#77: Homeschooling in Australia with Stefania, a Public School Educator Who Homeschools

What if the educational system could be reimagined to truly benefit our children? Join us on this thought-provoking episode of The Homeschool How To podcast as we welcome Stefania, a public school teacher and passionate homeschooling mom, to discuss the burgeoning homeschooling trends in Australia.

We delve into a critical examination of the current education system, highlighting frustrations with standardized testing and the lack of historical and cultural context. We explore the influence of figures like the Rockefellers on modern schooling, and the growing concerns around gender identity in schools. We also discuss alternative resources, such as the Tuttle Twins books, for a more engaging history education. Don't miss this comprehensive exploration of homeschooling's benefits, challenges, and unique opportunities!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Welcome to this week's episode of the Homeschool How-To. I'm Cheryl and I invite you to join me on my quest to find out why are people homeschooling, how do you do it, how does it differ from region to region, and should I homeschool my kids? Stick with me as I interview homeschooling families across the country to unfold the answers to each of these questions week by week. Welcome, and with us today I have Stefania from Australia. Stefania, thank you so much for being here.

Speaker 2: 0:39

Thank you, Cheryl, for having me on the show. I'm really excited to be on here.

Speaker 1: 0:43

I won't do any of the corny American jokes like you know, oh, from down under, or let's see it's tomorrow there, don't tell me what's happening. Yeah, you know, so we'll just get into. All right, so you homeschool, correct, that's right, yes, I do.

Speaker 2: 1:00

And how many kids do you have? I am blessed with one beautiful daughter, but I also have other people's children in my space, which is also a really big blessing for me and my daughter and the families that come into our home.

Speaker 1: 1:17

Oh, that's so cool. So what even got you into homeschooling in the first place?

Speaker 2: 1:26

got you into homeschooling in the first place. Okay, so I feel like I was organically led here for many, many years. That's just the way that God works. I'm a big believer in that. So in the nineties, my Baptist cousins were homeschooled and, to be honest, I just thought they're a little bit weird. You know what was all this homeschooling thing about? And then, when my daughter was two so that was like five years ago I started to join homeschool groups. So I'm also a teacher. I've been a teacher in public schools now for 20 odd years and I just wanted to know what homeschooling was all about. How is it done, you know, how do these moms even know what to do when they're not teachers? So that's where I was. Five years ago, I actually even got booted out of some homeschool groups, like on Facebook, because obviously, when I answered some questions, yeah, they were like are you a homeschooling mom or are you a teacher? Because I was answering from a teacher's point of view. So yeah, just um started five years ago, just curious and here I am.

Speaker 1: 2:30

So now you are actually homeschooling, so you're not getting booted out of groups anymore, right?

Speaker 2: 2:35

No, I'm not getting booted out of groups. I even lead some um, yeah, and I I should have added that I think um with lockdowns a few years ago my daughter was three, so we connected with a lot of like-minded families at that time that were already homeschooling. So, yeah, you know, often people ask about socialization. It's often the very first thing that people ask probably the least of our worries. We're so social, which I'm sure we'll talk about later on the show. But yeah, I was connected with homeschooling families. Yeah, probably from when my daughter was three, during lockdowns and yeah, and then in the local community homeschooling became probably like in the states as well, became kind of very popular. It's still continuing to grow in Australia in probably at a rate of 10% per year and in our local area we have, like I admin a Facebook group and we have over 400 families in that just that one Facebook group and there's multiple around the area.

Speaker 1: 3:40

Wow, okay. So I know there are some countries where homeschooling is illegal, and in the States back in the eighties, we had places that it was illegal too. Has it ever been illegal in Australia, or do you fear that coming down the pipeline?

Speaker 2: 3:55

Um, I I don't fear it coming down the pipeline. I know in our um Queens, the state of Queensland, which, if you know Bluey, that's where Bluey's from it's north of New South Wales they were tightening things up and there were some fabulous organisations and homeschool groups that were really fighting that because, yeah, the kind of more government control on homeschooling family was definitely this was just recently, like a couple of months ago was definitely starting to, the government was definitely starting to tighten things up. Do I fear that it'll become illegal?

Speaker 1: 4:31

no, I don't yeah, good, so did you have to leave your teaching job, uh?

Speaker 2: 4:39

good question. I haven't left my teaching job yet. I have cut back and scaled back a lot, which is, you know, obviously financially on our family, with the right cost of living rising, and things has been difficult. People often say, oh, you're so lucky to homeschool, but I do feel that it's. You know, every homeschooling family makes different sacrifices and to me it's been the greatest investment and I feel a little bit like almost like I've got one foot there and one foot here. I'm a public school teacher and obviously a lot of what I see in public education doesn't align with my values as such and our family values. I would definitely like to leave teaching completely. To be honest, when I'm there I think like I wish more families could see that there is a better way. That is definitely possible for anybody that you know has the desire or wants to homeschool. Yeah, so it's honestly been and I say it time and time again the best teaching and learning being a homeschool mom that I've ever experienced.

