megamom08

HELP! My heart is breaking. I think it is a foreshadowing of how I
will feel when any of my kids are ready to leave the nest. We began
unschooling in february 2002, after many years of public school
troubles. We pulled her out, and began deschooling/unschooling. A lot
of damage was repaired. I saw a spark and happiness that I had not
seen since before preschool. I have seen a maturity in this 10yo that
has surprised me. To listen to her explain why she loves
homeschooling to grandparents and friends has been a great
affirmation to this way of life. But now she wants to go back to
school. She insists I have "trained" her to stand up for herself, be
disciplined, do things right the first time, and she knows she can
succeed. I have never seen this maturity and confidence from her.
What do I do? I worry that her kinesthetic on the move/ADD style of
learning will be snuffed out again. I do not endorse public school
after all i have learned through researching homeschooling.
Ultimately I have told her it is her decision. I don't want to stifle
her courage and confidence to go back to a place that was such a
relief to get away from. I want her to spread her wings and fly when
she feels she is ready. I was hoping she would never want to back to
school. I thought she would at least wait until middle school or high
school before she started wondering what she is missing. I believe it
is still unschooling if she goes to school by her choice. I am
wondering if they can let her attend half days and still let me be
responsible for her education. I hesistate to call the school, i
don't think they have her best interests in mind. I need some serious
advice. I am in Ohio, if anyone can give specific advice. Ironically
we have a portfolio review scheduled for monday, and school started
yesterday. Do i cancel the review and call the school? HELP

joanna514

I am in Ohio, if anyone can give specific advice. Ironically
> we have a portfolio review scheduled for monday, and school started
> yesterday. Do i cancel the review and call the school? HELP

Can you talk her into giving it one more year before heading back?
What kinds of things does she feel she is missing by not going to
school? Maybe you could brainstorm other ways to meet those needs.
Have you looked into all your options in your community for her to
socialize and have a sense of belonging to something other than your
family?
I'm just throwing ideas out.
If it were me, I would try really hard to figure out why she wants to
go, and talk my child into just why I don't think schools will meet
those needs. And find other ways that will.
If in the end of me trying really hard to convince her that we can do
way better, she still wanted to go, I would not stop any of my kids.
But I have no problems with stating my case strongly.
I didn't do that for my son who went to K. When he was deciding
about 1st grade, I decided that giving him a choice did not mean not
giving him my opinion and I told him exactly why I didn't want him to
go, and what we would do to make sure he was happy at home. He
immediately said he didn't want to go to 1st and asked me in a sort
of aggrivated way, why I hadn't told him all that last year!?.
Maybe your dd needs more time away to really understand and believe
in herself. To really break away from the school system.
I would not jump right back in without some long serious talks and
lots of soul searching and brainstorming for other options.
Good luck!
Joanna

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/22/02 9:00:02 AM, megamom08@... writes:

<< I worry that her kinesthetic on the move/ADD style of
learning will be snuffed out again. I do not endorse public school
after all i have learned through researching homeschooling.
Ultimately I have told her it is her decision. I don't want to stifle
her courage and confidence to go back to a place that was such a
relief to get away from. >>

It's not like moving to Madagascar. She'll come home every day. And she
doesn't have to GO every day, nor finish the year.

<<I am
wondering if they can let her attend half days and still let me be
responsible for her education.>>

Why not let her do FULL days so she'll get tired of it sooner?

Let HER be responsible for her education, not you or the school. She'll
learn all kinds of things, and probably the biggest will be that unschooling
and being home are huge gifts the other kids would love to have.

Sandra

[email protected]

I like Joanna's answers better than mine. I thought it was already at the
enrolled-and-ready-to-go stage.

If she's determined to go, though, I would go with full boring long hungry
days. The sooner to get her home!

Sandra

kayb85

> It's not like moving to Madagascar. She'll come home every day.
And she
> doesn't have to GO every day, nor finish the year.

She has to go enough so that she doesn't start getting truancy
fines. Truancy fines can get very, very expensive...

