Homeschooling a good idea?

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

<p>This entire school year I've gotten very little sleep because of ridiculous amounts of useless homework. It goes on and off; sometimes I'll have little homework, otherwise I'll have a lot. I've missed a lot of school because of it, but my grades have not suffered (except for math). I'm simply tired of it. I'm a sophomore, and this is all with just one AP class and honors in other core subjects. </p>

<p>Next year my schedule would be AP English Language, AP Spanish Language, AP Physics B, AP Calculus AB, AP US History, Study Hall, and Newspaper. </p>

<p>It's obviously at the discretion of the teacher how much homework I get; whether it's tons or very little at all. I'm the kind of person who just wishes at the beginning of an AP class the teacher would hand out the AP review books and say, "Start reading," rather than learn tons of information I have no interest in (pardon my negative attitude, but the point is to pass the AP exam, no?). </p>

<p>I take AP classes because I'd rather get the courses out of the way now rather than later. </p>

<p>I need English 3 and 4, American History, US Gov + Economics, Physics, and 1 more year of foreign lang to graduate. </p>

<p>That's all stuff I could get out of the way in one year if I wanted, but the school wouldn't allow me. Homeschooling would. </p>

<p>It might be all the stress and fatigue talking, but I'm so tired of spending all day at school and then spending all day afterwards working at home on school that at this point I'd be willing to just homeschool. </p>

<p>Obviously, the big sacrifice would be the social setting, which is definitely a big sacrifice. But the idea of being able to spend much less time a day teaching myself the material through whatever resource sounds pretty good.</p>

<p>I've done some research already; I could get a diploma from Keystone (just an example) or I could use FLVS (Florida resident) but that doesn't issue a diploma. I'm still trying to get Bright Futures scholarship, so I'm keeping that in mind. </p>

<p>But any input at all would be appreciated. I've probably left some stuff out, I've got a lot on my mind, so just ask if you have any questions.</p>

2

<p>My son found that there was a ton of busywork and asked to be homeschooled. My wife was uncomfortable with this because she works at home and I travel a lot and she thought she would be sacrificing a lot of work (but wasn't capable of teaching him except in art) and even more imporatantly because she wanted to make sure he had a social life and social connections. So, we worked out a program of partial homeschooling. He does lab science, art and social studies at the school and math and English outside of the school. The lab science courses are so so, but the balance works. He still has his social life and participate in ECs, etc.</p>

3

<p>I am in complete sympathy. You are too young to join the rat race. If you want to do that later, it's your adult choice.<br>
The particulars of home schooling in Florida matter. Also the sort of colleges you have aspirations of attending. I don't have any knowledge about the laws in Florida, although that's where I went to college.
Here in Illinois, there is no requirement to notify any school authorities or the State that you are home schooling, nor is there any monitoring or testing. My first two kids were interested in competitive private colleges, none of which had the slightest interest in whether or not they had a high school diploma. If they did, we would have printed one out on our home computer. But it wasn't necessary. We would have designed a cool one if we were asked!
State universities are more likely to operate by formal rules and bureaucratic requirements. Florida scholarships may be important to you as well.<br>
It would help if you know the rules in Florida, and if you want to go to a public instate.</p>

4

<p>I agree about checking on Florida law to make sure you don't lose the chance for that scholarship. My boys, homeschooled from kindergarten on, chose to attend public school half-time when they got to high school age. That way they could take classes like band and lab science at the school, which made it easier, and also some AP classes, but they were not overwhelmed and could do other classes at their own pace at home, without worrying about tons of busy work homework. They also enjoyed having some classes where they could socialize and have class discussions, but others done independently. Part-time high school was a good compromise for them.</p>

<p>Of course, that, too, depends upon the law in Florida. Some states allow this; others do not. Still, homeschooling can be a wonderful option. Just do your homework, so to speak, before switching, so that you can reach the goals that are important to you.</p>

5

<p>If you did homeschool, you might discover that socialization was no problem at all. There are plenty of homeschoolers in Florida. Moreover, if you had less busywork you'd have more time for your new homeschooling friends and your old schooled friends.</p>

<p>I'm a little surprised by your comment that the point of the class is to pass the AP exam. Noooo, the point of the class is to learn the material. An AP exam is just one way of demonstrating that you know the material.</p>

<p>Do you think you want to "graduate" after next year? If so, would you want to go to college the year after, or take a gap year? Perhaps instead you might want to homeschool for the next two years, going at your own pace, and then plan on college? Think about what you are actually interested in studying, if anything. Homeschooling would give you a chance to focus more on that.</p>

<p>High school aged students who homeschool often take some college classes. You could consider that; the classes typically have less busywork, and they look good on college applications.</p>

<p>Consider where you want to apply to college. Most private colleges welcome homeschooled applicants. Publics can be more difficult, but I know of several homeschoolers who have been accepted to Florida publics, some with aid.</p>

<p>By the way, your name? If I used the English translation of that name here I'd be banned.</p>

6

<p>Cardinal, your perception of my name is that of a typical gringo who has learned a few words from some Hispanic kids.</p>

<p>But it is also a popular catch phrase used by a Mexican comedian that is used with a completely different definition.</p>

<p>And in all honesty, the word doesn't even translate into English. There are too many ways it can be used.<br>
Ojala que entiendas la palabra ahora. Though you wouldn't be banned from this forum no matter what you may think it means.
I shouldn't have stated my viewpoint on the point of AP classes as a fact. That is what I personally believe; you might care to learn the material, but I do not (but of course in the process of doing tons of unnecessary work, one is bound to learn something or at least temporarily remember something until after the exam).</p>

