Homeschool diploma for trades / real estate

[Pen]

My son wants to return to home school as Zoom school is not working well for him. He wants to go to an electrician apprenticeship which seems to require an “accredited” HS diploma and to get a real estate license which seems to indicate high school diploma.

I have not gotten replies to emails asking about home school and due to Covid was not able to reach anyone on phone. Does anyone know if a home school diploma will work?
 

I will probably also cross post to the high school board

tia

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by Pen

[katilac]

This is going to be a very local answer, I think, or at least state-specific. 

 

[Hilltopmom]

You could go through NARHS to use your homeschooled courses to get an accredited diploma. Most I have looked into require an accredited diploma. The trade options we have researched all require that. But in our state parents cannot give a homeschool diploma that means anything. Regardless, down the road he may need a diploma or GED so I would probably do the accredited diploma now.

https://www.narhs.com

We found that state licenses required an accredited diploma or GED to be issued so if his interest needs a license then e probably needs it.

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Hilltopmom

[vonfirmath]

25 minutes ago, Pen said:

My son wants to return to home school as Zoom school is not working well for him. He wants to go to an electrician apprenticeship which seems to require an “accredited” HS diploma and to get a real estate license which seems to indicate high school diploma.

I have not gotten replies to emails asking about home school and due to Covid was not able to reach anyone on phone. Does anyone know if a home school diploma will work?
 

I will probably also cross post to the high school board

tia

 

Have your son call local electrical companies and talk to them. I work for a plumber/pipefitter company that works with the union to give apprentices work, etc and they would be happy to talk to interested kids and help them figure out the best course for them. (they have in one situation talked to the mother -- but in that situation the mother was signing up as well to work alongside her son -- but in general we want to talk to the person who actually is interested, not an intermediary.)

 

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by vonfirmath

[Ausmumof3]

32 minutes ago, Pen said:

My son wants to return to home school as Zoom school is not working well for him. He wants to go to an electrician apprenticeship which seems to require an “accredited” HS diploma and to get a real estate license which seems to indicate high school diploma.

I have not gotten replies to emails asking about home school and due to Covid was not able to reach anyone on phone. Does anyone know if a home school diploma will work?
 

I will probably also cross post to the high school board

tia

 

Where i live you can do a preapprenticeship 3-6 month course as part of your high school.  This could be worth looking into if it’s available locally.  Also DH used to be involved in the apprentice recruitment and part of the interview process involved putting together a Meccano set as well as the usual stuff.  Most likely your kid has already done some of that but might be worth looking into.  Here in Aus pay and conditions are much better if you can get work for a larger commercial/industrial company than smaller companies that do electrical work for homes and individuals.

Sorry I realise none of that directly answers your question but might possibly be helpful.

[Ausmumof3]

https://nietc.org/pre-apprenticeship/
 

also just adding this in case it’s helpful 

[Lori D.]

ah-ha! Here is where you cross-posted... I responded on your high school board post, but am copy-pasting here, in case this is of help to anyone else, as well. 😉

_____________________________
 

While virtually all community colleges and universities in the US accept parent-awarded diplomas, many trade schools, cosmetology schools, and apprenticeships do not. They still require either an accredited diploma or a GED. So if that is the apprenticeship program's requirements, then no, a homeschool diploma will not be accepted.

You can achieve an accredited diploma if you go through an accredited "cover" or "umbrella" organization, or through an accredited correspondence school. These options take care of your transcript and award the diploma. These are not cheap options, and some are more restrictive about what can be used for credits than others. Clonlara, Kolbe, North Star, and NARHS are the most frequent examples I see on these boards that are accepted, accredited diploma options, while the American School of Correspondence is the example I most often see on these boards for a correspondence school. Note: some years back, there was some problems with NARS and their accreditation -- I don't know if that has been sorted out or not.

Possibly a more simple/less expensive option: You might see if it is possible for your DS to switch to his public school's virtual charter, so that you are overseeing his coursework at home, but it is still administrated by the public school, so an accredited diploma is awarded by the school at the end.

Another option is to have your student take the GED, and then afterwards, award your homeschool diploma (if the student has completed your homeschool requirements for graduation). That way your student can honestly answer "yes" to all future employment applications "Do you have a high school diploma?", but also would meet the requirements for the apprenticeship.

