Motivation for Uncapped Education

Many years ago I became a single parent and responded to two years of begging by my 10-year-old daughter to be educated at home.

I was a trained remedial teacher and quite confident, but I soon found out that not any curriculum was suitable, and I made a thorough study of all available curriculums. I decided to go for a more informal approach to suit my daughter’s needs. In the end she matriculated through Cambridge, got a degree in Early Childhood Development, got married and are doing Uncapped Education with her six children and a foster child.

I have been doing the work of Dynamis, now Dynamis Institute, for 22 years, to assist home educating families. (www.dynamislearning.co.za)

In 2004 I had a very clear dream and vision that the freedom of home educators will be challenged at some point and since then I have been guiding families to create a safe place of learning in their family structure.

In 2013 I realised that not all families are able to do home education and that more children need to be unbound from the expectations of a one-size-fits-all curriculum.  I realised that the vision to bring about freedom in education to the masses would just be too much of a task and I let it go.

However, in 2017 the name Uncapped Education set aflame my passion of many years to set adults and children free from restrictions in learning.

The Heart

The emphasis of Uncapped is to remove the veil over the educator as well as the child, so that the child can reach their true potential in a spiritual sense too. Parents should be enabled to be truly capable. Responsible parents must believe that God has sacredly equipped them for their task, because they love their children and want to bring them to true maturity.

Teachers with the same ethos to care for the child, love the subject and grow the child to maturity, and for whom teaching is not a job but a calling, who believe in “the training of human souls”, are not freely available.

Realities

Since 2000 I have documented what type of parent would choose home education as well as the type of children that would be most influenced by a negative learning traditional school environment. I have paid attention to the mind-set of the home educator and what cause them stress and prevent them from being fulfilled in their task.  I became very aware of how capped parents can be in their educational journey due to restrictive past upbringing and expectations.

DESCRIPTION OF UNCAPPED EDUCATION

Uncap

Verb (used with object), un·capped, un·cap·ping.

1. To remove a cap or cover from (a bottle, container, etc.).
2. to free from limits or restrictions:

Uncapped Education is an educational design (see Bio Matrix of Uncapped) with the:

• Aim to develop children in an unrestrictive environment;
• An intention to remove all restrictive schemes from children in learning
• To enlarge the margins of growth
• A proposal to bring forth young people that is transformed into

purpose-filled maturity and strengthening society

• A policy for education for South Africa, Africa and abroad, not excluding special needs learners and orphans
• It is a strategy for rebuilding societies

The Bio matrix of Uncapped Education

A Bio matrix describes patterns of life.  It speaks of systems supporting each other. (Entities interacting in activity) It describes a process, which indicates change.

If any of the activities in one of the entities are not functioning properly, the entire design can collapse.

The 7 entities:

• The protected interest of the child;
• Different philosophies, principles, worldview and values;
• Know the child and grow the child;
• Curriculum options to serve the child’s needs
• Assessment and Evidence of learning
• Certification, further learning, job placement and Uncapped University
• 
  

The hexagon structure in Uncapped Education

The six-sided hexagon structure takes one to the amazing snowflake crystal structures found in nature.  Every single snowflake crystal has a unique crystal structure reflecting God’s fingerprint in every detail of life.  Just as every snowflake is unique, so every child is created wonderfully unique and should be embraced as an INDIVIDUAL.  The hexagon further is the strongest shape and is very common in nature due to the efficiency.  This shape can withstand great compression while maintaining strength.  Uncapped Education is designed to develop children that can remain strong in themselves and in community.

          The second symbol that comes to mind when thinking of the hexagon structure is that of a beehive which represent the interconnection of the hexagon shape like the functioning of a successful community working together.  The hexagon shape is used in the representation of the fundamental structure of Uncapped Education defining how the interest of children can be protected in Education.  The honeycomb structure fits perfectly inside each other leaving no gaps and wasting no space.  The structure is the most efficient way of filling space with the least material.

The 7 entities:

• The protected interest of the child:

“The right to education, is the right to develop all aspects of the human personality to its fullest extend”. www.right-to-education.org

The Children’s Act, 38 of 2005, compels parents to provide adequate care for their children. This responsibility of care includes: “guiding, directing and securing the child’s education and upbringing, including religious and cultural education and upbringing, in a manner appropriate to the child’s age, maturity and stage of development”.

Clearly, the law recognizes that parents have a vital role to fulfil in the upbringing of children; no such role is ascribed to teachers.

“The vulnerability of the child needs to be protected. “

“If you feel you belong and are loved, you will find it easy to show yourself, give of yourself. Vulnerability is who we are, how we show ourselves to the world.  Vulnerability is the birthplace of every emotion that we can experience.”

