I learned recently that there are laws preventing a person from homeschooling anyone other than their own children. How could one go about providing education for young relatives and other children? Is it possible to start a charter or private school or something similar?
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Homeschool laws vary state to state, and are pretty much set up at the state level.
There are people in my state that do homeschool kids other than their own. There are regulations, and records they must keep, but it can be done.
Especially when you get into the high level (High School) courses that some parents don't feel capable of teaching (chemistry, etc.) A homeschool parent with that background will form a "class" of homeschoolers for that subject.
Farmgirl edit: stupid mistake
[ March 01, 2004, 11:36 AM: Message edited by: Farmgirl ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
There are different laws for tutoring, and homeschooling. They vary by state. The Home School Legal Defense Association has good listings of state by state laws. http://www.hslda.org/ They are slanted particularly towards "Christian" homeschoolers but provide their legal services to anyone who pays their yearly dues.
In California, for example, I know that there was no such thing as a "home school" in the legal sense. To teach your children at home, you filled out a private school affadavit and were legally a private school. My mother's was Lodgewood Academy since we lived on Lodgewood Way.
[ March 01, 2004, 11:31 AM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I've been at that website this morning as well. I can't find anything specifically regarding homeschooling other kids. I wonder how much different it is (in the legal sense) to do private school than homeschool.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
It depends on the state. What would probably be advisable so you don't get into tax issues, is to have both parents open 'homeschools' for their particular children. Then in the context of their own homeschooling they are free to seek any outside help they feel like (ie swap kids etc._ I have no idea how full time private teachers are set up, but I believe those are often entirely different laws, unless the parent says they are homeschooling, and the private teacher/tutor is just a supplement.
How many of you guys homeschool? I'm considering homeschooling, and I'd love to ask questions, especially of Hatrackers.
Or should I go start another thread?
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
If you actually start a "private school" with other children in any formal sense, your insurance liabilities skyrocket. If you serve lunches to those children you becomes subject for even more regulation of your kitchens.
I'm still in favor of it, with some reservations. The biggest one, is are you prepared to let go of your children when they grow up. My mother still has major attachment issues, which made adolesence difficult. My childhood before adolesence was pretty good.
AJ
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I'm homeschooling, Sachiko, but my oldest is only (almost three) so I'm not dealing with the laws involved yet. I'm very concerned about my cousin's children, though, and I'm hoping to incorporate them into the school. (They are older, and I would need to get more involed with legalities.)
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Anna,
I'm not sure about my attachment issues yet, but I hope I have a good grasp on letting my kids grow up. I think it's one thing for me to know it, intellectually, and another to actually be able to put it into effect. I do give my son a chance to take responsibility for anything that he can do on his own. But he's still pretty young, yet. He can't really screw up his life easily.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
If I send my children to you, would that still be Home Schooling? You would be starting up a school to send them too.
Or is it that you want to homeschool dependents in your care, such as grand children, nephews and neices and such.
You have to realize that people like Micheal Jackson would love to start a home-school that would avoid many of the legal restricitions that starting a Private School would impose. The state is trying to weed out the good people like you from the good sounding perverts.
Posted by Sachiko (Member # 6139) on :
Oh, ok.
My oldest is four, and is so unevenly developed that I worry about whether public school can accomodate his needs. For instance, he's been at my school district's first grade requirement for reading and numbers for the past year. He's very good at that. But he's not potty-trained (what an issue that's been, believe you me) and needs some help being more assertive.
I have observed him in playgroups and church nursery and Sunday School classes, and based on his social experinces there, I can see his strengths and weaknesses, and the combination thereof just seems at odds with what public schools are like.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Dan,
Thank you for assuming that I'm not a freak like MJ.
I want to homeschool cousins that are not my dependents. I think that their parents have to file affidavits of intent to homeschool, themselves, and then they get to pick the instructors...or something like that? That's the vibe I'm getting. I'm still looking it up.
Sachiko,
That sort of how my little cousin is. He's about to enter Kindergarten and his mom has next to no options for private schools, but he would get mauled at public school, because he's very tenderhearted and compliant, and he has physical problems that would mean he would have to have "special classes" which would mark him as a target. I'm homeschooling anyway, so... 2 and 2 doesn't always equal four, though.
[ March 01, 2004, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: PSI Teleport ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
In talking to other homeschooled friends. When the children get older, you need to make sure they don't feel trapped. My mother allowed me (and my brothers) to explore all kinds of crazy interests, even though she put a lot of miles on the old mini van in the progress.
My good friends' mother didn't allow them to do this. Didn't want them joining the Boy scouts (I forget the objection, it may have been the strong LDS influence in the area), didn't want them doing any martial arts (violence, horrors!), or even joining Little League (they might get hit with the ball). As a result their experience was far more negative than my own. I found out years later that my good friend was always jealous that my mother would let me go horseback riding but her mother never took her.
These issues are also exactly where socialization comes in. Definitely get involved with homeschool support groups. Children can learn to amuse themselves on their own, but they need to at least learn to rub elbows with other kids as well. My brothers had a much more positive experience than I did, in that arena. This is because when my mother started homeschooling was way before it was at all mainstream. There were an abundance of homeschooled children my brothers' ages (4 and 6 years younger than me) but very, very few my own age.
On the other hand the public schooled kids had no idea the kind of stuff I was involved and interested in, so there was little in common to relate to on either side. I was doing collegiate level chemistry at the community college at the age of 13. I ended up finding many more friends among the older students at the community college. They accepted me for who I was, and didn't give me a lot of flak for being wierd. There was an age gap yes, but academic maturity wise I was definitely equal to them. Social skills matured over time and gradually caught up.
As I said before, the parents have to consciously let go. This often happens earlier with a homeschooled child than with a public school child. Accelerated knowledge does not always equal accelerated maturity, but there is a component of that as well. If the child is accelerated in both knowledge and maturity, you hurt them by holding on to them. I know I should have left home approximately 3 years before I did, and was left gritting my teeth to survivie my parents until I turned 18 and was actually allowed to "go away" to a university. Even then though I had it analyzed and knew it was just more difficult for them to let go. This knowledge is what helped me to survive those three difficult years.
AJ
[ March 01, 2004, 12:27 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by dangermom (Member # 1676) on :
We're thinking of homeschooling--my oldest is 3 too. If anyone wants to start a thread on that, neat!
PSI, I read a book sometime back, I can't remember the title, that addressed some of the complexities of homeschooling other kids. It can get hairy, they say. What do you do if the child won't listen, has problems, gets difiant, etc.? It's not like your own kids. A lot of people give up, apparently. But I don't know much about it myself.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
There are many homeschool newsgroups and mail lists available to people who have an interest in that, and on those mail lists you can find answers to many questions, as well as parents in your area who have "been there, done that."
I suggest you check out some of those types of offerings. I subscribe to some of them myself (as I homeschooled my kids for younger grades, and still work with my 16-year-old at home). I personally found my mail lists through Hoagie's Gifted Education Page
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