At the bottom of PAGE 1 of the big pinned thread "High School Motherlode #1" are some past threads on accreditation. 

Hope the apprenticeship option works out -- the son of a dear friend is 1.5 years into his Electrician's apprenticeship and is *loving* it! Hope something there helps! Warmest regards, Lori D.

ETA
One last thing -- also be sure to check what his school's policy is about whether or not they accept homeschool credits (or cover school credits) if your DS needs/wants to switch BACK AGAIN from homeschool to finish at the high school. If the school won't accept homeschool credits, that may mean that coming home to homeschool just might not be an option for your DS, if he will want to return to the school once the pandemic passes.

Many high schools do not accept homeschool credits (or sometimes credits from another district); some will accept the credits, but only if the student passes the end-of-year test for each and every class to be considered for acceptance on the school-issued transcript; and some schools accept homeschool credits with either no hoop-jumping, or minimal hoop-jumping of requesting a booklist of materials/textbooks used and possible samples of the student's work, to verify completion of the material and level of work.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Lori D.

[prairiewindmomma]

Ds has just one semester left, right? I would encourage him to stay the course if possible. Particularly where future plans might change, but further college education is unlikely, an accredited diploma is valuable.

[prairiewindmomma]

On another note, how close is he to just 24 credits? I would be talking with the IEP team on how to get this kid across the line, even if it’s just to drop his schedule to bare minimum and use the district’s credit recovery program. Like, get him done, but get him done with an accredited degree.

[Farrar]

I hate to second what Lori is saying (because it's annoying) but it's true that many trade programs are stuck on "accredited" diploma, which is a load of nonsense... and annoying because I know for a fact that many of them take diplomas from schools that are not accredited, just licensed to operate as a school. Sigh. Sometimes it seems like the lower one goes with education, the more likely one is to need a diploma.

In addition to Lori's advice, another potential avenue would be to start on dual enrollment and finish high school with both a homeschool diploma and an associate's degree. That would leave a lot of opportunities open and would mean those boxes were checked for most places. What grade is he in?

[Amy in NH]

An accredited diploma or GED is necessary for the trades unless you want to be an unlicensed laborer, which is usually only acceptable in carpentry, concrete, drywall, or painting. 

My son did two years of electrical apprenticeship through the local high school vocational center.  He was homeschooled for his other subjects, but the school district covered the cost of his tuition to the vocational program.  I had to arrange this with the vocational center, and also give the school board enough notice to include him in their contracting and budgeting.

Due to insurance rules, he could not work as an apprentice unless the company was willing to go through the state labor board high school apprenticeship registry, which they were not.  He did field training during the second year of the high school program, though.  He turned 18 in May, took the GED, and started working as an apprentice for an HVAC-R company in June.  He has worked 50-hour weeks since then.  They are paying for his 3rd year electrical apprenticeship course which he does two nights per week.  The electrical apprenticeship program is a 4-year course, and then the company will pay his license testing fees.  This is the case for all of his courses and licenses (refrigerant, plumbing, gas, and controls certifications). 

All of the state licenses require a high school diploma or GED, in addition to the apprenticeship courses and supervised field hours.

[Lori D.]

2 hours ago, Farrar said:

I hate to second what Lori is saying (because it's annoying) but it's true that many trade programs are stuck on "accredited" diploma, which is a load of nonsense... and annoying because I know for a fact that many of them take diplomas from schools that are not accredited, just licensed to operate as a school...

I know. It totally galled me to have to say "you might want to consider the GED route..." for the reason you list. 😉 

[Amy in NH]

14 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

I know. It totally galled me to have to say "you might want to consider the GED route..." for the reason you list. 😉 

Given what so many board members have stated here anecdotally, about witnessing "homeschoolers" whose kids aren't actually learning anything, I'm happy that an accredited diploma or GED is required of the persons who will be installing equipment with the ability to burn my house down or blow it up!  Knowing that they are able to read the directions or calculate the psi/etc. for equipment they're working with is a necessity.  DH is constantly super-frustrated by the lack of knowledge and thinking skills possessed by his carpentry crews.

