“We first heard of Mercy Ships many years ago, but never really considered it as an option for us,” Steve says. “In the summer of 2003, we got involved with a family outreach organised by Kings Kids in Manchester. This was great fun and we could see how the kids had grown in character as well as having a great time, so we started to look for a similar opportunity for the summer of 2004.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything that really suited a young family and the thought of the Anastasis came to us both independently,” he continues.
“At the time we had no idea if our skills would be any use on a medical ship — we’re neither nurses nor engineers! The main work of the Mercy Ships is to provide life-saving and life-enhancing operations like eye and cleft-lip surgeries, maxillofacial (surgery on the jaw) and tumour surgeries.
“Nevertheless, we contacted the Anastasis and told them a little about ourselves. We didn’t know that they had a school on the ship and were excited when we discovered they were recruiting teachers.
“We first visited the ship when it came to Liverpool and then finally joined in August last year as teachers on board this hospital ship bound for West Africa.”
The Newcombes rented out their home in Nottingham for a year and spent the first eight months of the trip in Benin and Liberia. The final leg of the journey involved a 13-day sail to South Africa where they left the ship with many fond memories. They spent a month in South Africa before flying back to Britain.
Next month the kids will return to their school but they’ll never forget what they learned on the Anastasis. During their year on the ship, they received a fully rounded education — and not just in the classroom.
“I remember when we first walked down the street in Benin’s capital, Cotonou,” says Steve. “We’d strolled about 50 metres when Kathryn commented, ‘I see what you mean now, Britain is such a rich country.’ I wonder if she’d have ever really grasped that at all without leaving home.
“The school on the ship has several advantages over normal school. There are eight networked computers, which, since there are only 40 students in the school, everyone gets good use of, as well as a data projector for display. The classes are small (because the rooms are small), so the students have more of the teacher’s attention and make more focused use of their time.
“Rachel and I both taught a wide range of subjects and ages. Since it’s a small school, flexibility is important. Rachel taught PE to the primary aged children, as well as life skills, Bible and some maths. Back in Britain, I teach science, but there I taught maths, computers, history and physics mostly to secondary aged students but also to the little ones.
“We roughly followed the American education system but since this is, in places, quite different from the British system, we took our own children for some lessons so that we could ‘top up’ to ensure that they covered what was being taught at home.
“There were some very unusual trips that the school went on too. There was no chance of going anywhere like Alton Towers, but we did enjoy swimming in a lagoon and had a four-day retreat in a beachside house, which we shared with some UN soldiers from the Ukraine. We went to help our development team build a clinic in a remote village too.
“Our kids didn’t enjoy the school as much as they do at home. In a class of 30 there’s bound to be more entertainment to be had! They also missed having lots of children to play with. They did develop good friendships there, but they played with the same few children every day. Because of this, they really loved our Saturday morning visits to a local orphanage with 56 children. Our boys got stuck into a great game of football!”
Steve feels that the year on the Anastasis has not only been a great adventure but also an investment in their children’s characters. As well as receiving formal learning, they’ve had the benefit of experiences that most British children can only imagine — living with 350 people from over 30 nationalities on a 160 metre ship, sailing to a different country every couple of months, visiting orphanages, African churches and schools. They’ve also seen lives dramatically changed in the ward, had the thrill of travelling four to a moped, and witnessed the indescribable African sunsets as well as the porthole views. Then there Children everywhere will soon be putting on their uniforms and heading back to school for the new term. We meet three families who, for one reason or another, have a different outlook on the big day.
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Mercy Ships, a global charity, has operated a growing fleet of hospital ships in developing nations since 1978. They bring hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide and serving all people regardless of race, gender or religion. More than 2000 volunteers from over 40 nations serve with Mercy Ships. The Anastasis was based in Liberia for several months of the Newcombes’ tour of duty — the civil war raged until 2004 here and has caused devastation. There is a heavy UN presence and it’s not considered safe to leave the capital, Monrovia. Schools, houses, hospitals have all been destroyed and there is no mains electricity, no working sewage system, no mains water and food is scarce. For more information, call 01438 727800 or visit www.mercyships.org.uk If you’d like to make a donation, please send a cheque to Mercy Ships UK, The Lighthouse, 12 Meadway Court, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2EF. |
By Caroline Lindsay.
Dad Mark runs a satellite installation business while mum Jane is a housewife. They have two children Emma (5) and Lucy (2). Emma (above) attends Elian’s British School near Benidorm.
The private school follows the English curriculum and in addition the pupils learn Spanish, with a lesson nearly every day. The school day starts at 9.30 am and finishes at 4 pm.
“We moved out here when Emma was about two and a half, so she never went to school in England,” explains Jane. “She really loves it here.
“Like all the pupils, Emma stays for lunch at the school, and each day she gets a note to take home with her of what and how much she has eaten so that I know. When she first started school she only ate a handful of things and was quite fussy, but now she eats all sorts.”
