Getting excused from school for shows.....

[spmoonie]

Well, school is starting up soon (for me at least:(), and I was wondering how other juniors or parents of juniors handle the school issue when it comes to horse showing. At my highschool, we are only able to have so many excused absences without a doctors note, and so many unexcused absences. How do you get out of school for horseshows?

P.S. I know school *should be* more important than horseshows.;)

[camohn]

A lot will depend on your school!
One of the schools here with a lot of equestrian students is used to it, others are not so tolerant. Ther rural school district I live in excuses kids for farm related activites (like hay baling when it needs to be done etc) and 4H shows (the dairy 4H is huge here...horses are much smaller but second). Yet they are NOT that tolerant of very many medical excuses!!
A friend of mine had a daughter that rode the A circuit and was considering wanting to ride profesionally when she gratuated and her mom (truthfully) told the school that this was like vo tech for her kid's education......though in the end the girl wisely decided to go to college and ride recreationally.........much more stable income and insurance!! A lot will probably depend on HOW long you are out and how well you make your case for how you will keep up with your classwork.

[hellerkm]

If you put in your requests in a timely manner (at least 3 weeks ahead of time) you can request educational absence. The teachers must approve it as well as administrators , and they will have your work for the time you are gone ready to take with you. IN order to get multiple educational absence's approved through out the year you need to have excellent grades, good attendance, and I hate to say this but Great relationships with your teachers!
IN order to avoid all of this we switched to Cyber schooling ( check out Agora,) this allows us to complete our work where ever we are and they provide your internet access, your books, your computer ( although not a lap top until high school so we purchased one to travel with) and EVERYTHING you need to complete your school work. We are finding is BETTER than public school, my DD is smart and this allows her to move at her own pace ( she completed 7th and half of 8th grade last year) plus we don't worry about excuses to the school district.
This is not education for the unmotivated kid, it requires about 4 hours a day and it requires her to be on TOP of dead lines and her own education. She loves it , but really if you are not that worried about school and would rather ride this might not be the best plan for you. You can end up in a LOT of trouble at the end of the year and fail your grade, they will make you repeat it or send you back to a physical public school. Then you are a year behind your friends!

[mep0726]

When I was a junior, I simply told my teachers I would be gone. I was a straight 'A' student, so they really didn't care. I had a very understanding principal too, and he pretty much excused all of my horse-related absences. Of course, it probably helped that my BO was on the county school board and had been for like 20 years ;)

If you had too many absences (more than 6) at the end of the semester, your parent would simply have to write a note explaining why you were absent. My school was pretty lax, but we were also a pretty rural school (we were surrounded by cow pastures on three sides).

[Tollriffic]

I went to a very large public school district and there was a way to go through the district physical education department and fill out a PE exemption form. I had to provide practice schedules, results, some state approved curriculum papers and various other contact information for my trainers. After that paperwork was approved I was able to go to the principal of my high school and speak to him about missing days. Eventually it was worked out to where I was able to miss days and have them excused if I had one of my parents email in before.

A couple of words of advice though. Make sure you keep up with all the records of the days you were absent and make an effort to get missing work from your teachers before the next class so you can turn it in on time. At the end of the last semester I had one too many absences to exempt the final in one class and because I hadn't kept up with all the papers the attendance office wouldn't go back and fix it. However since I had made an effort to come in after every missed class and get the work the teacher ended up allowing me to exempt the final anyways. Don't use it as an excuse and make sure you turn in stuff before you leave.

[Pony+ an inch]

As important as it is to communicate with the administration in regards to absences because of horseshows, I cannot stress enough the importance of communicating with the child's teachers. They are the ones, especially if this is a private school, who care about the child turning up and turning in work. In regards to the administration, with my highschool some sort agreement was reached to treat my absences like the varsity athlete's absences. HOWEVER, one of the reasons they consented to this was because I let all my teachers know my absences at least two weeks in advance, and I planned all my work out ahead of time. Any major projects that were due while I was gone I turned in early, and I never asked that a teacher change the date of a big assignment if it was due when I got back--school was first, riding was second. So make sure student/teacher relations are sound. If the teachers don't have a problem with your absences or your grades, then the administration is far less likely to have major qualms granting those excused absences.

