By Raymond Viger
In anticipation of enrolling her child Élijah, Annie Larouche was present at the founding of Le Centre d’Apprentissage Libre en Forêt Arborescence (the Arborescence Free Forest Learning Center, or CALEFA) in Saint-Jean-de-Matha, about an hour and a half north-east of Montreal.
The opening of her cooperative, a maternity project, a small grocery store, forced them to skip a year before returning. She is a member of the board of directors. Each parent commits to 40 hours of involvement per year on one of the committees (financing, maintenance, harmony for conflict management, or the board itself).
At the beginning, there were conflicts to resolve, Annie admits. The center is managed on a “sociocratic” model, meaning that everyone is consulted on every decision. Sometimes this is cumbersome. The board of directors has learned to take its rightful place. Today, an external member has joined the group to help and support them in their development. The group has learned to delegate certain tasks and let several committees take decisions.
Michèle M-Giroux admits that sociocracy is a challenge to take on because people are not used to this management system. It takes time to adapt to it, she tells us. But it keeps everyone up to date with everything that’s going on. The center also tends to include children in decision-making.
Home education is not a cure-all. Some families will try it, but will return to the conventional school system.
“We do not have the resources to provide special care, or for young people who need closer supervision,” explains Michèle. “We must set our limits. We have a selection committee to ensure we are the best resource for the young people that we welcome.”
Tightly Woven
The multi-age context has many advantages: learning from others, mutual help, sharing. This year, they mainly have a group of children aged 4 to 9 years old. 10 to 12 year olds are less well represented. Space is limited to 20 young people. They sometimes separate the group during activities according to their interests, and sometimes according to age groups for more specific discussions.
Tightly woven bonds are established between the parents, Annie tells us. There are small grants for activities, but you have to think about organizing spaghetti dinners, garage sales… All this will be done with the help of young people and parents.
Learning through play, the freedom to learn, learning with lots of outdoor activities… These are the bases of the center that they colloquially call “Arbo.”
Annie tells us that she was put in contact with a similar project in St-Damien. Faced with the reaction of parents who organized themselves, the village school adjusted to meet the needs of citizens. The alternative school project fell through.
Bureaucracy
The center is not responsible for the educational achievements of young people. It allows parents to document their progress. The facilitators specify the topics covered and provide supporting documents for the parents.
Without the Center, Annie admits that she would not be able to homeschool.
“With the Home School Department (DEM) and the Quebec Association for Home Education (AQED), there is a lot of information available, but few people to follow up and support us.”
“At the beginning I didn’t know everything that needed to be produced. You have to be organized for the paperwork to be completed.”
Annie remembers that young people who had not received a proper education took the government to court. Since that time, the government has been involved in better monitoring the development of children to prevent other similar stories from repeating themselves. Since that day, an annual assessment is done in the 3rd and 4th year but it does not count towards a pass. The government thus ensures that young people develop in a safe environment.
Limits
“Homeschooling for primary school is realistic. It’s the same teacher who teaches all the subjects. But I don’t know yet if I will continue for secondary school. That’s a lot of subjects taught by specialists. We often question ourselves. Did I make the right choice?” Annie asks.
“Elijah loves going to the Learning Center. He never misses a day. No need to force him to go. He goes there three days a week. He started at 5 years old. He is now 7 years old.”
At the center, the day begins by asking how things are going. What emotions the young person experiences. Talking about your emotions and freeing yourself from them leads to better quality learning time.
“He must take responsibility, bring his lunch, choose when to eat it and how to dress to face the cold… It’s an advantage of being part of a multi-age group. He learns patience with the youngest, and makes older friends.”
Annie continues: “Elijah participates in an hour of tutoring. This allows us to have an outside perspective and ensure that we are headed in the right direction, that everything is going well. They are resource people, retired teachers.”
Homeschooling can have great benefits for the family. Next year Annie plans, with her partner of Chilean origin, for Elijah to live for several months in his father’s native country. And Elijah will continue schooling at home… on another continent.
She introduces Milaine Brousseau Ouellette to me as the Mother of Arborescence. That’s the official title of the center’s founder.
You can support the activities of Le Centre d’Apprentissage Libre en Forêt Arborescence (the Arborescence Forest Free Learning Center) by sending your donations to SURVIVRE.SOCIAL and mentioning the name C.A.L.E.F.A.. You will thus be able to obtain a tax receipt while helping young people in their development.
Published in Reflet de Société No. 31.4, June 2023
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