Need advice! my parents won't homeschool me! :/?

Question

If anyone on here remembers me, early on I was trying to get my parents to homeschool me. They wouldn't do it, so I finally waited until now [summer] to bring it up again, and they still won't do it.

No matter what I do/say, they automatically say no to homeschooling. And It really makes me upset.

I hate the public school here. I think you can tell where you truly belong/don't belong, right? If I go back to school when it starts, I already can tell it's going to be hectic for me. I have my reasons for not liking public school.

I don't know what to do. My parents don't want to homeschool me. I mean, if they're not interested in the experience, will I even get any learning experience if they do teach me? But then I think that if they were to homeschool me, I would get the best education, even if I had to teach myself most of the time.

Public school starts late August and I'm trying to do anything I can to get out of going back.

What should I do? :/

Thanks for any and all help!

Answer 1

Yes, I remember. Did you try anything that people suggested? Did you find out from your parents why they don't want you to homeschool? And not argue with them about it? If your goal is to convince them instead of understanding them, you are going to create a bigger wall between you each time you bring it up.

My gut on this one says you won't be able to win them over--as much as we might like to, one of the realities of life is that we can't convince everybody to see our way. One of your chances would have been to start schooling yourself as soon as summer vacation started and prove to them that it's something you want to do and something that you can do. But it's been, what, 1.5 months since you got out of school? I don't know if you can prove to them in what little time is left that this is something you are serious about. Not to mention that the time between you last talked to them about it and now would have been the time to research it as much as you could, find out all the possibilities, collect it all and print it out for them, print out lists of common objections and explanations, etc. I guess what I'm saying is that for how much you want to do this, it seems like you've been rather passive. Sure, you've asked questions, but what have you done with that information?

You are right--your homeschooling will likely not be the greatest experience if they don't want to do it. You won't get support from them, you'll be on your own and having to figure it all out.

If your education is what's important to you, then get an education despite school. Start now. Keep going through school. Make the most of every minute in school and out. You mentioned things would be "hectic"--cut out things if you must. Learn to prioritize. Most of all, accept the situation as it is. Doesn't mean you have to like it, but at allows you to move fully forward.

Answer 2

Tell them you aren't learning as much as you could at public school. There are to many cute boys to distracting me!!!

Answer 3

Have looked into Virtual Schools in your area? My kids take a couple classes from one in Florida and they are free. You need to do a lot of the research on your own, write it down and calming present your parents with a plan. Make sure you cover all classes with an idea for curriculum and show how much time you can actually save by working at home.

Unfortunately, if they disagree, you really cant do it. You have to have their consent. You will have to make the best of Public school. Just remember it will end soon.

Contrary to Pilgrims remark, public school is NOTHING like real life. In real life, you have the control to file charges if you are harassed (bullying), you do not have to ask permission to go to the bathroom, you are not segregated into same age and zip codes and expected to spend your entire day with them, ect.

Answer 4

homeschool arent that great.

i advice you to just go to a public school. you'll get the experience to get ready for collage. try sitting infront of the class so you wont get bothered by anything around you. its the best way to learn.

your parents probably dont want you to be homeschooled because they might be busy. and do you know public school is a good learning experience in life?  :)  

it prepares you when you need to live by yourself too.

try getting courses that you enjoy most-arts, music, theater, etc. something thatll make you excited to go to school for.

note that you wont learn everything by homeschooling ;)

GL and hope you do well

Answer 5

you can homeschool yourself :) tell them you'll do all the work, and they can juist check on you :) good luck

Answer 6

look into James Madison HS...i went through it my JR & Senior years. I taught myself, which, i do much better at compared to a classroom setting with someone talking to me for 3 hrs straight.

The only downfall is that it costed $900 for those 2 years. Maybe suggest you will pay the difference of Public school to Homeschooling. ? That is how my co-worker persuaded her mom into it.

If your going to do it, i suggest you be 100% into it, & not a slacker. I could've easily graduated years after i was sapposed to, or even a year early if i would've put all of my effort into it.

Good Luck

Answer 7

I know you've done your research on HS'ing, because you asked a lot of great questions here.  Unfortunately for you, there are no high school virtual public school options for you in your state.  So that means, if your parents won't agree to do the teaching, that you'd have to enroll in a *private* online school, which is not cheap.

