Quote From: lettiecsI am not sure how I feel about "unschooling". We know of only one family who are unschoolers, and those children are not doing too well on any level. The children place no value on commitments or deadlines; However, I don't believe that is indicative of the majority of unschoolers.
I am homeschooling my daughter for a number of reasons,but will detail only the major points. She did attend kindergarten in our school district and then we saw the need to do something different.
Our daughter was tested at a 2nd grade level when she was admitted to kindergarten. The teachers called me to a conference and said that my daughter actually tapped out the 2nd grade charts, but legally they could not test her any higher, nor were they allowed to place my daughter in the 3rd grade, which they believed was the level she should be placed at.
So my child was in kindergarten where she was sent to 1st and 2nd grade classrooms for math, and reading. In doing this, she would miss out on field trips and recess time, which were scheduled for the times she was in the other classrooms.
My daughter felt left out and lonely. She was never with other children as she was getting her teaching from a couple of para educators in the classroom,and not actually mainstreamed.
She began to have severe asthma attacks and would be sent home from school. My daughter missed alot of school due to asthma and the need for a nebulizer machine, which the school could not administer to her.
Currently my daughter is on a 6th grade level, and if she were still in the public school, she would only be in the 3rd grade. This is a very social child. She has taken dance classes, gymnastics and is in taekwondo. She is also involved in a youth group at church.,and there is also a homeschoolinging organization in our area, which organizes sports activities and field trips as well as art and science cooperatives.
Our daughter has many advantages over children who are in public schools. She does her studies in the morning and is usually finished by lunch. Then she helps me with the daycare children, and helps bake and clean, and of course, she gets to spend alot more time playing. She is getting hands on learning as well as book studies, and will most likely graduate at age 16.
The most important change that has taken place, is that my daughter no longer has asthma. She is a socially and emotionally well-adjusted child.
Whereas public school is not the right option for my daughter, that doesn't make it wrong for someone else. Each child is an individual with specific needs.
Education is important and the options should be researched and weighed very carefully. Each parent has the responsibility to do what is best her their own children.
Sounds like your daughter was robbed of her rightful experience in school. If you are being truthful, and I am going to assume you are, you were lied to.
Gifted and Talented children are continually tested to manage grade level. You should have requested to move your child to the second grade, your daughter sounds gifted, the area I am studying for my masters in. If she is indeed gifted, being in second grade, or wherever she tested at, would have served her needs well, and although you may have been concerned about her social abilities, most gifted children get along with peers of an older age group than with age peers. I would seriously consider exploring some other options either in your district, or outside your district. You have the law behind you, the district you are currently in was not serving the needs of your child. If you daughter is indeed gifted, you will not be able to keep up with her...although you sound very intelligent. She needs socialization with peers that have her abilitiy so that she doesn't feel alone, a common ailment of gt students.
I wish you luck!
Parents want the best for their children, but what’s the best way to educate them? Dr. Phil’s guests face off in a debate about whether to school, homeschool or unschool. Dana and her husband, Joe, call themselves radical unschoolers. They say education happens as a side effect of life, and they don’t believe in tests, curriculums or grades. Are their three kids learning what they need to know? Then, RaeAnn says public schools are death traps and wants to homeschool her children. Her husband, Steve, says their kids are safer at school than they are at home. Can this couple reach a compromise? Plus, Nicole feels like an outcast at 26. She says she hated being homeschooled, and couldn’t relate to other kids. Share your thoughts here.