Sheila

kayb85

Could you find out specifically what it is about school that she
misses? Maybe you could start a cool Girl Scout troop for her that
addresses what she wants (meeting new friends, learning new things
from other people, etc.).
Sheila


--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "megamom08" <megamom08@a...> wrote:
> HELP! My heart is breaking. I think it is a foreshadowing of how I
> will feel when any of my kids are ready to leave the nest. We began
> unschooling in february 2002, after many years of public school
> troubles. We pulled her out, and began deschooling/unschooling. A
lot
> of damage was repaired. I saw a spark and happiness that I had not
> seen since before preschool. I have seen a maturity in this 10yo
that
> has surprised me. To listen to her explain why she loves
> homeschooling to grandparents and friends has been a great
> affirmation to this way of life. But now she wants to go back to
> school. She insists I have "trained" her to stand up for herself,
be
> disciplined, do things right the first time, and she knows she can
> succeed. I have never seen this maturity and confidence from her.
> What do I do? I worry that her kinesthetic on the move/ADD style of
> learning will be snuffed out again. I do not endorse public school
> after all i have learned through researching homeschooling.
> Ultimately I have told her it is her decision. I don't want to
stifle
> her courage and confidence to go back to a place that was such a
> relief to get away from. I want her to spread her wings and fly
when
> she feels she is ready. I was hoping she would never want to back
to
> school. I thought she would at least wait until middle school or
high
> school before she started wondering what she is missing. I believe
it
> is still unschooling if she goes to school by her choice. I am
> wondering if they can let her attend half days and still let me be
> responsible for her education. I hesistate to call the school, i
> don't think they have her best interests in mind. I need some
serious
> advice. I am in Ohio, if anyone can give specific advice.
Ironically
> we have a portfolio review scheduled for monday, and school started
> yesterday. Do i cancel the review and call the school? HELP

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/22/02 11:03:52 PM, sheran@... writes:

<< She has to go enough so that she doesn't start getting truancy
fines. Truancy fines can get very, very expensive... >>

Where is this that there are "truancy fines"? I've never heard of that.
I'm really curious how it could be legally handled.

KT

>
>
>Where is this that there are "truancy fines"? I've never heard of that.
>I'm really curious how it could be legally handled.
>

There are truancy fines here. They don't fine the kid, like an overdue
library book. But if you get hauled into juvenile court because your
kid doesn't go to school--$5,000 max (so much per day, but I can't
remember what it is).

There are billboards on the busses that say "They're skipping school to
send you to court" or something stupid like that.

Tuck

zenmomma *

>>But now she wants to go back to school. She insists I have "trained" her
>>to stand up for herself, be disciplined, do things right the first time,
>>and she knows she can succeed.>>

This sounds like she might think she failed in some way and that she wasn't
up to the task of school. Maybe she somehow thinks she couldn't cut it at
school and that's why she "had to" be homeschooled. Now that she's feeling a
bit more confidence in her abilities, she might want to be going back to
prove something to herself and others.

Conor told me much later that he sort of felt this way at first. It took
awhile before he realized that it was the school system that failed him and
NOT the other way around. He also said that he had looked forward to 5th
grade and being the oldest kids in the school. (Not enough to ask to go back
though.)

>>I have never seen this maturity and confidence from her. What do I do?>>

Support her, talk to her, try to get at what she's really hoping for from
another school year. Congratulate her on how mature and confident she seems.
Assure her that you KNOW she'll make the decision that feels right for her
*right now*. That keeps the door open for changing her mind and her decision
if circumstances change. You know, like if school is boring and tedious and
she wants to stop after a few weeks, days or hours. ;-)

>>I worry that her kinesthetic on the move/ADD style of learning will be
>>snuffed out again.>>

I would also worry about her picking up too much on those labels and
worrying that she's somehow damaged goods. Labels like that tend to have us
thinking that there are the "regular/normal" learners and then there are
those ADD/kinesthetic types. :-P~~~~

As I'm sure you've discovered with unschooling, true learning doesn't come
with a label. It doesn't come prepackaged or neatly ordered or by grade
levels. It comes in leaps and bounds and fits and starts. It swirls up and
then settles down. It comes from a place of joyful inquiry and sometimes
frustrated investigation. It comes from the learner.