Speaker 1: 5:48

Okay, so what do you teach when you're in the public school?

Speaker 2: 5:51

Okay, so I don't teach curriculum. So in 2012, I retrained and got my master's and did a master's of special ed focusing or specializing in vision. So that means that I teach students with vision impairment and I can go from preschool to year 12, what we call our final year here and that, I think, has been my saving grace, because in that role I'm not teaching curriculum, I'm in and out of schools and I've actually been able to see like the whole spectrum of the public education system, from preschool to high school, all the gaps, all the holes, and that really was my, I guess my driving force in homeschooling my daughter. Now, look, I am not in any way shaming anyone who needs to send their child or kids to public schools. I was, I am, I came out of public schools myself.

Speaker 2: 6:44

I've been a public school teacher for what? 20 odd years. But there definitely is. I think anybody who's honest a parent or teacher can definitely see that it's a system in crisis, definitely here in Australia. I'm sure the same thing happens in the States. I think really only Finland and places like that tend to get it right, but they also do things very differently than we do in Australia and the US. And now, cheryl, I've forgotten your main question.

Speaker 1: 7:08

Oh, um, I had asked what you taught in when you, you know, are in public school. And so I gather that you maybe used to teach more curriculum based and then now you've moved, since you've scaled back your hours. Yes, now you get to see it from a different perspective.

Speaker 2: 7:23

Yeah so yeah, thank you for that. Now you get to see it from a different perspective. Yeah so yeah, thank you for that. Yeah, so in 2012, I retrained.

Speaker 1: 7:28

I sort of went on a tangent there In 2012,.

Speaker 2: 7:30

I retrained, did my master's, so now I teach students with vision impairment. So part of my role is to teach them the expanded core curriculum and a lot of that is advocacy, because you know they have that disability. So it's different. It's not teaching curriculum as such. I used to teach curriculum, but I'm in classrooms where they teach curriculum and ensuring that they have equal access to the curriculum. So a big part of that is giving them lots of tools in their toolbox Advocacy, which is a big one. You know it doesn't matter if you have a disability or not, but I think it's important. That's such a big thing for me advocacy in any shape of their life. So that's why I am still there and I do that two days. It's good to do that because I'm not on class. It's quite a good role, but it's hard being in the public education system.

Speaker 1: 8:17

Yeah, I have a couple of questions, so okay. So first, what is it that they do in Finland that's different from the US and Australia? That does work.

Speaker 2: 8:26

Okay. So I read a book, a book, teach Like Finland. And one thing that they do do is they have 45 minute cycles and then they stop for 15 minutes, including the teachers, so everybody's well rested. You know, unlike we do states, or in australia, where it's a much longer teaching cycle, they also start later. They're not starting, you know. I know in australia, here we can start at four and a half. Um, they start at the age of seven, and when they do start, they might only be especially in the elementary or primary school. They have two hours in the classroom and then they're out in the forest, they're skiing, they're outside in all weather rather than being under these fluorescent lights for most of the day. So there's a lot of things that they do right that we don't.

Speaker 1: 9:15

And that's interesting. So you know it's definitely like that in the States. You know where we're under the fluorescent lights all day. You know you're moving from. Every time a bell rings, you know that's your indication to get up and move to your next location, no matter what you were doing or working on, it doesn't matter. It's time to stop and move along. So that is one of the things that I do just like.

Speaker 1: 9:36

Love about the idea of homeschooling is that you can keep going if it's you know that's what you're working on and you're enjoying it, or you need longer to figure out that problem. I know, just even working on the podcast, it's hard if I get interrupted, if my daughter needs me to go in and help her nurse or something. Just stopping in the middle of that and then remembering where I left off to go pick up and continue editing or whatever I was doing, it's so hard. So how do we expect these kids to do it for nine different subjects in a day? It is pretty crazy. Okay, so now you're at home with your daughter she's is she seven? Yes, how do you bring education to her, knowing the background that you have from being a teacher and seeing gee? This isn't the best way to do it. What are the principles that you bring to her education that are different than what is done in the public school system?

Speaker 2: 10:31

Okay. So I guess I feel like I take the best bits of you know the curriculum as such, or public school I won't say public school the curriculum. I look at the outcomes and then we just incorporate that with her passions, her interest. You know a little bit of Montessori, charlotte Mason. Honestly, I don't really have a particular style as such. I just go with whatever I'm really.

Speaker 2: 10:59

You know, in teaching we're taught. Go with, you know, student-led, student-led, student-led. You can't really do that properly and very well in a classroom when you've got 30 students. But at home, you know, with you know two, three, four, five children, whatever it might be, you can really do that. So I think that is the the point of difference. So, yeah, I look.

