Getting Carried Away with AP?

 I have lots of public school kids in my family to compare with my own and for a while there I was pretty nervous about the sheer number of AP Classes these kids were taking, that mine weren't.  It seemed to me that my kids might be behind the ball and unable to compete for a place in a good college.

I can see now that the stress was unfounded because as homeschoolers there are ways to stand out

College is not the end goal of homeschooling

But it sure feels good when your kid gets accepted.

We will be touring a college this weekend to help make "the choice".  I feel like homeschooling has officially worked.  My son has acceptance letters and scholarship offers so that means we did a great job homeschooling... right?

Well, we did a good job academically, but getting into college does not mean we homeschooled well.

Homeschooling is about a lot more than education.  In my son's case, I was hoping to raise a well

The thought of a tech free education leaves me scratching my head

I spent most of the day hyperfocusing on the idea of a Waldorf education. I began when I woke up to a Today Show conversation about Silocon Valley parents using a school that shuns education, which is an oxymoron at best.

It sounded insane, and interesting at the same time, so I looked into it, and into it, and into it and decided that it is a lot like unschooling, except not at all... as it is too rigid.  Yes, rigid unschooling would be the best way for me to describe it.  Then there is the fact that it is linked to an occult like religion (in it's founding) and there are a lot of disgruntled ex-Waldorf families.

But that's beside the point.  I didn't have to research (though I did) to know what felt wrong at first glance.  The fact is that any movement, educational or otherwise that tries to eliminate an important segment of society (in this case technology) is just wrong.  Besides that, all the other stuff, like not reading or writing in the younger grades, and Legos being bad is just weird unsettling.
Also weird:

I don't see any math in this geometry presentation.
Meanwhile, many homeschoolers now ascribe to a Waldorf homeschool education.  Fortunately, most have adapted it to their own needs.


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Sex ed becoming Mandatory in NY classrooms

First things first.

  With kids becoming less and less literate, why waste time on subjects parents should be teaching at home? Shouldn't they focus on reading and writing. Considering they are not teaching reading and writing well, how well are they going to teach sex ed. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE

Atlanta Parents, need to look at their child's education

This is so sad.  

"The morning of Sept. 30, 2009, half a dozen such students — Chantel Cox among them — showed up in Milton Mack’s classroom at Carver. None was assigned to Mack’s special education classes. All, Mack would later tell investigators assigned to an internal inquiry by the school district, said they had been pulled out of their 11th-grade homerooms while their peers took the high school writing test.

“The students were upset and trying to walk out,” Mack told investigators. “They said they were told they weren’t juniors [but] they were told by somebody that they were juniors until that morning.”

Shortly, according to Mack’s account, principal Rodney Ray arrived to try to calm the students. Ray didn’t say so, but Mack told investigators he assumed the principal had pulled out the students so they wouldn’t hurt the school’s overall test score."

This article really makes me think about some thing that I have seen in my suburb of Atlanta.  I have seen students who were previously moderately successful, suddenly feel unwanted in the classroom.  I have seen special ed students suddenly mainstreamed at Grade 9 and promptly flunked. the goal, I can only guess was to encourage dropping out.  I know of several people homeschooling right now, not because they wanted to, but because they felt they had no other choice... the schools were not interested in helping them.

Read more here http://www.examiner.com/homeschooling-in-atlanta/atlanta-parents-may-want-to-consider-homeschooling


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Teaching ADHD... not disciplining it

Any books you find on teaching ADHD involve recognizing, drugging, and disciplining. How about teaching them?

Please listen to this talk about teaching ADHD children in a way that enriches them, not punishes them. 

This speaker suggests finding what they are interested in and teaching them through these interests.

Why aren't you in school?

My nephew just told me the following true story.

He was in the supermarket with his grandparents during school hours.  A middle aged, abled body looking man approached him said (so that everyone around them could hear) "Son, why aren't you in school".  My nephew (homeschooled age 17, but looks 14) replied, "Why aren't you at work."  The man replied "I don't have a job."  My nephew replied "I don't have school."  The man said nothing and walked away.

Granted, my nephew was a bit mean, but I blame it on public schools ;)... he has only been homeschooling 2 years.  I am sure the man felt badly about not working, but just as he didn't want to be called out because he didn't work, homeschoolers are tired of being called out because they aren't where other non-related people think they should be.

