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The teacher has a point...they probably only see most of those students who are not thriving in a homeschool situation, which is why they put back in public schools....
Good point. I'm sure public & private school teachers see only the worst case homeschooled kids. The ones who are thriving, and there certainly are those, continue on with homeschooling until they go to college or start a career.
As to the OP, why not keep the child homeschooled for the remainder of this school year, so he can work on the other subjects & start public school next year? That way you can work with him, into the summer if necessary, to get him caught up.
[quote=sergeisnotmyname;6287848]. When he doesn't pass his end of year tests, you know who gets blamed? Not the parent.
My son scored very high for end of year testing last year, and I'm sure he'd do well if tested now. He's very bright despite your insinuating that homeschoolers are idiots.
Never meant to cast them as saints, and nothing I've written should be construed that way. Only meant to counter the ignorant and demonstrably incorrect statement that 99% of homeschooled students are lagging behind their public school peers.
Exactly. No reason to take this person's situation and use it to make cheap (and incorrect) shots against homeschooling families in general.
I'll give you that. Perhaps I should have avoided the 99% statement. I'm sure that's probably an overstatement on my part.
But please understand, as a teacher here's what I deal with almost on a daily basis; mom thinks the school is failing her child - she decides to home school - months in she realizes she doesn't have the time, the money, or the skill level to do so - she re-enters them into public school - kid is now months behind and it is the teacher's and school's responsibility to now reteach the lagging child from months of educational neglect
It's simply frustrating. Are there home school programs that work. Sure. Many work wonderfully. However, the OP is trying to send her child back to public school after failing to complete her obligations.
Who suffers? The child of course. The school for what will certainly be his poor EOG performance. The teacher who will now have to work overtime to try to bring her child up to par. And most importantly, the other children in the class, as the teacher's time will unfairly be diverted in attempt to bring up the lagging student.
Unfortunatley, the vast majority of students that re-enter the schools, are just like the OP's situation.
I would have no problems saying that 90% of homeschools put into public schools in the middle of year are going to be behind. If they weren't they'd still be homeschooled.
The OPs situation is not all that unique, a family tries out homeschooling, finds out they can't cut it, and local schools are left to pick up the slack. When he doesn't pass his end of year tests, you know who gets blamed? Not the parent.
As a general rule, the schools locally hit the ground running in 8th grade, they are trying to prepare the kids for the challenge of high school. If the OPs child was in a lower grade, it might not be as serious, but don't let your defense of homeschooling (I gather you homeschool?) shade your eyes when homeschooling is not a benefit to the student.
I'm not trying to say the OP isn't going to have problems, or that there aren't homeschooled children who are behind (sometimes way behind), or that there aren't cases where homeschooling is a total bust. Statistically speaking, however, this is not the norm.
I defend public schools just as vociferously when I hear homeschooling families make sweeping and unfair generalizations about the public schools. Nobody should make decisions about their child's education based on peer pressure or incorrect stereotypes, and there's plenty of both on either side of this debate.
Bottom line is that the OP came on here to ask for opinions. When those opinions did not match what she wanted to hear, she got defensive and attempted to diminish the credibility of anyone who disagreed with her. My guess is that this is the same reason she yanked her kid out of school in the first place. She has practically contradicted herself with just about every statement she has made. I think we are all wasting our time here. Everyone have a great night!
. When he doesn't pass his end of year tests, you know who gets blamed? Not the parent.
My son scored very high for end of year testing last year, and I'm sure he'd do well if tested now. He's very bright despite your insinuating that homeschoolers are idiots.
I have not ever said that homeschoolers are idiots. I have said that you've done your son a disservice with horrid plan to teach only one subject for over a third of the year and then return him to local schools when it hasn't worked out for you.
If he's bright as you say, then he'll over come it. I won't say that it will be easy.
Let me clarify a few things here. We didn't "yank" our son out of school for any other reason other than he was afraid to go to school because the classroom was a literal zoo with cursing, disrespectful, out of control kids and teachers who had no control at all. We based our decision to homeschool on doing what we felt was best for our child at the time, given the circumstances. It is now his decision to go back to public school, not ours. He misses the social aspect of public school and being new to the area hasn't helped that. If we had a choice in the matter, we would not be sending him back to that school, but Wake County has not given us an alternative. I came into this forum asking for advice, yes, not to be raked over the coals for "failing my child" and to take a homeschoolers bashing. Who knew he would want to go back to school. If we were going to continue homeschooling, the issue of him only having Science would not be an issue because he would get in everything he needed for the year eventually and do fine.
Let me clarify a few things here. We didn't "yank" our son out of school for any other reason other than he was afraid to go to school because the classroom was a literal zoo with cursing, disrespectful, out of control kids and teachers who had no control at all. We based our decision to homeschool on doing what we felt was best for our child at the time, given the circumstances. It is now his decision to go back to public school, not ours. He misses the social aspect of public school and being new to the area hasn't helped that. If we had a choice in the matter, we would not be sending him back to that school, but Wake County has not given us an alternative. I came into this forum asking for advice, yes, not to be raked over the coals for "failing my child" and to take a homeschoolers bashing. Who knew he would want to go back to school. If we were going to continue homeschooling, the issue of him only having Science would not be an issue because he would get in everything he needed for the year eventually and do fine.
Why are you letting the child dictate your course of action? He wanted out, you took him out. Now he wants back in, so you are going to put him back in, unprepared and all.
Why not use this as a great teaching tool?
"You know what Johnny, last year you wanted to be home schooled. Mom and dad have made a lot of sacrifices to try to help meet your needs and desires. It's not as simple as you think to just go back to school. Unfortunately, you made a decision last year, that you are now not wanting to commit to. Well, life doesn't work that way. You are going to have to stick it out this year regardless of how you feel. We'll finish 8th grade at home and then you can get a fresh start in high school next year."
Dinalkulp, Have you looked into a local homeschooling network? I know this area has a pretty strong hs population. They offer social activities and might be a resource for inexpensive, used materials. Maybe your son would be able to finish the year as a hser if he had a group of friends and you could get him all caught up for high school. Just a thought...
As a mom I understand our need to want the best for our children. The school system can indeed be rough, I know. I would encourage the OP to go speak with a counselor/8th grade educator at the school their child would be returning to and see if they couldn't get in print what is expected for end of 8th grade learning. I would even go and buy (or see if they would loan) the same curriculum they are using and work in tandem at home with him and use the rest of the year to get your child back to where he needs to be, if he has fallen behind.
Don't beat yourself up --- it will keep you from moving forward.
Looking back now you might have done it differently, but now you have a chance to make different (maybe better) choices knowing that the homeschooling did not work out as you might have thought it would. Take on this challenge and don't let the fear of making the wrong decision keep you from making the right one. Parenting is a very tough job and we ALL struggle to make the right choices for our children!!
Last edited by kwalk65; 11-24-2008 at 07:05 AM..
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