

January 2017

I have been homeschooled my whole life, and I will be forever grateful for all the opportunities it has
given me. I have been able to custom make my curriculum and pursue my interests while learning all of
the essential skills I need to survive. My flexible program allows me to go out and explore the real world
through volunteering and part-time jobs. Earning me experience and a level of maturity that leads people
to believe that I am so much older than I really am! Participating in Wisdom’s online reading courses is
always a lot of fun, and I learn just as much from reading the classics as I do from the other students. I
find I am free from most peer pressure because I can focus on my education rather than what other
students think of me or public school dramatics. Homeschooling has helped me shape my dreams, I know
where I want to be in five, ten, fifteen years down the road. I can spend my time making my goals happen
rather than memorizing random facts for a pop quiz. When I look at the difference between
homeschooling and public schooling I am floored by how much more freedom I have opposed to other
students. With that freedom comes responsibility and a need for organization, and whenever those skills
are called upon I know that I am prepared to be depended on and expected of things. Homeschooling has
also taught me the value of hard work, you get what you put into a project, and I know I want the best
result possible, and how to get it. With the customization of my education I can choose what I want to
expand upon by finding educational opportunities outside of the regular classroom setting. I appreciate
my schooling because I know that learning is the lighting of a fire, not the filling of a bucket. I would
never give up my education, I love homeschooling from the deepest corners of my heart and will alway
remember how Wisdom helped me create who I am.

As home educators look forward to Christmas and beyond to a new year, some of the challenges we have experienced in 2016 encourage us to lean even more on Christ Jesus, the reason for our hope.

When reflecting on the past year, there have been events that have caused fear and hardship.

AHEA continues to work to stem the tide of such recent events.

Yet, while we focus on these concerns, it is good to remember the divine at this time when Christians the world over celebrate the birth of the Saviour.

As we consider that God came to earth as an infant, we should contemplate what is truly important in our lives: our own infants, our children of all ages, our families, our faith.

As we think of how the holy infant grew to become a man who would die on a cross, parents today realize that we are not raising children so much as raising the adults they will become.

We chose home education because we wanted to give our children the best and the fullest education: the finest academics, crucial life skills, a strong foundation in good character and faith, and a strong family.

Regardless of what the new year brings, home educators will continue to provide that to their children.

At the same time, we should remember not to hold home educating closer than God.

What we hope for from God is much smaller than what He has planned to give us. We ask for grains of sand, and He desires to bless with beaches.

Over the holidays, please send good tidings to our elected officials: MLAs, the Education Minister, the Premier.

Christmas cards of goodwill, prayers, and seasonal messages of love, hope, peace and joy are encouraged.

Those messages of peace and joy also go out to all of you from all of the volunteers of the Alberta Home Education Association: have a happy and holy Christmas.