High school part-time; homeschooling part-time.Hopefully the best of both worlds.

If you have read my previous blogs you are aware of some of the issues we had this last year via the public school. For one of the bullying blogs see the entry in June labeled “(Missing blog summary #1) Bullying in Public school”. What I didn’t mention previously is that we also had issues with some teachers. 

The band teacher went off on the whole class, yelling “Who the hell do you think you all are” and using the s-word (as my kids call it). At the beginning of the year my son couldn’t wait for band because he had wanted lessons forever but we hadn’t been able to afford them. He came home after that and wanted to quit band immediately. He refused to enroll in band for the next year…and he wasn’t the only one. From what I understand 75% of the 8^th grade band refused to take band the next year. It is such a shame that one teacher can ruin a child’s love for a class in such a way. (And yes I went to the school about this but they did nothing. The teacher did apologize to the class but it was too late at that point).

The school’s policy for make-up work is the number of days you missed plus one. So if you missed 2 days of school you have 3 days to get caught up with all your assignments. We had one teacher who did not follow this at all. She expected my son to take 6 tests (voc and spelling) in 3 days! Because she had put him off for so long and it was the end of the grading period so she had to enter a grade for the tests. She also tried to dock him for 2 assignments that he “had to be present the day of to pass” (which is not what the policy says). 

We had another teacher who did not return emails and phone calls for 3 weeks! Literally. Then when she did reply her response was “I didn’t know your email required a response”!! Hello---I only asked about 4 questions in my email! Overall our experience was horrible!

So I was hoping my son would decide to go back to homeschooling. And yes I was leaving that decision up to him. He wants to play soccer and he made the JV team last year. In our area there just isn’t a lot offered for high school age kids as far as competitive sports go. I was willing to fight the school, the bad teachers, and the bullies for another year for him…if he decided he wanted to stay in public school. 

The end of July I get a call from him (he was visiting his grandparents out of state). He had given homeschooling a lot of thought and decided he really wanted to be homeschooled again, but that he wanted a different math program (we were using Saxon, which he HATED)…and then he made an off-handed remark about having more free time to do whatever he wanted to do (such as play his xbox). So I was somewhat excited but the last comment gave me pause. Was he serious about homeschooling or did he just pick it cause he thinks he can play the xbox all the time? Plus I had not looked at ANY curriculum at all! And it was close to the deadline to file with the county that we were homeschooling. So I thought about and talked to some friends. I decided we would go pick his schedule up from the high school. He did not want to do this at all, which really surprised me. I thought he would at least want to go see some friends, say hi, whatever. But he was not happy about going to get that schedule. However I wanted to see what he had been assigned. Imagine my surprise when he had ALL honors classes! Last year I made them put him in honors English. But now he was in honors science and history as well! I guess, even though he didn’t get straight A’s, the teachers must have really liked him and thought he had potential for honors classes. After I got over that shock we looked at his electives. Sure enough he had an engineering class and a technology class (like woodshop but more advanced). I asked him if he wanted to take those classes because that is not something I could easily offer him at home. Of course he did. So we visited the guidance office and then called the school board office and then went back to the guidance office again! After all that run around we finally have him enrolled part-time at the high school. He will be taking the engineering and technology classes, plus a graphic design and geometry class. He agreed to stay in the geometry class because the teacher is the husband of his old tutor. (long story for a different time!) I will be teaching him English/reading, history, and science at home. He will have half a day at the school and half a day at home. :-) I am hoping this will eliminate some of the bullying issues. And so far I like the teachers, especially the one who told me that he would be contacting me. He believes in parent involvement. That just made my day. LOL

Now all I have to do is write an “Intent to Homeschool” letter to the school board office and we will be set for the year….WAIT! I still have to buy his curriculum! Ebay here I come! :-)

Books and Bullying

So we have had issues with bullying in public school and with “friends” in the past. This hasn’t been a huge problem lately though- Thank goodness!


