Education at Home vs Public School What Do You Think ?

It's unfair for anyone to teach a child without a degree in education and a teaching certificate. From what I remember about high school, the classes were challenging and there were so many subjects, one person could not be good enough at all of them to be the sole teacher. Maybe a retired teacher could assist with tutoring? Find someone to help, if you find you cannot keep her in school, who has the experience and know-how to teach properly. That way, if the time comes when she can re-enroll, she won't be behind.

G.,
I am not sure about where your daughter goes to school but let me tell you a secret...It is called a 501 plan. The schools don't give parents enough info on things like this but ask them about it at school...Her is the deal...first of all the counselor should be fired they have no right to tell any child they will fail under any conditon. Due to your daughter's illnesses you can set up a 501 plan. 501 plans are an individual plan for students set up so they can succeed. You can set it up to have a tutor come to her when she is ill. If you plan to homeschool it is an awesome experience however very demanding on the parents. I did it with my son for a year. He loved it and when he went back to school the next year he excelled in everything. As a matter of fact he skipped the 6th grade 2 years later because he was just to far ahead of other kids. Anyway I am rambling on and on. Call the superintendant in your school district and tell him you want more information on a 501 plan. If you want more info on it email me personally at ____@____.com and I will give you my home phone number and tell you all the info I can. Good luck with everything....Hugs M.

I might consider pulling her out of that particular scholl and transfering her to another one. The counselor should have told her that she has no chance of passing. she's got the whole next semester to pull her grades up. As i recall, when i was in school, if she has a documented medical problem and has dr's excuses, they have to let her make up her work(with in a certain time frame). Have you considered an alternative school? they have smaller classes and more one on one attention. What assignments/tests is she missing right now. Find out what ones she can still make up and turn in to at least bring her up to a passing grade...even if it's a D. Talk to the principal and her teachers to see if you can work something out...

I'm a homeschooler to my 4 children :) I think homeschooling is a wonderful idea. Why should your daughters intelligence or love for learning be snuffed out because of a "grade"? We don't use grades here. We do set goals and we reach them but we always say as long as they our child can tell us they seriously tried there best then that's enough. Most children have the desire to learn and excel so grades really aren't an issue. My children are only 9,8,3 and 6 months but I know of local homeschool groups that I can give you information on. Groups have PE, field trips, get together's, bowling and field trips. Just message me if you want more information. www.teachersonline.us has some helpful links to state laws and other starting information.

K.

I considered homeschooling (and still have not ruled it out) but I found some very good resources at our public library in the childrens section (how to get started, how to plan lessons ect). I decided that with my situation to just "homeschool" in the areas my son had the most trouble with. So I use his school resources and we work together to help him in his trouble subjects. Since your daughter has health issues, homeschooling might be the best option for you. I also found some great homeschooling resources on ChristianBooks.com
God bless you in your decision. <>< J.

Home schooling is a lot of work and there are government regulations/requirements for it. If you don't know much about it, you can research some online or ask others who home school. I don't understand why they say she won't have a chance to pass. I am a teacher and you are always able to make up work--as long as it's done within a certain time frame. If it doesn't get done for weeks and weeks, they aren't expected to count it. I don't mean to question her medical issues, but it's not necessarily the schools fault, it's the state regulations for attendance. If you know she's going to be out, inform the teacher the day before and have them send home the work for the next day or go in and pick it up in the morning. A lot of times when a child is sick, it doesn't mean they are too sick to do their work! My feelings are strongly on public education giving the better opportunities, even if she does miss school often. Also, try your best to work dr. appts. around school, either early in the morn or late in the afternoon--pick her up early from school if needed, take her back to school if school is still in session.

Hi G.!

I don't personally homeschool but I have a girlfriend that homeschools her 3 boys and they love it! She was concerned w/ their activity level and how that would be handled in a public school. I think it was be perfect for her from what I have read. If you need more info just drop me a line I am sure my friend would be glad to talk to you. They are very active in many things w/ homeschool groups so it is not like she would be secluded from anything it would just expand her horizon.

Their are many online schools where the child logs in and works on structured lesson plans via the web. I think they are flexible enough to accomidate her medical needs, but they cost. This eliminates the stress of your creating the lesson plans ect. Also the library and local YMCA's have home school reading and gym programs to compliment what you may do. In Indiana you just need to register as a home school parent and keep records of her attendance and her lesson plan. She still has to attend 180 days, but they can be spread out throught the whole year and weekends.

J.

G.

i dont know anything about hom schooling wihter, but itmay be a good option...also check into like Sylvan learnig center to sometype of tutor, maybe a college student it is worth a try too...sorry she has health problems i am sure it is h*** o* you and her.

If your daughter's health issues require frequent hospitalizations, please check with your hospital about tutoring programs that they may have. Before moving here, I worked at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and we had full time teachers working at the hospital to help kids keep up with school despite the hospitalizations. Good Luck!

G. I do believe that you can find out alot of information by searching the web. I think that home schooling is great if you can do it. I had a neighbor who home schooled all her children and said it only took a few hours a day. If you cant find the information you are needing on the web go talk to the school and have them help you out with getting the information. Good luck...

L.