Brené Brown

• Different philosophies, principles, worldviews and values

One of the educational approaches that families opt for, as a way of creating an environment conducive to developing children, is home-schooling (as opposed to a traditional school environment).  Furthermore, even in the home-school communities in South Africa, various education models and pedagogical approaches are applied, in the hope of creating a developmental environment conducive to achieving an excellent education.  These pedagogical approaches range from a formal and fully developed home-school curriculum, to an informal one. www.christian-unschooling.com

www.homeschooling-curriculum-guide.com

www.tuisskolers.org

The hope with Uncapped Education is to unite a critical mass of like-minded people who indicate that they are using a more Informal approach and with this mass create an awareness to Government authorities that children do learn, though, not so restricted.

The application, still in process, will make it more possible for parents and educators to prove the evidence of learning as well as success stories.

Uncapped Education is also an adult education tool for parents, who are mostly proven to be very responsible but who, at times, have found the journey stressful. The digital application will also assist parent with the Portfolio of Evidence.

• Know the child and grow the child:

• Hello Series
• Hello, what is your name, culture, social position?
• Hello, who are you? – PASSION, Element, that which we need to find.
• Hello, what can you do with your – intelligences, sensory profile, preferences, redemptive gifts, brain profiles, personality type?
• Hello, where are you going? Careers, small businesses
• Hello, what do you need, to get there? GROWTH Strategy – growing grit.
• Hello, what will you be when you get there?
• What is your passport?

• Growth program

Identification, Mentoring, Facilitating, Stretching according to the child’s giftedness, raw material and destiny. 

Research by Duckworth (2017) identifies GRIT (comprising of passion and resilience) as a predictor for success in various settings, especially in higher education.   Uncapped Children have more opportunities to grow in Gritt.

The educational theory of Christian Moore (2014) on resilience (and how resilience is developed) can be used to add to the theoretical framework for GRIT. 

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BORN WITH GRIT; GRIT CAN BE LEARNED”

“It is a skill that can be developed, a skill that can be learned when a person is exposed to the right kind of training, experiences and practice.”

Grit to Great: How Perseverance, Passion, and Pluck take you from Ordinary to Extraordinary:

Linda Kaplan Thaler

“Failure is how we learn- it is how we develop and acquire GRIT”-

• Curriculum options

Description:

• Uncapped is a joyful education because the child is protected, (music and art will play a major role in Uncapped facilitation.)
• CELEBRATION of THE UNIQUENESS OF THE CHILD is a primary goal.
• Someone is sacredly able and intentional at getting you somewhere.
• The child is encouraged to be an expression of his or her true self.

An Uncapped catalogue of options will be available to choose from:

• The Material’s content will not be lower than the standard of public schools and relevant to the needs of the child.
• Special focus will be given to material relevant for this economy as well as for special needs children.
• Example: 3R’s and 7 C’s, Grit training, Financial training

• Assessment and Evidence of learning

Shame must absolutely be eliminated. Shame, the result of the child feeling as WASTE in a testing (assessment) situation.

Measuring, assessment, evaluation      

In the hello series special attention is given to determine the giftedness of the child by interaction and this must always be the basis of the education plan for the child.

The growth of each child will be determined by the individual pathway and a growth program identified/stipulated.

The ethos of measurement, assessment and evaluation in uncapped education is based on the QUALIFICATION of the child and not the disqualification of the child. 

The main emphasis will be the CELEBRATION of the PERSON. 

The hello series will be the equipment for execution of this program.

Non-negotiable will be:

–    the right of the child to learn without any limitation;

–    to develop the child’s full potential and whole person;

–    the children’s act in protecting the vulnerability of the child;

A very clear tool (app, electronic) will be available to determine:

–    The giftedness of the child;

–    Possible pathways;

–    Suggestions to meet requirements as a whole person, character development as well as skills for this economy.

Parents/Instructors/Facilitators will get training to execute evidence of learning throughout the process. 

Shame are working against Uncapping people

“Shame can only rise so far in any system before people disengage to protect themselves.  When we’re disengaged, we don’t show up, we don’t contribute, and we stop caring. We don’t show empathy:

Brené Brown: Daring Greatly

• Certification, further learning, job placement and Uncapped University

 At 17/18, the learner will receive an evidence of learning certificate. This will be an indicator that recognise development from a young age:

–    Proof of skills,

–    Abilities

–    Character, integrity

–    Ability for self-directed learning

–    Qualification for further studies

I have been advocating that parents should make sure their children are self-workers (independent workers) by the age of 14.  That they should be educated in accountability and ownership from a young age. When we do that, we are shaping the tool (child) for any situation in any era they will be working in, and they will also have the character, apart from various skills

The creative, encouraging learning environment, will cause job creation at a young age with needed Attitude, Behaviour, and Character.

Innovation and creativity are born only from vulnerability. You are willing to risk the fact that you could make a fool of yourself with your new idea.

Advanced skills development will be encouraged/suggested according to pathways.

Uncapped University (mainly online) will be available.