need feedback on diploma issue
[email protected]
To recap my situation- I have a 14 y/o daughter new to unschooling. She decided not to do ninth grade and at this point wants a diploma so she can get college credit for any classes she takes at the community college. She wants to prep for the California High School Proficiency Exam, which is the legal equivalent of a diploma. I know that as a private school I can issue her a diploma, but somehow that seems wrong to me at this time, since I have nothing to put on a transcript, should I ever be asked to provide one for any reason. I am also not sure what kind of example that would set for my daughter to just say "you want a transcript?" Heres one. Right now she is completely unschooling, and enjoying it, but she chose to take a photography class at the community college and is a bit bugged by the fact that due to her age, she wont get college credit. All this is complicated by the fact that we are both deschooling and I know that both of us havent entirely shrugged off all the schoo
lish notions. How do you deal with the diploma issue? Any feedback regarding this that will help me see things from an unschooling perspective is appreciated.
Kathryn
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
lish notions. How do you deal with the diploma issue? Any feedback regarding this that will help me see things from an unschooling perspective is appreciated.
Kathryn
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Michelle Leifur Reid
On 11/9/06, airokat@... <airokat@...> wrote:
it a state law or is it a rumor that you have heard or even that has
been perpetuated by the college administration? My daughter is taking
an 8-hour intensive language course at uni this summer and has no
diploma (she is also 14) yet she will retain those credits because she
will pay for and take the class. We have high school (both home and
traditionally schooled) kids who take community classes all the time
and graduate with an AA sometimes before they have finished their high
school diplomas. Find out THE TRUTH. If she does need a diploma,
heck, print her off one on your home computer and be done with it.
Having recently been through a job application blitz, not one in the
12 jobs that I applied for (all of which I recieved interviews for
although I chose the first job offered to me - which was my first
choice) not ONE asked if I had even graduated from high school. Most
had a space for college information and several just had a blank for
"education." One wanted "education relevant to this position." I was
quite sure that my meteorology course was not what they were wanting.
:) I guess what I am saying is that in the end the diploma is highly
overrated.
Have you read (ingested, comprehended, purused, etc.) the Teenage
Liberation Handbook? I would start there and everytime you start to
doubt the path you are on or start to get those schoolish thoughts
pull it out and read it again. I think it is a wonderful tool for the
older child who is just starting out on the unschooling path.
Michelle - not even sure where her high school diploma is
> To recap my situation- I have a 14 y/o daughter new to unschooling. She decided not to do ninth grade and at this point wants a diploma so she can get college credit for any classes she takes at the community college. She wants to prep for the California High School Proficiency Exam, which is the legal equivalent of a diploma.Why does she need a diploma to get credit for classes she takes? Is
it a state law or is it a rumor that you have heard or even that has
been perpetuated by the college administration? My daughter is taking
an 8-hour intensive language course at uni this summer and has no
diploma (she is also 14) yet she will retain those credits because she
will pay for and take the class. We have high school (both home and
traditionally schooled) kids who take community classes all the time
and graduate with an AA sometimes before they have finished their high
school diplomas. Find out THE TRUTH. If she does need a diploma,
heck, print her off one on your home computer and be done with it.
Having recently been through a job application blitz, not one in the
12 jobs that I applied for (all of which I recieved interviews for
although I chose the first job offered to me - which was my first
choice) not ONE asked if I had even graduated from high school. Most
had a space for college information and several just had a blank for
"education." One wanted "education relevant to this position." I was
quite sure that my meteorology course was not what they were wanting.
:) I guess what I am saying is that in the end the diploma is highly
overrated.
Have you read (ingested, comprehended, purused, etc.) the Teenage
Liberation Handbook? I would start there and everytime you start to
doubt the path you are on or start to get those schoolish thoughts
pull it out and read it again. I think it is a wonderful tool for the
older child who is just starting out on the unschooling path.
Michelle - not even sure where her high school diploma is
[email protected]
My understanding is that if a child is under the age of 16, they cannot get college credit for community college courses, only High School Credit. I also heard that it is up to the individual community college whether they would grant the credit to children under 16, and each college does things differently. So far I have not been able to get an answer at our local community college. Also, my daughter is still deschooling, and still wants a "real" recognized diploma. Perhaps in due time she will realize it is not necessary. But after 9 years of institutionalized brainwashing, its going to take time to see things differently. I just dont know how to balance deschooling with facilitating her current goals and desires. If she feels like passing the proficiency exam is necessary to her, and what she wants to do, for whatever reason, shouldnt I assist her with that? I suppose she could go through the process and discover for herself its not really necessary.
Kathryn
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Michelle Leifur Reid" <pamperedmichelle@...>
Kathryn
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Michelle Leifur Reid" <pamperedmichelle@...>
On 11/9/06, airokat@... <airokat@...> wrote:
> To recap my situation- I have a 14 y/o daughter new to unschooling. She decided not to do ninth grade and at this point wants a diploma so she can get college credit for any classes she takes at the community college. She wants to prep for the California High School Proficiency Exam, which is the legal equivalent of a diploma.
Why does she need a diploma to get credit for classes she takes? Is
it a state law or is it a rumor that you have heard or even that has
been perpetuated by the college administration? My daughter is taking
an 8-hour intensive language course at uni this summer and has no
diploma (she is also 14) yet she will retain those credits because she
will pay for and take the class. We have high school (both home and
traditionally schooled) kids who take community classes all the time
and graduate with an AA sometimes before they have finished their high
school diplomas. Find out THE TRUTH. If she does need a diploma,
heck, print her off one on your home computer and be done with it.
