<p>Thanks for those graceful posts, Chelsea and Alchemymom. Congratulations all around!</p>
<p>And please know that for this reader at least, the Trib article (coupled with some of the posts on this thread) did indeed help to dispel some myths that surround homeschooling.</p>
<p>Sorry - as if my post wasn't long enough, I just have two more quick things to add after reading some of the last few pages.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Regarding "all of these expensive tutors" (Narcissa, post #81): I think this is something else I should have clarified - we didn't have our own army of live-in tutors or anything like that! I have only had a few tutors in my life. I had a grad student at Northwestern help me with my EPGY math classes for a couple years, and another one helped me with EPGY physics for a year after that. These were weekly lessons. And my famed French tutor? We have always paid her $30/hour for one lesson a week, at her house.</p></li>
<li><p>Regarding "the invaluable high school experience" (I forget who posted that one): As I've said, that was part of what I tried to convey during my Trib interview and during my last post. One of the things I'm proudest of is that I believe I have had a pretty normal high school experience. I have friends (most of whom go to public or private schools), I go shopping, I go to the movies, etc. And, most importantly, I went to prom at a local school. =] My point is just that home schoolers aren't necessarily excluded from the celebrated high school experience. I don't have a locker and I usually make my lunch for myself each day instead of eating cafeteria food, but that's about all that's different.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Once again, I'm very sorry that this article has upset so many people. I just hope I haven't done more harm than good for the hypothetical future home schoolers I was trying to help!</p>
<p>"Chelsea followed the "Xiggi" method of preparing for the SAT!"</p>
<p>(which sometimes works, xiggi, but often does not -- regardless of your belief in your "system").</p>
<p>More complex things are sometimes at work -- not the least of which can be poor mathematics training, teaching, grounding -- which SAT prep books only partly remedy, if at all.</p>
<p>One size does not fit all, although you like to believe that. For some, that method works fine, & they swear by it, as does obviously Chelsea.</p>
<p><a href="which%20sometimes%20works,%20xiggi,%20but%20often%20does%20not%20--%20regardless%20of%20your%20belief%20in%20your" title="system">quote=epiphany</a>.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It's not just his belief. It's the belief of dozens of us who have seen it work. I have literally counsled twenty kids to use the system. All have made progress. Some have made serious progress. I can't say I've seen the same thing from the storebought systems.</p>
<p>question- to clarify- you used the AP test prep books in some cases as your text books? The implies that your course work was test prep...did you write papers, do projects?</p>
<p>I am really curious about your course work...was it geared to the AP tests as implied by your post? or was there other aspects to your studies</p>
<p>"Also, for my AP exams, which constituted a large part of my coursework for the last two years, I purchased a textbook for some subjects, but for others I just used Princeton Review test prep books"</p>
<p>And if the article rubbed me the wrong way, that is not my fault,..it is how you chose to present yourselves</p>
<p>"Once again, I'm very sorry that this article has upset so many people. I just hope I haven't done more harm than good for the hypothetical future home schoolers I was trying to help!"
Chelsea, there is absolutely no need to apologize for the article! It helped to open a lot of eyes and minds! Congratulations again!</p>
<p>Citygirlsmom, they have no control over how the journalist wrote the article. That's unfair. </p>
<p>It would reflect better on you if you were happy for other people's success. Clearly the parents planted the seeds, but the daughter is the one who made them grow. No amount of money can buy that. She is the real deal, and congrats to her.</p>
<p>Would you have shown the same resentment if, instead of homeschooling her, her parents had taken the same amount of money, spent it on an exclusive school in Chicago (such as the Latin School) or on an exclusive boarding school (such as Exeter) and from there, she'd gotten into top universities? What's the difference, IYO?</p>
<p>"And if the article rubbed me the wrong way, that is not my fault,..it is how you chose to present yourselves"
Cgm, you DO have control over what you post, so don't blame a 17 year old for your reaction to a newspaper article.</p>
<p>Chelsea: </p>
<p>I think that only a small handful of posters were "upset" by your article. The vast majority of us admire your achievements. There have been some contentious posts on this thread about questions surrounding homeschooling and the concept of "giftedness." None of that, however, reflects on you or detracts from your accomplishments.</p>
<p>CGM: So very, very many things rub you the wrong way. What a difficult way to go through life.</p>
<p>once you choose to go public, and brag about yourself, well....</p>
<p>and I really want to get clarity on her course work....if one is going to laud homeschooling, then the course work should be calrified</p>
<p>fair question</p>
<p>and I just didn't like the article, what was described in it and what agenda it was trying to push</p>
