Question about SC from a lurker
Margie Barnett
Hello,
I have been reading this list for several months and really enjoy it, but
now have a concern I hope to find some answers to.
I will try to keep this short...
We are an unschooling family in SC with 4 boys ages 14 down to 3 yo. We
have always unschooled, (learned about it by studying the work of John Holt
and later Grace Llewellyn) so our boys have never been registered with any
school district. We belonged to a Homeschool Support Group for a while in
the beginning but got tired of talking 'curriculums' and how to prevent
'mommy burn out! ' (No experience with either of those!) Anyway, we've
pretty much been on our own since then and thoroughly love our life! It's
been a wonderful adventure for us all and our kids are creative, intelligent
and passionate about living. They have never had a test of any kind, nor
have I ever kept detailed descriptions of our days. I sincerely trust them
and felt my record keeping would imply to them that I do not. I never even
worried about this but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew we were not
'complying' with state laws. We live in a rural neighborhood where all
families have about 5 acres, and behind us is a rather odd neighbor who we
recently learned has been speaking ill of our homeschooling methods. Namely,
he said we were lawbreakers and that our kids did nothing all day, and would
surely grow to breaking and entering and other means of breaking the law as
they get older. ( ! ) He also said that he had talked to my husband about
his concern and we refuse to do anything about it. (He has never discussed
this with me or my husband, doesn't even know we 'unschool' as we don't make
that detail public knowledge, and we assume he is inferring this all from
seeing the kids playing outside at all hours of the day...GASP! ) My
question...IF he were to turn us in to some higher authority such as DSS or
the school district, what if anything would likely happen? How difficult
could he make things for us in this state? We are completely willing to
relocate to another state if it would come to that and wouldn't even mind as
we are contemplating liquidating all assets and traveling in an RV for a few
years, anyway. (Talk about a rich enviroment! But that is beside the point)
I have found myself compiling items toward making a portfolio but that
infuriates me that I should have to do that. I KNOW how great my kids are
doing, at the same time I'm sure so called 'gaps' could be found if they
were forced into testing. So now there is this fear...this ' what if ' in
the back of my mind. And I am compelled to find some answers.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Margie
I have been reading this list for several months and really enjoy it, but
now have a concern I hope to find some answers to.
I will try to keep this short...
We are an unschooling family in SC with 4 boys ages 14 down to 3 yo. We
have always unschooled, (learned about it by studying the work of John Holt
and later Grace Llewellyn) so our boys have never been registered with any
school district. We belonged to a Homeschool Support Group for a while in
the beginning but got tired of talking 'curriculums' and how to prevent
'mommy burn out! ' (No experience with either of those!) Anyway, we've
pretty much been on our own since then and thoroughly love our life! It's
been a wonderful adventure for us all and our kids are creative, intelligent
and passionate about living. They have never had a test of any kind, nor
have I ever kept detailed descriptions of our days. I sincerely trust them
and felt my record keeping would imply to them that I do not. I never even
worried about this but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew we were not
'complying' with state laws. We live in a rural neighborhood where all
families have about 5 acres, and behind us is a rather odd neighbor who we
recently learned has been speaking ill of our homeschooling methods. Namely,
he said we were lawbreakers and that our kids did nothing all day, and would
surely grow to breaking and entering and other means of breaking the law as
they get older. ( ! ) He also said that he had talked to my husband about
his concern and we refuse to do anything about it. (He has never discussed
this with me or my husband, doesn't even know we 'unschool' as we don't make
that detail public knowledge, and we assume he is inferring this all from
seeing the kids playing outside at all hours of the day...GASP! ) My
question...IF he were to turn us in to some higher authority such as DSS or
the school district, what if anything would likely happen? How difficult
could he make things for us in this state? We are completely willing to
relocate to another state if it would come to that and wouldn't even mind as
we are contemplating liquidating all assets and traveling in an RV for a few
years, anyway. (Talk about a rich enviroment! But that is beside the point)
I have found myself compiling items toward making a portfolio but that
infuriates me that I should have to do that. I KNOW how great my kids are
doing, at the same time I'm sure so called 'gaps' could be found if they
were forced into testing. So now there is this fear...this ' what if ' in
the back of my mind. And I am compelled to find some answers.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Margie
Myranda
Margie,
You can join PACESC (www.pacesc.com) for $25 to cover everyone.... they are very unschooler friendly, all you have to send in is the beginning of the year simple application, and an end of the year signed statement saying you "did" school for the required 180 days and covered all subjects. No one can touch you if you're registered with them. :-)
Myranda
Hello,
I have been reading this list for several months and really enjoy it, but
now have a concern I hope to find some answers to.