Did you tell your parents that most high school curricula is self-taught?  All they'd need to do would be to check your answers, grade an essay here or there, or go over science labs.  It wouldn't be much of a time comittment on their part.

Did they give you their reasons why they don't support this idea?  Find out the exact reasons, and then come back to us for help.  :-)  Or if you know, update your question.

You can connect with a local HS'ing co-op for many classes.  For high schoolers, ours has drama, guitar, SAT essay writing, Karate, Biology lab, art, geography, and math.

You could use some curricula like Teaching Textbooks, Apologia, etc.  However, this will still cost a few hundred dollars, so again, if it's a cost issue like a private online school, it's going to be hard to convince your parents unless you have your own job and can pay for the curriculum.

I know how awful you must feel, and disappointed.  Like I said, I know you've done your best at trying to convince them.  :-)  Hang in there!

NOTE TO "R.R." - you're obviously a product of the public school system.  You need some serious help with spelling and grammar.  No, public school does not prepare you to live by yourself.  College, maybe, public high school, no way!  Public school is *not* the "real world", contrary to what many public schooled students think.

Answer 8

It sounds like you are not mature enough for home school.  They probably realize this and don't want to you end up working in fast food until you are 60 as a result of not following through.  Life's about doing stuff you do (and don't) like.

Answer 9

Well, I am very supportive of homeschooling.  We are now on our 9th year of homeschooling, and I could rattle off all the things that make it work so well for our family.  I think you probably already know what they are, or you wouldn't be wanting to be homeschooled.  Having said all that, though, homeschooling is not for everyone.  As much as I am pro-homeschooling, I am even more pro parental choice.  All parents have the right to decide what type of education is right for their children.  Should they listen to their children for what they want?  Absolutely!  But, ultimately the decision has to be made with the parent.

I would have an honest discussion with your parents to find out what objections they have.  Maybe they are just listening to the stereotypes, which are easy to overcome with proper research.  On the other hand, maybe they really and truly feel that school is right for you.  In that case, I'm afraid that that will have to be the decision.  We can't always get to do as we wish in this life, and even that is a valuable lesson for you.

One reason that your parents might not want to homeschool you, is that they don't feel adequately able to serve as your teacher.  This may or may not be a valid concern depending upon the method of homeschooling that you would choose.  For example, we are classical homeschoolers so there is a LOT of parental involvement.  I spend a lot of time planning material and learning it myself.   Others use more of a "virtual school" where kids can be much more independent, and the parents don't need to be as involved.  Let them know about the variety and various methods.  

If you want to be a good student, why don't you try writing a very good persuasive essay covering all the areas that you think your parents are worried about and giving your reasons.  They might be impressed with your abilities and have a change of heart.  Good luck to you.

Answer 10

The more you resist, the more the problem will persist.  Why are you so fearful of public school?  The world which you will eventually need to be a part of is one big public school.  The sooner you get out there and try and live your life the better.  Don't be afraid.  Find out the root causes of your fear and then go out and live and prosper.  Don't live in the shadows.  Deal with what life brings your way especially those that make you feel uncomfortable.  It's the only way you'll grow.

Answer 11

Asking your parents to home school you is a huge deal. Unless they are now retired teachers, or something like that, they would have to learn the curriculum (most parents send their home schooled children to public high school anyway, because they don't know all of the subjects). Are your parents experts in calculus, political science, art, and test-making? Can they adequately prepare you for the ACT and for college?

Even if you can honestly answer yes to all of the above questions, is it really fair to ask your parents to spend most of their day teaching you? They probably have lives of their own. If your high school is really that bad, try switching to another school in the district. Your parents might be willing to drive you to a new school if they know that the alternative is home schooling you or you being miserable.

Good luck!

Answer 12

most of the time home schooling is not taught by the student's parents... you can travel to a center for what's more like "private tutoring", or the tutor can come to your house. your parent's would need teaching degrees or something of the sort in order to homeschool you. you can also go to school online, this is cheap, fast, and effective, you could  probably graduate early... plus a new computer is included in the cost of tuition. i really don't know your family's financial situation, but maybe your parents are saying no because they can't afford the private tutoring.