If your daughter does ultimately decide to try school again, help her to
makeit a true learning experience. Take away the school's power over her and
let her approach it on her own terms. Each assignment, book, or activity
will be her decision to do. She will own the experience or whe will decide
it's not worth her effort. And either way you will be in her corner, ready
to help and support her.

Life is good.
~Mary

_________________________________________________________________
Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com

kayb85

Oh, you'll love this. I didn't realize other states didn't have
truancy fines...How do they enforce compulsory education laws?

Homeschoolers have trouble with this all the time in PA. Our messed
up law says that if a school district feels satisfactory education
isn't occurring, he should initiate a due process hearing. BUT! No
districts ever do. That would cost them money. So instead, they
throw truancy fines. And guess who gets to keep the money from
truancy fines? Yep, the district. Isn't that sweet?

So, for example, the law doesn't say that we need to show a copy of
our highschool diploma in order to homeschool, but many homeschoolers
attach it anyway. (According to the law, we simply need to attest to
having a highschool diploma in the affidavit). So if a district
wants to demand something--like a highschool diploma, or evidence of
immunization, or even a daily teacher's plan book, they often charge
homeschoolers with truancy.

If a homeschooler forgets to hand in an affidavit in PA, they get
fined for every day their children are "truant".

When my brother was a teenager my parents couldn't get him to go to
school. They allowed him to become an emancipated minor so that they
didn't have to keep paying the fines. (They didn't understand or know
much about homeschooling at the time). I think it got to the point
where the fines were 100 a day.

I know a lady who felt convicted that she didn't want to answer to
the state about her kids' education and tried to
homeschool "underground". (No affidavit filed, no portfolio turned
in, no tests, no evaluations). She got away with it for awhile and
then got reported (You know, the usual, "So and so's kids are never
in school report). They charged her with truancy and fined her. She
didn't pay the fines. Her husband did some jail time over unpaid
truancy fines. Officials came for him and aimed a loaded shot gun at
her and her children (over unpaid truancy fines). She was in court
for a long, long time and ended up losing anyway.

I copied the following from this website:
http://www.elc-pa.org/brochures/School%20Attendance%20%20Truancy.htm

ºIf a judge finds a child truant, what can the judge do to the
parents and the child?

The judge can order a variety of penalties if the judge finds that
the child is truant. The parent can be found guilty of a summary
offense and fined up to $300 for each truancy violation. Or, the
judge could require the parent to complete a "parenting education
program." The judge can also decide that instead of, or in addition
to, the fine or education program, the parent must perform community
service in the school district where the child lives for up to six
months.

If the parent fails to comply with the court order, they can be
sentenced to serve up to five (5) days in a county jail. However, if
the parents haven't paid the fine that the court has ordered, they
can only be sent to jail after a hearing is held to determine whether
they had the financial ability to pay the fine.

Depending upon the child's age, the judge can fine the child up to
$300 for each truancy violation, if the parents can show they tried
to try to get the child to go to school. Or, the judge can assign
the child to an "adjudication alternative program" (such as an
education program or community service).

A child who is found to be truant can also have his or her driver's
license suspended for 90 days if it is the child's first truancy
conviction. The child's driver's license will be suspended for six
(6) months for any additional truancy conviction. If the child does
not have a driver's license, the chance to apply for one will be
suspended for 90 days for the first truancy offense, and six (6)
months for additional offenses.




--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 8/22/02 11:03:52 PM, sheran@p... writes:
>
> << She has to go enough so that she doesn't start getting truancy
> fines. Truancy fines can get very, very expensive... >>
>
> Where is this that there are "truancy fines"? I've never heard of
that.
> I'm really curious how it could be legally handled.

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/23/02 4:31:51 PM, sheran@... writes:

<< The parent can be found guilty of a summary

offense and fined up to $300 for each truancy violation. Or, the

judge could require the parent to complete a "parenting education

program." >>

Wow. Government re-education camp!

