It depends. We sent our youngest son to public school because he's an excellent tuba player. This meant he had a band class every day, played in various county and state honor bands, participated in marching band competitions, experienced leadership skills, and so on. Looking back, it was worth it. Also, our daughter starts high school in the fall at a magnet school in the public school system. This means that she will have vocal and dance classes every day. It also means she must maintain at least a B in every class otherwise she cannot continue with the program. She knows at least half the students in the class already because they all participate in various acting and drama groups in the area. As I mentioned before, we sent our oldest son to a private school, rather than homeschooling, because he was an excellent soccer player. It meant he received a decent sports scholarship at a small Christian college and learned leadership skills as the team captain. Members of that team remain among his best friends today, and he and others relocated so they could all work in the same city. So, it really depends on the situation. Sometimes it is OK to make decisions based on extracurricular activities.
Also, forgive me for saying this, but not many of the responses in this thread have been supportive - and some have been downright unkind. When someone is struggling and desperately looking for help and support, writing them off is not the best of solutions. For example, I'VE SOMETIMES HIT KEY CAPS AND UNWITTINGLY POSTED SHOUTED MESSAGES BEFORE NOW. Even if it was intentional, the greater an individual's frustration, the more they will appreciate kind advice. Waiting for the tomatoes.
SPLAT!!! Did you feel it, Steve? LOL Seriously, no tomatoes from me. You have a right to your opinion.
...and Steve, I also want to say thank you for being so kind in your delivery. It makes all the difference in the world. :angel: Umm...It makes me not want to toss tomatoes at you.
Ambr's shouting at us (I somehow don't think it was accidental caps) reminded me of what she said about her 9yo lying on the couch shouting at her to GET ME MY BREAKFAST. Gee, I'm wondering where he got that? Most of her previous posts have whined about her not being able to make her son do any work or become a "better kid". I have to wonder about what example he's following. If I post something and don't get an answer, I start looking for my own answer (it took all of about ten seconds to find the Pop Warner page on the internet and find the form for homeschoolers). I don't come shout at people for not being willing to help. Cally and I both gave her the best help we could, and others have done the same before.
I went and read her previous posts also and that is why I said what I said. Homeschooling is not for everyone, and I really don't think it's for Ambr. If my children spoke to me in that manner, refused to do any type of school work and only wanted to play on the computer all day the last thing I would be worried about is getting them signed for football.
Some of the responses have been in frustration to the original post in this thread. I believe I worded my first response to show how her post sounded without being rude in the process. As far as the caps being accidental or not, it doesn't matter. You can tell a lot by the title along with the content of the original post. I don't mind people asking for help and even expressing some desperation, but ultimately we (nor anyone else) can help her or anyone else with everything. We can offer advice if we have any. We can sympathize and share our experiences with her. We can pray. I also don't think she was necessarily looking for advice with this particular post. It sounded more like this: "This place stinks and no one is willing to help me out with my (perceived) desperate situation. Hah! I will just jump to the decision to put him back in school and make sure I shout it out on the homeschooling forum to make them all feel guilty." That is what the original post sounds like to me.
Another thought came to me as I read CornishSteve's response (and I do respect you and your response, I just want to present another aspect.) Sometimes when we (as all of us do) behave in a rude or seemingly rude manner, we actually need someone to point it out. It may sting for a while, but if we let it sink in, we can become better people and learn and grow. For many years I was a very grumpy person in the morning and sometimes at one of my first jobs, I could snap at people in a disrespectful way. Throughout the years, I desired to be a more pleasant person and deliberately worked on becoming that type of person. Another time, I was acting disrespectful at another job (wow, how did I keep those jobs?) and I actually thanked the person who pointed it out. It wasn't easy and it wasn't pleasant, but again I learned and grew from that. I had even had a valid point in the discussion, but the way I addressed it was wrong.
I have to apologize and say, yes, I was very angry and worried about the situation at the time. Since then I have had some time to calm down and think things over. The truth is I had done hours of research before I made that nasty post. That homeschool form you found was what I had found last year, and that is what made me think it was all going to be okay. Then it was the deadline to turn in everything and the "accredited" thing came up. I may be abiding by California law, but federal sees things differently. I was frantic and my husband was irate (he has been unsure of doing things differently). I was trying to make a report card and "fake" it, but knew it wasn't right. In the end We talked to the board and they approved him to play. This fall we will be registering the kids in a charter school. I think that is the happy medium for everyone. Once again, I apologize for shouting and making it sound as though you weren't helping. I kinda make posts on here as a last resort. I really try to do all my research before I ask someone for info. Thanks Cornish Steve for your sympathy and understanding. P.S. Just be thankful you only have to see me in text form. LOL!
:lol: and thanks for the apology. I've been a member or moderator of forums for 7 years, and that's the first time (seriously) that I've seen someone come back and really apologize after throwing a fit. :love:
Apology accepted. And completely, and totally forgiven. We have ALL been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, and worn it so many times that it has all sorts of holes in it! I think you are an amazing and strong person to come back and admit your shortcomings and seek forgiveness....that is never easy. I'm glad they have given your son the opportunity to play football. My oldest is a gymnast and it would KILL her not to do the sport she loves! (even though she threatens to quit almost daily!!!!). And it would break MY heart to see hers broken.
Im glad it is all sorted out, and wanted to echo the sentiment that you were very brave indeed to apologise!
