Homeschooling.....
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"ajpdla" ajp...@yahoo.com
Does anyone have any experiences to share vis-a-vis the reintroduction of a child who has been homeschooled into, say, junior high or high school. Or even children who have been homeschooled throughout their entire "career" and then those kids being introduced into a "regular" college?
What are the benefits/drawbacks of the homeschooled child -- besides the obvious ones.
How does the public school system (beyond grammar school) view the homeschooled child who wishes to be reintroduced into "society"?
AJPDLA
"Nan = .....@catnip.com
Interesting topic. I'll be watching the responses, as I'm seriously considering homeschooling my daughter. I'm pretty much thinking that "re-introduction" shouldn't be an issue, though. It seems like all the parent has to do is to enroll the child in public school when they decide to.
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"just me" jus...@thisplace.now
The only experience I can offer is that of my hairdresser's children. They attended the local public schools until junior high. Due to difficulties that developed the mom pulled them out for a year of homeschooling. The girls did very well and got caught up to grade level and became much nicer to be around. She decided to return them to public school the next year.
The School system gave her a major run around to re-enroll them. Her interpretation was that they did not like her having taken them out *to homeschool* and then returning them a year later, and working above grade level in areas where they had been at least a couple years below grade level. Since I was not involved any more than to hear her tell me stories while she shortened my hair, I cannot begin to vouch for the other POV's on it.
-Aula
"Nan = .....@catnip.com
Thanks for sharing, Aula. It seems like it should be easier, but who knows how the politiks of publik skools can be ;-)
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"ajpdla" ajp...@yahoo.com
See, this is what begged my questions. I have heard many rumors about reintroducing kids into public school systems and problems which have ensued with regards to, well, your kid didn't get a "proper" education, so we will just have them repeat. Or, since you've never had them in, they won't get credit or they won't be able to do this or that. Yes, many homeschooled kids excel beyond public school kids; however, when the child is old enough to wish themselves into a public school system, what will they be left to endure. That's all.
We'll see how this goes. :) AJPDLA
hre ...@cs.comnospam (Liz)
I think it totally depends on many things.
1) Where you live, and how supportive the local school system is to homeschooling.
2) The quality of schooling the parent has done and whether or not they participated in state testing.
3) Socializing of the child.
My friend who lives in Florida and homeschools has from time to time, enrolled her daughter in private schools. This has usually happened on years that Jo is going back to college herself. She hasn't had any problems except for her child being bored and asking Mom for more work at home which leads her to think she is wasting her money. He daughter is 9 and this summer is taking pre college courses in math and science.
My uncle who took his son out to homeschool 3 years ago hasn't had a problem.
He pulled my cousin out because he was several levels below where he should have been according to age and was failing 5th grade. He now tests at 10th and 11th grade levels and according to age/time line he should be entering 9th grade this fall. The school looked at his testing levels and are agreeing to let him challenge some 9th grade courses this summer to determine what grade to enroll him at. We live in Idaho. Idaho is very pro-homeschooling and has a large homeschooling community. They organize field trips, P.E. cl***es, art cl***es, etc.
My friend, also in Idaho, who has homeschooled from day one with all 4 of her kids, enrolled them in their church school a few years ago. The kids at first loved it, but then hated it and wanted to go back to homeschooling the next year. They missed being able to go to work with their Dad, the older girls wanted to work during the day and do school at night, etc. Their oldest daughter, age 17, graduated this past June and will be attending Boise State this fall. We shall see how it goes.
Liz
"Nan = .....@catnip.com
I haven't fully researched homeschooling in my state, but I was under the impression that the homeschooled kids need to test periodically, so it seems as if that would prevent a school system stating the child needs to repeat school.
But, it's all new to me, and I'm learning. It's good to know the possible things one might encounter if choosing to go this route.
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"Tracey " Pep...@prodigy.net
This totally depends on the state. Here in CT there is absolutely NO testing requirement.
I haven't fully researched homeschooling in my state, but I was under the
d ...@aol.com (Deod)
Hi: Both my daughters were homeschooled up to 5th grade and 8th grade. One had to take an informal "test," really an interview which she p***ed. The other school (both in New York) didn't bat an eye. They both had no problems except what would be natural for any kid going to a new school; Some jitters and then on with the show. I'd suggest talking to the principal of the local school or since they, I think, might make the final decision whatever the states codes are.
regards Come visit <A HREF="http://www.zona-pellucida.com">Zona Pellucida</A> A site seeking to inspire parenting through art, literature, and stories and to place children at the center of our lives.
"Nan = .....@catnip.com
We're in Indiana, and last year, I believe our state scored lowest, or nearly so, in ranking the school systems :( Does anyone know of anyplace I can research on requirements by state?
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"Jim Fisher" PA28...@HiWAAY.net
"Reintroduced into 'society'" says it all, friend. You stated that so you must already know that the home schooler is somehow hidden from society so that a re-introduction is necessary.
I do know that, at my 16 year old's high school, they can pick out the private and Christian school kids from a mile away. They are generally (GENERALLY!) looked down upon because they seem . . . weird.