College... well it's a different story then, but there's also a lot more flexibility with time and agreements between professors/students.

[Ajierene]

My mom would have NEVER let me take off of school for a horse show!

If you go to public school, keep in mind that absentee regulations are not entirely in the hands of the teachers and principals, but are usually dictated by the administration and tied into how much money the school gets per year.

Private school gets your money no matter what, so while having a good relationship with your teachers and principals is important, it is often easier to get an OK for absence than public schools.

[AmandaandTuff]

I would think a planned abcense would have to be discussed. As long as grades are good and work gets turned in, they should allow it.

[S1969]

IN order to avoid all of this we switched to Cyber schooling ( check out Agora,) this allows us to complete our work where ever we are and they provide your internet access, your books, your computer ( although not a lap top until high school so we purchased one to travel with) and EVERYTHING you need to complete your school work. We are finding is BETTER than public school, my DD is smart and this allows her to move at her own pace ( she completed 7th and half of 8th grade last year) plus we don't worry about excuses to the school district.

Be sure to check your state regs; cyber schooling is not allowed in all states as a replacement for traditional school. In NY you can use online education if you are homeschooling, but then have to follow the homeschool regs.

[spmoonie]

If you put in your requests in a timely manner (at least 3 weeks ahead of time) you can request educational absence. The teachers must approve it as well as administrators , and they will have your work for the time you are gone ready to take with you. IN order to get multiple educational absence's approved through out the year you need to have excellent grades, good attendance, and I hate to say this but Great relationships with your teachers!
IN order to avoid all of this we switched to Cyber schooling ( check out Agora,) this allows us to complete our work where ever we are and they provide your internet access, your books, your computer ( although not a lap top until high school so we purchased one to travel with) and EVERYTHING you need to complete your school work. We are finding is BETTER than public school, my DD is smart and this allows her to move at her own pace ( she completed 7th and half of 8th grade last year) plus we don't worry about excuses to the school district.
This is not education for the unmotivated kid, it requires about 4 hours a day and it requires her to be on TOP of dead lines and her own education. She loves it , but really if you are not that worried about school and would rather ride this might not be the best plan for you. You can end up in a LOT of trouble at the end of the year and fail your grade, they will make you repeat it or send you back to a physical public school. Then you are a year behind your friends!

I have actually considered that. Of course, I will have to complete this school year (10th grade for me), but perhaps that will be an option for me next year. I am a very self motivated, straight 'A' student, so I think I would be able to handle it just fine. Your daughter is lucky! As of right now, I am doing local rated shows, but I am hoping to start some catchriding and more A rated shows in the next year or so.

[Wizard of Oz's]

At my high school and in our school district, off-campus pe is offered for olympic type activities, so all of the high schoolers at our barn get pe credit for riding and get out early. For shows, the school lets their absences be excused because they are in of-campus pe, and it's just like football players going out of town for a game.

[gottagrey]

your parents, guidance counselor/school administration need to have a discussion. Its obviously done as there are many kids who travel the show circuit and miss school regularly.

I would think you would also need to maintain a certain GPA (if not a school requirement, then a parental one).

I will say most of the kids I know of who showed and missed school all managed to get into very good colleges- in other words the showing didn't 'dumb-them-down" probably just the opposite (unlike many other school sports where the athletes are still allowed to play because they are the "Star" even though their grades are supposedly unacceptable)

Best of luck to you

[rabicon]

If you are in the ATL area its going to be hard to make the district and board understand missing for horse related activities. Its just not a big to do in this area and you might have a hard time. You need to be a wonderful student, never in trouble and really not missing much school otherwise. They may still count you as unexcused thought so be careful. Go thru the district and board. Go to the prinicipal and ask about how to get in touch with them to get this approved. good luck

[kimball1]

My friend's school gave her a hard time about their straight A daughter missing school for a national show. Mom sat down the Principal and explained to her why the horse show was really alot more important than her attending school. LOL File that one under "Conversations you never thought you would have as a parent"
School gave them a hard time the following year and I think they switched schools.