I came across a book this past week. I read it in 2 days- it was that good! It is The Year of Learning Dangerously by Quinn Cummings. I didn’t agree with everything she said but I love that the author was willing to admit her own shortcomings in her own education and how she felt overwhelmed at times and doubted that she was doing the best for her child by homeschooling her. This is an issue that all homeschool parents have at some point- Am I doing what is best for my child? Anyways- one of the parts that stuck out to me (so much so that I wrote it down!) was her summary on bullying. She is talking about all the questions someone (who she refers to as the interrogator) asks when they find out you homeschool. Here is the quote that I wrote down from pg 24: “‘But,’ the Interrogator might ask, ‘how will these kids learn to deal with bullies and jerks?’ As luck would have it, there are bullies at the Scout meetings, in the mall, on the playground and even at family reunions. There are jerks everywhere you look. Children who homeschool do get to negotiate with socially toxic people. What they don’t get to do is grimly endure an entire year sitting two feet from a person who makes their lives miserable on a regular and predictable basis. It’s not unreasonable to hope that by the time homeschooled children enter the world as adults, they will have acquired the self-possession required to walk away from someone who is belittling them and been spared the recurring nightmares of being trapped in the locker room with the bully.”

This is SO true! I had tried to figure a way to sum up the answer to this question, particularly since we have experienced bullying in various place and not just the public school. I absolutely love this part: “What they don’t get to do is grimly endure an entire year sitting two feet from a person who makes their lives miserable on a regular and predictable basis.” I like that particular part because bullying is one of the reasons I pulled my 2nd son out of public school. Yes he still gets bullied occasionally by “friends” but it is not a consistent thing. He isn’t coming home from everything we do crying that no one likes him, so-so was mean to him, etc. Instead of coming off the bus every other day crying and upset I now have a child who gets upset only occasionally about another child bullying him- maybe once a quarter, instead of every day. And because of the homeschooling community that we are in if he tells me about it when it happens I know I can always make it into a teaching lesson with all the kids involved…and the parents won’t be upset that I “corrected” their child! LOL

The school year has begun!!...and with it some changes

A new school year!! This year brings some changes to our house.


We have decided to allow our oldest to attend public school. We made this decision for many reasons but the main three were: 1. In our school district 8th grade is in our high school. 2. Our local Parks & Rec doesn’t offer hardly any sports for kids who turn 14 yrs old. & 3. I want him to enroll in dual enrollment (the kids get college credits for high school classes thus starting their college career early).

“Meet The Teacher” Night was 5-7pm and let me tell you…they lock the doors at exactly 7pm!! I was told we could come anytime with the 2 hrs. I had planned to be there at 5 – 5:30 at the latest. Hubby got home from work late (he wanted to go too) so we didn’t get there till 6pm. Between teachers not being in their class, where they are suppose to be so we can meet them, and the school telling teachers to lock their doors and leave at exactly 7pm (yes they said this over the loudspeaker) we didn’t get to meet every one of his teachers. It was very frustrating. When my kids were in elementary school they had the same times but the school was open till you got done, not on lock-down right at 7. Literally at 7pm the teachers locked their doors, the lights were being turned out, and teachers and administrators were leaving.

Anyways I liked one of his teachers and told people about her. As soon as I did I started receiving very bad reviews about her last 5 yrs with the high school. It was everything from “she doesn’t teach instead she befriends them and has the girls doing her hair during class time” to “she loses homework and blames it on the child” to “if she finds out that your child ‘got her in trouble’ then she bullies them by punishing the whole class and naming your child as the reason”. I tried to get his scheduled changed but they wouldn’t do anything…So needless to say I am keeping my eye on her. I didn’t put him back into public school for him to have a teacher who doesn’t teach and worse bullies the kids!! I will be on first name basis with that school. They will know my car when I pull up outside and will run and hide! LOL I am somewhat serious though. I will not have my child bullied by a teacher and not be taught anything. He had enough of that (the not learning anything) in elementary school.

