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lewelma

By lewelma,
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lewelma

lewelma

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Please don't quote.....

 

Not sure anyone missed me except Quark :001_smile:

 

I wanted to echo Ruth's thoughts (and Ruth, where have you been? Have missed you!)

 

But it is done.

 

Finally. 

 

We have enrolled my older son in Te Kura: The Correspondence School.

 

And it is a relief.

 

 

It is oh so complicated to explain especially to a mostly American audience, but we are on an exam-based system here for university entrance, and with the possiblility of my son applying to the honor's program at ANU in Australia, we needed to get a class rank.  And in NZ, that class rank is national.  Yes, national.  They moderate all internal assessments here, so that an A for a paper in english in school X is the same as an A in school Y.  Same for Labs, tests, musical performances, etc.  Homeschoolers cannot be moderated. Period.

 

So I have spent the last month, fighting for my beautiful boy to be allowed to learn in his own way.  And I got *everything* I asked for.  In writing.

 

He does not have to use their materials.  He can use his own.

He does not have to turn in work every week, just once every 2 months to stay fully enrolled.

They will allow him to continue to take math through AoPS

They will allow him to take 11th grade english, but keep him enrolled in 9th grade for competition purposes.

They will allow him to do mandarin at double speed.

They will allow him to get all the experimenal equipment whenever he wants, rather than as he turns in appropriate work.

They will allow him to take all exams or internal assessments even though he has not proved he is ready by filling in their booklets.

 

So basically we will use them for assessment; but since these assessments are national, we know what they are, and we can study for them in any way we want with any materials that we want to use.

 

They have agreed to put him in 12th grade physics, 11th grade music and english, and 10th grade mandarin. Math which is required by law at his age will still be through AoPS. He will remain a 9th grader.

 

They even gave him a mathematician as his learning advisor.

 

And it is all free.

 

Free because they have used a loop hole to enroll him as basically a child professional musician.  All we needed was a letter from *the* national body of his Art saying he was top for his age nationally and his program of study occurred during school hours prohibiting attendance at regular school.  Given that he just happens to take music lessons from the Associate Concert Master of the NZSO, getting that needed letter was easy as all of his tutoring, rehearsals, and performances are during school hours. And he plays pretty well. (-:

 

I have been working for a solution to this problem for 8 months! And it was finally escalated to the CEO of the correspondence school (enrollment of 16,000), and he told his staff to make it happen.  He only told them to make it happen as a favor to a friend from the Ministry of Education, who only made the effort because I was once a teacher at the school where he was principal.  So goes NZ society.  It is ALL who you know.

 

So the Correspondence school has been incredibly kind.  We met all the teachers on Monday, and sorted out the details of where my role is and is not.

 

It is done.

 

I am so relieved I can't believe it.  Relieved because I have worked so hard for a solution in such a complicated system spanning 2 countries.  Relieved because it looks to be only a win win situation -- I can't actually see yet anything that we have lost.  Relieved because the responsibility of getting this right is not only on my shoulders any more.

 

But then there is my pride.  All future competitions that ds will be in will have Te Kura next to his name, rather than homeschool.  And I did pause because of this. And cried. But at least we have that one competition from a few months ago to keep my pride assuaged. I think it will be enough.

 

It is Ideal. 

 

Yes, ideal.

 

And I am exhausted.

 

Ruth in NZ

 

 

 

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quark

quark

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:grouphug:  and :hurray: .

 

Your post is so bittersweet Ruth. The things we do to fulfill our kids' needs...really it is exhausting. I am so happy for you because it sounds like it's something that was sorely needed and very bravely fought for. But I also understand giving up the autonomy of calling it your homeschool. There's always a price but it sounds like this price is worth it.

 

Very happy for him and for you too. And yes, you were so greatly missed!

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lewelma

lewelma

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oh Ruth, knowing how rigid our system is here, I am so amazed at what you have managed to accomplish!  Congratulations.  I'll admit to a little jealousy too.

 

Please don't quote

 

It is rigid. Very rigid.  And it has been a very long hard slog. I started at the beginning of October, working hours and hours a week.  I have talked to person after person after person at the Ministry and NZQA, and they all said it was impossible.  They have quoted regulations and policy.  They have told me that I should just stick ds in school, as we are zoned for the 'best' school in the country.  They have been condescending and at times down right rude.  And in the end, all it took was one very motivated man at the Ministry to make it happen.  And boy oh boy did I write him a nice thankyou on Tuesday.  He was determined that ds would not be excluded even though he was not in school.  And Te Kura has been nothing short of wonderful.  The 2 people hand tapped by the CEO, made sure to choose ds's teachers very carefully, picking the most flexible and accomodating ones available. Each one of them is totally good with ds doing or not doing any of the materials he pleases, on his own time table, in his own way.  Already this week 2 of them have written him very supportive and encouraging e-mails. I think it is going to be good.