[Farrar]

15 hours ago, Amy in NH said:

Given what so many board members have stated here anecdotally, about witnessing "homeschoolers" whose kids aren't actually learning anything, I'm happy that an accredited diploma or GED is required of the persons who will be installing equipment with the ability to burn my house down or blow it up!  Knowing that they are able to read the directions or calculate the psi/etc. for equipment they're working with is a necessity.  DH is constantly super-frustrated by the lack of knowledge and thinking skills possessed by his carpentry crews.

Kids who chug through Acellus Power Homeschool are not better educated. They just bought their way in. It's crap. I'm sorry, but being an electrician takes real skills. You have to take a ton of tests and courses and go through a long term program. The program is what needs to be good enough. And kids who bought a diploma online aren't any better off than kids who were homeschooled.

[Wheres Toto]

2 hours ago, Farrar said:

Kids who chug through Acellus Power Homeschool are not better educated. They just bought their way in. It's crap. I'm sorry, but being an electrician takes real skills. You have to take a ton of tests and courses and go through a long term program. The program is what needs to be good enough. And kids who bought a diploma online aren't any better off than kids who were homeschooled.

This is what I'm thinking.  High school programs vary drastically, as do homeschool programs and online programs.   The skills and knowledge to do the job safely and effectively should be taught in the job training programs.   Nobody should be able to walk into being a skilled tradesperson and do the full job based on where their high school diploma came from.  

[Pen]

22 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

On another note, how close is he to just 24 credits? I would be talking with the IEP team on how to get this kid across the line, even if it’s just to drop his schedule to bare minimum and use the district’s credit recovery program. Like, get him done, but get him done with an accredited degree.

he has 18.75 credits and a 3.Something gpa at this point.   fall semester is not officially done yet —

assuming passing fall classes — big ‘if’ right now, plus he had a concussion last weekend and just missed a whole week of zoom school  , he will have ~ 22.75 —

but he still has some specific requirements to fulfill like a science, English 12, health, civics and Econ — maybe others ?  They shifted to longer more intense block classes 4 at a time for a full credit instead of a half credit for fall classes and half for Spring classes. So he has to take pretty much full load for Spring even though that will put him over the minimum 24.  (I think Science, English, health and something, and the Civics/Econ for spring)  he’s done with math requirements, fine arts, PE, foreign language, half the health unit requirement.   All history except for Civics/Econ requirement. 

he was tracking potential college requirements so has more done in terms of some areas than needed for trades, but missing areas needed for graduation

 

he got way behind in fall semester and has a few weeks now if he’s going to pull it through which would already be tough, but concussion is adding troubles ...   

some is actually hard, some is psychological blockage ... and trouble with dealing with having fallen behind ...  he also has some credits not finished last year that he needs to finish by June...  

 

ive been trying to get him to “get it done” even if with straight D’s right now...  whatever gets him through rather than trying to hold the 3.0 or better gpa as his focus — only not successfully  

 

we did get past the “I’m handling it, Mom, stop nagging,” To an acknowledgment that he isn’t handling it. He started crying and said he feels overwhelmed and unable...  the unable seems to be more dealing with catching up from behind - not actually being incapable... he’s way behind and stressed out even in a yoga class which was supposed to help be fun easy and relaxing!

[Farrar]

4 hours ago, Wheres Toto said:

This is what I'm thinking.  High school programs vary drastically, as do homeschool programs and online programs.   The skills and knowledge to do the job safely and effectively should be taught in the job training programs.   Nobody should be able to walk into being a skilled tradesperson and do the full job based on where their high school diploma came from.  

Yeah. Electrician programs in particular should be tied to community colleges (who all take homeschoolers, by the way). I know they aren't all, but my brother is an electrician and his program was and involved both a path to master's electrician license and an associate's degree. There were repeated tests throughout the program - as there should be. No one is learning what they need to know to safely become an electrician in any high school - good or bad. I just want the trade program to be good enough.

The irony that the "lower" you go on the educational rung (or maybe I should just say the farther from academia, because many trades skills require just as much time to learn and educational certification), the more likely you are to need a GED is such nonsense and all about justification. Community colleges have gotten so accustomed to dual enrollment that this is no longer an issue with them, but I find that the smaller the college name, the more likely they are to require a GED. And the lower you get in the trade world, the more likely as well. Like, cosmetology schools will still be requiring GED's long after everything else. And that's not a dis on the awesomeness of the skill of hair cutting (one I have been trying to acquire during the pandemic and, geez, no one look at my kids' haircuts, please). But school skills are something you need for colleges, which don't require GED's or "accredited" diplomas. It's not something you need to learn to cut hair, which does require it. Bah.

