Homeschooling loopholes?

[alikat618]

This has been bothering me for awhile and I try not to bash my MIL too often but my brother and sister in law were taken out of public school when they were in the 5th and 7th grade, they didn't even complete those years.

They enrolled in a Christian homeschooling program but my MIL only kept that up for a month or so. They are now supposed to be in the 10th and 12th grades but still only have their 4th and 6th grades completed. I just feel really bad for them because they are bright kids and really do want to learn. They asked several times to go back to school but their mom just always had an excuse or put it off. She told me that they should have kept up with it, they just quit. I wanted to tell her that it was her responsibility as a parent to make sure they get their work finished and to provide them with tutors if she wasn't going to personally teach them. I didn't though because she was mad as it was that I even asked about it.

I went to my FIL about it and he had concerns as well but for some reason that man wont stand up to his wife if his life depended on it. I asked him how they get away with them not sending in any tests. He told me that they are sent a letter that they have to sign every once in a while that's like a proof of attendance.

Shouldn't there be more to it than that? How many other children are out there being deprived of their education because their parents are just too lazy? How is it that in a state that has laws stating your child must be in school at the ages of 17 and below (I think that's correct, it might be 16) two teenage kids are just sitting around at home with elementary school educations and NOBODY knows.

What do you all think about homeschooling? Should there be more state involvment concerning attendance? Should there be someone who checks to make sure each child is on track and has completed their tests for each year? It just baffles me.

[HappyMomma]

There are regulation in your state:

Georgia Legal Home Schooling Options: 1

Option: 1
Legal Option:
Establish and conduct a home study program
Attendance:
180 days per year, 4 1/2 hours per day
Subjects:
Reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science
Qualifications:
High school diploma or GED for a teaching parent; high school diploma or GED for any private tutor used
Notice:
File a declaration of intent with the local superintendent within 30 days of commencing the home study program and by September 1 annually thereafter
Recordkeeping:
Maintain attendance records and submit monthly to the superintendent; write and retain an annual progress report
Testing:
Administer and retain the results of a standardized test every 3 years beginning at the end of the 3rd grade

[jtee]

I know one family with 5 girls who have been homeschooled and done extremely well. I know of another family with two boys (16, 20+) that failed to home school their boys well enough to be on par with their peers. The older boy has a hard time getting jobs that pay more than minimum wage because he can't claim he has a GED or high school diploma. In his case, he would have been far better off in a structured school environment, but his parents refused that option based on their fundamentalist beliefs. To me it is an example of where a family placed their relgious beliefs above the educational needs of their children.

[alikat618]

Recordkeeping:
Maintain attendance records and submit monthly to the superintendent; write and retain an annual progress report
Testing:
Administer and retain the results of a standardized test every 3 years beginning at the end of the 3rd grade

Yes, so how is it that they have gotten away with it this long? What isn't being done on the state's side? It's obvious what isn't being done on this end but it doesn't seem like they look far into the absence of test results from this family. I don't remember them ever talking about having to send in anything more than the attendance report. I know that in the homeschooling program they have to send in test results but they don't and there is nothing being done or said. I don't get how it can happen like this!

[alikat618]

Originally Posted by jtee

I know one family with 5 girls who have been homeschooled and done extremely well. I know of another family with two boys (16, 20+) that failed to home school their boys well enough to be on par with their peers. The older boy has a hard time getting jobs that pay more than minimum wage because he can't claim he has a GED or high school diploma. In his case, he would have been far better off in a structured school environment, but his parents refused that option based on their fundamentalist beliefs. To me it is an example of where a family placed their relgious beliefs above the educational needs of their children.

Exactly, I think homeschooling is a wonderful option for children who's parents can offer the right kind of teaching and structure! I went to college with some insanly intellegent kids who were homeschooled from day 1. I think it is actually better than public school in a lot of cases but there are people who just don't take it seriously. I don't think they are going to turn out well. They aren't a fanatically religious family or anything, they just got lazy and overwhelmed with everything else going on in their lives.

[HappyMomma]

Originally Posted by alikat618

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Yes, so how is it that they have gotten away with it this long? What isn't being done on the state's side? It's obvious what isn't being done on this end but it doesn't seem like they look far into the absence of test results from this family. I don't remember them ever talking about having to send in anything more than the attendance report. I know that in the homeschooling program they have to send in test results but they don't and there is nothing being done or said. I don't get how it can happen like this!

Perhaps they just haven't gotten caught yet.

[alikat618]

Originally Posted by HappyMomma

Perhaps they just haven't gotten caught yet.

That's what i'm thinking. I fear that if the state does catch on it will be after the children are over 17 and then it can be argued. I know that they are a lost cause but I just feel like more should be looked at for the sake of the other kids who go into homeschooling and their parents don't take it as seriously as they should.

[jtee]

To me another issue is the personality type and how self-driven a child is. Our daughter would have gone crazy in home school because she is a very social personality and loves going to school because that's where she can see her friends everyday. She does well in school, but her drive is to get Bs, not As. She not interested in spending a few extra hours needed to get As in her classes.