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Has anyone put dc in public school after hsing K-8? How did it go?


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I am thinking about starting my 9th grader in the local ps. This is a decision that is not made lightly and I have 3 months to make it, but if you've been through this - could you offer insight about how it went?

I would probably put my rising 7th grade dd in the local middle school as well.

 

A plus - they both have some friends from church that go to the local schools, they are good girls and strong in their faith (especially the oldest) she is also not easily swayed by popular opinion. I actually have been talking to her about this and she sees pros and cons for both - at this point she would rather stay home, but would be willing to go if we had to go that route - my youngest (I only have the two) would be excited to go, but again is great with staying home as well.

 

I won't go into the reasons here, but they are related to need and not whim or want - again this choice is not made lightly.

 

thank you

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my son is just finishing up his first year of conventional schooling. 9th grade. it was his choice and to maintain harmony in the home i agreed.

 

for the reasons he wanted to go, teen socialization, it has been a sucess. since he has to commute on public transportation, the experience has matured him in many positive ways.

 

academically, i feel like i am watching our homeschool efforts circle the drain. the academic bar is set so low; i'd categorize most of what they do as what we did at home for 6th grade. And his school is supposed to be one of the better ones in the state. the only subject i think he is getting an improved experience on is science; having access to equipment and exposure to teamwork is not something i could have replicated at home.

 

the transition went fine though he still needs organizational help. except for math (which is a whole other issue here in GA) he is getting excellent grades. the grades are pretty much meaninless, though, since the work itself is so far below his homeschool training.

 

good luck to you with your own journey in this manner.

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My son entered 7th grade this year, because he wanted to play football. It's been a really great transition - he was well-prepared for the academics, but he is still learning a lot and is excited about his learning. He was surprised to find how much he enjoyed the social aspects and new friends.

 

In fact, he likes it so well, that he keeps urging his 9th grade brother to enroll in ps. Brother doesn't want to go to ps. He really likes homeschool and his homeschool friends. I keep telling them that we want to do what is right for each one.

 

It was really hard for me to let my younger one enter school; I had dreamed of homeschooling everyone all the way through. But it has worked out much better than I expected. I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of his teachers and administrators. They're doing a good job.

 

Blessings to you as you make this difficult decision. Feel free to pm me if you have additional questions.

Cindy

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My oldest went to public school in 9th grade. Some of the things I liked about public school: my son had several fantastic teachers, he learned a lot about people, and he made friends.

 

Some of the things I didn't like about public school: My son stopped reading. He used to read a book a week but once started public school he announced, "I don't read anymore." And he doesn't.

 

In some classes, my son got good grades but learned nothing. For instance, his Spanish teacher quit 6 weeks before the end of school-- he had a substitute teacher and learned nothing during that time. When transferred to another school and started Spanish II, he was behind.

 

In math, the school system dictates what the teacher must teach each day regardless of whether her students understood the previous lesson. There was no concern for understanding/mastery -- just push ahead and do the best you can.

 

The other thing I disliked was dealing with a bureaucracy. Aaaack. Stupidity and inefficiency! For instance, if a student misses more than 10 sessions of a class, even if those absences were excused, the student must make up seat time. That's right...they have to go to a room and sit (not work, not learn, but simply warm the seat). My son was out for a week with the flu and then missed three days for a funeral in CA. He was close to going over 10 days!

 

In a bureaucracy, it's hard to fire bad teachers. My son had a teacher who called kids names: "Fatty," "Lisp-girl" etc. When my son challenged her, she threatened to "write him up" for insubordination.

 

In another class, my son was the only white student and the teacher addressed the class, "Brothas and Sistas and Mr. P" He asked the class how many states were in the U.S. and one student answered 52. My son said, "There are 50." The teacher said, "How many of you think there are 52?" and all but two students raised their hands. "Mr. P, why do you think there are 50?" My son said he started counting the stars on the flag in the corner of the room -- he was doubting himself! He said, "Well, there are 50 stars on that flag over there and I'm pretty sure it says there are 50 states in this textbook." (This was "Advanced Civics.")

 

Academically, public school was regressive.

 

Overall, it was a mixed bag.

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Chris,

 

Last year, in late Feb, we enrolled our boys (grades 5, 6, 8, and 10) in public school. They began school at the end of the 3rd quarter, which could have been a disaster, I guess, but it wasn't. They were more than ready, and hit the ground running. There was no adjustment period, no awkward times, nothing. They fit in, loved their classes, and did extremely well despite having missed the first 3/4 of the school year. LOL.

 

This year the boys are in 6th, 7th, 9th, and 11th. They are thriving. We are in an excellent school district, and the schools have been able to meet the needs of my kids (for example, my 8th grader last year was put into Algebra 2, right where he belonged; this year he's in all honors classes, and next year as a 10th grader he'll be in honors and and AP class). The boys have made great friends...and they are nice kids from nice families. Academically the boys have fared well; the younger 3 have had straight A's since entering school last year and the older one is on the A/B honor roll. Their classes aren't easy, and I'm very pleased with the education they are getting. I stay involved and make sure I know who is studying what. I still look over papers, help explain math, etc. My role has changed, but my interest and involvement are still there.

 

Like you, we did not make this decision lightly. I had one child who desperately needed to be in school; he'd been unhappy at home for years. My only regret is that I didn't listen to him sooner. The economy played a role in our decision as well. I am now working part-time. It's all good.

 

Feel free to pm me.

 

Ria

Edited by Ria
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It was my ds's choice to attend high school; he's doing well and glad he's not at home. He doesn't regret homeschooling K-8 but likes the change of attending school now.