On the other hand, too bad the guy didn't reply that he was self employed, because my nephew could have them said that he was self educated.


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In the Market for New Computers

I think our biggest expense as homeschoolers is for computers.

Each kid takes online classes and does a lot of research and learning online, so each of them needs a computer.  My son has a Macbook, and my daughter's Gateway laptop has been pronounced dead.  She is using the computer my husband built as our home entertainment system to do her school work.  My husband also uses a desktop that he also built (when he is not using his work-issued laptop), and I am currently using a Toshiba laptop  with a monitor, as my laptop screen got broken by the notorious laptop killer that lives here.

No needless to say, we are looking at desktop computers for the laptop killer.  She needs something that will last her until she starts college in about a year and a half, which is about how long it takes her to murder a computer. I was contemplating a desktop for myself as I plan on getting an iPad as well, but I am finding that I can't sit at my desk for a long time as my legs get very restless so I like to move around from chair to sofa, to a laying position as I do my work as a content writer and blogger.  I don't know how much work I can get done on an iPad, so I will need to find out.  (We are contemplating rigging my broken laptop with a mounted monitor to the exercise machine in the basement to encourage more exercise.)

To top it off, son starts college in the fall, so we anticipate buying yet another computer, which will probably be a powerful and expensive Mac because he is going into media design.  Sure the school has computers, but he'd rather work in his room.

Normally our computer purchasing schedule is staggered, with us purchasing a computer every 9 months to a year, but due to the Great Laptop Massacre of Summer 2011, It seems like we may need to replace all of our computers at once.  Sigh. I am glad they are almost grown.... maybe when they are buying their own computers, they will miraculously last longer.

No Family Time Allowed?

I just read and email from the Seattle Public Schools (it got passed around) regarding absences due to family trips.  It took me 5 minutes to find a word that did was family friendly enough to write on my blog.  The letter is in my opinion, WHACKTACULAR.

Here is an excerpt:

Just going to another city, country or out of state, if to visit family or friends and nothing else, would not be excused. Families sometimes arrange their vacations after school starts because airfare is usually cheaper. However, this does not meet criteria for an excused absence.

Interestingly, enough, it is the wealthier and more families that take trips such as these. I doubt the kids are going to fall behind.  Why can't the the kids get a package of work to do while away?

 and

If the trip is to be considered educational, there has to be a plan in place for what the student will learn, what educational activities are to be accomplished, and how the student will report on his/her learning when he comes back. The plan could include language immersion (although this wouldn't be excused by itself), visits to historic or cultural sites, taking photographs and creating a report based on all of this that the student makes to the class or turns in to the teacher, or some other planned educational activity that the teacher and principal approve.

Are you kidding me?  The school want's to hijack a family's vacation time?  I'd rather never go anywhere.

Plus

At least five days of a trip for a funeral can be excused, but any part that would be added beyond this simply for a desire to visit family for a longer period of time may not be excused.

What if the child is still inconsolable?  What if mom needs more time to get her mother's affairs in order?  What if Dad needs to handle his parents estate?  Crazy.

Things like this make homeschooling so attractive.

Here's the school system website, so you can view their overall truancy rules.  I wouldn't want to go to schools like this either.

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Detention for too many potty breaks? | ajc.com

Hold your water. At one Illinois high school, too many bathroom breaks can equal detention after school. Detention for too many potty breaks? | ajc.com

This was one of the reasons homeschooling looked so good to us. Son was born with a stomach condition. He needs to go when he needs to go, but he couldn't. He was getting sicker and sicker in school. We suspect that this problem is why he had so many migraines too.

Once he was home a year or so, his problems became virtually non existent.

I seem to have picked up another homeschooler

I agreed to have my nephew at my house 2 days a week to help him finish his homeschooling and graduate.  He has only been homeschooling for a couple of years after being an official statistic in public school.  I hope we can get him ready for community college by the end of the year, but more than likely, it will be next December when he graduates, hopefully, starting college 2nd semester next year.

This is not going to be easy, and I will be focusing on language arts and math test prep while his mom is continuing with his basic curriculum.

This means I have two seniors on my hands and one Jr.

Yes, I am a glutton for punishment.