Having recently been through a job application blitz, not one in the
12 jobs that I applied for (all of which I recieved interviews for
although I chose the first job offered to me - which was my first
choice) not ONE asked if I had even graduated from high school. Most
had a space for college information and several just had a blank for
"education." One wanted "education relevant to this position." I was
quite sure that my meteorology course was not what they were wanting.
:) I guess what I am saying is that in the end the diploma is highly
overrated.
Have you read (ingested, comprehended, purused, etc.) the Teenage
Liberation Handbook? I would start there and everytime you start to
doubt the path you are on or start to get those schoolish thoughts
pull it out and read it again. I think it is a wonderful tool for the
older child who is just starting out on the unschooling path.
Michelle - not even sure where her high school diploma is
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pamela Sorooshian
This is probably getting too California-specific - if you want to
write to me offlist, Kathryn, I can help you out if you need more
information. Write to me at <pamsoroosh @ earthlink.net> --- Pam
Sorooshian
Just get the CHSPE study guide published by Barrons - they have it at
all the regular bookstores. There are two practice exams, plus a
diagnostic exam, included. It describes the CHSPE and goes, in
detail, into everything covered on the test.
I tutor kids who want to take the CHSPE.
By the way, the CHSPE rules say the kid has to be 16 or in the 2nd
semester of 10th grade to be eligible to take the test. Homeschoolers
get around that all the time by listing the kid's grade as 11th
grade, no matter how old the kid is. My oldest daughter took it at 14
and passed it.
The reason you're having trouble getting information about "credit"
out of the college might be because they don't even fully understand
the question. They have no authority to give "high school credit."
They are not a high school. If you (as a private high school, want to
give high school credit for college courses, that's up to you, not
them. They are a college - when they give "credit" it is college
credit - the only distinction for them is whether it is
"transferrable" or "nontransferrable" to 4-year colleges and
universities.
Lots of homeschooled kids in California take the CHSPE because it
lets them enroll in community college just like any other college
student - as a "high school graduate" they don't have to get special
signatures and fill out extra forms just because they are under age.
They can still take community college classes, for credit, without
the CHSPE, at most ccs, but having passed the CHSPE makes the
application and registration process easier. On the other hand, most
of the cc's don't charge any tuition to nongraduated, under-age
students, so it is often worth jumping through the extra hoops in
order to save the $26 (soon to be $20) per unit fees.
The other big thing passing the CHSPE does is allow them to work
without having to obtain a work permit or obey minor work hours/days
restrictions.
-pam
write to me offlist, Kathryn, I can help you out if you need more
information. Write to me at <pamsoroosh @ earthlink.net> --- Pam
Sorooshian
Just get the CHSPE study guide published by Barrons - they have it at
all the regular bookstores. There are two practice exams, plus a
diagnostic exam, included. It describes the CHSPE and goes, in
detail, into everything covered on the test.
I tutor kids who want to take the CHSPE.
By the way, the CHSPE rules say the kid has to be 16 or in the 2nd
semester of 10th grade to be eligible to take the test. Homeschoolers
get around that all the time by listing the kid's grade as 11th
grade, no matter how old the kid is. My oldest daughter took it at 14
and passed it.
The reason you're having trouble getting information about "credit"
out of the college might be because they don't even fully understand
the question. They have no authority to give "high school credit."
They are not a high school. If you (as a private high school, want to
give high school credit for college courses, that's up to you, not
them. They are a college - when they give "credit" it is college
credit - the only distinction for them is whether it is
"transferrable" or "nontransferrable" to 4-year colleges and
universities.
Lots of homeschooled kids in California take the CHSPE because it
lets them enroll in community college just like any other college
student - as a "high school graduate" they don't have to get special
signatures and fill out extra forms just because they are under age.
They can still take community college classes, for credit, without
the CHSPE, at most ccs, but having passed the CHSPE makes the
application and registration process easier. On the other hand, most
of the cc's don't charge any tuition to nongraduated, under-age
students, so it is often worth jumping through the extra hoops in
order to save the $26 (soon to be $20) per unit fees.
The other big thing passing the CHSPE does is allow them to work
without having to obtain a work permit or obey minor work hours/days
restrictions.
-pam
On Nov 9, 2006, at 6:20 PM, airokat@... wrote:
> My understanding is that if a child is under the age of 16, they
> cannot get college credit for community college courses, only High
> School Credit. I also heard that it is up to the individual
> community college whether they would grant the credit to children
> under 16, and each college does things differently. So far I have
> not been able to get an answer at our local community college.
> Also, my daughter is still deschooling, and still wants a "real"
> recognized diploma. Perhaps in due time she will realize it is not
> necessary. But after 9 years of institutionalized brainwashing, its
> going to take time to see things differently. I just dont know how
> to balance deschooling with facilitating her current goals and
> desires. If she feels like passing the proficiency exam is
> necessary to her, and what she wants to do, for whatever reason,
> shouldnt I assist her with that? I suppose she could go through the
> process and discover for herself its not really necessary.
> Kathryn
Unschooling shirts, cups, bumper stickers, bags...
Live Love Learn
UNSCHOOL!
<http://www.cafepress.com/livelovelearn>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]