The high school has an unusual schedule, at least to me. They have an A/B schedule but it isn’t just A/B every other day…there is also A/B every nine weeks or half year. My biggest complaint is that they do not have math all year. It is a half year class, meaning they have it every day for half the year. The other half year is a foreign language. Why couldn’t they have foreign language and math every other day all year? It would help with their retention. They have English every day all year. They have Science & History every other day all year. Then they have one class that is all year every other day and for the other day it changes every nine weeks. They don’t have a study hall…instead they have a half hour advisory period after lunch. In advisory period they can do their homework, go see teachers about make-up work if they missed days, or see teachers for work they didn’t understand.

So school started last week. He was very excited but nervous. His first ½ week (they start on Wed) went well. He hasn’t had any homework at all, which he is loving. I have been reviewing his work every day but it isn’t like he brings books home. I am not even sure if they have a book for every child. He does bring home copied papers so I can see what they are talking about in class though.

I am hopeful for the year but at the same time I am apprehensive. I have a vision in my head of me crashing through the doors and yelling at people. LOL Hopefully it won’t come true. If it does I will be writing about it! After all I am under no illusion that public school is the best system…and I would not hesitate to pull him out and homeschool him again if I feel that is the only way he will get a good education.

Really people?!?! Excluding kids based on food allergies.

J is gluten-free due to his reaction to gluten. He does not have celiac but is "sensitive" to gluten. This week I was confronted with a comment that made me very mad. I had asked about the possibility of an organization we are deeply involved in of purchasing a gluten-free (g-f) pizza. The place they were buying pizza from offers g-f pizzas for the same price as non-g-f so I didn't see it as a big deal to ask. The response was: "I do not want to start catering to all dietary needs, that could lead into a big ordeal.". Whether she intended it to or not, her response rubbed me wrong. My son does NOT have a "dietary need" - he has a food allergy!! To me, "dietary need" is not the same as allergy. And if we had an child with a more severe reaction they would HAVE to "cater to their "dietary need".
I responded and included the following: "I understand your position. However, I disagree. J is a member of this organization and it is medically necessary that he does not eat anything with gluten. It is absolutely possible for ANYONE to eat a gluten free pizza but it is impossible for J to consume non-gluten free pizza. To exclude him is unfair and directly telling him that he didn’t matter. He has gotten upset every time the organization has had a food event in which he can’t participate. I apologize- it was not my intent for my request to escalate as much as it seems to. Again I thought it would not be an issue, given where the organization was ordering from and the cost being the same."


I decided to look up the laws for people with food allergies. Here is what I learned:

"At a recent food allergy roundtable in New York City, Mary Jane Marchisotto, Executive Director of the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) shared the most recent statistics on food allergies, saying that, “Every classroom now has two students with food allergies.” A July 2011 study funded by FAI and published in Pediatrics, found that 15 million Americans and one in every thirteen children now suffer from food allergies – a significant increase from prior data." http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/04/27/virginia-enacts-stock-epinephrine-law-to-help-protect-students-with-allergies/
"A food allergy may be considered a disability under federal laws such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)." http://www.foodallergy.org/section/disability



I also called my son's specialist. I never asked for a letter stating his sensitivity to gluten because I didn't think I would need it since we homeschool. I am now requesting that letter.

In the end the organization won't provide g-f pizza for J. While I still think they are being unreasonable, considering there is no added cost or effort on their part, I am fine with it. I will once again provide my son with food, while trying to explain to him that having a food allergy is not an exclusion from participation and that other kids don't think he is weird for not eating "normal" food.. :-(







UPDATE: So we went to our event with our g-f bought pizza. And one of the members of the organization had gone out of his way and purchased gf pretzels and cookies for J. He also gave us money for the gf pizza, saying that we shouldn't have to pay for our own food when it was a organization event. I am not sure if he purchased the items out of his own pocket or if the organization paid for them. I appreciate what he did because it made me feel like someone was on my side. At the same time if it is out of his own pocket it makes me feel bad. He shouldn't have to pay it himself either- it's not his kid. But again I really appreciate it. He even went out of his way to talk to J and show him where the stuff was. He really is a sweetie! :-)

We will have fun!!!