Read: Can Homeschooling Help Me Graduate on Time?

9/25/2011

Many people who were failing in public school have used public school to get back on track and finish their high school years strong. It does however that an great deal of determination and hard work.

Can Homeschooling Help Me Graduate Early?

9/25/2011

Homeschooling can be used by smart and advanced students to help them get into college faster, but depending on where you live, it might be easier to take another approach.

 Creating a Homeschool Portfolio when No Records Have Been Kept

9/19/2011

Sometimes we get so lost in homeschooling that we fail to keep records. If this has happened to you, this article will help to recover lost work to create the homeschool portfolio.

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Why are blacks still getting an inferior education?

This is very disheartening news, but I am not surprised.  It was apparent to me by my daughters first grade year that her chances at a good education were slim to none in our Atlanta suburb.  While my son was doing well at the time (in 3rd grade) or so it seemed, I would find out later that he too was getting shafted on his education.

Some of the things that happened.

Someone stole someone else's food and my daughter was pointed out as the thief because the accuser was afraid of the person who actually did it.  My child was a reluctant eater at the time, so that was just crazy.  When the truth came out, my daughter never received an apology.

My son was denied even testing into the gifted program because his grades were "inconsistent".  They would not take into account that those very few low scores happened on days he was suffering from migraines (which he has thankfully outgrown).  Interestingly enough, when I unenrolled him from public school the teacher asked me why I would try to homeschool such a gifted child.  My response, "NOW HE'S A GIFTED CHILD?".

I am not one to bring up race or use it as an excuse.  I don't believe in surrounding myself with only people that look like me. However, the statistics do not lie.  In my kids cases, they stood out for one major reason, and it was not socioeconomic. It was a melanin issue. Assumptions were often made, like everyone assumed I was a single parent.

 I am so glad we decided to homeschool so my kids would have no reason to feel inferior because of their race.  They now, like me, have friends of many races and nationalities, and are on equal footing academically.  Meanwhile...

LOS ANGELES — A 19-month civil rights investigation of the Los Angeles Unified School District found that the district failed to provide an equal education to English-learners and black students, resulting in wide academic disparities, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday.

The investigation also found black students are underrepresented in gifted and talented programs but overrepresented in suspensions and disciplinary actions. Schools with predominantly black populations also lack technology and library resources.

READ:
Can Homeschooling Help Me Graduate on Time?

9/25/2011

Many people who were failing in public school have used public school to get back on track and finish their high school years strong. It does however that an great deal of determination and hard work.

Think like a Homeschooler

7/27/2011

Homeschooling families take a different approach to education and have a different way of thinking than public school families. Taking on a homeschool way of thinking could be valuable to the families of public school children.

How to Learn About Different Cultures like a Homeschooler

9/19/2011

A part of social studies for the typical child in traditional school is to learn about different cultures. The same goes for homeschoolers, but the approach is quite different.

I'd Love to do Elementary Math Education Again

The longer I homeschool, the more I wish I could start over.  Just like the new strollers and baby gadgets on the market that hadn't even been conceived when my kids were babies, there are now so many new and shiny learning programs that I have no use for because my kids are nearing the end of their homeschooling journey. 
 
I have always been partial to technology based learning for certain subjects. I experimented with all kinds of learning software that allowed my kids to "play" their way to acquiring knowledge.  While the games my kids played were cool... very cool, the stuff available now is insane.   In my opinion,  to date, the most natural way to teach homeschoolers is through adaptive learning. Adaptive learning is can now be found in many elementary math education programs in which you will find an individualized approach to teaching, that uses "personalization and also learning systems that dynamically assess and adapt to the student's current knowledge and ability levels". 

I love the fact that parents can purchase computer based curriculum and set kids in front of it and allow them to just go for it.  Compelling graphics, fun characters, and intuitive programming does the bulk of the work for them.  They don't have to worry about alignment to common core standards or any of that other educational mumbo-jumbo.  Children don't have to be dragged into a new concept before they are ready, or become a disruption because they have been stuck on a concept for too long waiting for the rest of the class to catch up. 

