more of a mess now :-(
Elizabeth Roberts
Well...to back up a bit...We're currently involved with social services thanks to a dispute with a neighbor who seems to think her chidlren are perfect and mine aren't, and that's I'm an awful parent. My three year old is an escape artist, who was aided by a broken lock on the door this past summer to be able to slip outside un-noticed. She brought him back into our yard a couple times. Once he snuck out behind Sarah as she went to a friend's house and got all the way down the street before she realized he was following her and brought him home. Neighbor saw this.
We hadn't fixed the door lock becuase we're in military housing. We'd had a work order in for months asking to have it fixed. It wasn't really a problem until summer when we could no longer keep the big doors shut/locked. We didn't have airconditioning units at that point in the summer.
When you live in military housing they can be pretty awful if you fix something without their permission, let alone change something at the same time (ie: move the locks higher on the doors). So we were waiting for THEM to come do it. We can't afford to replace two doors.
Well, when the complaint was made and the investigator came, we decided we'll eat the cost of the doors and we moved the locks higher and fixed the broken one.
Turns out though that other things became an issue, among them the fact that a notedly reputable doctor in town has an issue with me (I had spanked one of my children while in her office and she decided I had "very poor" interaction with my children..this being a doctor who didn't know us, had never seen us, and didn't pay a darn bit of attention to my sick child who nearly ended up in the hospital because she was more focused on threatening ME than with my sick child). ANYWAY...our homeschooling has also become an issue.
The school said she's behind in grade level and they are concerned as to if we are really doing anything here at home. The school reported me to DSS when Sarah was in kindergarten because we wanted her off the ADHD medications because they were harming her, and because we didn't want her tested for Asperger's Syndrome, Oppositional-Defiance Disorder, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (symptoms of which only manifested while on the medications).
I have just received a letter from my lawyer basically saying I'm screwed if I don't follow along with DSS and accept a parent-aid into the home and that I need to, at least while involved with DSS, do as much academic work as I can to prove that she's grade level, etc. because if they take me to court he doubts unschooling will hold up and she could be forced back into government school.
SIGH....any advice? Now instead of just my husband saying we have to do more academics, my lawyer and DSS are saying it...."grade level" is BS and we all know it..but still..it's their rules vs. my principles.
MamaBeth
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We hadn't fixed the door lock becuase we're in military housing. We'd had a work order in for months asking to have it fixed. It wasn't really a problem until summer when we could no longer keep the big doors shut/locked. We didn't have airconditioning units at that point in the summer.
When you live in military housing they can be pretty awful if you fix something without their permission, let alone change something at the same time (ie: move the locks higher on the doors). So we were waiting for THEM to come do it. We can't afford to replace two doors.
Well, when the complaint was made and the investigator came, we decided we'll eat the cost of the doors and we moved the locks higher and fixed the broken one.
Turns out though that other things became an issue, among them the fact that a notedly reputable doctor in town has an issue with me (I had spanked one of my children while in her office and she decided I had "very poor" interaction with my children..this being a doctor who didn't know us, had never seen us, and didn't pay a darn bit of attention to my sick child who nearly ended up in the hospital because she was more focused on threatening ME than with my sick child). ANYWAY...our homeschooling has also become an issue.
The school said she's behind in grade level and they are concerned as to if we are really doing anything here at home. The school reported me to DSS when Sarah was in kindergarten because we wanted her off the ADHD medications because they were harming her, and because we didn't want her tested for Asperger's Syndrome, Oppositional-Defiance Disorder, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (symptoms of which only manifested while on the medications).
I have just received a letter from my lawyer basically saying I'm screwed if I don't follow along with DSS and accept a parent-aid into the home and that I need to, at least while involved with DSS, do as much academic work as I can to prove that she's grade level, etc. because if they take me to court he doubts unschooling will hold up and she could be forced back into government school.
SIGH....any advice? Now instead of just my husband saying we have to do more academics, my lawyer and DSS are saying it...."grade level" is BS and we all know it..but still..it's their rules vs. my principles.
MamaBeth
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J. Stauffer
<<Any advice?>>
So throw some fun stuff out in front of your kids. Join in with them and
have a ball. Do crafts, go to museums, bake cookies, etc.. At the end of
each day, write it up in education-ese.
Also would suggest an alarm for the doors, the kind they use in homes for
the elderly or impaired, that let you know if someone has "left the
building".
Julie--mom of an escape artist or 2
So throw some fun stuff out in front of your kids. Join in with them and
have a ball. Do crafts, go to museums, bake cookies, etc.. At the end of
each day, write it up in education-ese.
Also would suggest an alarm for the doors, the kind they use in homes for
the elderly or impaired, that let you know if someone has "left the
building".
Julie--mom of an escape artist or 2
----- Original Message -----
From: "Elizabeth Roberts" <mamabethuscg@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 12:58 PM
Subject: [UnschoolingDiscussion] more of a mess now :-(
> Well...to back up a bit...We're currently involved with social services
thanks to a dispute with a neighbor who seems to think her chidlren are
perfect and mine aren't, and that's I'm an awful parent. My three year old
is an escape artist, who was aided by a broken lock on the door this past
summer to be able to slip outside un-noticed. She brought him back into our
yard a couple times. Once he snuck out behind Sarah as she went to a
friend's house and got all the way down the street before she realized he
was following her and brought him home. Neighbor saw this.
>
> We hadn't fixed the door lock becuase we're in military housing. We'd had
a work order in for months asking to have it fixed. It wasn't really a
problem until summer when we could no longer keep the big doors shut/locked.
We didn't have airconditioning units at that point in the summer.
