Lisa

Hello,

I'm hoping some of you will be able to help me here.
I'm considering unschooling our 15 dd and 14 dd because my 15 dd loves to write and she just wants to write all day. She hates math with a passion. Our 14 dd loves animals and will be volunteering at our local animal shelter soon. Our 15 dd says that she would LOVE to just write all day...she is currently writing a book that she wants to have published. My dh and I struggle with this and want her to "do her school" before she spends her time writing. I, personally, would love for her to but am apprehensive about letting her in fear that she won't learn the math that she needs and also what the state requires for her to get a diploma. Our 15dd dd isn't college bound and our 14dd isn't sure. I'm wondering that since a diploma that I give them will not even be from Nevada why do we need to follow their requirements, unless they go to college.

I apologize if this doesn't make sense. I am just looking for some input, assurance, or I don't know. Thank you for any reply you may have.

Blessings,

Lisa

Meredith

"Lisa" <sixanders@...> wrote:
> I, personally, would love for her to but am apprehensive about letting her in fear that she won't learn the math that she needs and also what the state requires for her to get a diploma.
****************

Are you homeschoolers or are your kids in school? If they're in school, you'll need to do a bunch of research into homeschooling - unschooling is One kind of home-ed, as far as the law is concerned, so you'll need to know the local laws and loopholes. If you've been homeschooling, you may need to look into other reporting options than you've been using. Again, the details are better handled at the local level - people in other states and countries may not be much help with the local legal machinations. If you're in the US, there are a number of ways to get a "diploma" including printing one out on your home computer ;)

As for math - you said she hates math, so whatever you've been doing hasn't been terribly helpful, has it? Let her take a break from it. If she needs some kind of test, later, she can study for that directly and "catch up" on the math - it really doesn't take that long, and she'll be better for the break.

---Meredith

odiniella

--- In [email protected], "Lisa" <sixanders@...> wrote:
>I, personally, would love for her to but am apprehensive about letting
her in fear that she won't learn the math that she needs and also what
the state requires for her to get a diploma




After you find out the necessary information, after your dd gets a
break, you might see what she really wants to do with her time.
Eventually, she'll realize getting a high school diploma is a helpful
stepping stone in reaching one's goals. You'll be amazed by the
difference self-motivation can make!
(spoken by a parent of a 14 yo dd who hates math and independently does
a lesson every day so she can be prepared for her plans next year)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Debra Rossing

If you are homeschooling, the state won't be giving her a diploma no matter what. You could require her to do school every day and she would still not get a diploma from the state. What you DO need to do is know the laws of the state and determine what you absolutely MUST do to keep the state satisfied while also keeping things as open and transparent for your kids as possible.

You're making an assumption that everyone needs to know the same math, the same reading, the same history, etc as everyone else. And, if you're aiming for a state issued diploma, that may be the case (actually it generally isn't, since some kids take calculus in high school and others barely get past algebra and they both get diplomas - they all have to put in x amount of hours sitting a classroom labeled math but what they learn is not all the same). And, too, you (and she) are looking at math as something separate from living life day to day. Does she know if she receives correct change at the market? Can she figure out how much two donuts will cost and if she has enough money to cover it? Etc If so, she's doing just fine and knows plenty for what she needs. Schools take reading, math, etc and make them an end in themselves, a 'subject', but they are actually tools to accomplish a goal. It's kind of like requiring a skilled seamstress to spend an hour each day hammering in nails because that's an "important subject". Well, if the seamstress finds that she needs to build a frame to display her quilts, that's when she might want to spend some time with a hammer. Until then, what's the point?

Deb R



**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the system manager.

This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by
MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses.

www.mastercam.com
**********************************************************************


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Joyce Fetteroll

On Apr 2, 2012, at 8:14 PM, Lisa wrote:

> ut am apprehensive about letting her in fear that she won't learn the math that she needs

What math does she need to write?

And if she needs it to write, then she'll get it herself because it will be information she needs.

What is likely to prevent that from happening is forcing her to do math which will likely cause her to shut down when she encounters math in real life. This might help. Scroll down the left side and there's a discussion of math.

http://joyfullyrejoycing.com/

And these:

Why You Can't Let Go
http://sandradodd.com/joyce/talk

Products of Education
http://sandradodd.com/joyce/products


> and also what the state requires for her to get a diploma.

She won't be getting a diploma from the state. Though you can print one yourself for your homeschool.


> Our 15dd dd isn't college bound and our 14dd isn't sure.

Most of the run of the mill colleges have remedial math classes and often English (writing) classes. Those classes aren't taught because colleges are being overloaded with unschoolers! ;-) It's because schooled kids are graduating without a functional understanding of algebra and writing.


> I'm wondering that since a diploma that I give them will not even be f
> rom Nevada why do we need to follow their requirements, unless they go to college.

Each state has laws of some sort about homeschooling. Mostly they're either to absolve the state of responsibility or to provide a clear line where it would make it possible to charge parents with educational neglect. It's done to help protect children from really bad parents. (I doubt the laws get used much for that, but it makes lawmakers feel better.)

Joyce

Joyce Fetteroll

On Apr 3, 2012, at 3:45 PM, odiniella wrote:

> Eventually, she'll realize getting a high school diploma is a helpful

Homeschooling is well enough known that a diploma isn't necessary. You can print one up it has that much meaning.

If some company isn't enlightened enough about homeschooling and your kid really wants to work for that particular company there's always the GED.


> You'll be amazed by the
> difference self-motivation can make!
> (spoken by a parent of a 14 yo dd who hates math and independently does
> a lesson every day so she can be prepared for her plans next year)


Yes, when someone wants something *and the journey getting there feels like it's worth it or is rewarding in itself* it's surprising how much people will put themselves through.

It's not just wanting something, though. The operative part is "and the journey getting there feels like it's worth it or is rewarding in itself" I'd really like to learn Japanese but the amount of work involved ... feels like work. (Which is why kids who learn Japanese from watching anime do much better. That's fun!) But I have set aside time to work on drawing or writing because it feels like I'm getting more than I have to put into it.

But no one should expect an unschooling 14 yo to be plunging into school work, even if they say they want to go to college. One big advantage of unschooling is that kids can create portfolios of real world exploring of their interests. It makes them stand out from the 1000s of school transcripts.

If your daughter is preparing for a school next year, and wants to do it that way, sure, support her.

But as a general piece of advice about what unschooling will look like with teens, it's not going to represent very many of them.

Joyce

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

odiniella

--- In [email protected], Joyce Fetteroll
<jfetteroll@...> wrote:
>
> But as a general piece of advice about what unschooling will look like
with teens, it's not going to represent very many of them.



My apologies, I didn't mean to suggest my experience was
representative, only to relay the joy of watching a child take
initiative to reach a self-chosen goal. I should add, this didn't
happen right away (or even soon). We spent much time deschooling and I
think the most valuable thing I learned was to take the time for *me* to
deschool. It changed the way in which I interact with my children.
Rather than looking for "learning opportunities," I began to see their
choices as valuable in their own rights.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]