Edited January 11, 2021 by Farrar

[Lori D.]

(((((hugs))))) So sorry Pen.

Would he be open to (or would it help) having you keep him company while he works?

Or helping him to schedule himself with deadlines and check-ins with you on how he's doing? If he is open to that, it can help him "eat that elephant one bite at a time" and not feel so overwhelmed by being behind, and also feel like he's got a support team cheering him on.

[Corraleno]

4 hours ago, Pen said:

he has 18.75 credits and a 3.Something gpa at this point.   fall semester is not officially done yet —

assuming passing fall classes — big ‘if’ right now, plus he had a concussion last weekend and just missed a whole week of zoom school  , he will have ~ 22.75 —

but he still has some specific requirements to fulfill like a science, English 12, health, civics and Econ — maybe others ?  They shifted to longer more intense block classes 4 at a time for a full credit instead of a half credit for fall classes and half for Spring classes. So he has to take pretty much full load for Spring even though that will put him over the minimum 24.  (I think Science, English, health and something, and the Civics/Econ for spring)  he’s done with math requirements, fine arts, PE, foreign language, half the health unit requirement.   All history except for Civics/Econ requirement. 

I would definitely look into NARHS, which was linked above. Unless they've changed since the last time I looked at them, he should already have more than enough credits to graduate; I think he would only need 1 homeschooled English credit (for 4 yrs English) and they only require 80 hours per credit. He could read some books, write a few essays, and be done. I don't think they charge anything to transfer in PS credits, you only pay to have them assess and validate homeschool credits, and then he would have an accredited diploma.

[prairiewindmomma]

@Pen, we have a similar dynamic going on, both in our house and throughout the district.

Hugs, because I know this is so hard for everyone.

[Pen]

On 1/9/2021 at 1:56 PM, Hilltopmom said:

You could go through NARHS to use your homeschooled courses to get an accredited diploma. Most I have looked into require an accredited diploma. The trade options we have researched all require that. But in our state parents cannot give a homeschool diploma that means anything. Regardless, down the road he may need a diploma or GED so I would probably do the accredited diploma now.

https://www.narhs.com

We found that state licenses required an accredited diploma or GED to be issued so if his interest needs a license then e probably needs it.

 

thank you !!!

 

this looks like it might be the answer!

[Pen]

Well -NARHS  was sounding good until DS declared he hates school and isn’t doing *any* anymore .

🙏

[Toocrazy!!]

Hugs to you! I have a high school senior boy who is also DONE with school! It’s so hard watching them be so close and yet so far. Hopefully when he sees the options, you’ll be able to break it down into something he sees as do-able. 
I never imagined how my son would be doing in school right now. 
I have a friend whose son dropped out right before high school graduation who is kicking himself now due to lack of job opportunities. It’s so much harder to go back and finish. It’s really hard to get a teenage boy to see that big picture though, when they are just done. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

By the way, unless it’s changed, not all community colleges accept homeschoolers.  In New York, you have to have a GED if you don’t have an accredited high school diploma in order to go to community college.  And definitely for all the trade schools. I briefly looked at an LPN trade program but since I have a homeschool high school diploma, they wouldn’t accept me without a GED—even though I have a B.A.  

[vonfirmath]

Just now, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

By the way, unless it’s changed, not all community colleges accept homeschoolers.  In New York, you have to have a GED if you don’t have an accredited high school diploma in order to go to community college.  And definitely for all the trade schools. I briefly looked at an LPN trade program but since I have a homeschool high school diploma, they wouldn’t accept me without a GED—even though I have a B.A.  

My husband ran into similar with a Bachelor's and a Master's -- but no HS diploma (He was in a program where he went straight onto a college campus for 8th grade)

[BlsdMama]

Do check with your local community college and your local union. 
 

Here that would involve the community college which has no issue with a homeschool diploma and transcript. 
 

