Finding The Learning Path
“Authentic education is where the parent finds the best pathway to develop a child to the fullest, through a network of people and resources. The pathway is determined by the core elements in the child and therefore true development of people must take into account how God has created the person. In this way the parent or educators work with God to raise up godly people.” ~ Martie du Plessis, Education vs Certification
The Bible says the parents should “train up a child in the way he should go…” (Proverbs 22:6)
How can any curriculum system that resembles the institutional school system not hinder the process of developing a child’s inborn strengths and uniqueness?
Education involves equipping children for life and there is no one-size-fits-all way to accomplish this!
“Eclectic, customised education, with specially selected electives is the way to develop our children to their fullest potential and to “light the fire” – the love for lifelong learning
in our children.” Shirley Erwee
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.
- To remove a cap or cover from (a bottle, container, etc.).
- 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
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.
Martie du Plessis 2019
The Uncapped Biomatrix
Now that we appreciate the significant parallels of the hexagon shape to the Uncapped Educational Model, we must ask: so why are the hexagons represented visually in a Biomatrix?
We know that organisations, sectors, leaders, and individuals must solve problems daily. To accomplish this, we all apply different strategies and solutions to achieve better outcomes. What we have found though, is that to try and solve problems with more of the same type of strategies we have used before will not be successful. As Albert Einstein observed “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when creating them”.
So when we look at Education, we need to use different strategies to create different results than what we’ve seen in the past. This is where the Biomatrix-principle comes in.
The Biomatrix allows us to implement a strategy for Education that connects systems and relationships – the one inter-dependent on the other. All the entities within the Uncapped Biomatrix are organized and developed as coherent wholes, that interact and co-produce each other. These 7 entities in our Biomatrix, change during interaction with each other.
The best analogy to describe the biomatrix is that of a surfer. “A surfer operates in an ever-changing environment. The only opportunity to continue to ride the waves is to be in continuous motion. Stopping the balancing motion (of overreacting, or being out of sync with the environment) means falling off the board. “ Biomatrix: A system approach to organisational and societal change, Elisabeth Dostal: 2004
We will fall off the Uncapped board if we stop balancing the 7 entities in the Biomatrix and allowing the ever-changing environment to influence each step. We all have seen and experienced how the one entity or hexagon influence the other.
Thus, the Uncapped Biomatrix is never static. It is not boxes that are ‘dead’. It is not mechanical – it is a living model of Education. A dynamic connection between systems and relationships, all for the interest of the child.
SO LET US TAKE HOLD OF THE FOLLOWING ABOUT UNCAPPED EDUCATION
Uncap
Verb (used with object), un·capped, un·cap·ping.
- To remove a cap or cover from (a bottle, container, etc.).
- 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.
Please learn more about a BIOMATRIX and how societies can change
Meaning of Hexagon shape in the Uncapped Educational Model:
We must start at the beginning. When we look at the wonder of a honeycomb, we recognise that God created ‘heaven-instructed mathematicians’ ….. you are right, it’s bees. He has built in a bee’s DNA to reproduce and recreate hexagon structures as best mechanical engineer’s can’t duplicate. If you want to pack together cells that are identical in shape and size so that they fill a flat plane, only three regular shapes (with all sides and angles identical) will work: equilateral triangles, squares, and hexagons. Of these, hexagonal cells require the least total length of wall, compared with triangles or squares of the same area. So it makes sense that bees would choose hexagons, since making wax costs them energy, and they will want to use up as little as possible—just as builders might want to save on the cost of bricks.
What is some of the inherent properties of a hexagon and what are some of the parallels to our Uncapped Educational Biomatrix?
- First, The shape of a hexagon makes a honeycomb fit together like a puzzle. The same as the Uncapped Biomatrix. Without 1 puzzle piece, the rest of the educational model, will be incomplete and unsuccessful.
- Secondly, a hexagon shape leaves no gaps, as would have been the case with circles. This produces a structure that is most effective in covering a surface. This principle signifies the effectiveness of Uncapped Education best practices grouped in the biomatrix, leaving no gaps in the path of uncapped education for all.
- Thirdly, The hexagon is the strongest shape known. … In a hexagonal grid each line is as short as it can possibly be if a large area is to be filled with the fewest number of hexagons. This means that honeycombs require less wax to construct and gain lots of strength under compression. This is the same for the Uncapped Biomatrix. Through years of research and experimental education, the biomatrix signifies the strongest model with the ‘shortest’ links to a successful and significant path of education to any child, community, school or nation.
- And lastly, The unbreakable-strength of the hexagon biomatrix, also refers to the close-knit relationship based integration and connection that exist within the family and of course the broader Uncapped Education community
THE INTEREST OF THE CHILD
CERTIFICATION, PLACEMENT
ASSESSMENT, EVIDENCE OF LEARNING
PHILOSOPHIES OF LEARNING
KNOW THE CHILD, GROW THE CHILD
CURRICULUM OPTIONS
