This is near me. Thought you might find it interesting! We use public school here, but have considered HSing in the past (but I'm bi-polar & it just wouldn't work out).
http://www.tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=1005
Sounds like she wasn't prepared for HSing her kids. Especially since she was working full-time and never gave her letter of intent to HS. I don't understand why somebody would risk lawful prosecution. That scared me that I didn't know my rights enough but I read them and re-read them several times and then got my DH to read them too :giggle: I didn't want to be wrong.
e_mom_e
04-12-2007, 07:41 AM
what an irresponsible parent she is! Obviously education wasn't her intention in homeschooling them...I mean they missed public school due to ABSENCES??? And she gave them work to do while she was away from home at work? :headscratch: ......sure mom we'll do that....LOL
I have seen this alot around here, parents that don't make their kids go to school and ALLOW their kid to drop out of HS, she just made up a homeschooling cover up so she wouldn't LOOK BAD....but she got caught (so to speak). I think it's sad that people don't see the importance of education.
daisyprincess98
04-12-2007, 05:53 PM
yeah, I have to agree with the authorities on this one...I don't think even HSLDA could help her!
lutgen
04-17-2007, 11:18 AM
I'd go with the authorities on this - homeschooling, but at work..... ummmm nooooo.........
Melissa~BHS
04-18-2007, 01:04 PM
I know someone who "homeschools" her child while she is at work full time. The child is 12 years old and it literally home alone with worksheets all day, from 7am-6pm. I know several people have told her, this is NOT homeschooling. You can't effectively educate your child if you are at work all day. I know a lot of homeschooling parents who take their role as educator seriously and their children thrive - but this poor child can barely read. It's very sad. People like the mother in that article are what make people skeptical about homeschooling.
jbaskc
04-18-2007, 01:44 PM
I know someone who "homeschools" her child while she is at work full time. The child is 12 years old and it literally home alone with worksheets all day, from 7am-6pm. I know several people have told her, this is NOT homeschooling...I know a lot of homeschooling parents who take their role as educator seriously and their children thrive - but this poor child can barely read. It's very sad.
You really should report her...you should be able to do so anonymously.
Melissa~BHS
04-18-2007, 02:05 PM
Where can someone look up the guidelines regarding homeschooling by state? She insists that what she is doing is perfectly acceptable in her state. She doesn't live in my state so I have no clue. I also don't homeschool my children, so I'm not educated enough about the process to give her too much grief.
jbaskc
04-18-2007, 02:08 PM
Where can someone look up the guidelines regarding homeschooling by state? She insists that what she is doing is perfectly acceptable in her state. She doesn't live in my state so I have no clue. I also don't homeschool my children, so I'm not educated enough about the process to give her too much grief.
I really don't know...maybe just try starting with the DOE of the state? like www."nameofstate"departmentofeducation.com? or even the Child Protective Services of that state? :headscratch:
napua
04-18-2007, 09:11 PM
I agree with the authorities on this one.
I will say though that I know a woman that has homeschooled her kids from Kindergarten, her oldest graduated last year and her dd will graduate in 2 years. They are great students and she works very hard with them. A few years ago her husband was killed and she had to find a job to support her family. She managed to do so while still HSing her kids. I personally think she did the right thing for them. Can you imagine being HSed your entire education and then being put in public school after the sudden death of your father? All situations have sides to them that outsiders may not see. I would not go reporting other people unless I though without a doubt that the parents were in the wrong.
jbaskc
04-18-2007, 09:15 PM
All situations have sides to them that outsiders may not see. I would not go reporting other people unless I though without a doubt that the parents were in the wrong.
I totally agree with you on that! But, as pp said, the child she is talking about is 12 and can barely read...sounds like she may need some help. :2cents:
napua
04-18-2007, 09:19 PM
I totally agree with you on that! But, as pp said, the child she is talking about is 12 and can barely read...sounds like she may need some help. :2cents:
Whoa....I must have totally missed that part about not being able to read very well.:blush: In that case, something needs to be done unless the child las a learning disability. My dd is 5 and almost done with kindergarten and she is reading rather well. It is so important to teach a child to read so they develop a love for books! Education is endless and it isn't fair to not give your child the best when it comes to it.
3girlymom
04-20-2007, 09:57 PM
Okay...I've read a few replies, and then watched the video. Before reading replies I had only read the short article in the link.