Speaker 2: 11:19

I don't follow a curriculum. I know lots of families might purchase curriculum. They often ask me what I do. I look at the because we're registered here. So we look at the outcomes that need to be met and then we just tie it in with her passions, like, for example, you know pre-reading or those kindergarten outcomes of reading. Why does it have to be with a pencil, like we can do writing with a stick in the sand or, you know, out in nature, we call it the bush stick in the sand or you know, out in the in nature we call it the bush here, not the forest. You know, counting all of those things incorporated in. We love being in the outdoors. We're actually doing the thousand hour challenge, thousand hours outside challenge, so we just incorporate it. I just feel like teaching at home is just so like I know what the outcomes are and we just do it like organically in whatever.

Speaker 1: 12:07

Yeah, we do. Yeah, that's awesome. I uh, that's really cool that the thousand hours outside is is over. Uh, in your neck of the woods as well. I haven't actually done it, but I don't, I don't know. I don't think it'd be a problem, cause it's like 9 PM here in New York and my kids are still outside. It's dark out Like I don't know what they're doing, but my husband is out there with them, but I'm like it's a. Monday night Like get inside and eat dinner.

Speaker 2: 12:33

You can't get them inside. I love that. This is our third year and I have to be honest, we haven't met a thousand hours. My daughter is one of those girls who loves her craft and her art and so she likes to be inside. She has been begging for the last three years to get a puppy because she says that's what will get her outside in our backyard more. But we are out a lot, and when I say out, we are out with friends, in parks, at the beach. Yeah, so we are, we're not out. She's not outside till nine o'clock at night because she does like to just be indoors, and that's part of the reason why we're doing it. It's a challenge.

Speaker 1: 13:11

Yeah, Well, I'm sure it'll change. I mean, my daughter's not even two yet, my son is is five. He'll be six soon. So yeah, they're from the moment. I couldn't even get him to sit this morning till I was like we have to do some curriculum, dude. It's been like five weeks and he sat down and it was a little tough for him, I'm like you want to go out and ride your four-wheeler, don't you? All right, just go, we don't get that many nice days, I bet the weather's warming up.

Speaker 1: 13:35

Yes, and I see you're kind of in like colder gear. Is it cold there?

Speaker 2: 13:47

Yes, it is, but we, as you can see, the sun is streaming in, so we're very blessed with mild winters. We don't get any snow. Yeah, which is I mean? I do love the snow I spent six months in Canada and I absolutely love it but I don't love shoveling dragways like you probably do in New York.

Speaker 1: 13:59

Yeah, we get quite a bit too, but oh, that's cool. So, all right, has your daughter ever like questions? And mom, I think I might want to try school or, you know, give you any indication that she might want to go to public school, and what would you do if she did?

Speaker 2: 14:14

Um, okay, so I think like a lot of I don't. I shouldn't speak for a lot, but I know some in my circles. They often will say I'm going to ring the local public school and get you a uniform and you're going to school. If you're not going to learn with me, I'll send you down the road. And when I've done that, I think that's everybody's stuff, every mum hack. But when I've done that, she literally like cries, she does not want to go to school at all. Like I said, we've been connected with homeschool groups since she was three. So all all of her friends are homeschooling. She's like. She's like I'll never get to see my friends if I don't homeschool. And you know, we do have friends that go to school. Our cousin, her cousins, go to school and even though they they do enjoy it and they love it, she just she knows how good it is.

Speaker 1: 15:01

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Speaker 1: 16:07

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Speaker 1: 16:53

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Speaker 2: 17:23

And I tell her you know, when I've gone to school, what my day looks like as a teacher at school, and sometimes I say, oh, I was so bored today because of this, this, this, this, and I'm like and look what you've done. Like I remember one day my mum had her and she went on this amazing birthday party like on a Monday. I was at work and she's out horse riding, braiding braiding horses, like on a Monday. I'm like, do you realize how blessed you are? Like everyone else will. Mostly was at school, like you said before, trapped under fluorescent lights, going from bell time to bell time and not able to enjoy their friends and sunshine, and a birthday party midweek, like on a Monday.

Speaker 1: 18:03

Yeah, that sunshine is key. I mean, it's June, it's starting to get nice. It was like an 80 degree day today and I did say to my son this morning kids, your age, you're in school right now. This whole day, this whole day of sunshine, they've been inside under fluorescent lights, with maybe a window cracked, with all the dust probably coming in. But like, how lucky that we got to be outside.

Speaker 1: 18:29

And I'm normally used to being, you know, in a cubicle and a nasty building with windows that don't even open. So, you know, I look at that as like, wow, I'm so lucky to actually get to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. And it's so silly to say that out loud, like if I were talking to someone from you know, a hundred years ago or 500 years ago and be like, oh, I got to enjoy the weather today and the sun. They'd be like, yeah, of course, why would anyone lock themselves up in an old, musty room with fake lighting? You know it, we're so like indoctrinated that that's normal, that we don't even see that being outside is what's normal.