<<The judge can also decide that instead of, or in addition

to, the fine or education program, the parent must perform community

service in the school district where the child lives for up to six

months. >>

Huh.

Again I must point out that the craziest, most repressive laws seem to be in
the original 13 colonies.

AND that as far as I know or have ever heard such laws are NOT common in the
U.S. in general.

Sandra

[email protected]

How can anyone read what Sheran has written and then say that this is not a
forum for politics? The only helpful suggestions for her seem to be to move!
When these kinds of regulations creep into state after state (and Country
after Country) should we all start moving and moving and moving. It reminds
me of what happened to the Native Americans when the white man arrived. They
moved, and moved and ended up herded into the last place they'd ever want to
live.

Sherry


In a message dated 8/23/02 6:32:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, sheran@...
writes:


> Oh, you'll love this. I didn't realize other states didn't have
> truancy fines...How do they enforce compulsory education laws?
>
> Homeschoolers have trouble with this all the time in PA. Our messed
> up law says that if a school district feels satisfactory education
> isn't occurring, he should initiate a due process hearing. BUT! No
> districts ever do. That would cost them money. So instead, they
> throw truancy fines. And guess who gets to keep the money from
> truancy fines? Yep, the district. Isn't that sweet?
>
> So, for example, the law doesn't say that we need to show a copy of
> our highschool diploma in order to homeschool, but many homeschoolers
> attach it anyway. (According to the law, we simply need to attest to
> having a highschool diploma in the affidavit). So if a district
> wants to demand something--like a highschool diploma, or evidence of
> immunization, or even a daily teacher's plan book, they often charge
> homeschoolers with truancy.
>
> If a homeschooler forgets to hand in an affidavit in PA, they get
> fined for every day their children are "truant".
>
> When my brother was a teenager my parents couldn't get him to go to
> school. They allowed him to become an emancipated minor so that they
> didn't have to keep paying the fines. (They didn't understand or know
> much about homeschooling at the time). I think it got to the point
> where the fines were 100 a day.
>
> I know a lady who felt convicted that she didn't want to answer to
> the state about her kids' education and tried to
> homeschool "underground". (No affidavit filed, no portfolio turned
> in, no tests, no evaluations). She got away with it for awhile and
> then got reported (You know, the usual, "So and so's kids are never
> in school report). They charged her with truancy and fined her. She
> didn't pay the fines. Her husband did some jail time over unpaid
> truancy fines. Officials came for him and aimed a loaded shot gun at
> her and her children (over unpaid truancy fines). She was in court
> for a long, long time and ended up losing anyway.
>
> I copied the following from this website:
> http://www.elc-pa.org/brochures/School%20Attendance%20%20Truancy.htm
>
> ºIf a judge finds a child truant, what can the judge do to the
> parents and the child?
>
> The judge can order a variety of penalties if the judge finds that
> the child is truant. The parent can be found guilty of a summary
> offense and fined up to $300 for each truancy violation. Or, the
> judge could require the parent to complete a "parenting education
> program." The judge can also decide that instead of, or in addition
> to, the fine or education program, the parent must perform community
> service in the school district where the child lives for up to six
> months.
>
> If the parent fails to comply with the court order, they can be
> sentenced to serve up to five (5) days in a county jail. However, if
> the parents haven't paid the fine that the court has ordered, they
> can only be sent to jail after a hearing is held to determine whether
> they had the financial ability to pay the fine.
>
> Depending upon the child's age, the judge can fine the child up to
> $300 for each truancy violation, if the parents can show they tried
> to try to get the child to go to school. Or, the judge can assign
> the child to an "adjudication alternative program" (such as an
> education program or community service).
>
> A child who is found to be truant can also have his or her driver's
> license suspended for 90 days if it is the child's first truancy
> conviction. The child's driver's license will be suspended for six
> (6) months for any additional truancy conviction. If the child does
> not have a driver's license, the chance to apply for one will be
> suspended for 90 days for the first truancy offense, and six (6)
> months for additional offenses.
>
>
>
>
> --- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., SandraDodd@a... wrote:
> >
> > In a message dated 8/22/02 11:03:52 PM, sheran@p... writes:
> >
> > << She has to go enough so that she doesn't start getting truancy
> > fines. Truancy fines can get very, very expensive... >>
> >
> > Where is this that there are "truancy fines"? I've never heard of
> that.
> > I'm really curious how it could be legally handled.
>
>
>
>



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

Betsy

**How can anyone read what Sheran has written and then say that this is
not a forum for politics? **


I think that both Joyce and I posted that there are 50 states in the US
and that the political details are different in every state. In
addition, this list has an international scope. Detailed state
information is likely to be irrelevant to nearly 49 out of every 50
people on this list.

