Today I called our local school board homeschool division because I wanted to know what I am required to do once DS finishes 4th grade in January. We use an umbrella but I am switching next year. The new umbrella won’t let you sign up midyear. So from January until I sign up I have to meet with the state. Well anyway, the lady got really irritated with me because we are "going to fast". She asked me why was I trying to advance him. I told her I am not,we started in June and we school year around. I don't know what she's talking about. That is about 8 months and DS wants to do it this way. She wants me to give him something else to do instead of curriculum in January. Then start 5th grade in September. She said if we school threw the whole summer and start 5th in January then in September/October he would be a 6th grader and a whole grade ahead of his peers. I am thinking yeah and, so what! Then she says if i put him back in PS they won't put him more then 2 grades ahead. I told her if he advances that far in grade, then why would he want to go back in the first place and they will put him in the grade I say he belongs in. (because I am crazy and I cause problems) She made a comment of how very confident I was. I told her YEP! All homeschoolers are!.That is what separates us from other parents. We know what our children are learning and what they are capable of. The bottom line is, I feel this is just another attempt by the state to try and tell HSer's what to do and how to teach. I thought the whole conversation was really funny. She didn't! We are starting 5th grade in January.
way to go, stand up for your children. I love how other people think they know your children. So funny.
Good for you! I love it when people stand up for thier kids abilities! Why they want to hold a kid back I will never know!
It is crazy to stunt good development. It would be just as bad as advancing a child who needs more work in a grade level. If he is doing well and not being forced-then they should be happy your child is progressing and learning. This world is so weird. They say they want high achievement, then when they see it on a different time scale-they want to stop it. That would be like telling a worker-"Don't do your work so well, the others can't keep up."
but cabs mom thats what they do! People made me feel like I should hold my kid back before becasue they said she could not be really getting it all at the level she was learning, lol,.
It didn’t upset me. I thought it was rather amusing, because he has no interest in going back to PS at all. I asked her why would she suggest that I slow him down, why would I hinder him if he's ready to move on. If I did that he may as well go to PS. All she kept saying is it’s bad to school year around and it’s bad to do more than one grade a year. The whole time I am wondering why? DS has a very clear goal laid out. He wants to finish early and go to college. He has had me call several colleges to find out what is the earliest age for admission. Most it’s 15 with SAT scores. When he’s 16 he is going to the Culinary Institute of America. He wants to be a world-renowned chef by the time he’s 24. He has had this goal since he was 6. Who am I to stand in his way? I will never hold him back unless he needs it. So in December/January we are doing a review of 4th grade. We are taking 2-3 weeks off and then we start 5th grade!
The truly sad part of this is the mindset that all kids have to fit into the same "box". That each of them have to learn at EXACTLY the same rate, that each on has to learn EXACTLY the same things at EXACTLY the same times. It's ludicrous. When you REALLY stop to think about it, no wonder "different" isn't acceptable, even to kids!
I don't have a problem with the fact that in public/private schools kids are expected to learn at the same rate. The school system would be a failure if operated like homeschoolers do because you can't have hundreds of individual learning programs for each kid. It would take too much time, effort and money. Also, in the real world you are expected to perform at the same or better rate than the average person. I have had ADHD and it always was and still is a challenge focus and learn. I finally started taking Concerta which has helped significantly, but I have always had to work 2-3 times harder and longer than others to keep up. I suspect that some parents on these forums and certainly the school would make excuses that I need frequent breaks, more interactive things, etc.. Although I wish it was easier, I do not think they should lower expectation for me or others. I constantly hear kids use their various medical diagnosis' as excuses for their actions. Today a kid was talking constantly and distracting the class, when I asked him to stop talking and focus on his work his response was, "I can't help it, I have ADHD." I've heard this type of excuse for everything from ADHD to Autism. The question is not whether they have 'disabilities' but how are they going to deal with it. When I had employees, I expected the same level of work from all of them, if they didn't meet my expectations I fired them. Although I hated doing so, I couldn't afford to adjust the work load to accommodate those who were slower and had to let them go. I am glad my parents always taught me that excuses aren't an option and it has served me well in the 'real world'. Almost every job I've ever had I put in extra hours that are unpaid because I work until the job is done and I realize that sometimes it take me longer to do something than others and the employer should be expected to pay for the extra time. I have had impeccable references because of my work ethic, not my abilities. The only sad part, which I hate about public school (I work at one) is the extremely low expectations for all students. The 8th grade math class I am in this year I am noticing that not a single kid knew how to do long division properly...even with something as simple as 228/2. Expectations are very low for all students, not too high. I think kids should be pushed as far and fast as they can go. For those who struggle with subject, they should know that they will have to work harder and should know they are expected to learn it all. However, if they try and fail, that's not the issue, it's that they are trying and know they are expected to try. Sorry for the long post
I've got four words for that lady: No Child Left Behind :lol: :lol: :lol: If they actually believed what the goals were for that initiative, they would encourage all children to maximize their potential. Whoever suggested it is a matter of telling you not to set a new standard is spot on!
I am glad you said what you said to that lady. Who does she think she is? I bet they secretly wish all us uppity homeschool moms would fall on our faces so they can feel vindicated that only a "professional" is capable of teaching a child to do anything. :roll:
It's crazy to hold a student back if their abilities support faster learning. It's crazy to advance people whose abilities are lacking. Here, there have been people who were graduated from high school who could not read. Not on an elementary level, I mean they could not read AT ALL. They were pushed aside because they could not keep up with everyone else and the teachers didn't want to "deal" with them. The public school my daughter attended liked students who were advanced, but instead of giving them extra work or projects, they expected the average and below average students to push, push, push, to try and do the work the advanced students were doing. No child left behind is a joke. My child wasn't advanced (to the point of qualifying for "gifted"), nor was she below average. She fell in the slightly above average for most subjects. Above in a couple. When she struggled with math, her math teacher felt that all of the students should already know the information. If they knew it already, then why go to school? She (the math teacher) told me that "your kid thinks weird and if she keeps thinking weird, she won't ever get it". I thought "you can't teach and if you keep making excuses, no students will pass". This was when she was in the 4th grade. 90% of the parents descended upon the school over this math teacher because she was "flunking" most of the students. The students who usually got straight A's were getting C's, the B & C students were getting D's & F's. So we have it all around. One teacher doesn't want you to rush, take your time and learn it right, then the next teacher wants you to know it all already so she doesn't have to put forth the effort to actually teach. It is a very badly broken system. Imagine if we, as parents, expected all of the teachers to teach on the exact same level from grade to grade. They would raise cain, so why shouldn't we when they expect all kids to learn on the same level! If God had intended everyone to be able to learn at the same rate, then they would.