[superpony123]

at our HS we have 16 unexcused absences and usually some very large number of excused absences (since there have been cases of kids with cancer and other really long-term things and stuff, but the work gets sent home to those who can do it)

i am moving onto my senior year, and i just took those days off. said i'd be out. i didnt bring in a note or anything. i have never been interrogated or anything for being gone a day. then again, i don't skip school for tons of shows. i dont go to WEF or anything (and for those that do and do go to a public school, well i don't know how they are excused for being gone many weeks in a row!) but i skipped probably a total of a week of school this year. not much, i didn't do as many shows as normal in the spring and most of them were not AA's (which is generally what i skip school for) so oh well. if you aren't planning on doing it very often, you should be fine. just make sure you don't get sick and realize you don't have any absent days left! if you plan on being gone to FL for the winter, then i don't have an answer for you :)

[Mukluk]

OK but what I want to know is, how can I get out of work for horse related activities? I have been told that winning the lottery is the only sure way to do it.

[hellerkm]

OK but what I want to know is, how can I get out of work for horse related activities? I have been told that winning the lottery is the only sure way to do it.
Pretty sure whoever told you that is RIGHT!:no::(

[Ajierene]

OK but what I want to know is, how can I get out of work for horse related activities? I have been told that winning the lottery is the only sure way to do it.

well....you can be a consultant or work on 100% commission, then the boss doesn't care what you do - you don't work, you don't get a chance at money.....

[justathought]

In some public schools there is no way to do it. In DD's high school you are allowed 8 absences a semester - whether excused or not - and then you receive a NC (no credit). After trying- without success - we were informed that other students in similar circumstances withdraw for the semester, school online or with tutors, and then return the following semester. This works for winter circuit but not for the on-going periodic absences throughout the years

[Dun Ciarain]

Private school gets your money no matter what, so while having a good relationship with your teachers and principals is important, it is often easier to get an OK for absence than public schools.

Unless you went to my school. I believe it was 3 tardies during the year and you were suspended. Over a certain number of absences and you were expelled, no matter what the reason (excepting hospitalization). There were no "unexcused absences" allowed, period. Doctors appointments, etc. were made after school. I think I was absent only one day during high school and it was due to illness. I'm always surprised that any schools allow time off for horse shows. Of course the strictness of my high school paid off scholastically: it was no. 7 in the nation in test scores when I was there.

[CenterStage123]

I just didn't show up at school! Haha. My school really doesn't care. You get 20 unexcussed absences... Lol. And I go to a public school. Last year I went to a horse show for a week, and only one of my teachers asked me where I was, and I told the truth!

[laves81]

OK but what I want to know is, how can I get out of work for horse related activities? I have been told that winning the lottery is the only sure way to do it.

Well, I'm sure if you, your mom and your boss had a sit down explaining how important showing was, something could be worked out! That is of course, outside of your nine allotted 'unexcused' absenses.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Oh, to be a kid again... Sigh. The work world is so different.

[Meredith Clark]

We are finding is BETTER than public school, my DD is smart and this allows her to move at her own pace ( she completed 7th and half of 8th grade last year) plus we don't worry about excuses to the school district.
This is not education for the unmotivated kid, it requires about 4 hours a day and it requires her to be on TOP of dead lines and her own education.

As a public school employee this statement confuses me. Most schools are at least 7 hours a day, how is 4 hours a day of online school providing her with enough education to be a year "ahead" of what she would be in public school?

I did a semester of online classes in college (at an accredited university) and although it was convenient I didn't feel like it gave me the same experience as being in a class room.. and let me tell you the people were way braver about expressing their opinions when they're online (but I guess we know that from using COTH :lol: )

The district I work for allows 6 unexcused absences. Medical reasons are obviously different. It's sad how many students fail because they just don't show up.. anyway... I love horses and I would have skipped most days to be around them.. but school came first in the Clark house :winkgrin:

[Mara]

As a public school employee this statement confuses me. Most schools are at least 7 hours a day, how is 4 hours a day of online school providing her with enough education to be a year "ahead" of what she would be in public school?

Well, because she won't have "lunch" scheduled in as a period, or 20 minutes of "homeroom".
I am guessing that cyber school also doesn't make kids take the time-waster classes like Health, and surely her riding counts as PE.
If she's very intelligent (sounds like it), she can also work at a faster pace than she would in an environment where instruction has to be geared towards a group.