I will try to keep this short...
We are an unschooling family in SC with 4 boys ages 14 down to 3 yo. We
have always unschooled, (learned about it by studying the work of John Holt
and later Grace Llewellyn) so our boys have never been registered with any
school district. We belonged to a Homeschool Support Group for a while in
the beginning but got tired of talking 'curriculums' and how to prevent
'mommy burn out! ' (No experience with either of those!) Anyway, we've
pretty much been on our own since then and thoroughly love our life! It's
been a wonderful adventure for us all and our kids are creative, intelligent
and passionate about living. They have never had a test of any kind, nor
have I ever kept detailed descriptions of our days. I sincerely trust them
and felt my record keeping would imply to them that I do not. I never even
worried about this but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew we were not
'complying' with state laws. We live in a rural neighborhood where all
families have about 5 acres, and behind us is a rather odd neighbor who we
recently learned has been speaking ill of our homeschooling methods. Namely,
he said we were lawbreakers and that our kids did nothing all day, and would
surely grow to breaking and entering and other means of breaking the law as
they get older. ( ! ) He also said that he had talked to my husband about
his concern and we refuse to do anything about it. (He has never discussed
this with me or my husband, doesn't even know we 'unschool' as we don't make
that detail public knowledge, and we assume he is inferring this all from
seeing the kids playing outside at all hours of the day...GASP! ) My
question...IF he were to turn us in to some higher authority such as DSS or
the school district, what if anything would likely happen? How difficult
could he make things for us in this state? We are completely willing to
relocate to another state if it would come to that and wouldn't even mind as
we are contemplating liquidating all assets and traveling in an RV for a few
years, anyway. (Talk about a rich enviroment! But that is beside the point)
I have found myself compiling items toward making a portfolio but that
infuriates me that I should have to do that. I KNOW how great my kids are
doing, at the same time I'm sure so called 'gaps' could be found if they
were forced into testing. So now there is this fear...this ' what if ' in
the back of my mind. And I am compelled to find some answers.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Margie
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
~~~~ Don't forget! If you change topics, change the subject line! ~~~~
If you have questions, concerns or problems with this list, please email the moderator, Joyce Fetteroll (fetteroll@...), or the list owner, Helen Hegener (HEM-Editor@...).
To unsubscribe from this group, click on the following link or address an email to:
[email protected]
Visit the Unschooling website: http://www.unschooling.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
You can join PACESC (www.pacesc.com) for $25 to cover everyone.... they are very unschooler friendly, all you have to send in is the beginning of the year simple application, and an end of the year signed statement saying you "did" school for the required 180 days and covered all subjects. No one can touch you if you're registered with them. :-)
Myranda
Hello,
I have been reading this list for several months and really enjoy it, but
now have a concern I hope to find some answers to.
I will try to keep this short...
