Socialization? With other pre-teens? Not a great idea....

And this article exeplifies how non-essential and potentially damaging "socialization" can be.  Totally overrated!!  I had this conversation with Haley just yesterday, and she agrees that the psychiatric bin that is "school" is uncomfortable at best.  She states she didn't really have real relationships with these "random" children...and noticed that most of them were to total opposite of good role-models and she often questioned the necessity of being forced to spend so much time with people she neither likes nor has anything in common with.

What is she to learn from them?  What are they going to "teach her?"  How to interact with 12 year olds?  I prefer for Haley to learn how to interact with adults - being that she's going to spend the large majority of her time as an adult, with adults and its adults who can actually do useful things for her and help promote her.  Learning to to "fit in" with a group of 6 grade girls...is not a valuable skill.  Learning how to socialize with people of all ages - particularly those who make the rules and are in positions of authority, is a much more valuable skill.

Most people admit that "teen-agers are difficult" and "aren't much fun."  Why would I want Haley to learn to be like that?

"Our current education system was created in the late 1800s and...set up to supply the factories with a skilled labor force... Unfortunately, most people learn in those classrooms to hate education for the rest of their lives...

The factory system doesn't work in the modern world, because two years after graduation, whatever you learned is out of date. ...Education needs to be combined in interesting and creative ways with work.

The more young people are infantilized, the more psychopathology they show.

Teens in America are in touch with their peers on average 65 hours a week, compared to about four hours a week in preindustrial cultures. In this country, teens learn virtually everything they know from other teens, who are in turn highly influenced by certain aggressive industries. This makes no sense. Teens should be learning from the people they are about to become. When young people exit the education system and are dumped into the real world, which is not the world of Britney Spears, they have no idea what's going on and have to spend considerable time figuring it out.

What's the worst part of the current way we treat teens?
The adversarial relationship between parents and offspring is terrible; it hurts both parents and young people.... They don't realize they are caught in a machine that's driving them apart from their offspring—and it's unnecessary.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200703/trashing-teens?fb_action_ids=10151857751479476&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Article: Truancy and why we are glad Hana's out of Public School

I had to share these two article that totally capture my sentiment as a new homeschool mom.  As we take take the opportunity for Hana to participate in Artemis and Disney Jrs Doc Mobile tour...and then go to Washington DC to practice our etiquette, fancy dress, manners, and learn United States history in Washington DC...we were super happy with our decision to avoid being criminally accused of being bad parents.




"Leanna’s teacher reports that she “follows classroom rules” and “always participates.” She never disrupts class, loiters at the mall or stashes marijuana in her backpack. But this bashful girl snuggling up to her mom, butterfly-princess-glitter-wand in hand, landed in court a few months ago. And now her mother has a stain on her permanent record."

"Her offense? Leanna was late to school."

"On Tariq’s official Collin County record, the offense appears as “Failure to Attend School – Parent/Guardian Contributing.” It’s a Class C misdemeanor… coupled with a four-hour wait that required Leanna to miss school...."

"Many parents are not even aware until their court summons arrives that aiding and abetting tardiness can go on their permanent records. But for these families, the courtroom becomes the place to hash out their organizational problems, get a court-ordered parenting class and maybe even learn how to get their children dressed in the morning, all on the taxpayer dollar."

"The law refers to children at least 6 years of age…enrolled in *public* preschool…. While some 4-year-olds don’t attend school at all, those such as Leanna who are enrolled in preschool must be on time or face a court date for nonattendance. And the law does not distinguish between tardies and half- or full-day absences...."

http://www.dfwchild.com/features/911/Elementary-Truancy

Of note:  we would have received a threatening letter had we not pulled her out.  This was made known to us - eventhough we organized this trip and "cleared" it with the school leadership.  Nevermind kindergarten is not compulsory....

Legality of Homeschooling in Texas

Of course, any "responsible" parent would be remiss if they failed to investigate the legality (limitations and stipulations) of home-schooling in their state.

"The Texas Education Agency does not regulate, index, monitor, approve, register, or accredit the programs available to parents who choose to home school." - Texas Education Agency.  

Homeschooling in Texas

Classification of Homeschools - Private School

**This is a plus because it means that Texas recognizes that just because children are learning at home, it is still a school and a way of learning.

Restrictions - None

**Parents are free to choose every aspect of their children's learning without having to abide by someone else's agenda/curriculum.  Parents are also not required to obtain teacher certification. 

Reporting Requirements - None

**This is a plus because parents do not have to waste valuable time filling out forms and getting approval from a third party to implement their educational plan.

Recordkeeping - None

**Many parents who do homeschool keep some type of records just in case the kids return to public school. This also demonstrates to anyone who may need to investigate (for any reason) that your homeschooling plan is bona-fide. 

Subject Requirements - Math, Reading, Grammar, Good Citizenship, and Spelling
**Parents add electives like Science, History, Geography, Physical Education, Sports, Gymnastics, Dance, Music, Foreign Language, etc.

Testing Requirements - None
**Many parents choose to test their children using the same requirements as public school children and/or have their children tested on the National level. Also, having the children tested in some type of form (at home, group settings, state or national level) will help to ensure that if for some reason the child/ren have to go to public school, they will be able to pass the test that is always given to homeschoolers when they are returning to public school (some school districts may accept the parent records if they are well organized.   

Letters & Correspondence Regarding Homeschool

Homeschool Information Letter http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/home.school/homeltr.html

Commissioner's Home School Policy Letter http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/homesch110107.htm

***

This is great information because I (of course) want to ensure that I'm not causing harm or creating a legal problem for my family.  Also, I am wise enough to know that life is not always predictable.  And if the kiddos go back to traditional/public school (at whatever point, for whatever reason), I'd like that transition to be a seamless as possible for all parties involved.

The very NICE thing about Hybrid school is...THEY keep records, do grades, testing, and are held accountable by a group of parents to maintain high standards.  Which alleviates that burden from exclusively riding our our shoulders unsupported.  

Additional information:  http://thsc.org/getting-started/faqs/  (The Homeschool Coalition)