I had previously looked into different methods of home-ed and had come to the conclusion that Classical Education was the best - corresponding to a child's natural development.
To my delight, I heard that the Regina Caeli Academy, a Classical Education model, was being established in the UK and I knew that I wanted to be involved. Education is my passion - opening young minds, and watching them grow and develop!
How has being an RCA tutor compared to being a mainstream teacher?
They are worlds apart - RCA's mission is to truly educate - to form minds, to nurture, to create an enthusiasm for learning; in mainstream schools, it is just to shunt children through an exam system that is far too formulaic.
Education in mainstream schools seems to be more about political football, with the latest educational trend usually being foisted on children (and teachers), rather than time-tested ideas about forming them.
The peers my children might have been exposed to concerned me too: children who, through no fault of their own, had parents who did not value education, and passed this attitude on to their children, who then usually caused a lot of disruption in lessons.
What has it been like to teach using the Classical Education model?
At RCA, using the Classical method of teaching and learning has been a Godsend.
It chimes perfectly with the growth and development of children and gives them just enough to challenge them, without making them feel overloaded.
At the heart of it is really the good, the true, and the beautiful (not just the latest trend!).
How have you found the hybrid model, 2 days in the Academy and 3 at home, as a teacher and a parent?
Parents are at the heart of the teaching; tutors support their efforts. There is real mutual concern for the well-being and growth of the children there.
Parents who really do care, and work with teachers, rather than absolving themselves of responsibility for their education has been a revelation!
As well as being an RCA tutor, my children are also enrolled in the Academy and I teach them on the three days a week that they are home.
Hybrid teaching allowed my children to experience the best of both worlds: the one-to-one attention of home education, with the social side of a close-knit 'school' experience, with drama, art, music, and P.E. with their peers on a regular basis.
What would you say to someone considering becoming an RCA tutor?
This is the most organised place I have worked at!
It is freeing to be able to focus on really delving into subjects, and having Socratic discussions with a small class, which helps form their minds, and helps them learn to question and to reason - to search for Truth! And that is what education really should be about.
It becomes a joy to interact with the children in our care. It is also wonderful that, because parents are involved with their child's education, homework is always done (barring valid reasons not to be), so the next lessons can build on that.
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