We are an unschooling family in SC with 4 boys ages 14 down to 3 yo. We
have always unschooled, (learned about it by studying the work of John Holt
and later Grace Llewellyn) so our boys have never been registered with any
school district. We belonged to a Homeschool Support Group for a while in
the beginning but got tired of talking 'curriculums' and how to prevent
'mommy burn out! ' (No experience with either of those!) Anyway, we've
pretty much been on our own since then and thoroughly love our life! It's
been a wonderful adventure for us all and our kids are creative, intelligent
and passionate about living. They have never had a test of any kind, nor
have I ever kept detailed descriptions of our days. I sincerely trust them
and felt my record keeping would imply to them that I do not. I never even
worried about this but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew we were not
'complying' with state laws. We live in a rural neighborhood where all
families have about 5 acres, and behind us is a rather odd neighbor who we
recently learned has been speaking ill of our homeschooling methods. Namely,
he said we were lawbreakers and that our kids did nothing all day, and would
surely grow to breaking and entering and other means of breaking the law as
they get older. ( ! ) He also said that he had talked to my husband about
his concern and we refuse to do anything about it. (He has never discussed
this with me or my husband, doesn't even know we 'unschool' as we don't make
that detail public knowledge, and we assume he is inferring this all from
seeing the kids playing outside at all hours of the day...GASP! ) My
question...IF he were to turn us in to some higher authority such as DSS or
the school district, what if anything would likely happen? How difficult
could he make things for us in this state? We are completely willing to
relocate to another state if it would come to that and wouldn't even mind as
we are contemplating liquidating all assets and traveling in an RV for a few
years, anyway. (Talk about a rich enviroment! But that is beside the point)
I have found myself compiling items toward making a portfolio but that
infuriates me that I should have to do that. I KNOW how great my kids are
doing, at the same time I'm sure so called 'gaps' could be found if they
were forced into testing. So now there is this fear...this ' what if ' in
the back of my mind. And I am compelled to find some answers.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Margie
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
~~~~ Don't forget! If you change topics, change the subject line! ~~~~
If you have questions, concerns or problems with this list, please email the moderator, Joyce Fetteroll (fetteroll@...), or the list owner, Helen Hegener (HEM-Editor@...).
To unsubscribe from this group, click on the following link or address an email to:
[email protected]
Visit the Unschooling website: http://www.unschooling.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
>>>>>IF he were to turn us in to some higher authority such as DSS orthe school district, what if anything would likely happen? How difficult
could he make things for us in this state?<<<<<
Margie,
I seem to be answering questions about SC constantly lately here! <G>
As an unschooler, please consider joining PS*SOS (Palmetto State's School's
Out Support), a support group for unschoolers in SC. (it's free!) You can
direct zillions of questions there! We are hosting the Live & Learn
Unschooling Conference in Columbia 11-13 October in downtown Columbia--two
weeks away! You should REALLY consider coming! And you and your kids could
meet a bunch of other unschoolers IRL!
You can find info on both at SchoolsOutSupport.org
Legally, you need to register with an accountabity association. SOS is
planning to form our own next year (we would have this year, but we needed 50
families. Next year. Next year!), but right now, we are recommending
PACESC---they're unschooling-friendly and are only asking for the
minimum---the most important thing. The state requirements are minimal
("teaching" parent must have a high school diploma or equivalent; "teach" 180
days/year; keep a portfolio/journal/record; and "cover reading, writing,
'rithmatic, and social studies and literature and composition in highschool).
And having been to the DMV Tuesday: when your oldest goes for a driver's
license, you'll NEED to be registered!
I just spoke with the spokesman for DSS yesterday. Homeschooling is legal in
SC, and as long as you're complying with the law (!!!), they cannot touch you
for "educational neglect". If your neighbor is actually threatening you with
reporting you, it would be in your best interest to BE registered and follow
the law---or buy that RV and/or move to New Mexico! <G> It's possible that if
you just get your records in compliance for THIS year, that you would be
covered (I don't know whether they "dig" into your past, but I'd certainly
get things in order for this year.).
If your children know you trust them and that keeping the records is JUST to
comply with the law, why would it matter? (other than it's a pain.)
Please feel free to contact me off-list with any more questions or call me @
803 776 4849.
Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 9/26/02 7:16:34 AM, kbcdlovejo@... writes:
<< or buy that RV and/or move to New Mexico! <G> >>
Sure! Come on out! But not until after the conference.
Maybe you should take your neighbor cookies, and offer to help him, tell him
stories about how cool your kids are and ask if he'd like you to come over
EVERY day to reassure him about homeschooling! He'll say no. <g>
Sandra
<< or buy that RV and/or move to New Mexico! <G> >>
Sure! Come on out! But not until after the conference.
Maybe you should take your neighbor cookies, and offer to help him, tell him
stories about how cool your kids are and ask if he'd like you to come over
EVERY day to reassure him about homeschooling! He'll say no. <g>
Sandra
Lisa Hardiman
The Fourth Sunday in September is Good Neighbor Day started in
Lakeside, MT It is a time to visit shut ins, and (maybe communicate and
create a bridge with complaining neighbors) and bring them some Ginger
Bread.
