| In the New Zealand curriculum, there are what is known as eight "learning areas." When you look at the list, you will probably think of them as "subjects" (more on that shortly). One of the most common questions/complaints I see, which can prompt a lot of outrage, is whether we MUST include all of the learning areas in an exemption application, and/or whether it's ok for the Ministry to ask us to. Here's the list: |  |
| * If English is not the primary language of the family, it's ok to teach part or all of the curriculum in their main language, but the Ministry will expect to see evidence of some inclusion of developing English literacy appropriate to the age of the child. ** Languages other than English are essentially optional - no expectation of them before Year 7 in schools or applications, and may still be considered optional possibilities beyond that, so for the purposes of this discussion I am ignoring it and focusing on the other seven learning areas |
Now, the main question is, are home educators required to include the seven learning areas in an application? The answer is no...and yes. Bear with me....
The legal requirement of an exemption application is that it demonstrates that "the child is to be taught at least as regularly and well as in a registered school." This does not mean "the same as" but it does mean the expectation is there that the child will be taught to at least a comparable standard, across a curriculum "at least as broad in scope" as they would experience in school. What that looks like is open to some interpretation and is not legally defined (which is a good thing), but this leaves Ministry staff looking for some kind of way of deciding whether applications meet that criteria. It's understandable that they fall back on their understanding of what a curriculum ought to look like, based in the NZ curriculum. When staff see an application which does not cover some of the above areas, they usually ask for information about them, and this can cause outrage amongst homeschoolers who like to insist that "we are not required to teach the same subjects as schools."
It is true that we are not legally required to teach specific subjects. However, if one sets aside the idea of "required subjects" and sits back and looks at each of the learning areas and what they include, I think most reasonable people would agree that each of these are really just natural areas of learning that we ALL cover in some fashion with our children - the only exception being older teens who are at a level where they narrow their focus to prepare for specific further study or careers (and the Ministry are fine with that). Not sure about this? Read each of the following statements, and ask yourself whether you agree with them:
The legal requirement of an exemption application is that it demonstrates that "the child is to be taught at least as regularly and well as in a registered school." This does not mean "the same as" but it does mean the expectation is there that the child will be taught to at least a comparable standard, across a curriculum "at least as broad in scope" as they would experience in school. What that looks like is open to some interpretation and is not legally defined (which is a good thing), but this leaves Ministry staff looking for some kind of way of deciding whether applications meet that criteria. It's understandable that they fall back on their understanding of what a curriculum ought to look like, based in the NZ curriculum. When staff see an application which does not cover some of the above areas, they usually ask for information about them, and this can cause outrage amongst homeschoolers who like to insist that "we are not required to teach the same subjects as schools."
It is true that we are not legally required to teach specific subjects. However, if one sets aside the idea of "required subjects" and sits back and looks at each of the learning areas and what they include, I think most reasonable people would agree that each of these are really just natural areas of learning that we ALL cover in some fashion with our children - the only exception being older teens who are at a level where they narrow their focus to prepare for specific further study or careers (and the Ministry are fine with that). Not sure about this? Read each of the following statements, and ask yourself whether you agree with them:
English (literacy): I do not want my children to learn to read, write, speak or listen. We're absolutely not going to include this learning area.
Math (numeracy): no counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, telling time, handling money, understanding days, or measuring anything for my kid!
Science: I plan to ensure that my child does NOT explore the natural world around them. We will not watch bugs, the clouds, ask questions about the stars and moon. There will be no experiments conducted here. I want to ensure my child remains ignorant of gravity, motion, centrifugal force, the seasons, weather, plants, insects, animals, hot, cold, etc etc. Nope, no science in our program! And we definitely will not be reading any books or watching any videos about inventors and inventions or any topics such as those above.
Social Sciences: my children will not be learning about people, places, events, the planet, volcanoes, earthquakes, oceans, how to read maps, who is in our community, emergency services, how to relate to other people and so on. We can definitely leave this learning area out of our program!
Technology: we wish to prevent our children engaging in any practical or hands-on learning. Solving problems is for the birds! There will be no cooking, gardening, sewing, woodwork, model making, financial skills, business skills, animal care, metal work, electronics, or life skills taught in our home thank you very much! And my child will NEVER learn to use a computer or other IT device.