 

No regrets here!

 

I thought my younger ds would attend school this fall (gr.7) but he's chosen to continue homeschooling until 9th grade.

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I homeschooled 4-8 and put my child in 8th grade and it has been a great success. I was really worried at first academically and a little bit socially but after a little bit of transition it has worked out really well. He's on the honor roll, has a great set of friends, very involved with church (drama, youth group, etc.), he was working (until 2 weeks ago), and is writing his 2nd book.

 

He is currently attending a local private school after attending a local public school for one year.

 

We have no regrets here.

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ds started 9th this year. He was placed correctly academically and the work he gets is challenging. He feels ok about the social scene. Ds wanted to go to school desperately--he is highly gifted, has social problems, ADD, executive function problems and other issues. We knew the hardest part for ds would be organizational issues. This continues to be a serious problem, but it was a serious problem at home.

 

Visit the school. Find out what documentation they want to place your dd appropriately. Ask your neighbors questions. Talk to the parents of your dd's friends.

 

Do the same for middle school. However keep in mind middle school is just harder. The time period is rocky universally for children whether public/private/homeschool. Some things that would factor in the middle school decision would be how hard it would be to have just one at home when they've been together a long time. Whether you could get the child at home involved in a social group through co op or other homeschool group. Whether finances make this a necessity (freeing up a parent to work more). The maturity of the child.

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We put our older dd in ps for 10th grade. She is now a senior. After just a few weeks of adjustment her first year, she did extremely well, both socially and academically - better than we expected.

 

It wasn't in our plan to put our dd in ps, but it was what was best for her.

 

Our younger dd will be going to ps next year (9th gr.)

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Thank you all for sharing your experiences, I really want to do what is right and not have regrets. It would be easy to say "we'll try it and see", but I don't want to ping pong back and forth from hs to ps back to hs. I see so many things differently than I used to - I know it won't be the end of the world if we decide on ps

thanks again

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just wanted to let you know that I am doing the same thing, my dd will be going to high school next year for 9th after being homeschooled fro k-8. It is not the high school in our town but one that is 30 min. away by car but probably 45 min or more by school bus. None of dd's church friends go to this school so dd will not know anyone there. It is a small school, about 550 total. I told her to join the school Bible Club to make some friends (she has never know anyone that does not go to church so meeting non'church kids will be new to her).

 

She is very shy and is nervous but very excited and I believe happy to be going to school, she is just not sure what to expect, for ex. the whole routine, taking notes from teachers lectures, pe class, lockers, lunch etc .

 

She has been on 3 or 4 visits to the school (open house, meeting with the guidance office and also we took a long tour with the enrollment person, she met several teachers and some students, including previously homeschooled students, the enrollment person even introduced dd to another girl that will be on the same LONG bus ride with her).

 

Just wanted to let you know that we are in a similiar situation as you. I am quite sad to see her go to school, but I believe that it is the best decision for her right now.

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My oldest went to public school in 9th grade. Some of the things I liked about public school: my son had several fantastic teachers, he learned a lot about people, and he made friends.

 

Some of the things I didn't like about public school: My son stopped reading. He used to read a book a week but once started public school he announced, "I don't read anymore." And he doesn't.

 

In some classes, my son got good grades but learned nothing. For instance, his Spanish teacher quit 6 weeks before the end of school-- he had a substitute teacher and learned nothing during that time. When transferred to another school and started Spanish II, he was behind.

 

In math, the school system dictates what the teacher must teach each day regardless of whether her students understood the previous lesson. There was no concern for understanding/mastery -- just push ahead and do the best you can.

 

The other thing I disliked was dealing with a bureaucracy. Aaaack. Stupidity and inefficiency! For instance, if a student misses more than 10 sessions of a class, even if those absences were excused, the student must make up seat time. That's right...they have to go to a room and sit (not work, not learn, but simply warm the seat). My son was out for a week with the flu and then missed three days for a funeral in CA. He was close to going over 10 days!

 

In a bureaucracy, it's hard to fire bad teachers. My son had a teacher who called kids names: "Fatty," "Lisp-girl" etc. When my son challenged her, she threatened to "write him up" for insubordination.

 

In another class, my son was the only white student and the teacher addressed the class, "Brothas and Sistas and Mr. P" He asked the class how many states were in the U.S. and one student answered 52. My son said, "There are 50." The teacher said, "How many of you think there are 52?" and all but two students raised their hands. "Mr. P, why do you think there are 50?" My son said he started counting the stars on the flag in the corner of the room -- he was doubting himself! He said, "Well, there are 50 stars on that flag over there and I'm pretty sure it says there are 50 states in this textbook." (This was "Advanced Civics.")

 

Academically, public school was regressive.

 

Overall, it was a mixed bag.

 

I would agree with this post. I've sent two boys to PS with disturbingly bad results. Most of all, I dislike that my DS stopped reading when he went to school.

 

While a part of me would like to point the finger at SCHOOL and say the problems we experienced were generated by the school, in my case it is a bad mix of the kind of kids I raised and the kind of school they attend. Unfortunately, my children question authority. Many of the disputes they've had concern the assertions teachers and administrators make without foundation and the way they justify their reasoning much the way a parent justifies a reason by saying, "...because I said so."

 

I think the smooth transition of a home school student to PS depends on the kind of student you have. While I have a less argumentative DD in 7th grade, I loath to send her PS. She is very smart, and I'd Kick myself if I sent her to PS and find that she'd just languish in the mediocrity.

 

 

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