Hi G.!
I'm really interested in knowing what school your child attends because I was told that very same thing in middle school and I PASSED! I had scoliosis(curvature of the spine)and missed alot due to back pain.Some people may not think that back pain is a big deal but when its severe it really can make you feel like hell. Anyway you need to talk with the principal or counslor about home schooling through the school system. I did this in 9th and 10th grade. They actually send a tutor out to your house I believe once a week. They go over assignments with her and give work to do throughout the week.
It really was a great benefit for me. I was able to return to school for 11th and 12th grade and I graduated when I was suppose to.

*hug* good luck hon, I'm homeschooling my kids but they're also a lot younger

G., I have been homeschooling for 4 years now. My daughter is in the 3rd grade and absolutely loves it. I have another daughter who is 5 months and she will be homeschooled as well. There are lots of resources out there and several homeschool groups you can join depending on what side of Indianapolis you live on. They divide Marion County into 2 different groups. I would be more than welcome to help you out with that and getting you plugged in somewhere. As far as the law for homeschooling in Indiana there really isn't one. The thing they do require is that the child is in school for 180 days and to record what your child is doing. I think it's a great thing. There is also something called co-op. That is where if there is a subject that you aren't equipped at teaching you can send her to a class for a few hours and someone will be teaching her that subject. It is really a great thing to do especially as the child gets on up in the years and things get harder. I hope everything works out for you and your daughter. If you need any more information feel free to drop me a line: ____@____.com Take care.

S. S.

I used to be a troubled teen as well. In Jr. High, I could not concentrate, got poor grades, wasn't too motivated to get good grades. My parents were so wrapped up in their own lives that they didn't work with me in any classes. It took many years for me to care about education on my own. However, I also had a grandmother that bought me everything and I really didn't have any reason to worry about anything else because she did so much for me. I guess what I am trying to say is with your daughter, it might be best for her to face the consequences of her actions and maybe repeat the grade. I think that if my parents had held me accountable for my actions (not caring about school, hanging out with the wrong people, and so on) I would have developed good habits of accountability. If you pull her out of school and home school her, she might think that you will always rescue her and therefore not try as hard. If she has struggled with grades, but puts for a great effort, then that is a different story. I am just speaking from my experience and now being 34 with a child of my own, I see how important it is to make your child responsible for all their actions so that they develop positive independence. It might seem trite now, but if she continues her attendance behavior, among other things, she won't be able to hold down a job in the future because she has developed poor habits (this one being attendance) that will follow her for the rest of her life. You seem like a very concerned, loving parent and I know that you probably tried everything. If you are truly at your wits end, I would highly recommend seeing a family therapist. Good Luck.

I think if you have the time and discipline to do home schooling that is wonderful. I never was homeschooled and my daughter is still to young for school but my best friend growing up was. My only advice is to get involved with as many activities as you can. Don't just sit at home and do work. Do feild trips and stuff just like she would if she were at home. Also, many places have places where you can get in touch with other home school families and form a way for her to get the same socialization and help her still learn how to make friends. If that isn't possible, community activites like 4-H, karate, dance, gymnastics, horse back riding, ect. anything where she will be with other kids will help her get the socialization she needs to thrive during her home school experience. Good luck!

I had a problem with my son and school not unlike yours. I chose to homeschool him. He is in the sixth grade. I think homeschooling is wonderful. He doesn't feel as if he can't do it. Homeschooling allows your child extra time to catch up to where they should be. Public school around here lets uot in May but my son will be doing homeschool a couple hours a day in the summer to make sure he is where he needsa to be incase he goes back to public school in August. I get to spend quality time with my child. It helps us both. You can also print almost everything you'll need for free and you can buy books from the school if you want. schoolexpress is a good site. There are alot out there. Email me anytime. ____@____.com

Hi G.. Where are you located? Here in Lexington, we have a couple of high school co-ops that are great. We also have a couple academic co-op for middle schoolers, plus several enrichment (social) co-ops. I'd be happy to give you information on them or you can join our Yahoo group, Lexington Christian Homeschool. Just go to Yahoo and do a search. I would be happy to help you with curriculum as well if you'd like. I homeschool my 13 year old daughter and 16 year old son. This is our 7th year. We think it is superior in so many ways, and my kids are definitely well-socialized (probably too much). Email me at ____@____.com if you want more info.

Blessings,
K.

hello i have a 13 year old son and 14 year old brother that are both homeschooled and they do alot better than they were in school i know there are lot against it but i believe they get more 1 on 1 help they they could ever get in school there is a site its called www.edhelper.com you can pay a 40.00 a year membership and print out all the work yourself for her school grade and the good thing is you can decide what subjects you teach. as long as they r in there grade level. you can do the work anytime day or night that is best for you you contact the homeschooling office get a # for her and your all set. no need to wait for the # you just make the call and then go to school sign her out tell them you are homeschooling her and thats that hope it helps if you cant find the # to call please contact me i can look for it i have it somewhere

I've never home schooled my kids. I don't have the time or patience for it. But...with some hard work she may be able to catch up. Ask her teacher for a website that will cover the things that they do in class. That site should help her in things such as math, english, stuff like that. When my daughter has trouble in math (that's her really tough subject) I put her on the site the teacher sent home until she understands it. It usually only takes her an hour or two before she knows it inside and out. Alot of people think that kids are better off in school than home school. That really depends on the parents. My ex-boyfriends sister home schooled and her education level is in the toilet because instead of her mom working with her until she understood, she would just give up and do the work for her. But then there are other people that home school their kids and their kids have a better education than kids in public school. I can't tell you wich is better...only you can decide that.