[CenterStage123]

As a public school employee this statement confuses me. Most schools are at least 7 hours a day, how is 4 hours a day of online school providing her with enough education to be a year "ahead" of what she would be in public school?



Easy... half the time your in school you do nothing:D At least the kids who pick up things quickly, they only have to pay attention the first 10 minutes of class, and the rest of the class is spent explaining the consept to the other kids. Schools quite boring and most of it is a waste of my time.:yes: I wish my mom would let me take the online highschool.:)

[rabicon]

Not to change the subject but health is an important part of education. It's not a waste of time. If its taught like it use to be you learned a heck of a lot about alot of things kids now days REALLY need to know about. Maybe its changed in 12 years :confused:

This will be long but I'll put this letter on here for you from the schools (not all of it)

Attendance at school is an important part of student success and achievement. A patter of absences may put a student at risk of not achieving the AKS for their grade level and courses. Certain absences are considered to be excused according to the GA STATE guidelines.

Personal illness or attaendance in school endangering a students health or the health of others.
A serious illness or death in a students immediate family requiring absence
A court order or an order by a goverment agency, including pre induction physical exam for serives in the armed forces
Observing a religious holiday, necessitating absence from school
Conditions making attendance impossible or hazardous to a students health or safety
Seriving as a page in the GA general assembly
A student, whose parent or legal guardian is in the military service of the US or National Guard, and such parent or guardian has been called to duty for or is on leave from overseas deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting shall be granted excused absences up to a MAX of 5 days per year

Please rmember that if your student is absent from school, you need to send a note to the school stating the reason for their absence. Should the reason be one noted above, your child's absence will be marked excused.

A state truancy law defines truant as "any child subject o compulsory school attendance who during the school calendar year has more than 5 days of unexcused absences." The same state law also ties attendance to a student's driving privileges.

So in other words horse shows do not fall in here and you will have to go to the district/board to see if they will give that to you or not or you may have the truancy folks come to your house and they can actually arrest your parents if they want. Please make sure you dot your I's and cross your T's on this.

[Maya01]

I had a hell of a hard time with my school and riding. I had a lot absenses and my homeroom teacher really hated horses, so she had no pity on me when my horse got a suspensory torn and I had to water the horse's leg in the morning and poultice it, or when I had a 3 day horse show and had to take 2 days off. Or when homework was just too much and I had to take a day off to catch up (only to have more homework the next day). I have had numerous slips for detention because I forgot my note, it wouldn't matter if 99% of the time i had a note from a parent, I would have to have one always after I had an absence. My solution: homeschooling. I was never an overly social person to begin with, and my mum works for herself so it is fairly easy to maneuver. I work online and there are numerous athletes that use the online school, so they understand if you need an extension or homework to be released earlier. You should look into it, but you have to be extremely independent. Take an easy course over the summer or something so you get used to it...Homeschooling makes everything so much easier for me. Plus you don't have to get up at 6 am to get to school!:lol:

Oh and four hours a day is sufficient to finish the task at hand. Most of the time in school is wasted or dumbed down due to the other students, as well as lunch and travel time, that is easily 3 hours, if not less. In my old school, I basically taught myself. Not only did the teachers fail to do their jobs properly, but when they did do their job they did it in the most simplistic way possible. I'm not an overly brilliant person, and I finish 4 academic courses in 4-5 hours a day, if not less. Most of the time I only work about 20-30min on a course (typing is faster than writing, however not in math). If you wish to think that homeschooling isn't as fulfilling as a public school, think again. I went from getting a 60% average in the public school to a 89% average online. Now say that the public school system works well.

I hate the public school system (at least here, in Canada I do) It is useless, degrading and ridiculous...but that is another debate and I don't want to hijack this thread haha

[Vandy]

It's been a while since I was in high school, but I missed a lot of school due to shows and eventually graduated a year early so I could focus on showing my last junior year. I got very good grades and had an otherwise excellent attendance record. My parents were supportive, but not at all involved with my meetings with my principal - I started out by discussing my goals with my guidance counselor, who helped me create a presentation for the principal with riding photos, an essay about why showing was edulcational, and a recommendation from my riding coach. Principal was very supportive about missing school days as long as I kept up with my school work; he was, however, dead set against my early graduation and wanted me to take a "token" class like home ec my senior year so I'd just be in school an hour or so per day and could graduate with my class. When I explained that it would be hard for me to attend one class per day in MA from Florida and my coach explained that I had a good chance at receiving national level recognition in riding, he finally gave in. When it was all said and done, Principal commended me on my maturity and dedication, and commented that if the request had come from my parents, he'd have been less likely to approve it.