Health and P.E: Nope, my child will not run, climb, bike, play any sports, go for walks, swim or otherwise engage in physical activity. I much prefer them to be couch potatoes. And teach them about hand washing, personal hygiene, dental health, basic first aid, how their bodies change over time, how to have healthy relationships, how to deal with emotions, personal safety etc etc? Of course not!
The Arts: I don't have any pens, pencils or art supplies at home, and I certainly would not encourage my child to paint, draw, or do crafts. They will not listen to any music, let alone try to learn an instrument. We'll never visit art galleries or museums, or enjoy a public concert, play or other performance. Dancing will not be permitted, and they can forget dressing up and making up their own plays! And singing? Definitely not!
Now, I hope you have not been offended by my deliberately tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. My intention is to help the reader see how crazy it generally is to say we will NOT be including any of these areas in our children's lives. Many of these things will happen naturally in life, even if we have no particular plan, program, curriculum or whatever for them. And that's ok - for the purposes of the applications such things can and should be included by taking some time to think about and identify the kinds of things that are likely to be covered one way or the other, and ways in which your children might explore them.
So the key point I wish to make is that while we are not required to teach specific subjects, any person receiving a reasonably broad education will learn about things related to each of the above learning areas in one way or another, whether formally or informally.
The purpose of this article is not to tell you what to include in the application for each of the learning areas (though the above might give you some clues). I will say that, in general, more detail and a degree of structure is expected for the "core" subjects of English, Math, Science and Social Studies in an application. That structure can be based on curriculum, unit studies, child-led learning, hands-on learning or whatever you choose. The Ministry will basically be looking for sufficient ideas, topics, resources and enough of a general approach to make sense in these subjects. When it comes to literacy and numeracy, those are considered key, and reasonable detail, given the age of the child, on next learning steps and how you will support them will be expected.
For the "non-core" subjects - Technology, the Arts, Health & P.E (and languages if you choose to include them) - these can be as unstructured as you like - they are mostly about identifying and writing down the kinds of things that are a natural part of life, or things you want to try with the kids or help them learn, and opportunities for engagement that they have. Where a child also has a particular interest, involvement etc already, then you will of course want to include these (eg in a sports team, dance class, having music lessons, learning coding etc). You don't need a ton of detail - but to show that the child will receive appropriate opportunities to engage with activities in these learning areas.
If you would like more specific guidance on the content of an application, then my exemption guide pack will be of great help. It is available HERE.
For the "non-core" subjects - Technology, the Arts, Health & P.E (and languages if you choose to include them) - these can be as unstructured as you like - they are mostly about identifying and writing down the kinds of things that are a natural part of life, or things you want to try with the kids or help them learn, and opportunities for engagement that they have. Where a child also has a particular interest, involvement etc already, then you will of course want to include these (eg in a sports team, dance class, having music lessons, learning coding etc). You don't need a ton of detail - but to show that the child will receive appropriate opportunities to engage with activities in these learning areas.
If you would like more specific guidance on the content of an application, then my exemption guide pack will be of great help. It is available HERE.
Conclusion:
I hope this article has helped you to understand why the seven learning areas are both natural and appropriate to think about in terms of your child's learning program or home education. You do not have to call your learning areas by the same labels as above. The key point is that you show a broad program with no obvious gaps in appropriate engagement opportunities.
And, please, can we experienced home educators stop jumping up and down when the Ministry asks an applicant about what they will do for a given learning area (I used to do that too until I realised the above), and instead focus on helping parents understand what that might include? There are certainly some things we should resist, but I suggest this is not a hill to die on.
I hope this article has helped you to understand why the seven learning areas are both natural and appropriate to think about in terms of your child's learning program or home education. You do not have to call your learning areas by the same labels as above. The key point is that you show a broad program with no obvious gaps in appropriate engagement opportunities.
And, please, can we experienced home educators stop jumping up and down when the Ministry asks an applicant about what they will do for a given learning area (I used to do that too until I realised the above), and instead focus on helping parents understand what that might include? There are certainly some things we should resist, but I suggest this is not a hill to die on.
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