[Seeker]

Just for fun, folks!

[PWilhelm]

Not it.

[Teatime]

Not it.

< hijack > Hey lady! hope you're keeping warm < end hijack >

[Seeker]

Not it.

You are excused.

[Charlies Angels]

Just for fun, folks!

When ya going to tell us the right answer? I voted .

[Seeker]

When ya going to tell us the right answer? I voted .

I promise I will, but I am waiting for more votes.

[PWilhelm]

< hijack > Hey lady! hope you're keeping warm < end hijack >

Hey! How you doing?? We had snow a couple of days last week, but right now it is just cold and wet......about 40*F or so. When we get real snow I'll post some pictures........ maybe in a week or two.

[Seeker]

Ya'll can do better than this, can't you?

[Seeker]

Only 21 votes so far? Pathetic!

[Teatime]

Hey! How you doing?? We had snow a couple of days last week, but right now it is just cold and wet......about 40*F or so. When we get real snow I'll post some pictures........ maybe in a week or two.

Doing great here .. looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Only 21 votes so far? Pathetic!

Ok, ok I took a stab at it .. I said 500 - 750

[ValentineBaby]

I do not have a clue !!! I only know of one family.....

This post has been edited by ValentineBaby: 21 October 2009 - 08:09 PM

[Seeker]

I do not have a clue !!! I only know of one family.....

Take a guess!

[Seeker]

According to the BOE, there are over 2,000 families homeschooling in Paulding County this year. That is over 2,000 attendance records audited and filed each month or over 20,000 sheets of paper a year including the Letter of Intent. I imagine that requires quite a bit of storage space not to mention hours of work. And the kicker is, last I knew, Georgia is the only state that requires attendance records to be sent monthly.

On the other hand, I wonder how many children are homeschooled in total because each one saves $4,675 in taxes for not being in public schools. (Reported cost per student at http://www.bestplace...g-Georgia.aspx) If that is just one child per household, it would be over $9 million a year, but it is very likely that most households are homeschooling more than one child.

Just something to think about...

[Harlee71]

Only 21 votes so far? Pathetic!

I was hoping it was close to this number. Just my thoughts on the subject.

[luvtennis5]

I was way off.

[jazzygirl]

WOW, I was off by about 1,000!! Just curious how you got the info -- did the BOE tell you or is there an actual stat on their website? I would wonder what the count is for Cobb/Cherokee etc. Good poll!

[Seeker]

WOW, I was off by about 1,000!! Just curious how you got the info -- did the BOE tell you or is there an actual stat on their website? I would wonder what the count is for Cobb/Cherokee etc. Good poll!

I don't know how it is done in other counties, but for what I understood from what I was told during a phone conservation with the person responsible, a file is created for each family and each attendance record is audited and filled so she would likely know the number being sent in each month.

I was a bit amazed at the number of families homeschooling also. I also thought it might be around a thousand. I have to say that the number also makes me realize how many families are independent, that is, not in homeschool groups.

[Far West]

http://www.bestplace...g-Georgia.aspx#

Paulding, GA
2 yr College Grad. 4.61%
4 yr College Grad. 11.66%
Graduate Degrees 3.68%
High School Grads. 80.67%


I am always skeptical of the value of the home school education when per the report you cited ...only 11.66 % of adults over the age of 25 in Paulding County have a bachelor's degree or other 4-year college degree.

How are 1767 families educating their children with no more than a high school education? If you took those statistics...only 233 people (11.66%) would have a college education?

[Seeker]

http://www.bestplace...g-Georgia.aspx#

Paulding, GA
2 yr College Grad. 4.61%
4 yr College Grad. 11.66%
Graduate Degrees 3.68%
High School Grads. 80.67%


I am always skeptical of the value of the home school education when per the report you cited ...only 11.66 % of adults over the age of 25 in Paulding County have a bachelor's degree or other 4-year college degree.

How are 1767 families educating their children with no more than a high school education? If you took those statistics...only 233 people (11.66%) would have a college education?

It is pretty scary, isn't it? Well, Georgia LAW states that the homeschooling parent and tutors only need a high school diploma or GED. Some states have become more lenient in recent years in their laws regarding the education level of the homeschooling parents because long term statistics have proven that there is no significant difference one way or the other as to whether the teaching parent has been to college or not. Homeschoolers still overall have produced higher test scores than children being taught by those with education degrees in school environments.

It is said the best way to learn a subject is to teach it. I know that my education has been ongoing all my life. I never ended it when I graduated and I never counted on teachers as the only source for my education either.

Should we assume that every rocket scientist is qualified to teach phonics, grammar, or history just because he has an impressive degree in science? One factor often overlooked is that whatever a homeschooling parent lacked in his/her education can be learned along with the children being taught, both are being educated at the same time. For instance, I don't ever remember having to memorize the list of prepositions, even though grammar was a strong subject for me, but I learned them along with my daughter when she was seven years old. I wonder how many college gradates could list them or even knows what a preposition is?

This post has been edited by Seeker: 23 October 2009 - 03:03 PM

[dhiossa]

Does this number include the families that use GVA? I understand that they do not have to send in attendance reports. I know that they are technically public school from attendance standard. Yet they also fall into the homeschool category as well. Just curious.

[Seeker]

Does this number include the families that use GVA? I understand that they do not have to send in attendance reports. I know that they are technically public school from attendance standard. Yet they also fall into the homeschool category as well. Just curious.

Hi, dhiossa!

I have called you a few times and never at the right time, obviously!

I don't know for sure, but I believe this number did not include GVA because they are not required to send in a LOI or attendance records, which is what was being discussed when I was inquiring about the number of homeschoolers. I wonder how many are in GVA this year...?

