The question is, why so many home schoolers in Union? Is is the school system, teachers or what. Can I get some info from anyone or a teacher in middle school.

I need to make a decision before Aug. 8.

Thanks for anyone's input.

Anyways, he excelled with home schooling. We did it online and his grades were wonderful, I couldn't have ask for a better experience. I was worried in the beginning, but my fears were soon put to rest and it wasn't as hard as I thought. He got to work at his own pace and I knew he really got it before we moved on to the next phase of the subject. Anyways, If I had the time, I would homeschool all of mine, but since I work I can't.

Will he be home schooled again this year?

As a former teacher, about half of the homeschooled children I got in my public school classroom were behind the others, about a quarter were on the same level as public schooled kids, and about a quarter were above the average level in my classes. I will say overall, many of the previously homeschooled children had excellent behavior upon coming into our classes.

Most recently, a parent told me they had just moved from Atlanta and had chosen to homeschool their children because of the removal of the Pledge of Allegience from schools. "Where are our schools headed?" she asked. I know the Pledge is still recited daily at UC schools. Also, some parents want to protect their children from what "other people's kids will teach/tell them."

I do not believe it's the teachers or the academic performance; check the schools' test scores, especially the Primary School's scores. They are first in PRESA in all subjects, and ranked near the top in the state. I know the Elementary School had an outstanding performance as well.

But, getting the curriculum and needed materials can be expensive. The county's not required to provide curriculum for you. Plus, you have to have someone who has the time and ability to teach your child. That's a full-time job.

And, of course, your child may have social problems as stated above, unless you take steps to prevent this. Involvement in recreational or church sports programs, church youth groups, and local homeschool groups can help with this problem.

I think sometimes it's hit or miss in regards to the quality of education your child will get at UC. You may get a great teacher and your child will learn so much that you're amazed. But, you might get the exact opposite.

You just have to decide what works for you and your family.

The growth rate of homeschooling through the state is enormous.

However, deadline for joining was July 15.

I could not home school I would be looking for a place to hide my child's body.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR TEACHERS.

It CAN'T BE performance because we are consistently in the top 1/3 of the state on most state mandated tests...

Is it Funding? Leadership? Other kids? Drugs? Bullying? Racism?

Seriously, what is it? I have taught in several highly ranked "schools of excellence" and think this place is great.

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Actually the state will provide a computer, printer and access either online or in person with a certified teacher. All courses are offered through the state of Georgia.

The growth rate of homeschooling through the state is enormous.

However, deadline for joining was July 15.

I could not home school I would be looking for a place to hide my child's body.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR TEACHERS.

That’s really the one thing that will save the world. For all of us to live with more tolerance.
K. McGowan

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http://ucfd4.com

Anyways, it's called Georgia Virtual Academy. The link is http://www.k12.com/gva/

It's great, but your child will still have to go to school to take some tests and they still are required to take the CRCT, etc. just like public school. You don't have the freedom like you would to do your own homeschool program. You are essentially teaching the exact same thing that they are teaching at public school except your doing it at home and your on their schedule so flexibility was an issue. It works for some, not so much for others!

I don't know why it's such a big secret among the teachers but I found out about it while searching for a good homeschool program. Then when I did find it, I asked some teachers and some thought it was good, some didn't. For my son, we all agreed that since math was his weakest subject, he needed a "go at your own pace" learning curriculum in order to understand and retain the information!

Every student that is enrolled in the school system counts as $$$$$ for the education system. They get money for each of the students there.

I opted to go with Bridgeway, because it is accrediated and you have good in house support. Kid of pricy though, I may go a different direction this year.

The bottom line is, if a child is withdrawn from school it is reported as a dropout and if a child was previously in school here it is a dropout . Dropouts cost the system money and they have a fropout rate of almost 50% now. The mountain area school is at full capacity now because kids are opting out of the regular UCHS.

I know what you're talking about, shucks, regarding warnings about home schooling. I had to homeschool my oldest for the last part of the school last year for medical reasons, but I still got all those warnings/threats from the board office. I'm have a college education and am a former teacher, but I felt like I was being treated like I didn't know anything.

The bottom line is that every kid's different and has different needs. You do what the kid needs to learn.

Regarding curriculum, you can make your own for most subjects. Just go by the Georgia Performance Standards (http://www.georgiastandards.org/) for your child's grade level and for each subject. It's pretty much a checklist of what your child should learn for each grade/subject. If you have a computer and access to the internet, you can use reliable sources to teach/learn each subject. If you can get to the public library, then it's even better. The only subjects where this might be more difficult would be English and math. But, you could do it. It just depends on how comfortable you are with it.

What is scary is that our children can not get the education we are paying for with our tax-dollars.

I am paying taxes on public schools but having to pay for private school because public school can't do their job.

I have to agree with my friend Gertie, I think one teacher should have them all day or may be split it between 2 teachers. Teachers can't possible keep up with that many students and give them the time that is needed for each subject.

That is not enough time to evaluate a students needs to see what they need help in.

It isn't fair to the teachers or the students.

Just to put my two cents in....

I have friends who work in the school system. I have nothing against the teachers. They do the best they can with the given time and materials.

I have sucessfully completed 3 years of homeschool with my two kids. They have excelled in every subject. I have no formal teaching degree. I only have 1 year of college. But despite all this, I can still teach my kids everything they need to know. I have not gotten to the harder subjects, but I feel assured that we will get through them just fine.

House of Prayer Church in Blairsville hosts a home school co-op for families in the tri-state area. There are other groups like this, but this is the only one in Blairsville. The website is www.gracecoop.com The families in the area come together in a cooperative to teach classes that you may not be as strong in. For me, that is history and science. But because of the opportunity to be part of this co-op, my kids have still been able to receive excellent scores on their year end testing every year!

As for socialization, it has been proven over and over that adults that were homeschooled as children tend to be better citizens and great assets to their communities. My children tend to be over socialized! Between church, sports, camps, friends, cousins, etc.... how can your child be lacking in sociallization???? Please don't mistake a shy child or a child that is attached to their mother to be anti-social?!?! My youngest is shy, but I like that she doesn't take to the first stranger that she sees. Seems safer to me?!?!

Curriculum.... If you use the state provided curriculum, etc, then they get to use your child's excellent scores in their over all state scores. Did they do anything for your child besides provide curriculum, which could have easily been provided by the parents or anyone else??? Did they teach your child? NO! I refuse to allow them to take my childs scores and act like they did all the work.

If you are considering homeschooling, then I would love to talk to you and encourage you. If God deems it, then he will bless it!

Homeschool is wonderful for those with the time, resources, abilities, and personality to do it. For some though, it is a very bad situation.

Blairsville, Georgia - home in the North GA Mountains

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