My high school graduation requirements were 3 years of Social Studies, Science, and Math, and 4 years of English and PE, so I would be done with everything by the end of my junior year except for English and PE. I ended up getting PE credit from riding, and took a Journalism night course at the local community college to satisfy the English requirement.

Although I did accomplish early graduation, it wasn't easy. In fact, every once in a while (20+ years later), I still have the occasional nightmare about needing one more credit to graduate, and trying to figure out how to cram for a science test while managing my current farm :lol:

FWIW, I attended a public high school with fairly strict attendance rules.

[KnKShowmom]

When DD was in middle school, her IEA team qualified for nationals. I wrote a letter to her principal and teachers explaining why she would miss school and for how long and requested work and tests be scheduled around those dates. Everyone was very supportive and cooperative and the principal even called the local paper to write an article! I think the key was that I met with all of them at the beginning of the school year to explain her involvement in riding and the need to stay on top of her grades and assignments. They saw her dedication to riding and that going to nationals was her reward.

Communication and education of people outside of the horse show world is your best tool, especially if your daughter (or son) expects to ride in college and/or professionally. Present it as part of their educational experience and that it shows that they are well rounded and can multitask to handle the extra activity load that riding and showing creates.

As for the online education - DD is taking her Health/PE courses outside of school - she gets credit for her riding, has a fitness program geared to help her riding with cardio, exercises and weights, and takes an online Health course. She has also taken a writing course as an elective credit this summer and will take another class + Health/PE next year which will allow her to graduate a year early from high school.

[hellerkm]

As a public school employee this statement confuses me. Most schools are at least 7 hours a day, how is 4 hours a day of online school providing her with enough education to be a year "ahead" of what she would be in public school?

I did a semester of online classes in college (at an accredited university) and although it was convenient I didn't feel like it gave me the same experience as being in a class room.. and let me tell you the people were way braver about expressing their opinions when they're online (but I guess we know that from using COTH :lol: )

The district I work for allows 6 unexcused absences. Medical reasons are obviously different. It's sad how many students fail because they just don't show up.. anyway... I love horses and I would have skipped most days to be around them.. but school came first in the Clark house :winkgrin:

Then as a public school employee you KNOW how much time is WASTED in school! time for changing classes, time for lunch time for homeroom, time for study hall, PE is credited thru riding, and health is a required subject! But is accomplished through reading or watching a movie on abuse or watching a cooking show or similar things like that.
DD is smart and school is IMPORTANT to her she wants to be a lawyer, so she takes it all very seriously, BUT her riding is important too, so she manages both well. WE are happy that out state offers this option, and like a previous poster stated you need to check your state laws to see if this is an option.

[Mara]

Not to change the subject but health is an important part of education. It's not a waste of time. If its taught like it use to be you learned a heck of a lot about alot of things kids now days REALLY need to know about. Maybe its changed in 12 years :confused:

This will be long but I'll put this letter on here for you from the schools (not all of it)

Attendance at school is an important part of student success and achievement. A patter of absences may put a student at risk of not achieving the AKS for their grade level and courses. Certain absences are considered to be excused according to the GA STATE guidelines.

Personal illness or attaendance in school endangering a students health or the health of others.
A serious illness or death in a students immediate family requiring absence
A court order or an order by a goverment agency, including pre induction physical exam for serives in the armed forces
Observing a religious holiday, necessitating absence from school
Conditions making attendance impossible or hazardous to a students health or safety
Seriving as a page in the GA general assembly
A student, whose parent or legal guardian is in the military service of the US or National Guard, and such parent or guardian has been called to duty for or is on leave from overseas deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting shall be granted excused absences up to a MAX of 5 days per year

Please rmember that if your student is absent from school, you need to send a note to the school stating the reason for their absence. Should the reason be one noted above, your child's absence will be marked excused.

A state truancy law defines truant as "any child subject o compulsory school attendance who during the school calendar year has more than 5 days of unexcused absences." The same state law also ties attendance to a student's driving privileges.