Speaker 2: 19:10

Oh, 100%. And you look at even most adults. They're working indoors, you know, in an office, often just with air conditioning on. They might be lucky to have a window. And yeah, like you mentioned before about the bell times and things, and John john guttel in his books, uh, weapons of math instruction. I don't know if you've read that you're nodding. Um, I've read dumbing us down oh, yes, yes, dumbing us down.

Speaker 2: 19:36

He's right. Yeah, in there as well, he talks. You know a lot about that exact same thing. You know the bells going, the in, being indoors, like you just just said, and it does seem so insane that we're indoctrinated to think that that is normal and being outside is weird and it's sad. Like sometimes I'll ask my students what are you doing in the holidays, like we've got a break coming up soon. Boys in particular, they'll often say I'm just going to be playing, being on the games, gaming, and it's like we have, especially in Australia, like we have so many days of sunshine and very, very mild weather. I don't know what it is in in Fahrenheit, but we have glorious days to be outside, where boys in particular, you know, depending on their age, climbing trees, riding bikes, like you just said, exploring all the things I mean mean girls as well, girls as well. But I find boys in particular, even in their holidays, they're inside, just being in front of a screen and you know, I wonder if there's a lot to be said about that being inside constantly.

Speaker 1: 20:39

It does a lot to the psyche and I, yeah it. And your health. You, just you need sunshine just to stay healthy. Now, what are the reporting requirements? If you have any, what are they like in Australia?

Speaker 2: 20:50

Okay, so we have NESA, which is our, our, like, countrywide education. Okay, let me think, national education. I should know what it is. It's a board. They do the end of year exams as well, Like for year twelves and things like that. Year 10, I should know, I should know this. But, oh, and the year seven and the year nine mandatory it's a board. They do the end-of-year exams as well, like for Year 12s and things like that Year 10. I should know, I should know this. Oh, and the Year 7 and the Year 9, mandatory testing and things like that in schools.

Speaker 2: 21:14

So what it looks like in Australia the first year I'll speak for New South Wales, which is where Sydney is. The first year you register to homeschool, you get one-year approval, one-year approval and then the NESA, the governing, like the authorised person, comes out and just, you know, checks the work that you've done against outcomes and then, like in our case, we got then approved for two years from there and, honestly, like our NESA, ap. So the authorised person, I mean she goes to many homeschooling homes and families and she said, like every homeschooling family just has so much to show above and beyond, like I think about. You know, as I said before, my daughter is very creative, she's a creative type and last year a few of us families got together and we did the play on. I was going to say Matilda, that's this year's. Last year was Charlotte's Web and you know, when, you know, at seven, or she was in, like you know, six last year, would she be able to be part of this production in a small group like that and, you know, be part of all the things the props, the acting, fundraising.

Speaker 2: 22:30

Our entry fee was a donation for a church that does like an arc of love and they feed every week families that you know don't have, for example, the money for food or they might have a roof over their head but not the refrigeration. So, yeah, it's the arc of love and like, what a beautiful. It's just a holistic, such a beautiful experience that a few families came together and did this and I didn't even know that my daughter had was such a great little actress. Um, she won the. The award that night, like you know, just opened up so many beautiful opportunities, and when I'm showing my Nessa AP all of these things and the art that she's done and she's done woodwork and I was like she was blown away and so am I when you put it all together and you look back at your year, your photos, the things you've created, the ceramics of this, so that it's just kind of like, wow, we've done so much, like so much. You know more than, say, a six-year-old would have done at school.

Speaker 1: 23:28

Yeah, and sometimes I feel like, oh, am I doing enough with the crafts or, you know, teaching all the little subjects that I'm supposed to be? Because in school you think about, like you know, that folder that they send home at the end of the year and it's like, oh well, they did all this stuff, but that's also. They're there like for six to eight hours a day, five days a week. So of course I got to do something. And when you know we're doing things like the caterpillars, watching them every day and turning into the chrysalis and then turning into the butterfly, it's like, well, I, you know that all counts too.

Speaker 1: 24:03

That might not be like a project that although, who knows, we could actually paint a butterfly and make that part of it too, but you know it all counts. It's just a little bit more organic, maybe when you're doing it at home. Then okay, here, paint a butterfly. Now that was your art project. You know there's just, I don't know, making the whole living space for the butterfly kind of is an art project on its own, you know. So it's almost like you organically do this stuff. And then you kind of have to be creative when you're putting together your reports to say, oh yeah, well, we did all of that. We did that science and art and whatnot. I love the idea of the acting thing, and I know that there's acting communities around the area that even have, you know, school kids, and I'm sure homeschool kids could be a part of it. I never even thought about that, or like it sounds like your team is just all homeschooled kids, which is so cool too.

Speaker 2: 24:56

Yes, we are. We have a very passionate teacher, high school teacher, who is one of our local moms and she does theater herself and, yeah, she's been coaching. So this year is Matilda, we perform that in August and she's been coaching and the kids really like, they really shine and come out of their shell, even the ones that you know are introverted. And yeah, I mean, like you said, this is what I love about home education.