Gingerbread recipe is 4 ½ cups flour, 2/3 cups sugar, 2 cups dark
molasses, 1 ½ cups hot water, 1 cup shortening, 2 eggs, 2 tsp baking
soda, 2 tsp ginger, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 ½ tsp salt. Bake at 325 degrees
until toothpick comes out clean. Good Luck! Lisa of MT
-----Original Message-----
From: Myranda [mailto:myrandab@...]
Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2002 6:19 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Question about SC from a lurker
Margie,
You can join PACESC (www.pacesc.com) for $25 to cover everyone.... they
are very unschooler friendly, all you have to send in is the beginning
of the year simple application, and an end of the year signed statement
saying you "did" school for the required 180 days and covered all
subjects. No one can touch you if you're registered with them. :-)
Myranda
Hello,
I have been reading this list for several months and really enjoy it,
but
now have a concern I hope to find some answers to.
I will try to keep this short...
We are an unschooling family in SC with 4 boys ages 14 down to 3 yo.
We
have always unschooled, (learned about it by studying the work of John
Holt
and later Grace Llewellyn) so our boys have never been registered with
any
school district. We belonged to a Homeschool Support Group for a while
in
the beginning but got tired of talking 'curriculums' and how to
prevent
'mommy burn out! ' (No experience with either of those!) Anyway,
we've
pretty much been on our own since then and thoroughly love our life!
It's
been a wonderful adventure for us all and our kids are creative,
intelligent
and passionate about living. They have never had a test of any kind,
nor
have I ever kept detailed descriptions of our days. I sincerely trust
them
and felt my record keeping would imply to them that I do not. I never
even
worried about this but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew we were
not
'complying' with state laws. We live in a rural neighborhood where all
families have about 5 acres, and behind us is a rather odd neighbor
who we
recently learned has been speaking ill of our homeschooling methods.
Namely,
he said we were lawbreakers and that our kids did nothing all day, and
would
surely grow to breaking and entering and other means of breaking the
law as
they get older. ( ! ) He also said that he had talked to my husband
about
his concern and we refuse to do anything about it. (He has never
discussed
this with me or my husband, doesn't even know we 'unschool' as we
don't make
that detail public knowledge, and we assume he is inferring this all
from
seeing the kids playing outside at all hours of the day...GASP! ) My
question...IF he were to turn us in to some higher authority such as
DSS or
the school district, what if anything would likely happen? How
difficult
could he make things for us in this state? We are completely willing
to
relocate to another state if it would come to that and wouldn't even
mind as
we are contemplating liquidating all assets and traveling in an RV for
a few
years, anyway. (Talk about a rich enviroment! But that is beside the
point)
I have found myself compiling items toward making a portfolio but that
infuriates me that I should have to do that. I KNOW how great my kids
are
doing, at the same time I'm sure so called 'gaps' could be found if
they
were forced into testing. So now there is this fear...this ' what if '
in
the back of my mind. And I am compelled to find some answers.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Margie
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
~~~~ Don't forget! If you change topics, change the subject line! ~~~~
If you have questions, concerns or problems with this list, please
email the moderator, Joyce Fetteroll (fetteroll@...), or the
list owner, Helen Hegener (HEM-Editor@...).
To unsubscribe from this group, click on the following link or address
an email to:
[email protected]
Visit the Unschooling website: http://www.unschooling.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
<http://rd.yahoo.com/M=233217.2395914.3827946.2225242/D=egroupweb/S=1705
081972:HM/A=1227861/R=0/*http:/ads.track-star.com/linker.ts?ts=1;2;312;3
_2_11>
<http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=233217.2395914.3827946.2225242/D=egrou
pmail/S=:HM/A=1227861/rand=559901552>
~~~~ Don't forget! If you change topics, change the subject line! ~~~~
If you have questions, concerns or problems with this list, please email
the moderator, Joyce Fetteroll (fetteroll@...), or the list
owner, Helen Hegener (HEM-Editor@...).
To unsubscribe from this group, click on the following link or address
an email to:
[email protected]
Visit the Unschooling website: http://www.unschooling.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Lakeside, MT It is a time to visit shut ins, and (maybe communicate and
create a bridge with complaining neighbors) and bring them some Ginger
Bread.