So in other words horse shows do not fall in here and you will have to go to the district/board to see if they will give that to you or not or you may have the truancy folks come to your house and they can actually arrest your parents if they want. Please make sure you dot your I's and cross your T's on this.

Again, not trying to derail, but it's been 23 years since I took Health! I remember a lot of focus on drugs and drinking (yawn). Enough already - we'd been bombarded to death with that by senior year. I also remember REALLY resenting that particular class; at the time I was taking some university classes off campus for dual credit. There was one class in particular I really wanted to take - couldn't do it, it conflicted with the mandatory Health class.

Perhaps there is a private school nearby to accommodate kids involved in elite athletic activities? We've got one in our area (of course it is not inexpensive).

[gasrgoose]

Last year my daughter left school early 3 days a week for lessons and was out on Fridays at least twice a month for shows. She maintained good grades by working ahead when she had time off from showing. She misses alot of other kid activities to keep her school work up, so she can ride. But it is her choice, and she chooses to ride. She's at a private school so they work with our schedule, but we are very proactive. We talked with the principle about this coming years schedule before school let out in the spring.

So my advice is to start talking about it with the principle now. Then you can plan your show/riding schedule around what your school expects.

[laves81]

Well, because she won't have "lunch" scheduled in as a period, or 20 minutes of "homeroom".
I am guessing that cyber school also doesn't make kids take the time-waster classes like Health, and surely her riding counts as PE.
If she's very intelligent (sounds like it), she can also work at a faster pace than she would in an environment where instruction has to be geared towards a group.

As someone who works in the medical field, I assure you health is not a time waster. Actually, most kids would benefit from knowing more, as would adults.

[Fluffie]

Then as a public school employee you KNOW how much time is WASTED in school! time for changing classes, time for lunch time for homeroom, time for study hall, PE is credited thru riding, and health is a required subject! But is accomplished through reading or watching a movie on abuse or watching a cooking show or similar things like that.


Perhaps because the other poster is an employee (as am I, but I don't teach health :lol:), she/he realizes that much of this "wasted" time is not. Everyone's gotta eat at some point during the day (although my school lets kids have a schedule that does not include a lunch/homeroom period); kids gotta get from point A to point B without transporter technology ;); and here homeroom is either a study time, tutoring time (we have "labs" for extra help), or extracurricular time (for things such as band sectionals, yearbook, et cetera). In addition, we have a few classes that run 1.5 periods, so no homeroom for them.

At any rate, I honestly don't how absences are counted for our kids who participate in sports outside of what the school offers. My guess is that if it is sanctioned by the state athletic association, it becomes a field trip (which doesn't affect attendance totals); if it is not, the absence is probably marked "excused" if there is parental notification. The kids get four excused absences a semester, but if they have five or more, they have to take the optional even-numbered quarter exams (oh, the horrors :eek:) . If the have more than a whole bunch, the situation is out of our hands because it falls under the county truancy regulations.

[dghunter]

We didn't even have homeroom in my high school :lol: We had five minutes added to 3rd period for announcements and that was it. I also don't remember "wasting" time in high school. I CHOSE to have a study hall but could have taken a class as I did take a second foreign language junior year but did not like the teacher (loved the language! Italian btw). I was always a quick worker so if I was done before someone else I would just work on the homework.

As I'm preparing to enter the teaching field, I can assure you that each day is important in the classroom. Sure missing a few days here and there is inevitable but as a teacher it would really, really annoy me to have students missing a lot of class to go to a horse show or any other activity. I would say anything more than the school's accepted number of absences just for horse shows is too much. There's a reason they have a set number of absences.

[S1969]

There's a reason they have a set number of absences.

Well, what is it?

If you are a public school student and are injured or sick and need tutoring at home at the expense of the school district, my district will grant 1-2 hours MAXIMUM. That's it. So apparently the 7 hour school day boils down to 2 hours of instruction, according to the district itself.

As much as I love educational debate (we homeschool), I just don't understand why people in the education field think so highly of traditional education, and so poorly of alternative options (cyber school, homeschooling, etc.) Traditional schools are in place to school the masses, not because they offer outstanding education. Of course there are many great teachers, great curriculums, great schools, YES! But the point of public education is to educate everyone, not necessarily to offer something that is not available in other forms.

