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Why not have her take her GED or SATs and go to college early? If you can afford it, that is. She might be better off going to a community college or 4 year college. I know two people who left HS to do that. IMO there is nothing so great about socializing in high school, it depends on the kids. If there are little creeps there who do drugs, are amoral or abusive etc. she might be better off in a different setting.
Bingo!
As long as she has been doing well academically and is self-motivated, there is nothing magical in staying in HS for four years. She may need a tutor, outside class, or practice test along the way, but let her leave school, do the GED and/or SAT and go to community or four year college (finances permitting). As another poster said, some places also have community colleges that give dual HS/CC credit so do that if it's a possibility. There is no point in making the kid suffer any more than she has to.
NOt sure where you are located, but you could look into [if you're daughter is interested] 'early college high schools' as well as simply taking community college classes locally and receiving dual college/hs credit for it. Some kids are ready to move on sooner than later. I don't know your situation, obviously, but just wanted to mention this option. Not everyone wants to spend 4 years in high school, despite that fact that some parents believe in it or work very hard to give their child the 'whole dream experience', not having to work, focus on school and friends, etc. Some teens want to get going on life.
And no, I don't think anyone will necessarily be socially stunted by not living inside the HS social microcosm for 4 years straight. It's hardly a model to emulate for social living, working or coping skills wise. It may reflect some of the reality of corporate and adult life for many. But the idea that kids need to somehow 'practice for real life' by being limited and emulating what is assumed to be their future, does not make sense to me. Kids that are given a variety of experiences are able to think on their feet, adapt, be flexible and figure out 'the system'. That said, I've also home schooled, and we were [kids and myself included] disappointed with how many sheltered homeschoolers we found. Just very immature emotionally; though many of the kids in our now 'top school district' are also emotionally immature. Parents push the academics [and we live in a very diverse ethnic/racial district, and it's across the board] and the kids suffer in terms of their own edge and growth. My two cents. I did not read the entire set of replies, though the general consensus that it depends on the child and all factors in this situation, makes sense to me. Good luck, things with teens tend to be in phases, too, IMO.
We homeschool our kids and have been very successful with it. You can check out all sorts of research that's been done over the years to see that, as a general rule, homeschooled kids have better achievement.
With the public school system graduating about 60% of the kids who start in the system, it's basically a disaster. Even among the kids who stick around, many are close to failing. I always find it interesting when people hold up the public school system as the yardstick to which they compare other forms of education.
The lack of social interaction among homeschooled kids is one of the biggest misnomers out there. Our kids are in all sorts of groups, many of which meet during the school day, and get plenty of interaction. There's no better way to destroy meaningful interaction than sending your kid to school where they sit in class after class with kids of the exact same age group for years at a time. Try getting them in various age related groups and interacting with adults at the same time. Not only that, but your kids are being influenced by all sorts of losers out there. It's not sheltering your kids by having them socializing with people who you prefer to have them socialize with- it's common sense.
If a homeschool schedule that's customized for your daughter would work, then it's a great option. Just be sure that there isn't some other reason other than a legitimate body/scheduling issue out there that would still exist even if you homeschooled her.
Plenty of online options out there that would allow you to monitor her progress even while you are at work. Though it's always preferable to have a parent involved more directly.
There are pros and cons of each. We homeschooled both our kids all the way. My son just graduated magna *** laude from college, and my daughter just completed her first semester of college and made the President's List.
Now it remains to be seen how my son fares in the grown-up workplace! Although both of them worked at the local grocery store in order to buy their own wheels, and did well.
"Hopes" daughter may have had the "social anxiety disorder" anyway....I know my niece, who went to public school until she just absolutely refused to go any more in about the 10th or 11th grade (and she was popular, a cheerleader), is not functioning in society right now, unable to get a job because of her anxieties. (She did finish high school online.) And my kids are functioning in society with no more anxiety than I remember my friends and I having when I was in public school and college.
Sometimes, it's just a personality quirk, or it's a behavior learned from parents or other family or friends.
So, making blanket statements and completely blaming homeschooling or public schooling for anything just isn't the right approach.
(Oh, it's a sad commentary on our society that I can't even type "magna *** laude" without having one of the words replaced with bleep marks!)
btw - home schooling is for religious nuts with no plans on meaningful contribution to society. avoid it
So how do you explain the people who aren't religious who homeschool? And how about the folks who are religious who contribute to society whom homeschool? These types of folks are out there.
I understand that and as someone that is not a morning person, I get it totally, point being, it is what it is and welcome to the real world.
Ok, that sounds like a fantastic perspective to deal with a person's unique biochemistry. Hopefully everyone is dealt with equally in that respect. Of course, people who don't wake up at farmer times aren't good workers because as we all know, you should be wide-awake and alert at 6:20 am.
There are pros and cons of each. We homeschooled both our kids all the way. My son just graduated magna *** laude from college, and my daughter just completed her first semester of college and made the President's List.
...
(Oh, it's a sad commentary on our society that I can't even type "magna *** laude" without having one of the words replaced with bleep marks!)
The first time that it happened to me I thought that I must be spelling it incorrectly. I walked over to my diploma, that was displayed on the wall, just to check. Finally, it dawned on me why it keep changing to ***.
hrs sleep puts you at 10pm. Sleep deprivation is serious. . .if you can't move wakeup time, you move bed time.
btw - home schooling is for religious nuts with no plans on meaningful contribution to society. avoid it
Sleep deprivation is a serious issue. Some people just don't fall asleep easily, and laying in bed awake often makes it worse. It contributes to obesity, depression, and likely countless other health issues. If your brain is active later, and I think for me, having to be awake during High School at 6:xx to be there for the 6:50 bus strongly contributed to longer term insomnia for me. It's highly unusual for me to be able to fall asleep prior to midnight, any night, regardless of how tired I *should* be. I almost never wake up feeling rested, unless I sleep through to 9:30 or 10. Note if I go to bed at either 12pm, 2am or 3 am, I wake up at those times. It's not an amount, it's the when it is.
Home schooling is not always for religious nuts. I'm not satisfied by either method at this point. High School seems to me more of a jail for kids in most respects, destroying creativity and teaching kids to not think critically. Home schooling has its downsides too.
BTW - What exactly is a meaningful contribution to society? I'd argue that very few jobs in the US contribute meaningfully.
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