homeschool ? Please help.

[JennyMominRI]

*nod* Okee dokee. Thanks for the explanation.

It -kiiiiiiills- me to see parents describe their kids as "not the college type," I have to admit. My mom just finished her Bachelor's the other day, because she found that she needed it to keep a job. The woman has over 20 years of experience in IT, with an Associate's degree from a community college.

I realize it is a bias on my part to want all kids to excel academically. I think of their future earning ability, and what a lack of a college degree does to their ambitions. Yes, -someone- has to fix cars, or be a plumber, or perform any number of hand's on trades (that make more than decent livings, don't get me wrong), but I can't conceive of a parent not wanting their kid to be the next President of the US. Even to found their own charity, I would think they need a college degree, if not an advanced college degree.

Does that make sense?
Brandie

I don't think DS will never get a higher education. What I should say is I don't see him leaving school and attending 4 years of college.. I see him joining the military and slowly getting an education while there.
My brother did this..He joined the Marines and took some courses there..He got out after 4 years and became a police officer.. He's 48 now and spent years and years of slowly taking classes when he could..He's now second in command of our cities PD and has a Masters in Criminal Justice.. Going to 4 years of college right out of HS was not the right thing for him.

 

[LadyShiva]

OP, thank you for correcting the grammatical errors in your first post. I appreciate it.

Brandie

 

[LadyShiva]

I don't think DS will never get a higher education. What I should say is I don't see him leaving school and attending 4 years of college.. I see him joining the military and slowly getting an education while there.
My brother did this..He joined the Marines and took some courses there..He got out after 4 years and became a police officer.. He's 48 now and spent years and years of slowly taking classes when he could..He's now second in command of our cities PD and has a Masters in Criminal Justice.. Going to 4 years of colleg right out of HS was not the right thing for him.

Well, my mom did 4 years in the Navy and now has a Bachelor's of Science. It took her 30 years and she didn't use the GI Bill. Hope springs eternal.

Brandie

 

[sha_lyn]

I realize it is a bias on my part to want all kids to excel academically. I think of their future earning ability, and what a lack of a college degree does to their ambitions. Yes, -someone- has to fix cars, or be a plumber, or perform any number of hand's on trades (that make more than decent livings, don't get me wrong), but I can't conceive of a parent not wanting their kid to be the next President of the US. Even to found their own charity, I would think they need a college degree, if not an advanced college degree.

I sort of get what you are saying, but not everyone has the ambition, drive, desire, ability etc to be president, start a charity etc. Personally I wouldn't wish that either of my children enter into politics. However if that was their choice I would back them 100%.
What I want for my children is for them to be happy,healthy, make a comfortable living, live up to their potential etc. Yes I believe that education is very important. I don't believe I will be a failure as a homeschool parent, or my children will be failures as adults if they don't take calculus, statistics, advanced sciences etc. If the desire to take such classes is there, I will move heaven and earth to make it happen.

 

[LadyShiva]

I sort of get what you are saying, but not everyone has the ambition, drive, desire, ability etc to be president, start a charity etc. Personally I wouldn't wish that either of my children enter into politics. However if that was their choice I would back them 100%.
What I want for my children is for them to be happy, healthy, make a comfortable living, live up to their potential etc. Yes I believe that education is very important. I don't believe I will be a failure as a homeschool parent, or my children will be failures as adults if they don't take calculus, statistics, advanced sciences etc. If the desire to take such classes is there, I will move heaven and earth to make it happen.

To me, that comes across as saying you won't encourage that desire to exceed expectations academically, either. Is that what you mean? You say, "live up to their potential," but I interpret that as the bar isn't set too high for them, either. It's as if (and I fully recognize I am just interpreting here) the fear of failure is more important than the push to succeed.

Brandie

 

[Karel]

My concern is that group of children will never get beyond a basic education and that is why I asked if there was oversight.
I would consider any child in HS not learning calculus or Chemistry as not receiving an appropriate education.
Again, I am speaking about a small subset - not all home schooled children.

I never took calculus in (public) high school and barely squeaked by chemistry. It took me a year and half to get through algrebra I and then I went right to business math.

I went to a four year college - and no, not clown school - majored in education and have several teaching certificates. I took 'teaching math' and some 'Understanding Electricity' class to fulfill those math and science requirements. I have no plans to teach anything higher than 6th grade math!

 

[LadyShiva]

I'm sorry, but the rain has stopped here and I need to run and grab my babygirl from day care. Daddy is (supposedly) flying out for a conference tonight, if his plane ever arrives at the airport, so I'm a single parent for the next few days.

Thanks for the thinking material. We're wrestling with our own worries about the education kiddo might receive from the neighborhood elementary and whether or not we should sell the house and move to a better district.

Thanks again!
Brandie

 

[sha_lyn]

To me, that comes across as saying you won't encourage that desire to exceed expectations academically, either. Is that what you mean? You say, "live up to their potential," but I interpret that as the bar isn't set too high for them, either. It's as if (and I fully recognize I am just interpreting here) the fear of failure is more important than the push to succeed.