 

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Pegs

Pegs

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Hey there :)

 

I thought of you and your journey with your DS recently as I was trawling through info on maths requirements for Australian unis, for a tutoring student. I wondered how you'd got on - thanks for the update! Big stuff, hey?

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lewelma

lewelma

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Please don't quote

 

Thanks guys.  I really wished that I could have kicked all the details around with all of you while we were working through it, but it is VERY complicated and the decision had so many moving parts. 

 

And I don't know what kind of star that they put by my name, but we just asked for 8 physics booklets. At once. And got them.  You would not understand without knowing the system, but you can't get a new booklet until you turn in the old one.  So 8.  hee hee.  Must be a HUGE star.  And in fact, ds is not going to even do any of the booklets, we are still using Knights College physics, but each booklet has a unit test in it with 'exam style' essay questions that the teacher will mark and return with comments.  So ds will do the unit tests to get the comments, and ditch the booklets.  And it is all allowed!

 

And for English, I told them that he does not like the level 1 style questions (10th grade) things like 'describe the theme of the book' and would rather do level 2 (11th grade) which would be more relational like 'how does the dialogue inform the characterization.'  So they agreed to let him take level 2 over TWO years so he can just build up his skills on the tough stuff rather than messing around with the easy stuff.  AND he does not have to do or even read any of the booklets, we just turned in a paper on Thursday and got comments back on Friday.  WOW!  I was going to pay to get an english tutor to read ds's essays from the point of view of the exams and assessments. And this one is free!  And she knows ds wants an excellence, so has told him that as long as he is willing to keep revising his papers, he can turn them in as many times as he wants until he gets it.  And as long as it is linked to an assessment number (so oral report, or response essay, or portfolio, or lit anal, etc) he can write about anything he wants in any order he wants. And I can keep teaching him in a way he likes.

 

Oh, and did I mention, he does NOT even have to do any assessment this year at all, in any classes.  He can just get informal feedback until he wants to submit something formally.  This is very important as ds really likes to learn for the sake of learning, and finds assessment a distraction.  So no grades until he wants one.

 

And when he is focused on the math competitions, he can just quit working on his other classes.  They will just put a note in his file. No worries.

 

Must be a VERY BIG STAR. 

 

I'm not sure they have ever worked with a kid like ds.  :001_smile: Te Kura is *the* school in NZ designed for kids that can't go to school, so iternerant, very rural, mental illness, health issues like cancer, autism, professional child atheletes/musicians/actors, adults, etc. It will be interesting to see if they eventually use ds in their promotional materials.  We have agreed to allow it.

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Brad S

Brad S

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You were definitely missed here too!

 

Sounds like a wonderful setup for you and your son.  He and you are definitely stars, and it's nice they're finally treating you that way.  At least finally someone seemed to realize it, and it sounds like a win-win from many angles.  Continued good luck!

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Julie of KY

Julie of KY

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Wow and congrats. You've been missed here. It sounds like you've set up your son for excellence. It's impressive how much they are willing to bend to help him along. I know it's bittersweet to have a school name next to his, but in reality, you know they are only supporting him along his journey.

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sportsmom

sportsmom

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I'm new around here, but I just wanted to comment and say how happy I am for you!  Sounds like all the hard work you put in is really paying off, and I'm sure it will help others in a similar situation.  Looking forward to getting to know you better!

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kiwik

kiwik

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I wondered where you were. It is a radical change of plan. I am amazed they agreed to that and surprised you didn't have to swear a blood oath to keep it secret so they can deny it in the future.

 

Good luck to your son.

 

Eta. School should be more flexible. I would love for my boys to be able to do a mix of on line, The Kura and school based courses. So far the only kids I know who have something similar are kids enrolled at health school.

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lewelma

lewelma

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Thanks everyone for the support!  Most people seem to see things in black and white - you are in school or not.  The subties escape them, so it is good to know that there is a group of people who get it.  I hate that feeling when I tell someone that ds is now in Correspondence School that they must be thinking 'well, about time.  Never thought you could do it on your own.'  Hate it!  And no one wants to hear that I am still teaching ds in the same way that I always have, and that we are only using the school for assessment. Homeschooling a gifted kid seems to be all about humility. 

 

So far it has been a non-event.  He enjoys getting the ocassional e-mails from the teachers. He enjoys feeling empowered that he can skip whatever he pleases with no consequences, or just use his own materials and ignore their materials altogether. Shockingly, he just got his first Excellence on his persuasive paper.  He was over the moon and it was a huge confidence boost.  Only about 15% of kids get excellence (no grade inflation here, and these assessments are nationally moderated), and this is in 11th grade english!  He and I both thought he was a pretty average 9th writer.  Clearly, my expectations must have been too high. :001_huh:  I blame this board. :toetap05:

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