I will have to go look up my state's high school health standards. I have a feeling they are not all that rigorous.

[dghunter]

Well, what is it?

If you are a public school student and are injured or sick and need tutoring at home at the expense of the school district, my district will grant 1-2 hours MAXIMUM. That's it. So apparently the 7 hour school day boils down to 2 hours of instruction, according to the district itself.

As much as I love educational debate (we homeschool), I just don't understand why people in the education field think so highly of traditional education, and so poorly of alternative options (cyber school, homeschooling, etc.) Traditional schools are in place to school the masses, not because they offer outstanding education. Of course there are many great teachers, great curriculums, great schools, YES! But the point of public education is to educate everyone, not necessarily to offer something that is not available in other forms.

I will have to go look up my state's high school health standards. I have a feeling they are not all that rigorous.

My guess on why you only get 1-2 hours is because of money. Teachers are teaching roughly 30 students per class, about 5-6 classes per day. That's a lot of students. Whereas at home there is only one student to work with and it is much more expensive if you have more than a couple kids that need the "at home" care. I would also imagine that 1-2 hours is highly intensive, whereas in the classroom there is a lot of discussion and many questions. With a 1:1 ratio there will not be as much discussion or questions. And how is one tutor helping the high school student in 4-7 different subjects? I can't imagine since I'm only allowed to be certified in one subject for the high school level.

I also do not think poorly of homeschooling as long as it's done appropriately. I feel at least in my field that discussion is highly important and listening and expressing ideas is paramount to understanding literary works, truly understanding them not just understanding the plot. In college, all we do in the literature classes is have highly intensive discussions about the works that we read and do critical analysis.

Where my problem lies is students often out for various reasons. As I stated, a few absences here and there is one thing, but if you're out every Friday or something that's just not cool with me. There are many quizzes, tests, and projects that can be hard to work around (especially presentations and such). I would never mind working with students who are missing classes sporadically for any reason as long as their grades stay up. My problem lies with the student who is constantly out due to anything other than family reasons, medical reasons, etc... Horse shows don't really qualify to me.

[S1969]

I wouldn't say it's money...it's just because when you work 1:1 you only do what you need to...sometimes more, sometimes less. But, obviously, with 30 students you can't. So some kids are bored, some are lost, hopefully the majority in-between. That is just how it is in a school setting. I am just pointing out that 7 hours of school is not 7 hours of education.

And of course, homeschooling does not mean "school at home"...or my kids lined up in desks and me standing up leading the pledge. :lol: My 7 year old's book club is reading the Secret Garden, which I actually think is a bit beyond 7 year old reading level....but the whole point is to discuss the book, and to learn how to think, discuss, analyze and ask questions.

Personally, I have no issue with kids missing school so long as their absences are not disruptive to the class and they can keep up, nor require the teacher to put in extra time (e.g. preparing lecture notes that otherwise wouldn't have been given, expecting special "packets" of materials to help them understand the homework, etc.) Which means they can't come in after 3 days at a horse show and ask for help or otherwise occupy the teacher's time/attention with "makeup" questions. If they miss 3 days and show up ready for class, I don't think it should matter. The reality, though, is that most teachers would have to (or would try to) put together special materials to help a student keep up if they are not in class....and that's not fair to the teacher or other students. So either the parents & student would have to be really dedicated (learning, in advance, the subject matter to be covered and finding ways to make sure it is learned), or they need to be really smart. :)

[dghunter]

I wouldn't say it's money...it's just because when you work 1:1 you only do what you need to...sometimes more, sometimes less. But, obviously, with 30 students you can't. So some kids are bored, some are lost, hopefully the majority in-between. That is just how it is in a school setting. I am just pointing out that 7 hours of school is not 7 hours of education.

And of course, homeschooling does not mean "school at home"...or my kids lined up in desks and me standing up leading the pledge. :lol: My 7 year old's book club is reading the Secret Garden, which I actually think is a bit beyond 7 year old reading level....but the whole point is to discuss the book, and to learn how to think, discuss, analyze and ask questions.