<p>I have been doing research on the laws, and it seems that I could sit on my butt for a year and then my parent could get a piece of paper and a crayon and proceed to sloppily write "joo hav gradooaitid!!1!1!one1" </p>

<p>Of course I wouldn't do that, but at this point it seems like the only thing to do would be to get a GED and start at the local community college since I was going to take basically all AP classes for core subjects anyways.</p>

<p>However, I still have a lot to think about before I make decision.</p>

7

<p>Would you need the GED to attend the community college? My daughter is 15 and she takes classes at the community college. She didn't need to get a GED to do that.</p>

<p>When she finishes with homeschooling/high school and goes onto college full-time I'll just get my crayons out and make her a diploma. ;)</p>

8

<p>Haha, don't forget to frame it!</p>

<p>I looked at the site of the local CC and it made it seem like one would need a GED or equivalent to attend, and my dad understood the same. I'm going to call though, because it'd be much nicer to skip the whole GED nonesense.</p>

<p>Well as the quarter comes to an end, the grades (which aren't bad at all, but I'm accustomed to better and I know I deserve a million A's after all the work I've put in this entire year, but life just doesn't work that way) just push me closer to homeschooling.</p>

<p>Does your daughter take all her classes at community college? What are the classes like?</p>

9

<p>My kids have spread themselves around a bit in terms of classes. My daughter is presently homeschooling lit, math, and history. At the cc she takes college freshman comp, and through a correspondence course she's finishing up her second year of Latin. Also, she takes chemistry, band and speech&debate at the local high school. (They allow homeschoolers to take up to three classes per semester.) She's already taken her SAT, and SAT subject tests in math, lit, and world hist. In June she'll take the amer. hist subject test, and also the one in Latin. She does well on those tests, so apart from her homeschool "grade" the tests validate her efforts.</p>

<p>The classes she's taken at the community college here have been fine. One was so-so and probably a waste of time, but you can't win 'em all.</p>

<p>My son also takes a couple classes at the high school, but his other classes he takes at the local state univ. as a "non-admitted student" -- they let junior and senior level high school students take a couple classes there per quarter. He has really liked that and had some great professors. My daughter has used the cc instead of the state univ. because she's been too young to take classes under the early-college program my son has been using.</p>

<p>Son will go to college as a full-time freshman next fall. He's going to Amherst, and of course they won't transfer the credits from his college classes, but it was never his intention to transfer them anyway. He has just been using the local state univ. to essentially fill-out his high school homeschooling.</p>

<p>My daughter will switch next fall --when she'll be old enough-- from the cc classes to taking classes at the state univ. here the same way my son has been doing. The classes and instructors there have been really great for my son. The cc classes my daughter's been taking are fine too, but not as good overall. At least that's been our experience here, although I expect a cc is like anywhere else -- you can learn which are the best classes, which are the best instructors, and have a pretty satisfying experience.</p>

<p>My daughter isn't sure about what she wants to do for college yet -- but she's only 15. She is considering going the Flagship State U's honors college instead of the private college route her brother's taking. There are some special programs of interest to her at the honors college. If she does that, of course, all her cc credits and "non-admitted student" credits from the local state univ. will transfer and she'll be able to complete a BA in less time. (She's the impatient one.)</p>

<p>So anyway, at your age a lot of homeschooled kids take classes in a variety of ways; cc's, 4-year publics, correspondence or online, part-time high school, and home study. Depending on what's available in their area, they can mix those options up as needed to prepare themselves well for college admissions.</p>

<p>That's one way to do it anyway. There are different styles of homeschooling high school. Some kids don't do outside classes in traditional schools at all, but at least where I live, most do it like my kids by piecing together their education from a variety of sources.</p>

<p>Neither of my kids has taken, or ever will take the GED. Although they have taken several placement tests at the cc and the state univ. for math and english courses. My kids will graduate from their homeschooling --hybrid concoction that it is -- with their crayon diplomas clutched in their eager young hands. ;)</p>

10

<p>We home school because I see what goes on in a public school system. I have taught in pub. sch. for 12 years. From what I see, the system tends to thwart thinking. The system requires pigeon holes. The system requires meaningless disconnected work. The system generates employees and not employers. The system creates socially unfit products by assimilating them to childish thinking instead of adult thinking. Just some observations that made me question what I should do with my children. The end product of this line of thinking for me has not yet been reached. This type of thinking has led me to ask questions about the Pub System to our county board which was met with anger. This type of thinking has made me question my goals as a teacher. At this point, science curriculum is nothing more than a vehicle to spur thinking skills. I seldom require an assignment with full instructions. I never give an assignment with explicit instruction on quality. I simply tell my students to do a good job that is to the best of their ability. I have been amazed to watch them change from status quo to high quality almost overnight. The state requires me to cover so much curriculum that there is no longer any time for a student to actually develop thinking skills. We must shovel facts down their throat at such a quick pace for testing purposes, that we do not have time to allow them to really develop any real thought.</p>

11

<p>Conos-</p>

<p>As a homeschooling parent to 4, two now in college, I appreciate the options made possible with homeschooling. That said, homeschooling isn't for everyone, nor is public, private or religious schools. I totally respect the regiment that many families are able to follow with a traditional education, it isn't easy! Homeschooling isn't a simple solution to what you are experiencing, but fortunately, it is an option. If you do decide to homeschool, you need to be resourceful and comfortable with independence. As you are noticing with your research, there is lots to learn and many approaches and options to consider. This too can be overwhelming. </p>

<p>On a different note, there was a Boston Legal<a href="ABC%20TV">/U</a> show run in Feb. that addressed many of the issues that you began this thread discussing. It was thought provoking to consider the pressures that high school students face today.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>