The children are given a healthy mouth-watering choice, with three courses, including lots of traditional Spanish dishes like paella.
The pupils are sometimes allowed to call their teachers by their Christian names.
“It is entirely up to the teacher, but Emma is allowed to call her teacher Miss Cath,” Jane says. “The kids all think that it’s a great idea!”
Unlike some schools in the UK where primary children have only one main teacher at the school per year, in Spain Emma has different teachers for a variety of subjects.
“She has a different teacher for Spanish, one for arts and crafts, another for geography as well as PE,” Jane continues. “She loves it. Not only are the lessons more in depth but she isn’t getting too reliant on one teacher.”
Another different aspect about Emma’s education is that teachers are allowed to hug the pupils if the situation arises.
“Occasional hugs and cuddles are allowed in the school, if the kids want one. It’s really nice but might not be allowed back in Britain.
“Emma loves school, and starts the equivalent of primary two after the holidays.
“Now that she can read and write English it is great. She is always reading and gets quite excited when she sees something when we are out and about and is able to read it,” says Jane proudly.
Lucy will join her big sister in the infant section of the school after the holidays, and soon both girls should be truly bilingual.
By Fiona Miller.
Sheila and her partner decided to take David out of school a year and a half ago when he was becoming increasingly bored and in danger of switching off completely.
“It was particularly sad to see him lose interest in subject areas that he had previously enjoyed, like maths,” Sheila says.
“We don’t do ‘school at home’. Some families choose to and it can work well but it’s not for us,” she explains. “I don’t see it as my job to teach David in the way that it happens at school — more to facilitate his learning by tracking down resources, encouraging his interests, helping to explore them fully and only very occasionally to nag! I don’t have any teaching qualifications but then I don’t see myself as a teacher.
“We don’t follow specific hours and we don’t do ‘schoolwork’. After school hours and at weekends David usually sees his friends who are also being educated at home, and his pals from regular school.”
“I don’t necessarily learn at home, just not at school,” David puts in and Sheila agrees with him.
“He learns from everything, not just the time spent in our home. Even car journeys usually involve some animated discussion or listening to something interesting on the radio — today it was a documentary about midges. It’s a home-ed cliché that ‘the world is a classroom’ but it’s true!
“We don’t have a specific classroom area but I have a shelved unit in the kitchen crammed full of reference books, pencils, rulers, craft things . . . There’s also a small mountain appearing around the computer desk and I’m fast running out of wall space throughout the whole house!
“We don’t have to be disciplined in the way that a school situation dictates — it just doesn’t work that way. Unless we have a good reason for learning something specific like how to set up the new computer, then ‘distractions’ are just something else to find out about and explore.
“We also have lots of days out,” Sheila continues. “Sometimes on our own but more usually with a group of other home-educators. Recently, for example, David shared a mountain bike instructor with three other home-ed boys and then later in the week a much larger group of us spent a busy morning led by a fantastic ranger at Caerlaverock Wetland Trust, followed by a visit to Caerlaverock castle in the afternoon.”
Subjects like PE obviously can’t be taught in quite the same way but David has a full schedule of physical activities.
“He gets plenty of exercise,” says Sheila. “Swimming, dog walking, mountain biking, skateboarding, snowboarding (usually with a home-ed friend) and all the usual running around that 10-year-olds get up to.”
As Sheila explains, legally parents have to provide their child with an education suitable to their age, aptitude and ability. How they do this is up to them. The Scottish Executive recently issued guidance, which sets out in more detail what home-educators and local authorities should expect from one another. It’s available on their website www.scotland.gov.uk or you can request a copy by phone on 0131 556 8400.
“In Scotland, if your child is attending a state school, you need the permission of the local authority before you can withdraw them,” says Sheila.
So how does Sheila source teaching materials?
“There are infinite resources online (including National Curriculum material for those who choose to use it). We buy some books new, get others second-hand and our local librarian is brilliant and puts books by David’s favourite author aside for him,” she says.
“We use CD-ROMs, museums, libraries, visitor centres, television, radio, sports facilities, computer games, cooking materials, organised events — the list really is endless. Maybe most importantly, I feel David learns from being out in the real world and not cooped up in a classroom all day.”
Disadvantages are few and far between but Sheila admits it can be tiring.
“Also, we’re lucky in that we run our own business and so ‘the boss’ is able to give me flexible working hours. But reduction of earning potential can mean real sacrifices for some families,” she points out.
So does David ever ask his mum if he can go back to his old school?
“No. When we first took David out of school we wondered if he would change his mind — he liked playtime and lunchtime but just hated everything in between — but this hasn’t been the case.”
There are now around 5000 children receiving home education in Scotland. For more info log on to www.schoolhouse.org.uk or www.education-otherwise.org
By Caroline Lindsay.