<p>I am entitled to say that..I said the girl was amazing...but to disregard all the very obvious advantages she had would be disingenious</p>
<p>and yes, if someone wrote an article about some prep school kid getting into all these schools, eh...I would have the same reaction</p>
<p>I am sure I am not alone, I would bet others who read the article had some of the same reactions I did</p>
<p>Narcissa - assuming for the sake of argument Chelsea's French tutor gave her 50 sessions (once a week) for a year, that's $1500 a year on French tutors.</p>
<p>Yet right up the block from Chelsea, at Northwestern's campus, plenty of kids (including my own) are going to the summer CTD programs and paying $2800 for 3 weeks of summer study. And, of course, there are many similar programs (CTY / JHU, TIP / Duke, etc.). Are you equally appalled by that? Why is Chelsea's spending more rich and uppity?</p>
<p>yes it rubbed me the wrong way....so what? Sometimes when something is published to extoll the virtues of something, what harm does it do to ask questions?</p>
<p>"and I just didn't like the article, what was described in it and what agenda it was trying to push</p>
<p>I am entitled to say that..I said the girl was amazing...but to disregard all the very obvious advantages she had would be disingenious"</p>
<p>Who was disregarding the very obvious advantages she had, CGM?</p>
<p>You probably should post in green; you sound very jealous.</p>
<p>cgm: what is this nefarious "agenda" that is being "pushed"?</p>
<p>This was an article about one family's experience and the choices they made. You have made it abundantly clear that you disapprove of those choices, have sought to diminish this girl's accomplishments and continue to look for more to denigrate -- most recently, your concern about her she prepared for her AP exams.
The family has not pushed homeschooling on anyone; it was a personal choice. No one is questioning your choice not to homeschool. Why the need to excoriate their every move? There is NO controversy: their methodology clearly worked very well for them. Daughter is successful, sounds happy and well-adjusted, parents have no regrets. Just accept it!</p>
<p>I am in no way jealous, I could care less, I just found the article something selfserving...and its a push homeschooling agenda, oh but lets not talk about all the $ involved</p>
<p>as for the ap exams, she said that was her course work, the ap exam books...</p>
<p>I say goodbye,,,but be sure, I am not the only one saw that article and had similar feelings and ideas....some posted here, but many more are thining the same things I did</p>
<p>that is reality, and how many will see the reason for the article and the self serving nature of the piece</p>
<p>it has nothing to do with jealousy...that is laughable</p>
<p>I saw an agenda, and I will not be the only one to be sure</p>
<p>I am honestly confounded by many of the posts on this thread.
I fail to understand how one individual's set of choices and the sharing of those choices results in such condemnation on a board that is presumably populated by people interested in higher education. If someone is prescribing their methodology as the ONLY way to go - fine, have at it. But that is not what the Links, or xiggi, for that matter are doing.</p>
<p>There is a lot of talk of valuing diversity. This is something the colleges are seeking, and many people report as being important to them. When truly diverse approaches to life are being presented, the resulting intolerance is chilling.</p>
<p>broetchen: I don't think it's intolerance for diversity. It's just plain old jealousy of a student who was admitted to HYP+.</p>
<p>Chelsea: Congratulations on your deserved success, and for taking advantage of the learning opportunities that came your way. Enjoy your college career and excel, as it's obvious you will. </p>
<p>You should be proud of yourself and your parents proud of you!</p>
<p>As I just posted to indigogirl privately, it's a joy and thrill when we as parents can find a way to make education that fits our kids rather than the other way around.</p>
<p>Other thoughts: People who are interviewed for the media don't generally get a chance to pre-screen the coverage. (Prior restraint being an important consideration and all that. ;)) One is subject to whatever the reporter or editor decides is important and is left hanging until the article hits the streets. As the parent of a child who has dealt with media coverage recently, we've had reporters who "got it" and others who didn't. I've been present when my student has been interviewed, and I can tell you that what is actually said in the interview, and -- more importantly -- the context in which it is said, all too seldom is accurately reflected in the final piece.</p>
<p>When students are approached by the media to talk about important awards or honors, it's not always to toot one's own horn -- part of it is to bring greater public awareness of the issue/program/organization involved. It's part and parcel of the recognition. It's the same deal with students who are selected for the big name scholarships at a college or university -- they become ambassadors for the program and show up on blogs, viewbooks, etc. Curm taught me that one, and I passed that one on to my kids.</p>
<p>Would I have let my student speak to the media when he was six years old (or would I have talked about him)? No way. But he's not six any more. He has had an important series of life lessons about how to conduct oneself in a public forum, he has learned a lot, and has already applied that knowledge to other situations.</p>