Grades are only one indicator of a well adjusted child. But social skills are just as, if not more, important than grades. Those skills can only be developed with practice. Isolating a kid in a home school environment doesn't seem to be very conducive to developing good social skills.
JMO.
Jim
"ajpdla" ajp...@yahoo.com
Parental involvement is a plus in ANY venture a child will undertake. And I hear where you are coming from. However, public schools are just that, public. Where there are teachers to ***ist a student in their learning process. A little help from parents outside of the public school system is always going to be considered a plus. When one chooses to homeschool, it's all on the parent. So, the better the parent, the better the education will be for the child. One cannot just wish to homeschool their child and not produce any ***istance for their child; otherwise, why not have them in public school in the first place where they will have some sort fo a chance to interact with a teacher. It's not, public or homeschool, an autopilot type of thing where you just tell the kid what to do and they do it. There has to be some interaction, again.
I went to a private church school as well as public schools. And I got the same effects, IMHO. There is ***istance by way of a teacher and you do, as a student, what you are supposed to be doing. I have no basis for homeschooling; so this is why we're here.
And I'd like to see that data.
Absolutely. If I so choose.
Well, there is a great -- was a great -- Adventist school up here. But, alas, some kids burned it down last year. LOL. So we're waiting for a rebuild.
The point is, when you have private or public schools -- and this is why many more parents nowadays are looking at this route -- you have a "society" of kids (not meaning to sound paranoid or anything, it's just trying to equate how it is today with how it will be in, say, 10 years) who are increasingly violent towards one another. Shootings, beatings, whatever, abound in today's society (look at how many Zero Tolerance Policies have to be enacted in order to deal with these types of actions) and it only seems to be getting worse. Heck, even the teachers are armed nowadays.
I will take a socially adjusted child up against a street stupid child any day of the week. The homeschooled child doesn't necessarily have to be isolated, however.
AJPDLA
"Nan = .....@catnip.com
I'll agree that parental involvement is very important. However, I've heard that homeschoolers tend to be at much higher levels than public school kids, in general. And, it makes sense.
A homeschooled child is far more likely to excel with the one on one attention they receive, as opposed to kids in public school, who are forced into a set curriculum, with little to no room for individual learning speeds.
My son was in public school. I didn't know about homeschooling when he was young. When I learned about it, I thought with much the same attitude as you....that kids that are homeschooled are isolated. It simply is not true.
My son's grades were average to below average, until he moved to another district, in which he was more challenged, so much depends on individual districts, as well.
I doubt it is true. If children have socialization, no re-introduction will be necessary.
I'd imagine that the kids that look down upon the others is something they've learned from their parents.
You seem to be equating a homeschooled child with living out on a prairie and never being involved in any activities at all. I've read that many areas have homeschool communities, and the kids have just as many, if not more, opportunities to socialize, and participate in activities than kids in public school.
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"Nan = .....@catnip.com
Thank you, Dorothy. I've got them bookmarked :)
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tarkaan-NOS ...@bigfoot.com
One of the obvious ones is holes in the education. If you teach your homeschooled child chemistry before physics and the high school teaches physics before chemistry, they will either repeat or struggle.
-- Jack Tarkaan -- mailto:tark...@bigfoot.com
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Joni J Rathbun jrath...@orednet.org
Some are, some aren't. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, the kids with strong support are pretty equal regardless. I've seen some miserable homeschooling. And I've seen some that was fabulous. I homeschooled my daughter for 8th grade and it was well worth it. I'd like to have done more but as a single working mother, it's just not going to work for us.
Or ***uming that "good" social skills are what kids always pick up at school!
"Nan = .....@catnip.com
Yes, I agree that it all depends on the level of committment and time a parent has to put forth towards homeschooling. That is why I'm interested in learning more, and finding out if our area has any communities that are very involved.
And we've seen proof that isn't always the case ;-)
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"Jim Fisher" PA28...@hiwaay.net
As a statistical average, that is absolutely true.
But stats can lie . . or mislead unless you take the time to figure out WHY this is so.
I've done research into this, Nan, for a letter to the editor of our paper here. I wanted to find out a few things about our local schools here in Alabama. Find out which one was "really" best and dispel some myths.
As far as school education ratings go, the only thing we have to go on is SAT scores (which is a debatable subject itself). What I found is that there is no, none, nada correlation between how much money is spent per student on a per capita basis.
On very important correlation I found in my research of the SAT scores was that schools in high-income areas seem to have the best test scores. Hmm.
Why is that?
So I looked further. Seems that school with LOW SAT scores also had very high percentages of children on free or reduced price lunches ("FRPL" form here on). In other words, poor kids.
Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine that economically poor parents *generally* have less parenting skills. There are exceptions to this rule, of course just as some "rich" parents make poor role models. But we are speaking in general terms, okay?
I don't think it's too much of a leap to determine that, generally speaking, poor children have bad parents - AKA no parental involvement or interest in the kids education. The poor beget the poor. Sad but true.
So, with some statistical data gleaned from the school report card website (you have one too, I'm sure) I crunched the numbers comparing FRPL schools with SAT scores. Guess what? A DIRECT correlation! Yep, the higher the percentage of FRPL (poor kids), the lower the test score.