For Example:

DS #2 is planning on a Diesel Mechanics program. It offers a one year certificate or a two year Associates degree. He is currently a sophomore. He can begin taking some classes as a dual enrolled student his junior year. This is all at the local community college. His job shadow is this year and he can compete for a one month high school internship his junior and senior year. 

I know we have a similar plan for electricians here as well. 
 

 

[katilac]

3 hours ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

By the way, unless it’s changed, not all community colleges accept homeschoolers.  In New York, you have to have a GED if you don’t have an accredited high school diploma in order to go to community college.  And definitely for all the trade schools. I briefly looked at an LPN trade program but since I have a homeschool high school diploma, they wouldn’t accept me without a GED—even though I have a B.A.  

Yeah, community colleges are so very local that I don't think you can safely say they all do anything. 

Pen, maybe tell him he has a week to explore the options you've given him, and come up with any more, and y'all can readdress then. 

[Amy in NH]

18 hours ago, katilac said:

Yeah, community colleges are so very local that I don't think you can safely say they all do anything. 

Pen, maybe tell him he has a week to explore the options you've given him, and come up with any more, and y'all can readdress then. 

In NH, all of the community colleges are under the umbrella of the the Community College System of NH; they all have the same rules.

[Amy in NH]

On 1/11/2021 at 3:29 PM, vonfirmath said:

My husband ran into similar with a Bachelor's and a Master's -- but no HS diploma (He was in a program where he went straight onto a college campus for 8th grade)

I've seen that happen for police and military jobs, but generally a bachelor or masters degree from an accredited college or university would qualify as proof that the applicant has mastered a high school level of education. 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Amy in NH
police; not policy

[vonfirmath]

7 minutes ago, Amy in NH said:

I've seen that happen for policy and military jobs, but generally a bachelor or masters degree from an accredited college or university would qualify as proof that the applicant has mastered a high school level of education. 

Accreditation was not the issue (University of Washington, Texas State University)

This was a County jail position. He ended up with something better so in the long run it was good they immediately  rejected him. But when we were struggling for jobs it was crushing.

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by vonfirmath

[katilac]

9 hours ago, Amy in NH said:

In NH, all of the community colleges are under the umbrella of the the Community College System of NH; they all have the same rules.

Sure, but even if that's true for every single state that's still 50 sets of rules. 

9 hours ago, Amy in NH said:

I've seen that happen for policy and military jobs, but generally a bachelor or masters degree from an accredited college or university would qualify as proof that the applicant has mastered a high school level of education. 

A long time ago, someone posted on the boards about an international job situation where they wanted to see a high school diploma for a college graduate. iirc, not even a fresh college graduate, but one with experience. That's one I've always remembered. I've heard it here and there, definitely not a lot, but enough to make me paranoid, lol. My kids have homeschool diplomas, but I was definitely set on having a more typical high school name, not XYZ Academy, and being careful with my wording. 

[Pen]

As of today he’s back doing his regular local high school program via Zoom ... 

prayers for him to stay this course much appreciated!!!

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Hey, Pen, on a side note—I sat in on our school district’s board meeting last night. They are on board for doing more LIPI (limited in person instruction) and they are specifically targeting seniors, and then high schoolers even though k-2 are supposed to be brought back first. This bolsters info I have had from talking directly with high school instructors.

I think my points are:

1. We are definitely not alone &

2. Push for LIPI if things fall off the rails again.

3. Consider a temporary incomplete and an extension of the semester for a couple of weeks if needed rather than giving up 

There are options and flexibility in the system—it’s just not being advertised. Advocate like heck.

Also, we’ve moved to straight up bribery at our house. Kid needed an external motivator because the internal motivation is shot.

[GoodGrief3]

1 hour ago, Pen said:

As of today he’s back doing his regular local high school program via Zoom ... 

prayers for him to stay this course much appreciated!!!

 

Hugs to you. This teen/young adult stuff is rough.

You don't need to say if this is the case, but throwing this out from our experience:  if there is mental health stuff going on, documentation might be useful if you need to explain a period of poor grades/dropped classes.

[Pen]

Resurrecting my thread...  more prayers for me and for him would be appreciated!

 

we are in the last 4 days to get work done for this term. He finished what should be 1.5 credits of work. He has one significant critical English paper to do and he will have that credit. 