Speaker 2: 25:23

I actually don't even like using the word homeschooling because you know it's so different to school.

Speaker 2: 25:28

You know, when you unplug and detach from, like the education system and it just allows so much more time to pursue your passions and you know that creative thinking and a whole heap of potential and possibilities and, like you said, I love that word organic like everything just kind of happens organically and you don't feel like you're doing very much, but then when you look at it you're like, oh, that activity or those days that you've just spent on looking at the butterfly has kicked off science, art, you know, even if you're writing an information report, some literacy, but it's all just happened so organically.

Speaker 2: 26:08

And following, again, you know, your child's passion and interests, yeah, rather than just following a list of or a scope and sequence, as they have to do in the classroom, and I'm not, you know, diminishing in any way. What schools and teachers? There's a lot of passionate teachers that try really, really hard, but they're working within a system and you know there might be little Johnny there that all of a sudden, yes, he does want to pursue this. But we need to move on because you know I've got reports and assessments that are due. You know we've got statewide assessments, benchmarks. To me, it's all about ticking those boxes and you're not really going in deep into any subject. So doing it organically is what I love best.

Speaker 1: 26:49

Cheryl, and that's what I was going to actually ask you.

Speaker 1: 26:52

Next is in the States.

Speaker 1: 26:54

I've talked to a lot of teachers on this podcast, a lot of teachers who have left teaching to homeschool their kids or home educate, and a lot of them say that it's a very common theme that the school systems here in the States, everything is run by funding. So you know we basically. And then when you look at that even further into the grants that the schools are getting, you know they're getting federal and state dollars and in order to maintain those grants or to qualify for them next year, they have to maintain certain test scores and if they don't maintain the test scores, then the teachers look bad and it's this whole snowball effect of, like you said, you can't even go in deep because everything is about this teach to the test and it doesn't matter if the kid likes the subject and wants to go into further or does not like it and needs more time. It's just kind of like we got to skim the surface just know what you need to know for the test and then we'll move on. Is it like that in Australia?

Speaker 2: 27:57

Yes, a hundred percent. I was like into a geography lesson last week and assessment time coming up, because we have what? Four weeks left of school, so they've got to do the assessment for the end of semester, plus then the reports, and this teacher's like, oh, my class is ahead, so now I need to slow down what I'm learning. So this is just fill in work. And here we were like a you know a whole 50 minute period on on what it was, because the other classes hadn't got up to where she had so it. So it had nothing to do with the group of children or students or young people that she had in front of her. It was more about I have to slow things down for the test that's coming up, for the assessment. Like in what world does that? Like, if we stop and think about it, where does that make sense? Like if I would be, like you could tell the lesson was so boring, the kids were disengaged, the teacher was disengaged.

Speaker 2: 28:51

But yes, they definitely teach to the test. And when we have nat plan, which is a national assessment which happens in year three, year five, year seven, year nine, yeah, they just teach. This is in the test and you hear it over and over. You need to know this because it's going to be in the test. This know this because it's going to be in the test. This is important because it's going to be in the assessment. That's the same here.

Speaker 1: 29:12

That's so disappointing to know that it's like that elsewhere too. I was hoping it was just a state's thing and I try to really research into the history of education and it's like when it from Horace Mann to the Rockefellers and Prussia and how everything was done. It really it makes you so angry about this system that someone put me through it and, yeah, I really get to the point where I'm like, of course I'm not going to send my kid Like just because of what you know, the reason that you all started education, the education system, for no, I'm not going to send my kid to that just to be defiant. But has it always been? Have you ever kind of researched like the history of education in Australia? I know that you know it's stuff kind of came from the US to you guys. But how was it before? Were people living on farms, families farming and you know, like raising their own food, and you go to school for a couple of years to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and then work on the family farm.

Speaker 2: 30:16

I actually think that perhaps Australia's history is actually worse in some cases than this state. The reason being is because Australia was set up, you know state the reason being is because Australia was set up, you know, basically as a big prison. They, when the English came, they were bringing over prisoners right in 1788. I know there was the indigenous Australians here before. So you can just imagine, you can look up Australian education system so you can just imagine, like the way that, yeah, the Australian system is because its foundations were basically for prisoners and prisoners' kids. Obviously there was the free settlers here as well and you know the British Army and things like that that came.

Speaker 2: 31:04

But, yeah, like I, my 21 year old cousins that know English, italian and Latin, they can't like Australians. Australian kids don't come out with any of that, you know. And also, when I said, yeah, I'm graduating to be a teacher at that age you know I was 21 and a half they couldn't believe it, because to become a teacher, like in Italy, you didn't, just you couldn't be a teacher at 21. You still need to do so many more studies and things like that. So that's a whole nother podcast about the Australian history and the education system, but of course. Yes, it's also comes from the same Rockefeller and yeah, things like that.

