Tips For Highschool Dropouts Who Want to Homeschool

In my last article, Indiana Registers Dropouts as Homeschoolers, I mentioned how school districts in this state and several others are reclassifying homeschoolers as high school dropouts. This manipulation lowers a schools dropout rates while also lowering the perceived success of homeschooling. This is a bad thing for all involved. Still, there will be high school students who find themselves out of school, told they are homeschoolers and are left to fend for them. Many of these students will want to make some kind of effort but will soon give up without guidance. If you or your child are one … Continue reading →

Indiana Registers Dropouts as Homeschoolers

In an apparent effort to lower the high school dropout rate in Indiana, school districts have decided that no one will be allowed to drop out. Instead, those no longer willing or able to complete their studies must register as homeschoolers. These families are not being told that registering as a homeschooler is a voluntary decision. They are essentially being forced to “homeschool”. The person who thought up this little scheme must be very proud of him/herself. Not only have the school districts “fixed their numbers” by refusing to record these dropouts as what they are, but they have also … Continue reading →

Homeschool Question: Can My Child Take Art Classes at Community College?

My renewed call for homeschooling questions resulted in a very good inquiry about homeschool high-school students taking summer classes at the local community college. The question is paraphrased below: DeeDee asks: My oldest daughter is 15 years old and will be finishing 9th grade in the next month or so. She is a very talented artist self taught artist with than 2 dozen sketchbooks full of good drawings, and now she has begun to paint as well. A homeschooled young lady in our neighborhood who told my daughter that she had taken some summer classes at the local Community College … Continue reading →

Even Veterans Wonder, “Can I Really Do This?”

A good friend of mine and I were talking about whether or not we really know what we’re doing with this homeschooling thing. She is more a veteran than I as her oldest son is going into high school and she has homeschooled her kids from the very beginning. So far, we haven’t messed up our kids. . .but can we really, really train a child all the way from birth to high school and send him forth into the world confident that despite our shortcomings, that child can do well? Moments of self doubt creep in, even for us … Continue reading →

Ideas on Evaluating High Schoolers

I am quite a few years away from having to worry about this and yet, somehow time has actually grown faster over the last several years and so I’m sure high school will be here before I know it. But someone recently asked me how to keep track and give your high schoolers credits for the courses they study. Here are a few suggestions that might help point the way. Why do You Need High School Credits The first step, in my opinion, to determining how to keep track of high school credits is to determine why you need to … Continue reading →

When Accreditation May be Necessary

In my post, Is Accreditation Necessary, I wrote about the current debate of accreditation in the homeschool community. Next, I wrote reasons to consider an accredited homeschool diploma. I also wrote about reasons you may want to avoid an accredited diploma. This is a difficult debate for the homeschooling community. Many homeschoolers love the freedoms that they have to educate each child toward his or her individual strengths. Others, while appreciating that freedom, still want to be able to get help or reassurance that they are ‘doing it right’ in the form of accreditation. The safety net threatens homeschoolers who … Continue reading →

Reasons to Avoid an Accredited Homeschool Diploma

In my post, Is Accreditation Necessary, I wrote about the current debate of accreditation in the homeschool community. Next, I wrote reasons to consider an accredited homeschool diploma. Now I will discuss reasons you may want to avoid an accredited diploma. Accreditation is too restrictive: Accreditation can cause homeschooling to be too restrictive. A student may give up taking classes in his or her interests to take a health class in order to fulfill requirements for accreditation. Meanwhile, a portfolio could show that the child already had fulfilled his or her requirements through science, class and physical education activities. By … Continue reading →

Reasons to Consider an Accredited Homeschool Diploma

In my post, “Is Accreditation Necessary”, I wrote about the current debate of accreditation in the homeschool community. The arguments on each side are very convincing. First, let us cover the reasons to consider an accredited diploma. A level of legitimacy: With Accreditation, you are ensured colleges and future employers will not challenge your children’s homeschool career. You do not have to supply a homeschool portfolio for college entry, and your child will not have to explain to future employers why he or she did not “graduate” from high school. The reason is that with accreditation, the accreditating agency or … Continue reading →

Is Accreditation Necessary?

The biggest topic this week on my homeschooling message lists is accreditation. More specifically, the argument was, “do my kids really need an accredited homeschool diploma.” For some the answer was an emphatic NO! Others insisted that it would be absolutely necessary in the near future. An accredited homeschool diploma is one issued to the homeschoolers by an umbrella school or correspondence school, instead of by the parent. Some states even offer programs that allow homeschoolers to gain accredited diplomas. This accreditation proves your child has met the same minimum requirements that children in public schools are meeting. It is … Continue reading →

Homeschool Diploma Instead of GED

For students struggling through high school and faced with dropping out and getting a GED (General Equivalency Diploma), a homeschool diploma is also a legitimate option. Students struggle with high school for different reasons. Some of the problems are social; others are academic. Regardless of the reason your high school aged homeschooler is facing dropping out of school, their only option for showing they have completed high school is get a GED. A GED however, may suggest to future employers, or prospective colleges that your child is damaged goods. There is a certain stigma to the GED. It means, for … Continue reading →