>
> When you live in military housing they can be pretty awful if you fix
something without their permission, let alone change something at the same
time (ie: move the locks higher on the doors). So we were waiting for THEM
to come do it. We can't afford to replace two doors.
>
> Well, when the complaint was made and the investigator came, we decided
we'll eat the cost of the doors and we moved the locks higher and fixed the
broken one.
>
> Turns out though that other things became an issue, among them the fact
that a notedly reputable doctor in town has an issue with me (I had spanked
one of my children while in her office and she decided I had "very poor"
interaction with my children..this being a doctor who didn't know us, had
never seen us, and didn't pay a darn bit of attention to my sick child who
nearly ended up in the hospital because she was more focused on threatening
ME than with my sick child). ANYWAY...our homeschooling has also become an
issue.
>
> The school said she's behind in grade level and they are concerned as to
if we are really doing anything here at home. The school reported me to DSS
when Sarah was in kindergarten because we wanted her off the ADHD
medications because they were harming her, and because we didn't want her
tested for Asperger's Syndrome, Oppositional-Defiance Disorder, or Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder (symptoms of which only manifested while on the
medications).
>
> I have just received a letter from my lawyer basically saying I'm screwed
if I don't follow along with DSS and accept a parent-aid into the home and
that I need to, at least while involved with DSS, do as much academic work
as I can to prove that she's grade level, etc. because if they take me to
court he doubts unschooling will hold up and she could be forced back into
government school.
>
> SIGH....any advice? Now instead of just my husband saying we have to do
more academics, my lawyer and DSS are saying it...."grade level" is BS and
we all know it..but still..it's their rules vs. my principles.
>
> MamaBeth
>
>
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[email protected]
In a message dated 11/25/2003 4:10:58 PM Central Standard Time,
mamabethuscg@... writes:
SIGH....any advice? Now instead of just my husband saying we have to do more
academics, my lawyer and DSS are saying it...."grade level" is BS and we all
know it..but still..it's their rules vs. my principles.
~~~
I think having your children taken from you would be way, WAY worse on your
kids than pushing some academics for a while. Get one of those "Comprehensive
Curriculum" workbooks from Sam's for her grade level and do a page or two in
each section once a week. Do some of them for her if it's too much.
Tuck
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
mamabethuscg@... writes:
SIGH....any advice? Now instead of just my husband saying we have to do more
academics, my lawyer and DSS are saying it...."grade level" is BS and we all
know it..but still..it's their rules vs. my principles.
~~~
I think having your children taken from you would be way, WAY worse on your
kids than pushing some academics for a while. Get one of those "Comprehensive
Curriculum" workbooks from Sam's for her grade level and do a page or two in
each section once a week. Do some of them for her if it's too much.
Tuck
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Fetteroll
on 11/25/03 1:58 PM, Elizabeth Roberts at mamabethuscg@... wrote:
Have you tried MHLA (Mass Home Learning Association http://www.mhla.org)?
They have a email list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/masshomelearningassoc/
In MA we aren't required to keep them at grade level and there is wording in
Charles that allows for unschooling. I wouldn't take a stand to prove a
point, but I'd find out exactly what the can and can't ask to see. DSS
shouldn't be involved in their education, only in neglect.
report anything that suggests child abuse. I don't know exactly what the
penalties are but they aren't taking the law lightly.
Joyce
> I have just received a letter from my lawyer basically saying I'm screwed if IYour lawyer doesn't know much about MA case law concerning homeschooling.
> don't follow along with DSS and accept a parent-aid into the home and that I
> need to, at least while involved with DSS, do as much academic work as I can
> to prove that she's grade level, etc. because if they take me to court he
> doubts unschooling will hold up and she could be forced back into government
> school.
Have you tried MHLA (Mass Home Learning Association http://www.mhla.org)?
They have a email list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/masshomelearningassoc/
In MA we aren't required to keep them at grade level and there is wording in
Charles that allows for unschooling. I wouldn't take a stand to prove a
point, but I'd find out exactly what the can and can't ask to see. DSS
shouldn't be involved in their education, only in neglect.
> Turns out though that other things became an issue, among them the fact that aDoctors and teachers (and certain others) in MA are required by law to
> notedly reputable doctor in town has an issue with me (I had spanked one of my
> children while in her office and she decided I had "very poor" interaction
> with my children
report anything that suggests child abuse. I don't know exactly what the
penalties are but they aren't taking the law lightly.
Joyce
Elizabeth Roberts
lol if I write it with my left hand would that look like a 7 year old wrote it? I'd even make some wrong answers once in awhile !! LOL HMMM maybe I should...
MamaBeth
tuckervill2@... wrote:
In a message dated 11/25/2003 4:10:58 PM Central Standard Time,
mamabethuscg@... writes:
SIGH....any advice? Now instead of just my husband saying we have to do more
academics, my lawyer and DSS are saying it...."grade level" is BS and we all
know it..but still..it's their rules vs. my principles.
~~~
I think having your children taken from you would be way, WAY worse on your
kids than pushing some academics for a while. Get one of those "Comprehensive
Curriculum" workbooks from Sam's for her grade level and do a page or two in
each section once a week. Do some of them for her if it's too much.
Tuck
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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MamaBeth
tuckervill2@... wrote:
In a message dated 11/25/2003 4:10:58 PM Central Standard Time,
mamabethuscg@... writes:
SIGH....any advice? Now instead of just my husband saying we have to do more
academics, my lawyer and DSS are saying it...."grade level" is BS and we all
know it..but still..it's their rules vs. my principles.
~~~
I think having your children taken from you would be way, WAY worse on your
kids than pushing some academics for a while. Get one of those "Comprehensive
Curriculum" workbooks from Sam's for her grade level and do a page or two in
each section once a week. Do some of them for her if it's too much.
Tuck
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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