Speaker 1: 31:41

That's so crazy, and I guess that just goes to show how little I learned in public school, because I never even thought about where the history of other countries came from, like who settled there, who was native to the land and who settled there and how did that impact, how everything went. And that's just like the standard naivety you know of, of the American. I guess too, but they don't teach you any of that in school.

Speaker 1: 32:04

They don't even not even to teach. They don't even question it. Like, hey, you guys, you ever thought about the other? Like we talk about who settled in America and how we're so bad. You know Americans are just so bad because we brought slaves over and okay, yes, that's true, but they don't teach you about all the other countries that did the same thing and that you know this whole kind of like what was going on in the rest of the world at the time and before, or even what was going on in America before you know about. So, um, I I really can't wait to get into all that stuff with my kids. Like that to me is exciting. I hope that I have that fire lit under me that they can see and then they want to learn it too, cause in school I just hated history. I didn't know why we had to learn it and no teacher ever did a really great job at like sparking that light.

Speaker 2: 32:53

I was the same. I was not interested in history, I was more a geography person. But in the States you've got the books written by the Tuttle twins.

Speaker 1: 33:01

Yes, have you heard of that?

Speaker 1: 33:03

Oh, my goodness, I'm an affiliate and I just actually I had the illustrator on two weeks ago, elijah Stanfield, and I had the author Connor Boyack on last year. So yeah, I had a really cool conversation with Elijah, but I I, my children are not old enough to really do the history books right now. But I'm super excited to do it Cause I was talking to him about where he came up with the concepts and the book that he used and based the information in the Tuttle Twins history books from. But go on, you were going to talk about it.

Speaker 2: 33:36

Oh no, I was just going to say like that would give you a better perspective of America. I mean, we've got them. We've got them as well, and my daughter's of the same. We haven't read them yet, but I definitely got my hands on the whole set. I'm excited to look into those books and find out the history of yeah, of it all, of not just the education system but everything else that they cover. But I didn't realize that you're an affiliate, cheryl. That's awesome.

Speaker 1: 34:01

Oh yeah, I love talking about their stuff, the books. I read them all the time with my son. He loves them and it's like I'm not even just saying that because, like you know, I want people to buy them, but like my son really will ask to read them all the time. The morals in them are just so good and they talk about the laws and, uh, what is just, what isn't? You know right from wrong. Like you, don't find a lot of books like that. Oh, definitely.

Speaker 2: 34:24

It's getting harder and harder to find a good children's book, isn't it?

Speaker 1: 34:28

So we kind of got into how you guys, you know, really run by testing. What does your daughter need to graduate? I know you talked about this national testing that kids do that are in school. Will your daughter be able to take those tests? Does she have to take those tests in, order, to quote unquote, graduate her homeschool with you? Like, how is she considered a graduate?

Speaker 2: 34:50

Oh, that's a good question. I'm not really entirely sure of the exact answer because I haven't thought that much ahead. But with NAP plan, those national testings that I said, they our homeschool students can opt in to do those. They don't have to. But we know that those kids that are home educated often outperform their school peers. I know a lot of universities actually really favour home educated families and young people and I actually have a friend that her daughter's 16 and has already started like her university degree. So there's always so many pathways into college, university, wherever that is. But to be honest, I haven't really looked into into that. But yeah, I'm sure she can sit like the national, the what we call the HSC. Okay, yeah, which is the final year 12 exam.

Speaker 1: 35:46

In our schools here in America right now. It's just crazy. It is just that crazy. We've got kids dressing up like animals. They're putting litter boxes in classes. If a kid thinks they're an animal, they're pushing this transgender thing. There is no God in any school. That you know. That that is. You can't talk about that, but you know, is that sort of stuff going on in Australia too, or is that just an American thing?

Speaker 2: 36:17

Uh, it's definitely not isolated to America and I think we, you and I both probably know that the reason is is a bigger agenda there. With that, and although I haven't seen, like I said, I do go to multiple high schools, although I haven't seen it for myself. I know the schools that have bowls for those kids that identify as a furry, and, yeah, and I, I can see as well, I have seen at schools where you can't really tell if a young person is a girl or a boy. You know, in a co-ed school they have. Yeah, it's really hard to tell them.

Speaker 2: 36:55

I have nail polish on but they look quite. Yeah, it's, it's definitely creeping in, and more and more schools, um, high schools, have got young people transitioning, which is you, I'm a Christian, and you can call it conservative or counterculture, which is, yeah, really hard to see. And when I've raised this before on my social media, I know one mom said that her child, who is 10, you know, is battling this and suicidal thoughts and depression, so it just comes with a whole host of other things, which is, yeah, it's really disheartening, heartbreaking, and yeah, it's here, cheryl, and I think it's creeping in everywhere.

Speaker 1: 37:38

Gosh, that's so sad to hear, and it's like you're taking kids at a time. That is what adolescence of time that is what?

