I am such a hypocrite.
As much as I complain against and say that accreditation is not necessary, I have decided to go ahead and accredit my daughters homeschool portfolio.
Sure, she could get into any private college with her portfolio as-is. Her tests scores are good, especially, her verbal score. She is loaded down with theater and music extra-curriculars, demonstrating the depth of her talent.
So why have I decided to turn her homeschool portfolio into an accredited diploma?
Competitiveness.
One of the colleges she is applying to will take homeschool portfolios with tons of digging and probing, and may still require a GED. We are not really worried about that, because it is clear she is well educated, but they won't take my word for her grades....and her GPA is vital to scholarship offers.
Sigh. Yes, I did it for money. In my defense, this is a tough economy and this will be my second child in college.
So have I changed my mind? Do I think homeschool accreditation is necessary. NO, I don't. My (and many veteran homeschoolers' fear) is that if more and more homeschoolers cave to accreditation, that more and more colleges will feel justified in asking for it. That is sad, because it takes away some of the freedoms of being able to teach to the child. Even with my daughters length and breadth of educational experiences, we have to add another science class and a half credit of economics to meet state accreditation requirements, even though none of her colleges require that she study these subjects. With accreditation, we as homeschoolers spend so much time and effort on studies that either don't fit the child's needs or that keep the child from doing what is more tailored to them. So you can see why so many of us resist accreditation requirements for homeschoolers.
However, I cannot negate the original reason that I chose to homeschool, which is to use the tools in my arsenal to do what is best for each child? Hence, this child will be getting an accredited diploma. However, I might be annoyed if she ends up going to one of the other colleges on her list that do not require it.
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12 grade year of homeschooling, Finishing Strong
We are almost done with my college prep series. There will still be a video on completing the transcript. Stay tuned... meanwhile, ...
1 comment:
BUT. If there are tons more homeschoolers out there, likely schools will need to be more competitive and either offer an entrance exam or other proof for homeschoolers to demonstrate competence.
In the end you just have to do whatever is best for your daughter.
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