Sure, as homeschoolers, we want to get down and dirty into the trenches of addition, subtraction and multiplication, but trust me, you will want to back off when it comes time to figure out the perimeter of a circles. I know I did anyway.  Too bad most of these programs don't go past basic math.  While It won't do my kids much good as they've already mastered elementary math education, I am hoping that by the time I have grand kids (take your time kids) that adaptive learning software will be available for kids all the way through high school and beyond. 

What Should the Punishment be for Cheating on the SAT

Seven students were arrested for an SAT cheating scam. It seems they were busted sometime back, when rumours of cheating surfaced and the very high SAT scores were compared to their mediocre GPAs. 

In the past, the punishment for cheating was to retake the test free of charge. Now, students may find themselves in jail for four years.

Some feel that the school should handle such cheating incidents, others feel that arrests and prosecution are well justified.  I am leaning more toward the arrest option.  Considering Atlanta public schools are now a joke because teachers caused cheating to occur on elementary students state tests, a message must be sent. 

As usual, this scandal will very likely result in changes that assumes everyone is a liar and a cheat.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice "called on the Educational Testing Service, the nonprofit entity that administers the SAT nationwide, to establish procedures to combat cheating, including photographing students as they take the test and attaching the picture to the answer sheet."

GREAT!

No wonder many colleges are rethinking the SAT and ACT.  In the meantime, these tests are the main way that colleges assess whether or not a homeschooler is college material.

Kristen Stewart recalls being forced to homeschool

 Practically no one who commented on the article linked below felt a shred of sympathy for Kristen Stewart, star of Twilight.  Her story is basically that she ended up homeschooling because teachers refused to go the extra mile to help her make up for her absences due to her acting career.

The thing is, anyone who does things differently from the mainstream is made to feel isolated and disapproved of in one way or another. It's sad, but true. It's a shame that her teachers did not show an iota of support to a child, simply because she had ambitions.


Kristen Stewart: My Teachers Failed Me. Not One, But All of Them. The ...
Not One, But All of Them." The Blemish Not One, but All of Them." A lot of people think celebrities are self-entitled brats who have no concept of the real world anymore because they're surrounded by sycophants. Luckily Kristen Stewart is here to dispel that myth. In Britain's GQ magazine, Kristen says her former teachers "failed" to support her while she was out acting and refused to help her catch up on school work while she was shooting on location. She explains that they pretty much forced ...




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Flipping the classroom... another homeschool method brought to the classroom

No matter how you phrase it, in a flipped classroom, teachers record lectures in advance and assign them as homework. In the classroom, they work through the problems together. This is opposite of how math is typically done in the classroom, and teachers usually introduce the subject matter and have them struggle through it at home. The video explains it all. Interestingly enough, this is a lot like how my homeschooled kids have always worked. They watch math, science, and history videos... as many times as it takes to get it. Then they work through the problems requesting help when necessary.


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What are they really learning when you do their homework?

Happy Elf Mom turned me on to this Joanne Jacobs blog about a mom justifying doing her kids' homework. 

 The actual blog post in interesting enough, as all of Joanne Jacobs posts are, but the comment section really blew me away.

It all starts with a blog post called Don't hate me because I do my daughter's homework.  As I read the post in entirely, I absentmindedly mumbled some words that I won't repeat.  In short, I felt like mom was full if it and trying to justify what she knew was wrong. The post ends with "But, when it comes to math, I leave that to her. I hate math. I will look at her math homework to see if she’s done it, but that’s all. So maybe, yes, I do her homework for her (or at least really, really chip in) – but I only do the fun homework. And you?"  Give me a break.

Anyway, like I said, the comments on regarding this post were far more interesting than anything this mom or Ms Jacobs had to say.

There were parents who justified doing homework because the assignments were stupid or because extracurricular and  family time were more important.

There were others who blasted the mommy in question for her "help" which surely went over and above.  Most felt she was bordering criminal behavior.

I felt that the problem was more about honesty and modeling for the child than anything else.  First, I think it is passive aggressive (and easier) to do a child's homework rather than to speak to the teacher about the homework assignment, and maybe ask for something more valuable.I also think that the parent may be underestimating the value of the homework given. A lot of the things she is complaining about, cutting, pasting, drawing, and puzzles are actual valuable activities for visual and kinesthetic learners.  If the child is clearly a different type of learner, then the parent should help the child negotiate a different type of assignment with the teacher.