We have been in school now for about 6 weeks. The first 2 weeks were great!! The kids were excited. They did their work quickly. The next two weeks -not so much fun… My oldest and youngest were not the issue…although the oldest didn’t want to do his work either. It was mainly the middle one. It was a struggle to get anything done. And it was taking all day to do the work. This should not be taking that long!! It was frustrating us all…except my youngest who can take school or leave it. So last week I asked myself why am I struggling like this. Is this why I chose to homeschool? To sit at the table all day and fight with them to learn anything? So I decided to become a little less structured. We are going to do a unit study one day a week. Which is why we did our weather study last week (See the first blog in Oct). We are going to do experiments. We are going to go outside and build forts and take walks. Every chance we get we are going to get a group together and have fun stuff. I did not start homeschooling to be stuck in a “classroom” for 7-8 hours a day. We will have fun!!!

So do bears Hibernate or are they Dormant?

We use Apologia for our science curriculum. I love it because I can have a “science class” with all grades and then just assign work according to their level. Yesterday for our science lesson we were learning about bears. According to the lesson bears don’t hibernate- they go dormant. Hibernate means that breathing slows and body temperature drops to the same as the surrounding air. Dormant means a temporary state of inactivity, kind-of like a long nap. So bears are actually experience dormancy and don’t hibernate. Anyways the boys have been taught in public school that bears hibernate all winter. So here is our conversation:


Me: “Do you know what many bears do during the winter?”

Jason and Kenneth: They hibernate.

Me reading from the book: “They sleep! Because of this, some people say they hibernate, but that’s not really true.” I go on to explain the difference between hibernate and dormant. And the fact that they can even give birth during their dormancy.

Jason: So they don’t hibernate?

Me: No they don’t.

Kenneth: Well why did they teach that at public school?

Me: I really don’t know but now do you understand why I have chosen to homeschool you??

This is not the first time in the last few weeks that we have had a similar conversation, where they boys have found out that something they learned in public school was not correct. It just reaffirms one of the many reasons why I homeschool.

9/30/10


It was pouring all day today so we decided to do a weather unit study. What a great day to do this on since we could actually see some of the things we were talking about!

First I did a search for unit studies. I found a great one that was perfect for a one day subject study: http://www.homeschoollearning.com/units/unit_09-17-01.shtml

We looked up weather vocabulary words:

Flood Plain, Downdraft, Occluded Front

Anemometer, Whirlwind, Psychrometer

Wind Shear, Virga, Microburst

Cirriform, Katabatic Wind, Thermograph

Ball Lightning, Gully Washer, Isotherm


We talked about tornadoes and other weather. I had a few weather books so we read them. We did 3 experiments I found on this site: http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-experiments.htm . We made a bottle tornado, thunder, learned about rain gauges and how to use them, and learned about rainbows by a color experiment (http://www.weatherwizkids.com/experiments-rainbow-colors.htm). Unfortunately I didn’t get pictures of the color experiment.

The Bottle Tornado (http://www.weatherwizkids.com/experiments-tornado-bottle.htm)

The Rain Gauge (http://www.weatherwizkids.com/experiments-rain-gauge.htm) We had almost 3 inches of rain in less than 24 hrs!!

Virginia Homeschooling regulations

There are 4 options to homeschool in Virginia.

Option I: Home School Statute. Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-254.1. “Home Instruction”
1. Parental instruction of children is an acceptable form of education. Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-254.1(A).

2. Parents must annually notify their local superintendent of their intention to home school by August 15. If moving into the school district or if starting home instruction after the school year has begun, parents must notify “as soon as practicable” and thereafter comply with other requirements within thirty days of notice. There is no requirement to use the local school district’s form.

3. Approval is not required. "Approval is automatic so long as a proper notice is filed." State Supts. Memo No. 105, June 6, 1984. The same is true for families starting after the school year has begun: "...subsequent to providing the school division with a notice of intent, such parents can begin home schooling and they will have 30 days to submit the other information required." Supts. Memo No. 124, June 9, 2006, referring to the legislature's 2006 addition of the word "thereafter" to the notice requirement.