I'm in California and some of our legal issues that were mentioned here
recently were covered in much much more exhaustive detail on my
California HSC list. I really doubt that the majority on this list
wants to hear about it in more depth, over and over as we are doing on
our state list right now.

I encourage everyone to participate in local political action and
subscribe to their own state and local (or provincial) lists **in
addition** to being on this list.

Betsy

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/24/02 8:37:13 AM, ecsamhill@... writes:

<< I encourage everyone to participate in local political action and
subscribe to their own state and local (or provincial) lists **in
addition** to being on this list. >>

Betsy makes a good point.

From years in SCA management (Society for Creative Anachronism) I learned
that people often don't know the difference between local policy and
corporate rules. So someone would write to the board of directors of an
international corporation all het up about how they had to report, or about
the rules about lenghts of swords or something, and we would have to point
out to them that it was the rules of their own kingdom or region they were
upset about, and that rule had not been made by the corporation.

In the U.S. there ARE no federal laws which affect homeschoolers. The
federal law which benefits homeschoolers is the absolute freedom of Americans
(barring custody conditions or court orders of some rare sort) to move from
state to state without even having to tell anyone they're going to do it.

If someone in Pennsylvania thinks that their restrictions are typical, it
helps for them to know it's local and unusual. For them to say
"Homeschoolers are required to do these unreasonable things," the right
response is "only in Pennsylvania." There ARE people who work on changing
laws. And there is a mailing list for unschoolers in Pennsylvania.

But the way people learn doesn't have to do with what country they live in.
Natural learning works the same way in New Zealand as it does in Germany.
And that's what unschoolers have in common, and what we can best use an
international unschooling list for.

Sandra

KT

>
>
>The only helpful suggestions for her seem to be to move!
>When these kinds of regulations creep into state after state (and Country
>after Country) should we all start moving and moving and moving.
>

I dunno...I think the general trend is that it's getting easier to
homeschool in most states.

She lives in PA. You either fight it (which is being done, tirelessly),
you stay and comply, go underground, or you move. Since I have no
reason to be in PA, moving looks like the best option out of those.

Tuck

kayb85

What happened was that someone asked about their daughter returning
to school. It was a legitimate unschooling question. Sandra said
that just because she signs up for school doesn't mean that she has
to go every day. I said that she has to go often enough that she
doesn't get fined. What Sandra said is true in her state, what I
said is true in my state. But the answer to that question depends on
the state that one is in. So in this case, discussion of whether or
not a child can go to school and still follow an unschooling
philosophy depends on *some* political discussion.

No one set out to talk "politics". No one set out to rant about the
terrible laws in Pennsylvania. The political part of it was a
natural and necessary flow of a legitimate unschool conversation and
would have fizzled out just as naturally if no one had complained
about it being political.

Sheila


> If someone in Pennsylvania thinks that their restrictions are
typical, it
> helps for them to know it's local and unusual. For them to say
> "Homeschoolers are required to do these unreasonable things," the
right
> response is "only in Pennsylvania." There ARE people who work on
changing
> laws. And there is a mailing list for unschoolers in Pennsylvania.