It would be nice to get his yoga class credit rather than an F in yoga, but he can still graduate with an F in yoga. 
 

please pray also for me to have patience!!!  And to find ways to get him on track without “nagging “

 

 

[Pen]

On 1/13/2021 at 1:32 PM, prairiewindmomma said:

Hey, Pen, on a side note—I sat in on our school district’s board meeting last night. They are on board for doing more LIPI (limited in person instruction) and they are specifically targeting seniors, and then high schoolers even though k-2 are supposed to be brought back first. This bolsters info I have had from talking directly with high school instructors.

I think my points are:

1. We are definitely not alone &

2. Push for LIPI if things fall off the rails again.

3. Consider a temporary incomplete and an extension of the semester for a couple of weeks if needed rather than giving up 

There are options and flexibility in the system—it’s just not being advertised. Advocate like heck.

Also, we’ve moved to straight up bribery at our house. Kid needed an external motivator because the internal motivation is shot.

I’m happy to resort to  schoolwork bribery—please suggest useful briberies for older teens!!!

 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Mine works for food treats (otherwise difficult to get since we do grocery pickup), D&D figurines, and steam game credits. 

Thinking of your ds, I would also think about prepaid gas cards, fast food restaurant cards, etc. Not cash—but an equivalent.

Our stores let me pick out $10 cards and put them in my grocery order pickup. 

 

[Pen]

Please keep praying!!!

English done—final submitted!!!  Woot!

Down to 2 days to complete Yoga (actually he will have an incomplete and more time if needed, but for my own well being I am trying to get him to do it in these two remaining days .  Bribe or just genuine consequences— if it’s done tomorrow he can have 3 day weekend with his best friend. If done Friday, a two day fun weekend.)   
 

I decided with English final in not to make a big deal of right now supposed to be still school time, and to ease off for rest of day. 
 

🙏🏾🙏🏼🙏🏻🙏🏽🙏

[Pen]

On 1/9/2021 at 5:57 PM, Farrar said:

I hate to second what Lori is saying (because it's annoying) but it's true that many trade programs are stuck on "accredited" diploma, which is a load of nonsense... and annoying because I know for a fact that many of them take diplomas from schools that are not accredited, just licensed to operate as a school. Sigh. Sometimes it seems like the lower one goes with education, the more likely one is to need a diploma.

In addition to Lori's advice, another potential avenue would be to start on dual enrollment and finish high school with both a homeschool diploma and an associate's degree. That would leave a lot of opportunities open and would mean those boxes were checked for most places. What grade is he in?

He’s in 12th and we are grinding along still in public school.  nrahs option looked good, but then His principal told him he was being ridiculous and that quitting in 12th would be like a marathon runner quitting with the last half mile only to go. So he decided to buckle down .  

a lot of options like dual enrollment are largely shut due to Covid 

anyway he just finished up what should be end of language arts credits. And should be up to 3 credits for this semester with just yoga left. 
 

from my perspective finishing yoga would not be a big deal, but he has some emotional barrier so far as I can tell  

 

he has 3 required credits still to go for his final semester, plus maybe a drama/acting class that’s not needed but would be fun if school ever becomes in person instead of virtual.  Plus he has  two classes he does not really need (yoga this semester and a another incomplete from last year). I think they would be nice to finish off with Pass grades to not lose his over 3.0 cumulative gpa, and just because Pass is better than Fail: not just in how it looks to others in future for job training programs,  but I think even more importantly also for his own sense of accomplishment.   Especially the yoga has only around 2-6 hours of work remaining and it would be done.   The class from last year has a lot more needed and his principal agreed that maybe it should be let go if needed.
 

[Lilaclady]

Praying he keeps on till the end- it is so tough on seniors and this year is even tougher. My dd had a hard time too the last semester of senior year- it was a slug to the finish line but she had all her requirements met early on. Use whatever bribe you can to help him finish. He will thank you later. Hang in there. 

[Soror]

 

On 1/11/2021 at 12:55 PM, Toocrazy!! said:

Hugs to you! I have a high school senior boy who is also DONE with school! It’s so hard watching them be so close and yet so far. Hopefully when he sees the options, you’ll be able to break it down into something he sees as do-able. 
I never imagined how my son would be doing in school right now. 
I have a friend whose son dropped out right before high school graduation who is kicking himself now due to lack of job opportunities. It’s so much harder to go back and finish. It’s really hard to get a teenage boy to see that big picture though, when they are just done. 