4. Parents must satisfy one of four options: (i) have a high school diploma, or (ii) be a “teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education,” or (iii) provide a curriculum or program of study, or (iv) provide evidence that the “parent is able to provide an adequate education.” State Supt. Memo 105, June 6, 1984, stated that in determining whether a parent can provide an adequate education, a local superintendent should determine “whether the document itself exhibits a mastery of language by the writer; whether it includes plans for instructional activities; and whether it presents a reasonable scope and sequence of content. The [local] superintendent does not have to approve or disapprove the activities or the content and should not pass judgment on whether the curriculum is a satisfactory substitute for that of the public schools. That should be left to the parent.”

5. Parents must submit a "description of curriculum” which is a list of subjects they intend to teach. Families are not required to describe the content of individual courses.

6. Anyone aggrieved by a superintendent’s decision may appeal within 30 days to an independent hearing officer.


Alternative Statutes Allowing for Home Schools:

Option II: Religious Exemption Statute. “A school board shall excuse from attendance at school any pupil who, together with his parents, by reason of bona fide religious training or belief is conscientiously opposed to attendance at school.” § 22.1-254(B)(1). Homeschoolers may receive an exemption under this statute according to § 22.1-254.1(D). This exempts them from all requirements under the home school law. § 22.1-254 (H)(5).

In Johnson v. Prince William County School Board, 404 S.E.2d 209 (1991), the Virginia Supreme Court agreed with HSLDA’s arguments and ruled that the “sole test is the bona fides of their (a home school family’s) religious beliefs.” The state’s interest in education cannot be considered. The court also held that a family only has to demonstrate religious opposition to attendance at public school, not opposition to the home school statute or private school attendance. In HSLDA’s case, Dusan v. Cumberland Co. School Board (Chancery No. 2102, Cumberland Co. Circuit Court, Judge Snoddy, Sept. 15, 1993), the Court agreed with HSLDA and favorably applied the Johnson case and reversed the board’s denial of the parents’ religious exemption.

Homeschoolers choosing this option, therefore, need to prove: (1) they have sincere beliefs that are (2) religious, not merely philosophical, which (3) demonstrate their objection to attendance in the public schools. Homeschoolers should prepare a letter describing their religious beliefs opposing public school attendance and submit to the school board. Also, homeschoolers should include an affidavit from their pastor (or other religious expert or authority) stating that their beliefs concerning education are religious in nature, and two or three letters from friends who can vouch for their sincerity.

Option III. Certified Tutor Statute:
If a parent is certified in Virginia, he need only provide a one-time notice to the local superintendent that he will be tutoring children (the name of the children who will be tutored should not be included) and verify that he is certified. § 22.1-254(A). Two courts have ruled that homeschool parents can use this option. One was HSLDA’s case, Prince William Co. School Board v. Charles Berlin, No. CH-34982, Prince William Co. Circuit Court, Judge Richard Potter, Nov. 24, 1993. Subsequently, a State Superintendent memo advised all school districts to follow the Berlin ruling.


Option IV. Private or Denominational School:

Groups of homeschoolers can create private schools with each home a part of the campus and each parent a teacher. Private schools are not regulated. § 22.1-254. An individual home school cannot be a private school. § 22.1-254.A. A private school can establish a distance program (or virtual program, or satellite program) where a student is enrolled in and under the authority of the private school, but the student is taught primarily by his parents at home.

 
Standardized Tests:
Only for parents choosing Option I, and only if the child was 6 or older by Sept. 30. By August 1, submit one of the following. Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-254.1(C) 1. Results of any nationally normed standardized achievement test showing the child attained “a composite score in or above the fourth stanine” (i.e., 23rd percentile); or 2. An evaluation letter from a person licensed to teach in any state, or a person with a master’s degree or higher in an academic discipline, having knowledge of the child’s academic progress, stating that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress; or 3. A report card or transcript from a community college or college, college distance learning program, or home-education correspondence school; or 4. Another type of “evaluation or assessment which the division superintendent determines to indicate that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress.” If you plan to submit an assessment under test option 4, it is strongly recommended that you discuss this with the school system early in the school year.
 
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