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/24/02 2:59:03 PM Central Daylight Time, sheran@...
writes:


> What happened was that someone asked about their daughter returning
> to school. It was a legitimate unschooling question. Sandra said
> that just because she signs up for school doesn't mean that she has
> to go every day. I said that she has to go often enough that she
> doesn't get fined. What Sandra said is true in her state, what I
> said is true in my state.... No one set out to talk "politics". No one
> terrible laws in Pennsylvania. The political part
> of it was a
> natural and necessary flow of a legitimate unschool conversation and
> would have fizzled out just as naturally if no one had complained
> about it being political.
>
> Sheila
>

And it seems to me that you will find just about anything to pick apart. JMO
~Nancy


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

Tia Leschke

>
>No one set out to talk "politics". No one set out to rant about the
>terrible laws in Pennsylvania. The political part of it was a
>natural and necessary flow of a legitimate unschool conversation and
>would have fizzled out just as naturally if no one had complained
>about it being political.

No, Ned turns almost everything into a rant about the evil schools and the
evil government. He doesn't even have any school-aged kids anymore. I
really enjoy reading what he has to say about unschooling. He has a lot of
experience and good ideas. I don't enjoy his rants at all, and this isn't
the place for them.
Tia

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*********************************************
Tia Leschke
leschke@...
On Vancouver Island

kayb85

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., Dnowens@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 8/24/02 2:59:03 PM Central Daylight Time,
sheran@p...
> writes:
>
>
> > What happened was that someone asked about their daughter
returning
> > to school. It was a legitimate unschooling question. Sandra said
> > that just because she signs up for school doesn't mean that she
has
> > to go every day. I said that she has to go often enough that she
> > doesn't get fined. What Sandra said is true in her state, what I
> > said is true in my state.... No one set out to
talk "politics". No one
> > terrible laws in Pennsylvania. The political part
> > of it was a
> > natural and necessary flow of a legitimate unschool conversation
and
> > would have fizzled out just as naturally if no one had complained
> > about it being political.
> >
> > Sheila
> >
>
> And it seems to me that you will find just about anything to pick
apart. JMO
> ~Nancy

I'm sorry that you feel that way. :( I don't believe that is true
about myself and I can assure you that my intentions are only for
intellectual and open discussion to help me and others fine tune our
thoughts on unschooling.

I simply don't believe that I picked apart anything when I said that
someone enrolled in school can get truancy fines for not going to
school regularly (in certain states). I felt it was an important
point to be made. Please feel free to delete my posts if you don't
like them.

Sheila

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/23/02 5:35:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
zenmomma@... writes:


> . Labels like that tend to have us
> thinking that there are the "regular/normal" learners and then there are
> those ADD/kinesthetic types. :-P~~~~
>
>

*She* is unfamiliar with the terminology. How should I say, she has an
incompatible learning style? :0) All i know is she is a teacher's worst
nightmare in most cases. I worry about all the tension returning to our
household as she has all these meaningless(to me) rules to follow. In a way I
understand her desire to go to school, I loved school and was a teacher
pleaser, played the game well. Until teenage years, that is. We have talked
and talked. She is positive this is what she wants to do. She misses friends,
riding the bus, she wants to enjoy the perks of being a fifth grader, the
oldest group in the school, going away to camp, the back seats of the
bus.....I guiltily pleaded my case, all the things and freedom she will be
missing. She almost changed her mind, i wanted her to be sure. I like the
idea suggested here of it being her choice whether she does the busywork or
not. It will be a nice change not fighting with her over it. If she flunks
out, who cares! I don't value the brand of education anyway. But I am going
to make her live up to the commitment. Attendance will be my sticking point.
I don't want her flip flopping over and over. I really appreciate all the
feedback...
Ang
SAHM to
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[email protected]

In a message dated 8/24/02 9:50:57 PM Central Daylight Time,
megamom08@... writes:


> She is positive this is what she wants to do. She misses friends,
> riding the bus, she wants to enjoy the perks of being a fifth grader, the
> oldest group in the school, going away to camp, the back seats of the
> bus.....I guiltily pleaded my case, all the things and freedom she will be
> missing. She almost changed her mind, i wanted her to be sure. I like the
> idea suggested here of it being her choice whether she does the busywork or
> not. It will be a nice change not fighting with her over it. If she flunks
> out, who cares! I don't value the brand of education anyway. But I am going
> to make her live up to the commitment. Attendance will be my sticking
> point.
> I don't want her flip flopping over and over. I really appreciate all the
> feedback...
> Ang