Brandie

Well to read your post... To tell the honest truth, it sounds as if you want to set the bar so high that your child can do nothing but be a failure in your eyes.
I can only imagine in a few yrs you saying something like...Oh honey you are only VP of the US. I'm so sorry you aren't president.

 

[sha_lyn]

I really have to run but I wanted to add...

When subjects like this come up we (the general we) tend to polarize ourselves. I doubt our ideas are as far apart as the conversation would make us think.

 

[disneymom3]

Actually, I correct my errors. So good luck with that train of thought.

Brandie

Okay, I was going to let it slide, but when you really push it--your sentence "they go straight in the trash" should read "into the trash."

I was hoping someone was going to mention it. You did it alot nicer than I would have.

You are only as good as your teacher.

Sorry, but again--if one is going to correct someone else's grammar, one should make sure one's own grammar is without fault. A lot is two words, not one.

Don't prepare the path for your child; prepare your child for the path.

Brandie

Okay, when the path is STUPID or the WRONG path why stay on it?? I know what it was like to be a very smart kid in a very average school district. I wasted a lot of my time as a child sitting and waiting for people to catch up as they needed the teacher to lecture and cover the same information multiple times and I got it after the first time through. DD is the same way. Why should she waste time learning what parallellograms are for an entire week when she got it on Monday and is hungry to learn more?

I am not at all saying that I or any other homeschoolers cater to their child's every whim, but I am saying that public school is not the right path for everyone. What I always find interesting in these discussions is that none of the homeschoolers criticize other parent's choice of sending their children to public school and yet we are criticized like crazy. Why?? Simply because something is the standard does not make it right. The beauty of education in America is that we have choices. If you want your child to go to a left wing private school, or Catholic school or a conservative Christian school or whatever, the choice is there. To me it's like the working mom/at home mom thing. We all want the best for our kids and we provide what we deem best in different ways.

You don't get the validity of the link?

It is just a link to help others gain info.

Just like any message board there is good and bad stuff.

I understand that and was not in anyway trying to diminsh your input. I was simply wondering if you had found that to be an authoritative source of info on college admissions in the past or if it was just something you ran across via Google etc. I am always looking into what we will need in the future and keeping an eye out for reliable info as I know DD is definitely on a college track.

Do any of these resources address higher-level science classes? I don't see any laboratory-based classes here.

Brandie

I do not know what curriculum she used but my sitter's mom did chemistry and bio with her two highschoolers at home. What I do know is that they both got into the colleges of their choice. For me, I intend to have my kids attend classes with an local organization that hires a college science teacher and uses the classrooms in an old private school that is no longer open.

Jeepers, neither DH nor I took Calculus in High school and we both went to rather prestigious colleges. All this time and I had no idea we were lacking!

 

[momof2inPA]

Wow, some of you are really defensive about this. Sorry, I'm just curious about the entire issue, particularly for those children being kept from school for religious reasons and taught "traditional" topics as noted in a previous post.

My concern is that group of children will never get beyond a basic education and that is why I asked if there was oversight.

I would consider any child in HS not learning calculus or Chemistry as not receiving an appropriate education.

These children have to compete globally for the jobs in the future, and we can all be assured that both boys and girls are being taught far more than what we teach our children in the public schools in this country. I shudder to think how some of these HS children will do in comparison when they have to hit the job market or even apply to a college.

Again, I am speaking about a small subset - not all home schooled children.

You are implying that all parents who homeschool for religious reasons are stupid. In my experience, that just isn't the case. I know of two families where one or both parents are MD's that homeschool, at least partially, for religious reasons.

Are there religious wackos that say they are homeschooling their kids but are really just indoctrinating them? Perhaps, there are a few, but most states have systems of checks and balances to prevent this from happening.

You are right that some homeschooled children might be cheated by a sub-standard education, but the same can be said for some (many) public school students. Just because a few parents don't adequately meet the educational needs of their kids at home, doesn't mean that the option to homeschool shouldn't be available to other parents.

For those who are picking apart the OP's grammar and spelling, the same could be done for many teachers who post on the DIS and for other posters on this thread. You could probably include me. My run-on sentences are infamous.

 

[MushyMushy]

And what college admits them without these basic courses?

I got a four-year bachelors, then a masters degree without any math classes beyond algebra 2, and no chemistry whatsoever.

If a kid wanted to go to college, but was unable to pass the more rigorous math and science courses, he could drop out of school early and get a GED. I doubt all colleges are like this, but I was speaking to one of my professors about it, and I found out that it's extremely easy to get in with just a GED score.

 

[Mary2e]

You are implying that all parents who homeschool for religious reasons are stupid. In my experience, that just isn't the case. I know of two families where one or both parents are MD's that homeschool, at least partially, for religious reasons.