Gingerbread recipe is 4 ½ cups flour, 2/3 cups sugar, 2 cups dark
molasses, 1 ½ cups hot water, 1 cup shortening, 2 eggs, 2 tsp baking
soda, 2 tsp ginger, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 ½ tsp salt. Bake at 325 degrees
until toothpick comes out clean. Good Luck! Lisa of MT
-----Original Message-----
From: Myranda [mailto:myrandab@...]
Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2002 6:19 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Question about SC from a lurker
Margie,
You can join PACESC (www.pacesc.com) for $25 to cover everyone.... they
are very unschooler friendly, all you have to send in is the beginning
of the year simple application, and an end of the year signed statement
saying you "did" school for the required 180 days and covered all
subjects. No one can touch you if you're registered with them. :-)
Myranda
Hello,
I have been reading this list for several months and really enjoy it,
but
now have a concern I hope to find some answers to.
I will try to keep this short...
We are an unschooling family in SC with 4 boys ages 14 down to 3 yo.
We
have always unschooled, (learned about it by studying the work of John
Holt
and later Grace Llewellyn) so our boys have never been registered with
any
school district. We belonged to a Homeschool Support Group for a while
in
the beginning but got tired of talking 'curriculums' and how to
prevent
'mommy burn out! ' (No experience with either of those!) Anyway,
we've
pretty much been on our own since then and thoroughly love our life!
It's
been a wonderful adventure for us all and our kids are creative,
intelligent
and passionate about living. They have never had a test of any kind,
nor
have I ever kept detailed descriptions of our days. I sincerely trust
them
and felt my record keeping would imply to them that I do not. I never
even
worried about this but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew we were
not
'complying' with state laws. We live in a rural neighborhood where all
families have about 5 acres, and behind us is a rather odd neighbor
who we
recently learned has been speaking ill of our homeschooling methods.
Namely,
he said we were lawbreakers and that our kids did nothing all day, and
would
surely grow to breaking and entering and other means of breaking the
law as
they get older. ( ! ) He also said that he had talked to my husband
about
his concern and we refuse to do anything about it. (He has never
discussed
this with me or my husband, doesn't even know we 'unschool' as we
don't make
that detail public knowledge, and we assume he is inferring this all
from
seeing the kids playing outside at all hours of the day...GASP! ) My
question...IF he were to turn us in to some higher authority such as
DSS or
the school district, what if anything would likely happen? How
difficult
could he make things for us in this state? We are completely willing
to
relocate to another state if it would come to that and wouldn't even
mind as
we are contemplating liquidating all assets and traveling in an RV for
a few
years, anyway. (Talk about a rich enviroment! But that is beside the
point)
I have found myself compiling items toward making a portfolio but that
infuriates me that I should have to do that. I KNOW how great my kids
are
doing, at the same time I'm sure so called 'gaps' could be found if
they
were forced into testing. So now there is this fear...this ' what if '
in
the back of my mind. And I am compelled to find some answers.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Margie
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
~~~~ Don't forget! If you change topics, change the subject line! ~~~~
If you have questions, concerns or problems with this list, please
email the moderator, Joyce Fetteroll (fetteroll@...), or the
list owner, Helen Hegener (HEM-Editor@...).
To unsubscribe from this group, click on the following link or address
an email to:
[email protected]
Visit the Unschooling website: http://www.unschooling.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
<http://rd.yahoo.com/M=233217.2395914.3827946.2225242/D=egroupweb/S=1705
081972:HM/A=1227861/R=0/*http:/ads.track-star.com/linker.ts?ts=1;2;312;3
_2_11>
<http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=233217.2395914.3827946.2225242/D=egrou
pmail/S=:HM/A=1227861/rand=559901552>
~~~~ Don't forget! If you change topics, change the subject line! ~~~~
If you have questions, concerns or problems with this list, please email
the moderator, Joyce Fetteroll (fetteroll@...), or the list
owner, Helen Hegener (HEM-Editor@...).
To unsubscribe from this group, click on the following link or address
an email to:
[email protected]
Visit the Unschooling website: http://www.unschooling.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]