May and June began our busy conference season in Romania! The Romanian Home School Association (RHSA) organized and hosted three conferences in three locations.
The first conference took place on May 7 in Székelyudvarhely in central Romania with approximately 50 people in attendance—including some families who are considering homeschooling or new to homeschooling. Lectures were given on topics such as: parental authority, biblical discipline, and how to teach science. We had a wonderful two-hour discussion following the lectures. Those who were new to the concept of homeschooling decided to start homeschooling and families who were already homeschooling received new strength! One mother told us that she understood now why she must not only teach her children academically, but she must give them a Christian education. Another outcome from this conference is that the homeschooling families living in Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania’s second-largest city and where RHSA is based, decided to meet more frequently and consistently in order to grow the homeschool community more intensely than in the past.
The city of Zalau, in the western part of Transylvania, hosted the second homeschool conference on June 3. This was our first attempt to hold a conference in this part of the country and participants attended for an introduction of homeschooling. Eighteen individuals attended, despite a big thunderstorm which hit Zalau right before the conference started. All but one family were new to homeschooling. RHSA President Gabriel Curcubet spoke on a range of topics, including: “What is Homeschooling?” “Can Parents Homeschool?” and “From Living Room to University.” For a second time, participants remained for two hours of discussions, where everyone received answer to their questions. Several participants have now decided to organize a second homeschool conference in Zalau in October. A Christian police officer, together with his wife, a psychologist, would also like to organize a conference in their church near Zalau. Another family, living about 300 kilometers farther west, would like to organize a homeschool conference soon in their city of Timisoara.
Our final conference of the summer season was on June 18 in Bucharest, Romania’s capital. It was another successful conference in spite of the extremely warm weather (102° F with 80% humidity!). Lita Lucian presented about the “Basics of Homeschooling.” Gabriel Curcubet lectured on the topics of socialization, whether parents can homeschool, and how to educate for life. Ninel Lazar spoke about family rights and legal issues. The conference sessions concluded with a time for question and answer.
We are excited to announce that four other events are being planned for October and November this year.
The Romanian Home Schooling Association has existed for 14 years and promotes homeschooling through frequent conferences and working with officials to seek the legalization of homeschooling.