Home Schooling Question

Respectfully, this boy doesn't have a BS or an MS. I'm not debating if it's ok to earn a GED, and I'm not suggesting someone not earn a GED. I'm trying to keep the discussion specific, not global. This boy can earn his home school diploma 2 months from now (turns 18) very very simply and for free. His mom will issue it, she doesn't need to buy curriculum, she doesn't need to outsource him to some other school. He can also scoot his butt into a chair at the community college and not waste these 2 months playing Wii.

In some states (38 actually) this wouldn't be an option- he would have had no choice other than spending BOAT LOADS of money and time and red tape to homeschool this semester. Enormous. If this boy were in NY, I'd say forget it- take the GED, it won't matter in the long run.

Normally, discussions here focus around moving barriers, I feel like people are adding them for this kid?

 

I would agree with Jennifer. My daugher entered a community college at 16 without a high school diploma. Once she had 30 units of transferable college credit, her high school transcript (or lack thereof) became completely irrelevant, as she was now a college transfer student.

As a university administrator (whose job includes approving students for admission), I can tell you that we consider college course work to be a more accurate predictor of college success than high school course work (shocking, huh?), so if a student has the equivalent of a year of successful college coursework, we don't even look at the high school classes.

 

Matt,

I can’t speak to the nature of the offense perpetrated by the student offender in Virginia; but in Texas – a school district issued 1-year Expulsion Order is a Mandatory order and maximum expellable offense (e.g., drug offenses, weapons, assault and battery, assault, sexual assault, terrorist threat, threats against persons, destruction of property, or any conduct punishable as a felony) (Texas Education Code Section 37.007 (a) (d) and (e)). With the requirements of fair and equitable treatment for all students, before the expulsion order is issued, due process procedures are enacted. Additionally, if the principal or his/her designee determines that the student's presence at school creates a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disruption, the student may be removed from school immediately. http://www.region10.org/Administrators/Chapter37.007.html

In Texas (if the county of offense has a civilian population of 125,000 or greater) the offender is remanded to the offender’s County JJAEP (Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program) for compulsory schooling (e.g., by law the student must be enrolled in school, i.e. can’t be “kicked-to-the-curb”). Moreover, the offender CAN’T transfer to another district until the expulsion has been served-out. (ALL public school districts in the U.S. honor non-served out expulsion orders without exception).

In Texas even for expelled students, the student must be enrolled in school (16 year-old or less); a GED program, home schooling, public charter school (many in Texas won’t accept students currently on expulsion order status), private /parochial school, virtual high school, DL high school, correspondence coursework, or community college. However the GED would be also my last choice in that there can be, rightly or wrongly, a stigma typically attached to a GED holder, e.g., drop-out. If home schooling or CC isn’t desirable, here is the web-link for the International Association for K-12 Online Learning that may be of assistance to your former student: http://www.inacol.org/

* Disclosure: I am not associated with this organization (International Association for K-12 Online Learning) whatsoever.

 

So Matt, what ever happened with this story? What is the mom going to do??

 

I'm going to toss another option out there. An issue with taking college courses while still in High School is that Federal Student Aid (Pell, etc.), is not permitted for dual enrolled students. You must be a HS grad or equivalent (GED).

Having said that, and if the Mom does not have the desire or time to homeschool, student could take the ACT - Compass or College Board - Accuplacer, get the Ability to Benefit Scores (ATB) and go right into an open enrollment institution. I can't find a link to take you to the Accuplacer's Title IV info, but here is the one for ACT Compass

http://www.act.org/compass/advant/atb.html

Shawn

 

I personally don’t recommend home schooling.

 

Good to know. We await more insight.

 

Well, since someone felt it appropriate to necromance a 6 year old thread with that brilliant piece of insight I might as well throw an opinion out as well.

While it is possible to enroll in college and have the high school diploma/GED(or lack thereof) become a non-issue there is one place where it might very well be an issue depending upon your career goals; the military.

It's easy enough to say "X doesn't want to join the military." Yeah, great. At 16 I didn't want to join the military either. At 18 I didn't want to join the military. But just shy of 21 joining the military was pretty high on my list of things to do immediately. With my A.A. in hand, the topic of my high school diploma might never have come up with a civilian employer but would have, at a minimum, required a waiver for me to ship off. It would be likely that a waiver for a GED/A.A. combo would be granted. For no high school diploma at all? Even with a degree that would be an uphill battle (at least in the Navy).

Also, I have encountered at least two civil service jobs that required proof of high school graduation even if you had higher degrees. One was with the Sheriff's Office as an HR Assistant and the other, I believe, was something with a county Department of Health. It would be a shame to be fully qualified for either job, want it and be ineligible for hire because you refused to take the test.

Flip side, it doesn't appear to have negatively impacted Mark Cuban's career.

Now, let's let this poor thread rest in peace and stop tormenting its wretched soul.

 

That's not the Degreeinfo way! I'm wanting a follow up- Matt?? What happened? Break away from all that PhD busywork and give us an update!

 

I personally don’t recommend home schooling.

 

I personally don't recommend spam.

 

I dunno...it isn't terrible if you fry it up in a pan and slap a slice of cheese on it.