I have a few things to say....
I homeschool, and feel very strongly about what I do...just so ya know where I am coming from.
I think this is crap. I live in a homeschool friendly state, were laws are minimal. That is how it should be everywhere.
This school district says that there has to be a min. of 6 hours a day to homeschooling. Depending on the grade, that should go out the window. There have been numerous studies done showing that kids in school only get about 23 minutes of instructional time a week from their teacher, and about 7 minutes of one on one time. The rest is spent waiting, teachers disciplining kids, etc. If you compare that to a homeschooled child who is a one on one environment with their learning, who is learning more? Six hours a day of learning in a homeschooling setting is more than what schooled kids get in a week.
Children who are older should be able to work independently. If it took them several hours to do their work alone, that should count toward their six hours. It shouldn't have to be the mom working with them for 6 hours.
The mom said she worked with them at night. There are plenty of people that homeschool where both parents work. So what if she worked while trying to homeschool. I don't understand why that is an issue. With the stress of illnesses, etc, and the reasons why her kids were missing school...what is a parent to do when there is no one who can cart their kids to school for them? How much stress that family would be under trying to juggle everything. Do kids learn better under stressful family times, or when stress is minimized.
The school districts only want to know which kids are being homeschooled because they do not get government funds for those children in their school district not attending their schools. They don't like missing out on that money...which they don't fully use for it's intended purposes.
There is an organization called Homeschool Legal Defense (www.hslda.org) where you can read about homeschool laws in your state. Every homeschooler should be a member of this group, IMHO, just incase you ever do have problems with your school district.
Okay...off my wagon. I don't think this mom should be bashed. She was a bit ignorant not looking into notifying the schools, etc...but that 6 hour thing just isn't right.
I also think she's not being smart for going to jail vs paying the fines. She should educate herself and fight the fines, without taking the jail sentence. If she had a good attorney, she'd prolly win. Now she's going to have a record for being a felon...and there goes another whole host of issues down the road she'll have to deal with concerning future employers, etc. Not to mention those strip searches she'll have to go through...yuck.
3girlymom
04-20-2007, 10:10 PM
I know someone who "homeschools" her child while she is at work full time. The child is 12 years old and it literally home alone with worksheets all day, from 7am-6pm. I know several people have told her, this is NOT homeschooling. You can't effectively educate your child if you are at work all day. I know a lot of homeschooling parents who take their role as educator seriously and their children thrive - but this poor child can barely read. It's very sad. People like the mother in that article are what make people skeptical about homeschooling.
A few things here...
One, the child may have a learning issue as to the reading factor. There could be dyslexia...learning disability...who knows. Hopefully the child has been tested to see if there is an issue.
Second, not all children learn in the same way. There are so many different learning styles out there. Some kids thrive on worksheets, some are totally hands-on, and to best teach your child you need to channel into their learning style. This child may just be a workbook kinda kid.
I would be concerned about the length of time alone. However, the child is old enough to be alone at that age. If you call the police, they will tell you a child as old as 10 can be alone for several hours as long as they know what to do to get help, have emergency contacts/person close by, etc.
If the child is doing their work, there are no complaints from the child, no abuse...I'm not sure if there are any concerns.
Most states have yearly testing the kids have to go through. If the child is passing those tests for his/her grade level, then the child is doing okay.
I wouldn't report anyone to the authorities for this. I would perhaps be inquisitive about how they homeschool, etc. However, unless you're involved in the ins and outs and homeschooling yourself, it's hard to understand why some people do what they do. Everyone has to do what is best for their family, and hopefully this is going on in this case. We all have different values, and that plays heavily into homeschooling.
If something alarming happened, or the child expressed something to someone to cause alarm...then I'd worry.
CrunchyMama0607
04-20-2007, 10:15 PM
WOW!
jbaskc
04-24-2007, 02:11 PM
UPDATE IN OP
luckyduckies
04-25-2007, 09:25 AM
I totally agree with you on that! But, as pp said, the child she is talking about is 12 and can barely read...sounds like she may need some help. :2cents:
My dd is 12 and can barely read!!! She was in public school for K and 3x for 1st grade!!!!!!Then 3rd and 4th grade in public school!!! She has a learning disability so just because a child can't read at an older age doesnt mean its due to homeschooling.....