Are there religious wackos that say they are homeschooling their kids but are really just indoctrinating them? Perhaps, there are a few, but most states have systems of checks and balances to prevent this from happening.

You are right that some homeschooled children might be cheated by a sub-standard education, but the same can be said for some (many) public school students. Just because a few parents don't adequately meet the educational needs of their kids at home, doesn't mean that the option to homeschool shouldn't be available to other parents.

Again, you are being overly sensitive. You admit there is a small group doing their children a disservice. I did not say all.

Did someone say that only 28 states have any requirements for home schooling? I know my state wasn't on the list.

I also did not say it should not be allowed. I am asking, for my own education, what provisions, if any, are made for home schooled children to ensure they receive the appropriate education and to protect them from their well meaning parents, who think that teaching a girl to sew is more important than math. That's all.

Like I said, some are certainly very sensitive about this subject.

 

[Mary2e]

I got a four-year bachelors, then a masters degree without any math classes beyond algebra 2, and no chemistry whatsoever.

If a kid wanted to go to college, but was unable to pass the more rigorous math and science courses, he could drop out of school early and get a GED. I doubt all colleges are like this, but I was speaking to one of my professors about it, and I found out that it's extremely easy to get in with just a GED score.

Perhaps your college and or degree did not require it. Mine did. As a matter of fact, I had 64 credits of major course work (finance/accounting) and 64 credits of required non-business courses, including calculus and sciences, as well as humanities, to ensure a well rounded education.

I'm not aware of the college requirements for entering with only a GED. But I can't imagine a university with an admissions policy and SAT requirements allowing students in with only a GED. But as I said, I'm not up to snuff on that stuff.

 

[sha_lyn]

Did someone say that only 28 states have any requirements for home schooling? I know my state wasn't on the list.

Those 28 states require standardized testing per the info that Jenny found.

As mush as I hate the philosphy of HSLDA their map and info is probably the best all in one resourse on what the various state laws are.
http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

 

[JennyMominRI]

Perhaps your college and or degree did not require it. Mine did. As a matter of fact, I had 64 credits of major course work (finance/accounting) and 64 credits of required non-business courses, including calculus and sciences, as well as humanities, to ensure a well rounded education.

I'm not aware of the college requirements for entering with only a GED. But I can't imagine a university with an admissions policy and SAT requirements allowing students in with only a GED. But as I said, I'm not up to snuff on that stuff.

Lots of them do allow homeschoolers with GED's including Ivy Leagues... They have different criteria for evaluating homeschooler... Universities also take a higher percentage of homeschooled students than of PS ones.. There are excellent colleges out there with recruitment programs for homeschoolers.
BTW, It was me who posted that 28 states don't have testing requirements.. That's true...In many of those states homeschools are considered private schools and as such fall under government guidelines if they choose too.

 

[sha_lyn]

I also did not say it should not be allowed. I am asking, for my own education, what provisions, if any, are made for home schooled children to ensure they receive the appropriate education and to protect them from their well meaning parents, who think that teaching a girl to sew is more important than math. That's all.

For the 3rd time.... The home school regulations vary greatly from state to state. As for that very small sector of religious home schoolers, they would (and many do) form religious private schools if/when homeschooling is not an option.

 

[Mary2e]

Those 28 states require standardized testing per the info that Jenny found.

As mush as I hate the philosphy of HSLDA their map and info is probably the best all in one resourse on what the various state laws are.
http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

Thank you for the link!

 

[Mary2e]

Lots of them do allow homeschoolers with GED's including Ivy Leagues... They have different criteria for evaluating homeschooler... Universities also take a higher percentage of homeschooled students than of PS ones.. There are excellent colleges out there with recruitment programs for homeschoolers.
BTW, It was me who posted that 28 states don't have testing requirements.. That's true...In many of those states homeschools are considered private schools and as such fall under government guidelines if they choose too.

I did not say they were not admitted. I said they probably were admitted with other requirements, such as SAT scores.

I am simply trying to get more information, and I appreciate those who provided it. I am not trying to insult you or imply anything. I asked a question if HS children were tested or checked for an appropriate education and meeting standards.

BTW - if PS students fail tests or don't meet standards, they are not promoted and/or are left behind. There are consequences for the child and the school. What consequences are there for the small number of parents giving their children substandard educations in those states where there is no testing?

 

[JennyMominRI]

I did not say they were not admitted. I said they probably were admitted with other requirements, such as SAT scores.

I am simply trying to get more information, and I appreciate those who provided it. I am not trying to insult you or imply anything. I asked a question if HS children were tested or checked for an appropriate education and meeting standards.

BTW - if PS students fail tests or don't meet standards, they are not promoted and/or are left behind. There are consequences for the child and the school. What consequences are there for the small number of parents giving their children substandard educations in those states where there is no testing?

I was just trying to give more info..I wasn't feeling insulted or anything