Speaker 1: 37:53

adolescence, puberty, there's confusion everywhere. We don't have solid homes, a lot of families are broken. Um, parents are working all the time, don't have the time to bond with their kid. Of course kids are feeling alone. The social media, the video games alone. The social media, the video games, the propaganda on all the TV, the social media sites, everywhere. Of course they are going to feel less than because they're comparing themselves to everything that they see.

Speaker 1: 38:21

And then, you know, have this propaganda telling them hey, the fix is you got to just switch genders. And it's like. It's just sickening that you know I. There may be a small percentage of people where that may be the real case, but for so many, if you can hear these interviews with people who were pushed into transitioning and then they come out on the other side and they're even more unhappy than they were. They were pushed into it by the doctors who are telling the parents, would you rather have an alive daughter than a dead son? And you know they're. They're like all saying these same buzzwords, so you know that they're hearing it from somewhere else and it's all you know. These pharmaceutical companies are gaining again. It's just the whole process, to me is just so sad for these kids that are being taken advantage of.

Speaker 2: 39:17

Yeah, and it's um, it's becoming younger and younger, um. I shared that there was a preschool, so we're talking three and four year olds. That was after some lgbtq, and they use the word inclusive books to read. Yeah, and I, I know I had a. I have a friend who her daughter was five at the time and at her preschool her so her friend had two moms, but one of the mom looked like she was a man. So then suddenly that woman who was looking like a man wanted to have a baby of her own. And then she comes home at five and my friend's having to have this conversation because, you know little Cheryl's dad is pregnant.

Speaker 1: 40:07

Hello everyone. If you've been with me for a little bit now, you have heard me talk about the children's book that I wrote and guess what? It has been released. I wrote a book called let's Talk Emergencies and the reason being is that I was going through homeschooling curriculum with my son and they would touch upon pertinent information like memorizing your name, mom's name, your phone number, your address and things like what to do in a fire. But I noticed that it really only skimmed the surface. It didn't really get down into the nitty gritty and it didn't repeat often enough that it would actually solidify in his brain if an emergency were to happen. I started talking to teachers and asking them what goes on in the classroom, and they also agreed that in schools you kind of skim the surface, but the bulk of teaching your child what they need to know in an emergency is something that teachers actually feel the parents are responsible for. But do the teachers tell the parents that at the beginning of the year? Should parents just know this? When do you have time to sit down and think about what are the extras that my kid needs to know that school isn't teaching. On top of that, I have known a couple of people that have lost children in tragic situations and I really just wanted to do something that was good for others. So I wrote the book let's Talk Emergencies.

Speaker 1: 41:20

My illustrator, cheryl Krauthamel. She's a retired NYPD officer, so she was the perfect fit for drawing these illustrations. We have hid a nine, a one and a one in every single illustration, so you and your child can have so much fun looking for each of those. You can also have fun looking for what trouble baby sister is causing in the background, potentially causing an emergency situation. My book is available on Amazon. I have an activity book that goes right along with it. For this week, and this week only, until August 1st, you can get 15% off of my book, and if you have Amazon Prime, it's free shipping. So head on over to the link in my show's description and grab the book today, because it will not be 15% off after that, it will be up to $14.99.

Speaker 1: 42:01

I want you to have this information. I want your kids to have this information. I mean, do your kids know how to call 911 from a locked cell phone? So if somebody is at home with your child watching them and they have a stroke or sudden adult death syndrome. Does your child know how to unlock their cell phone to call 911? So grab the link in my show's description and get your copy of let's Talk Emergencies, and don't forget to pair it with let's Talk Emergencies, the activity book today. I thank you so much for your support and if you could, please, please, please, write me a review on Amazon after you get the book and let me know what you think. I'm trying to get 100 reviews in the first 30 days and I really need your help to get there. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2: 42:44

And it's kind of like yeah, these conversations are happening like younger and younger and the push, I guess, from government and you know, different boards are starting in childcare to read inclusive books to three and four-year-olds, which is totally unnecessary. Anyone would agree that they don't need to have that extra confusion. I mean, three and four-year-olds are mostly still believing in Santa and the tooth fairy and everything else. So yeah, it's um, yeah, it's definitely worldwide yeah, so do you guys.

Speaker 1: 43:21

I would say I was. Would ask are you looking at America and saying like, come on your eyes, you guys are supposed to be like the leaders, the ones to revolt and take control back. Is that kind of sentiment going on where you are, or is it like we're all kind of in a sinking ship and the one that's about to take control I assume China or the BRICS Russia, india, china they're just kind of looking to take over and we're all in a sinking ship on the other side.

Speaker 2: 43:54

Yeah, pretty much we're in that sinking ship with you, Cheryl.

