How would i tell my school i want to be home schooled?
Nicole D asked:
Could any one who wants to be home schooled be home schooled? My school very well is aware that public school is not working out for me.. I have done ALOT of research and got many people point of veiws who have been homeschooled and not homeschooled’s oppinions and i know that this is what i want.
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Could any one who wants to be home schooled be home schooled? My school very well is aware that public school is not working out for me.. I have done ALOT of research and got many people point of veiws who have been homeschooled and not homeschooled’s oppinions and i know that this is what i want.
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:27 am
yes anybody can be home schooled how about online school i been doing it for a year now and i really like it cause i have a 5 week old child but its for anyone and its free go to its just like real school but its on tha computer on your time u can do your work anytime of tha day cause im finishing a test now that i started today Layla Mommy 3-25-10
June 6th, 2010 at 8:34 am
I don’t know what state you are in, but each state has its own laws about exactly how to notify the ps that you will be leaving them. Most require that a parent gives a written notice, with certain info included, such as, name of student, date of birth, location of homeschool, and vaccination record. There is a bit of variation from state to state. Check out a legal summary of the law in your state at, In Your State–A Legal Summary.
Good for you for choosing homeschool! momo8
June 7th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Usually your parents just go to the school and sign the papers to withdraw you from the public school–they shouldn’t have to give them the reason.
After that, it depends on the state you live in. In Florida, for example, your parents would send a letter to the school district (not the individual school) giving the student’s name, birthdate, and address and tell them that the parents plan to homeschool the student. That would be it to officially be homeschooled. (Then you’d have to keep records of what you learn and such…)
Other states will have other ways of starting. In some states, your parents wouldn’t have to notify anyone. In others, they might have to give a description of the curriculum that you’d be using to the school district.
Main point–Find out the laws for the state you live in. Once you know those, you’ll know what to do after your parents officially withdraw you from your public school. Searching online for a homeschool support group for your state is a great way to get the detailed information that you’ll need.
Good luck. hsfromthestart
June 10th, 2010 at 7:05 am
Your school has an ulterior motive for trying to keep you in school, so asking them for help in leaving is sorta like asking the tobacco companies how to quit smoking, or getting your health advice from people who to stand to inherit lots of your $$ if you die. At best, they won’t know much. As worst, they’ll misdirect you.
Be sure to look up the homeschooling laws in your state…each state gets to decide their education laws, so what works for you in Ohio is gonna change once you move to Georgia or for your buddy in Michigan. Local homeschool support groups are pretty good for this; they know the state laws well, and have insight as to how the local law enforcement views them; you may live in a place where homeschooling is well-accepted and pretty lenient, or your local superintendent may be on a power trip to see how much authority s/he thinks s/he has. These groups also keep up to date with changes in the laws, which is helpful. Try Googling your nearest metro city with the words “homeschool support” to find a few near you.
The next thing to realize is that there’s a whole spectrum of what’s called “homeschool.” Some people sign up with an online version of public school; that’s really technically not “homeschool,” since you’re counted as public school student and you’re assigned a teacher, a strict schedule, and predetermined workload as determined by the school district, etc. The dirty little secret here is that the district gets to keep the federal funds for you, as you’re a public school student this way. (Quite obviously, your school district will like this option best. Often when one queries the school as to the options available for “homeschool,” the school administrators will smile sweetly and mention just such an arrangement, conveniently omitting the rest of your options. This “lie by omission” quietly implies that this is the one and only way “homeschooling is done.” There’s a quite a debate in the homeschooling community about whether or not this constitutes an effort by the educational bureaucracy to redefine the meaning of homeschool, and what effect that would have on legislation and regulation of more traditional homeschool. But I digress.)
Other people may choose to buy materials from companies and enroll with online schools, but they’re “independent” of the school districts, and they don’t owe anyone a darned thing…their test scores (if any; few homeschoolers in the traditional sense are obligated to take state standardized tests) are their own business, as is the pace, order or depth at which they choose to go through the material.
Other people make up their own curriculum, based on their own personal criteria. Some states want you to keep a portfolio of material to prove you’re doing something there at home, other states want you to submit your curriculum for the year for approval, others may require testing that could send you back to public or private school if you fall below a particular percentile…just in case. Again, depends on the state.
Still other people endorse what they call “unschooling,” and they throw out all books and tests altogether and simply follow what interests them. (See the writings of John Holt, or Google “unschooling” for more on that theory of education.) A good book for anyone over 12 years old is “The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education,” by Grace Llewellyn. Here’s an excerpt:
“Did your guidance counselor ever tell you to consider quitting school? That you have other choices, quite beyond lifelong hamburger flipping or inner-city crack dealing? That legally you can find a way out of school, that once you’re out you’ll learn and grow better, faster, and more naturally than you ever did in school, that there are zillions of alternatives, that you can quit school and still go to A Good College and even have a Real Life in the Suburbs if you so desire? Just in case your counselor never told you these things, I’m going to. That’s what this book is for.”
Even if you don’t hold with what the author has to say, the point of view she has is dramatically different and can be a great springboard to help you get in touch with what you believe school and learning should be like. The book also outlines a very nice reference for curriculum, as well as chapters about dealing with your school, convincing your parents, and getting a social life. It’s meant to be a very usable book.
As with many things, there’s a wide spectrum of “unschoolers,” as well. Many of them have a certain set of concepts they want their kids to get and don’t care HOW they get the information, while others take a much more laid-back approach and allow the student to set the list of concepts themselves…or not set one at all. All of these people will still consider themselves “unschoolers.” K