[Sage~]

We're a GVA family, it's our second year and we love it! I do feel like we are in some weird gray area though, some homeschoolers do not consider us "one of them" and of course the public school families do not consider us to be part of their program. The funny part is when people from each group will point and say we belong to the other group ... yes, we follow a public school program, but we school at home ... it doesn't matter to me, regardless if a homeschool group "allows" us to participate with them or not, we are constantly on the go with activities. It is my responsibility as a homeschooling parent to keep my children active with fun & educational events and/or activities. I am completely grateful that my oldest daughter has an excellent GVA teacher that always has an outing or event planned for the kids. Tomorrow is our class fall festival!

This post has been edited by Sage~: 26 October 2009 - 08:23 AM

[Seeker]

We're a GVA family, it's our second year and we love it! I do feel like we are in some weird gray area though, some homeschoolers do not consider us "one of them" and of course the public school families do not consider us to be part of their program. The funny part is when people from each group will point and say we belong to the other group ... yes, we follow a public school program, but we school at home ... it doesn't matter to me, regardless if a homeschool group "allows" us to participate with them or not, we are constantly on the go with activities. It is my responsibility as a homeschooling parent to keep my children active with fun & educational events and/or activities. I am completely grateful that my oldest daughter has an excellent GVA teacher that always has an outing or event planned for the kids. Tomorrow is our class fall festival!

Although it feels inbetween, as the law is written in Georgia, GVA is not a gray area between homeschooling and public school really, it is its own category. You do not qualify as a homeschool, according to the definition provided in law, or else you would have to fulfill the same legal requirements as a homeschool. Your children are not enrolled in brick and mortar local public school or else they would not be barred from participating in activities provided there. You simply are in a virtual charter school, therefore are regulated by it.

However, in staying with the topic. As far as I know GVA was not included in the number, but all homeschooling families were included in the count and it is possible that some of these could have one or more children also in GVA.

[dhiossa]

We're a GVA family, it's our second year and we love it! I do feel like we are in some weird gray area though, some homeschoolers do not consider us "one of them" and of course the public school families do not consider us to be part of their program. The funny part is when people from each group will point and say we belong to the other group ... yes, we follow a public school program, but we school at home ... it doesn't matter to me, regardless if a homeschool group "allows" us to participate with them or not, we are constantly on the go with activities. It is my responsibility as a homeschooling parent to keep my children active with fun & educational events and/or activities. I am completely grateful that my oldest daughter has an excellent GVA teacher that always has an outing or event planned for the kids. Tomorrow is our class fall festival!

I know that the baseball group at Oregon Park has children from the GVA program. We are finishing up fall ball but they have a session in spring. The good thing is you have found what works for your family.

[dhiossa]

Hi, dhiossa!

I have called you a few times and never at the right time, obviously!

I don't know for sure, but I believe this number did not include GVA because they are not required to send in a LOI or attendance records, which is what was being discussed when I was inquiring about the number of homeschoolers. I wonder how many are in GVA this year...?

Yes we have gone old school and do not have call waiting. We are also on the go a lot. I am failing at raising unsociable homeschoolers. They tie up the phone and have places to go and people to see.

[Sage~]

Although it feels inbetween, as the law is written in Georgia, GVA is not a gray area between homeschooling and public school really, it is its own category. You do not qualify as a homeschool, according to the definition provided in law, or else you would have to fulfill the same legal requirements as a homeschool. Your children are not enrolled in brick and mortar local public school or else they would not be barred from participating in activities provided there. You simply are in a virtual charter school, therefore are regulated by it.

However, in staying with the topic. As far as I know GVA was not included in the number, but all homeschooling families were included in the count and it is possible that some of these could have one or more children also in GVA.

Um, okay. My apologies for getting off topic.

[PWilhelm]

The law aside.......... I, personally, think that GVA'ers are homeschoolers.......and I think it's a bum-wrap that they aren't considered so by other homeschoolers. I can see why HSLDA and other such entities don't include them, but what they do on a day to day basis is no different then what other homeschoolers do. In the long run, if they were treated better by homeschoolers we might find more of them willing to drop the GVA and step out on their own. GVA provides a "safe" way for people to turn to homeschooling........ the K12 program used is excellent, although overwhelming at times...... and it is a means to give some of that responsibility back to the parents for educating their own children. It is just another way to accomplish the same thing.....to provide the best that they can for their children.

The divide between GVA/Homeschoolers/Public Schoolers/Etc. reminds me of the divide between some motorcyclists........ the Harley dudes won't wave to the crotch-rocket crowd and vice versa.......... I rode a vintage Japanese bike for a few years... my only transportation. I saw many times when motorcyclists would not acknowledge one another for something as trivial as what they rode. ....and yet, somehow, all the motorcyclists need to stick together to fight laws that would outlaw motorcycles in apartment complexes, etc. They are stronger together, regardless of their ride.

Parents need to get over who is doing something "better" or "different" or "worse" then they are for their own kids.......... we should all work together to do what is right for the kids and acknowledge that each of us might prefer a different "ride" but all are looking for the perfect way to enjoy the experience. It is just a different method ......... each type of schooling can turn out geniuses and each type can turn out losers......... it mostly depends on parents and how they adapt to meet the needs of the child.

Damn! Caught me monologuing again.........

[Seeker]

....and yet, somehow, all the motorcyclists need to stick together to fight laws that would outlaw motorcycles in apartment complexes, etc. They are stronger together, regardless of their ride.

I agree with much of what you have written--I normally agree with you on most things as you know--but I am also a stickler for the law. I understand why homeschoolers do not want to be grouped with GVA in the legal sense because it really does not makes either stronger and it can lead to muddying the line of distinction between the two. On the other hand, I think it can be petty when "homeschool" groups shun GVA families.