On Sandra's web site, she has a wonderful essay about letting go of schools
hold when you have kids that do go to school. <g> She says no one has sued
her yet for this advice! <g> It is called Public School on Your Own Terms,
and I think it is very appropriate for this discussion. Check it out here! ~>
<A HREF="http://sandradodd.com/schoolchoice">Public School on Your Own Terms</A>
~Nancy


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Leonie Bury

truancy fines
yes, they are talking about introducing them here too.
ALso about taking possession of children who "truant",
this is a problem here because in many states it is
hard to get permission to homeschool, therefore your
child can be deemed to be truanting.
"Forget the cheese, let's get out of this trap" a
mouse (from JT Gatto)
Leonie in Australia


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- Get the best out of your PC!

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/26/02 5:59:38 AM, burysleojbab@... writes:

<< this is a problem here because in many states it is
hard to get permission to homeschool >>

Leonie,

Is there an Australian homeschooling site with summaries you think is good
for us to share out when Aussies are frustrated and concerned? It does
happen sometimes that someone's first contact with unschooling is an
internation list such as this one, and it's good for us to have good
resources at hand.

Sandra

N.McV.

Here in NJ, parents can be fined for truancy, but only if their kids are enrolled in a public school or a private school that reports them truant. Doesn't apply to homeschoolers. The fines used to be $100 per day of absence - I'm not sure if that's gone up or not.

>Leonie Bury wrote:>truancy fines
>yes, they are talking about introducing them here >too.
>ALso about taking possession of children who >"truant",
>this is a problem here because in many states it is
>hard to get permission to homeschool, therefore your
>child can be deemed to be truanting.


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

zenmomma *

>>But I am going to make her live up to the commitment. Attendance will be
>>my sticking point.>>

Why? Why make her give a commitment at all? Why not think of this as just
another unschooling experience? If she decides she doesn't like it, finds it
boring, hates the tacky social scene, why make her stick it out? Wouldn't it
be so much sweeter to just let her learn those lessons and return back home?
After all, wouldn't that be the better outcome anyway?

Life is good.
~Mary


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[email protected]

In a message dated 8/26/02 8:08:30 PM, zenmomma@... writes:

<< >>But I am going to make her live up to the commitment. Attendance will be
>>my sticking point.>> >>

As punishment?
To make school REALLY horrible?

Why not give her a safe haven and a welcoming alternative?

Why can't she go to school on her own terms?

Sandra

megamom08

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 8/26/02 8:08:30 PM, zenmomma@h... writes:
>
> << >>But I am going to make her live up to the commitment.
Attendance will be
> >>my sticking point.>> >>
>
> As punishment?
> To make school REALLY horrible?
>
> Why not give her a safe haven and a welcoming alternative?
>
> Why can't she go to school on her own terms?
>
> Sandra


Sandra, someone sent the link to your "Public School on Your Own
Terms". Dh and I had a long talk about what we will expect from her
if she goes to school. He thinks if she goes, she has to follow
certain rules. He doesn't want to be charged with Truancy in the name
of schooling freedom. He agrees that WE won't fight with her over
homework, but she will have the school's consequences, and we will be
neutral. Now it is irrelevant, at least until next year. SHe decided
she isn't quite ready. Thanks for the frank advice, as always :0)
I took my nose out of "Homeschooling Book of Answers" for the summer,
and the article reminded me to get my nose back in it.
Ang

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/27/02 12:45:27 PM, megamom08@... writes:

<< Now it is irrelevant, at least until next year. SHe decided
she isn't quite ready. >>

Woohoo!!

Leonie Bury

Hi Sandra, sorry it's taken me weeks to reply to your query. We have been very busy and I got behind with this busy group's post! Of course the more behind I get the less likely I am to approach the task! Until today. Yes, I have found two good groups in Australia: one unschool one homeschool. Of course there are others but this may help.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/australianunschoolers/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/australianhomeschool/
I am finding the posts here about unschooling helpful, sorry to be lurking at teh moment!
Cheers
Leonie (Oz)




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