 

 

On 2/8/2021 at 4:27 PM, Pen said:

Resurrecting my thread...  more prayers for me and for him would be appreciated!

 

we are in the last 4 days to get work done for this term. He finished what should be 1.5 credits of work. He has one significant critical English paper to do and he will have that credit. 

It would be nice to get his yoga class credit rather than an F in yoga, but he can still graduate with an F in yoga. 
 

please pray also for me to have patience!!!  And to find ways to get him on track without “nagging “

Prayers for you. 

It has been a rough year for my son too. (Consequently hard on me). Lowered expectations. 

Bribes and punishment here relate to use of car and computer and friend time. I also had to break it down into chunks, do this and you get this as doing it all at one time was too much.

[ktgrok]

Hugs. My son was similar, and it was a bit of a mess. No one told us how hard parenting that age would be! And it is even harder when you read about these incredibly motivated, totally independent teens! (although I swear most of those are girls...and most of the ones in your son's situaiton are boys)

I think boys should finish required education no later than 16. 

[Soror]

4 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Hugs. My son was similar, and it was a bit of a mess. No one told us how hard parenting that age would be! And it is even harder when you read about these incredibly motivated, totally independent teens! (although I swear most of those are girls...and most of the ones in your son's situaiton are boys)

I think boys should finish required education no later than 16. 

For sure! Dh was telling me how he didn't lose motivation for school until 11th grade, well he was 16 in 11th grade. Ds turned 16 right before 10th. Boys, ay yi yi. 

[Pen]

Yoga: done and Passed !!!

 

I’d appreciate any prayers possible ongoing with regard getting through the final term of high school ! 
 

also I’m going to delete this next part, but with all the things about child trafficking and abuse I am having concerns that maybe some of what seems self defeating behavior and somewhat “typical” for stage plus bizarre lockdowns year etc could relate to some unknown that happened to him.  I became his foster Mom when he was 5 and then adopted him. He had had at least 6 foster homes before he came to me, several with multiple people.  Even without some extra abuse or trafficking that’s a lot. (He has had therapy- one early when I got him was excellent, but a more recent person was worse than nothing and I agreed not to push him toward therapy again. Though I may try to see if I can get him to do EFT at home.) I’d appreciate prayers for healing related to this whole area too. 

[Soror]

Congrats on him passing yoga!!! Yipee!

Prayers for him and you.

[Pen]

On 1/11/2021 at 10:55 AM, Toocrazy!! said:

Hugs to you! I have a high school senior boy who is also DONE with school! It’s so hard watching them be so close and yet so far. Hopefully when he sees the options, you’ll be able to break it down into something he sees as do-able. 
I never imagined how my son would be doing in school right now. 
I have a friend whose son dropped out right before high school graduation who is kicking himself now due to lack of job opportunities. It’s so much harder to go back and finish. It’s really hard to get a teenage boy to see that big picture though, when they are just done. 

One of the boys in my son’s friend group did drop out. I was surprised and shocked because of the group he was the most academic and I had envisioned him going on to college as likely. He got a job as a grocery bagger, which seems fine at 17, but for how long.  I hope maybe he will drop back in and finish up next year. My son said the friend who dropped out is talking about a GED though, so maybe he will do that instead.  It made it harder, I think to keep my son and one of the other friends motivated. 
 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Pen

[Pen]

2 minutes ago, Soror said:

Congrats on him passing yoga!!! Yipee!

Prayers for him and you.

thank you!!!

He’s signed up for drama/acting next term and I am concerned that another supposedly “fun” class will turn into a stressful event rather than be fun.  

[Toocrazy!!]

22 hours ago, Pen said:

thank you!!!

He’s signed up for drama/acting next term and I am concerned that another supposedly “fun” class will turn into a stressful event rather than be fun.  

Prayers for your son! I’m glad he’s making progress. I hope the drama class works out for him. We’re making pretty good progress here. 
 

I’ve never heard about boys and 16, but wow, that was my son! We were filling out something the other week with awards and classes and he’s like I really peaked too early😂 he was a middle school superstar for sure.