Furthermore, and most of all, I feel like this is one of those gray areas that many parents participate in, and then when their kids are adults, the wonder why they kids are participating in questionable behavior.  Now these are my personal pet-peeves, but here's how I see it.

You can't buy bootleg and fake merchandise such as movies, and purses, and be surprised when your kid outright steals.  You have set the example of supporting theft.

You can't accepts a "discount" from a friend who works at a store, and be surprised when your kid is arrested for shoplifting.

You can't lose your temper in the mall parking lot at Christmas time over a parking space and be surprised when your kid is arrested for an act of road rage.

Our kids not only do what we do, but they tend to amplify our behavior.  It might be nothing now, but wait until your grown up kid copies your behavior at a much higher level.  It won't be pretty.  In other words, if mom does Jr's homework now, she should not be surprised when he gets busted for paying someone else to take his college entrance exam... which by the way, could be a punishable offense.


I just want to add a bit of a personal afterthought.  I was interrupted while writing this post by my 15 year old who wanted me to grade her practice PSAT exam.  Had it been a real PSAT exam she would have scored a 206.  This is crazy good...  National Merit good.  (provided she doesn't choke).  I point this out, not to brag, but to explain that any score she gets on the PSAT has NOTHING to do with me, even as a homeschooler.  This is a kid who has always learned independently.  Sometimes she did all of the work assigned to her.  Sometimes she blew it off.  And she always, always rushed through the process.  But in her entire education from public preschool and Kindergarten, through homeschool co-ops, online learning, academic classes, and self led textbooks, she never wanted, or accepted help from me.  She could be stuck on a math problem for a week, and would still shoo me away.  Yet she learned.  This may not always translate to great grades on paper, but in the end, if you let your child do more independent learning, you will end up with one smart kid.



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Homeschooling kids are AWESOME but...

 OK... I love my homeschooling peeps, but I think sometimes we go a little overboard.  Here's why:

I am an elections official, and precinct manager.  I was assigned to a precinct late and had to find a staff quick. After going through everyone who previously worked the district, I put out a call to homeschoolers.  Seemed like a good idea.

I realize it was 'my bad' that I neglected to say what ages I needed election workers to be, but I just kind of assumed that anyone who had ever voted would know that young adults, adults, and elderly would describe the mix of people running the polls.

So the return emails I got were like:  "My freshman and sophomore high schoolers want to work."  or "My 8 and 10 year olds would love to work, are there shifts?"

(Actually, shifts would be an excellent idea, but there are laws with reasons behind them that prevents that.)  But... are you thinking that your 8 year old can walk up to a voter who is using his cell phone when he knows it is not allowed but doesn't care because rules apply to everyone but him and tell him in no uncertain terns to turn off their cell phone?  Or, can your 10 year old smile at a 60 year old who doesn't want to fill out the same form he has filled out for the last 40 year because it is a stupid form, and say, "sorry, you can't vote without it".  Or can your 12 year old stop a car that is circling in the parking lot bearing campaign signs and chase them off?  I doubt it.


In all fairness, these parents just get a little excited when they see such an awesome opportunity for exposure, because that's what we do, expose our kids to learning opportunities. But voting is serious government business and while homeschooling kids are awesome, they are still kids.  Having anyone under 16 work an election would equate to child abuse for them, and babysitting for me.

No thank you.

By the way, I will have 3 homeschoolers working for the election.  My 17 year old son and nephew, and a 16 year old girl. 


Read: 

Oh yeah, that's why I homeschool

Things You Should Know Before You Vote

How to Create a Homeschool Portfolio 

Creating a Homeschool Portfolio when No Records Have Been Kept 

What is going on in our schools?

Happy Elf Mom pointed out an incident of special needs children being punished by putting cotton balls in their mouths.   That's just crazy.

In South Atlanta, a child was beaten with a shoe... on her BARE bottom.  That's criminal.



Let's get it together schools!.


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Reasons I am glad we homeschool: Crazy parents in the carpool lane

Karolyn Browden is still shaken by the encounter earlier this week at Arabia Mountain High School when she said a parent pulled a gun on her as she waited to drop her child off.
http://www.ajc.com/news/parent-recalls-facing-gun-1192612.html

 An encounter like this would make me never bring my kid to that school again!


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