So I crunched some more. I wanted to see if there were some schools that did better that they should have - schols that had a high percentage of FRPLs but also had reletively high test scores. Turns out there were many schools in this state that, statistically speaking, did a much better job teaching FRPL kids - kids that SHOULDN'T have wanted to learn. One of the best schools was right here in my town.
I sent my kid, for convenience sake, to another well rated (according to my data) school closer to home. This is a school that did NOT have the highest SAT scores. But they had a higher score than they SHOULD have because they have a fair amount of poor kids. So, somehow, this school and a few other schools in the state are doing pretty well with kids who do not want to learn. Imagine what they can do with my kids!
Now, armed with this knowledge, private schools generally have well-to-do parents. They tend to be BETTER parents. So, the SAT scores of a private school LOOK much better because THERE ARE NO BAD STUDENTS TO BRING THE SCORE AVERAGES DOWN!
Same with home schools. No bad students.
But that doesn't mean that same kid won't do just a well, or better, at a public school over a private or home schooler. It just means the kid has good parents.
My kids? My 16 year old was in the gifted program in our public school.
Now 16 and pretty much a great kid - star athlete, popular, nice and just a damn good kid. My 7 year old will be in second grade this year. He made all "S" last year and we expect great things from him, too. All that PLUS they get the experience if learning to deal with people not of their own socio-economic background. I think that it darn important.
I don't do my own letter to the editor any justice here, Nan (can't find the dang thing on my computer but I'll fax you the letter if you e-mail me with a fax number). But perhaps I've given you something to chew on. I know I don't have to tell you that parents make ALL the difference in a kids education.
That said (to the original poster) there are some valid reasons for sending a kid to home or private school - big city violence, drug problems, bad teachers. But these schools, despite headline, are exceptions rather than rules.
Undoubtedly true but one could easily say that home schoolers and private school parents stay out of public school for snobbish reasons, too. In any case, not THIS parent. That's one of the reasons I want them in public schools - to experience all sorts of people.
Perhaps. But the few home schooled kids I've met seem almost "Stepford Wifeish" in their behavior. Kinda strange. Too good for their own good.
There is such a thing as too much time under the wing of the parent, you know.
See ya, Jim
"Jim Fisher" PA28...@hiwaay.net
Take a look at my response to Nan, Aj. It will give you the jest of the research I performed.
If you still interested, I'll be glad to e-mail my spreadsheet to you so you can perform your own analysis on your local schools.
Later, Jim
"Jim Fisher" PA28...@HiWAAY.net
Touch?©!
Jim
Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe kit...@whitepine.com
Dorothy, you're not actually trying to apply FACT to his fantasy, are you? For shame!!
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Joni J Rathbun jrath...@orednet.org
Really, it was the *social* side of things that made me want to homeschool in the first place. The particular school my daughter would have had to attend provided a negative social environment.
I know, because it was one of the schools I worked at and she had already spent two years there. Had we stayed in that community, my son wouldn't have gone there at all (unless things changed quite a bit).
marim ...@aol.com (MariMc25)
I homeschooled my son for seventh and eighth grade and then decided to put him back in school for high school. I did have some test scores but I don't think the school even looked at them. The public school was actually very cool about enrolling him. I started the enrollment process in the spring so that everything would be ready by fall. I talked to the counselors and they had no problems. Our problems came when at the last minute, we decided to send my son to a private school. Oh boy, they wanted all kinds of documentation proving he had completed 8th grade. Our schooling style had tended to be eclectic leaning towards unschooling. The private school was only used to homeschoolers who followed pre-packaged curriculums. The school asked for a daily planner on what my son had done every day! Yikes! I had kept notes but they were weekly/monthly type notes. So, what I did, was do a month by month description of everything we had done and relate it to the appropriate subject. For instance, he had read a book, "Number the Stars", which I put down for both reading/English and history. The school was very happy with what I had put together and did accept him.
It was very stressful for me, though, since I was only one week post-partum.
I really didn't need the added stress.
Mary HodgePodge:info on Homeschooling, Hereditary Spherocytosis and Fanfiction: http://hometown.aol.com/marimc25/index.html
marim ...@aol.com (MariMc25)
Oh my gosh! Don't tell that to all the girls who call my 15 year old formerly homeschooled, currently private schooled son. He makes friends with everyone!
In fact, he met one girl at Six Flags a few weeks ago. She was just visiting some relatives. Since they met, she's already sent him two letters. I can't keep track of all of the girls he's friends with.
Mary HodgePodge:info on Homeschooling, Hereditary Spherocytosis and Fanfiction: http://hometown.aol.com/marimc25/index.html
"ajpdla" ajp...@yahoo.com
You're my target "responder." What did you encounter after the 8th grade?
How was the transition back -- did she go back? -- and what, if anything, were the requirements upon re-entry to a public school system? Did you get any flack, told you were to have your daughter repeat the grade?
A lot of people do. And, in the beginning, they were probably right to have those views/opinions. It is and has changed, I believe, from those days.
AJPDLA
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