Speaker 1: 44:00

Yeah, yeah, that's sad, especially because we have young kids and you want the future bright for them. And it is so hard because these parents that are, you know, dressing their kids in the rainbows and going to the parades and this stuff, like you know, they have the best intentions because they've what they've done, these elites or whoever has taken, you know, your heartstrings and just manipulated people and and and then pitted people against each other. So it's like it's so hard because nobody is coming at this from a hate perspective. It's just that you have people who want family values and freedom and you know to not live in slavery, whether that be within the four walls of a classroom or you know, we just want to like, have that strong family unit.

Speaker 1: 44:53

And when you look back at you know even the Rockefellers and the whole push to get women in the workforce. I know for us that happened around like the sixties and well and even further back in the world wars, when the men went to war. It was kind of when the women had to get into the workforce. And then you think about wow, did the wars even happen organically or was that orchestrated because they wanted to kind of break apart the family unit then. So take the men away, kill a lot of them, put the women in the workforce. Now we've got, you know, hungry, starving people that need our help. Enter government. Your savior, it's really, it's, it's quite, it's very interesting. I mean it'd make a great movie if it weren't real.

Speaker 2: 45:37

Yeah, and what you're saying about, you know the States, is exactly a copy and paste in Australia and I'm sure it's the same in in england and new zealand and canada. It's just copy paste, copy paste.

Speaker 1: 45:51

yeah, wow that's too bad. That's really too bad. I thought what's finland doing? Should we all go there? I mean, maybe I don't even know where that is on the map. I have a public education, so what? All right, as we close up, can you talk to us about gather and grow? What have you created here?

Speaker 2: 46:11

okay. So, um, gather and grow uh started pretty much at because so 2020, end of 2021, we had just um been well, we had our mandates. I'm sure I can talk about that openly here. Um, so we were in lockdown. All the things can't leave five kilometre LGA. From June to November, the vaccinated were allowed out, the unvaccinated weren't allowed out until December, mid-december. So that's when Gather and Grow started. There was a whole bunch of new homeschooling families and, yeah, it just started, just started with, you know, some breeding groups and tutoring families, private tuition, all of that sort of thing. Yeah, and co-ops started to form from there as well. We just got bigger and yeah, and now we're kind of pivoting a little bit with gather and grow, like I was giving a lot of you know, result.

Speaker 2: 47:06

I still do resources tools tips with my teaching background, because you know there were a lot of parents you know I still do resources tools tips with my teaching background because you know there were a lot of parents that were saying I don't know how to do this and I'm like, yes, you can. This is the result of the education system. If you feel, as a mother, that you cannot teach your child, then you definitely can, and I'm a big advocate for that. Anybody that has it on their heart to homeschool, they most definitely can. And I know the other thing often parents say, well, I'd love to homeschool, but you know I need to work or we can't afford to, or whatever.

Speaker 2: 47:42

So, with Gather and Grow, it's my mission now as well. I've started affiliate marketing in the online space and just to open up that door for families that are already homeschooling or have a desire to homeschool yeah, just to earn income in their own time, on their own terms and in a time and place that suits their family. So, yeah, that's, yeah, that's my gather and grow page. I share truths and my you know, I call it the teacher gone rogue falls in all of motherhood and teaching. I just, you know again organically share, vulnerably share. You know my story and where I've come from and where we're at, so yeah, oh, that's so cool.

Speaker 1: 48:28

Yeah, I agree with you a hundred percent. If you feel that you can't adequately teach your child with the education that you were given in the public school, why would you send your child to the exact same place?

Speaker 2: 48:44

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 48:44

Yes, Steph. Thank you so much for joining us today. This has been such a pleasure talking to you.

Speaker 2: 48:50

Oh, it's been my pleasure and thank you for having me my very first podcast. I really enjoyed our chat. I'm sure he could have kept on talking about many different things that we just touched on. It's been a pleasure, cheryl.

Speaker 1: 49:04

Absolutely yeah. They'll shut our internet off if we go any further. The elites will be on to us. Well, thank you so much. I am a little sad that you don't have brighter information for us from the other side of the world there, but together, if we keep having these conversations and more and more people hear the message, maybe we can make the change for our kids, cause we do have, you know, stake in the game. We gotta, we gotta change things for our kids.

Speaker 2: 49:34

Yeah, and that's how the change starts, right. It starts with your family, then other families, and then it just has this ripple effect. And you know, when you're doing things your way, they don't really like that, but if it's something that you've been called to do, then I say go for it, and God bless you Exactly.

Speaker 1: 49:56

Thank you so much, stefania. Have a wonderful, I guess, day for you, nighttime for me.

Speaker 2: 50:03

Yes, yes, and sweet dreams, cheryl.

Speaker 1: 50:07

Thank you for tuning into this week's episode of the Homeschool How-To. Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the Homeschool how To. If you've enjoyed what you heard and you'd like to contribute to the show, please consider leaving a small tip using the link in my show's description. Or, if you'd rather, please use the link in the description to share this podcast with a friend or on your favorite homeschool group Facebook page. Any effort to help us keep the podcast going is greatly appreciated. Thank you for tuning in and for your love of the next generation.