Personally, I have no issue with kids missing school so long as their absences are not disruptive to the class and they can keep up, nor require the teacher to put in extra time (e.g. preparing lecture notes that otherwise wouldn't have been given, expecting special "packets" of materials to help them understand the homework, etc.) Which means they can't come in after 3 days at a horse show and ask for help or otherwise occupy the teacher's time/attention with "makeup" questions. If they miss 3 days and show up ready for class, I don't think it should matter. The reality, though, is that most teachers would have to (or would try to) put together special materials to help a student keep up if they are not in class....and that's not fair to the teacher or other students. So either the parents & student would have to be really dedicated (learning, in advance, the subject matter to be covered and finding ways to make sure it is learned), or they need to be really smart. :)

Whole-heartedly agree with you on the students keeping up on work and not expecting teachers to do too much for them. ObviouslTy I would not have a problem helping any student who needed *extra* help but I would not want a student who comes back and expects me to lecture just to them :lol: I do think that students can miss too much school, especially when it comes to participation in class. That was always a part of my grades in high school and college so missing too much would definitely hurt.

The way you do home schooling is the way I like to hear/see it done :yes: I've known a few home schooled kids and it seemed to work well for them. The ones I worry about are the ones who do not have that opportunity to have discussions with anyone other than a parent, although I think the standards for home schooling have done/are doing away with that?

[S1969]

The ones I worry about are the ones who do not have that opportunity to have discussions with anyone other than a parent, although I think the standards for home schooling have done/are doing away with that?

There is no requirement in NY for homeschooled students to interact with other people specifically, but obviously the learning standards are pretty difficult to achieve if you never go out of the house.

From my own experience, I've never met a homeschooling family that schools their kids home all the time. I'm sure there are some wackos out there, but I have to say that's more of a South Park-esque caricature of homeschooling than the reality. I've found it more the opposite; there are so many opportunities to work in group settings that sometimes it's hard to get the nuts and bolts of the core subjects done if you don't turn some of them down.

People ask us "but what about socialization?" WTF? It sounds like a puppy class at PetSmart! As if my kids might attack passing children on the street [being so unfamiliar with other children?]. (I've been toying with the idea of telling people that we hang posters of other children on the walls and practice having *conversations* with them but think it sounds a little too sarcastic.) :lol:

[dghunter]

There is no requirement in NY for homeschooled students to interact with other people specifically, but obviously the learning standards are pretty difficult to achieve if you never go out of the house.

From my own experience, I've never met a homeschooling family that schools their kids home all the time. I'm sure there are some wackos out there, but I have to say that's more of a South Park-esque caricature of homeschooling than the reality. I've found it more the opposite; there are so many opportunities to work in group settings that sometimes it's hard to get the nuts and bolts of the core subjects done if you don't turn some of them down.

People ask us "but what about socialization?" WTF? It sounds like a puppy class at PetSmart! As if my kids might attack passing children on the street [being so unfamiliar with other children?]. (I've been toying with the idea of telling people that we hang posters of other children on the walls and practice having *conversations* with them but think it sounds a little too sarcastic.) :lol:

I think the main homeschooling/no socialization comes from some of the super religious groups (at least around here) that just stay in the church. The ones I've met in college have been well-adjusted and I didn't know they were home-schooled until they told me. They handled the college classes just fine and ultimately the goal for most is college.

As a side note, I've always wondered how the students did in college who often missed class in high school due to shows? Did they miss less in college? Work something out with the professors and miss the same amount? If they worked something out with the professors, what was it? I just think of some of the professors that I've had/friends have had... :lol: I mean I missed one class the whole semester in my Intro to Ed class to go to my boyfriend's grandfather's wake (we've been dating for 2 1/2 years so I knew the family well and wanted to go to pay my respects) and she wouldn't excuse it. I went anyways and just took the zero on the quiz but really? I couldn't imagine her excusing someone for a horse show :lol:

[wellengood]

I talked with the School Superintendent. Every state is different. We live in NJ and she is enrolled in a large Public school. I withdrew my daughter for seven weeks and homeschooled her during the Winter Series double A's. Then I just re-enrolled her when we got back. The school let me keep her spot open and allowed me to keep the text books during the interim. Homeschooling was alot of fun, she came home and had to take tests right away! Yet with the one on one sessions, she came back ahead of the class. It was a great experience.

[Technicolor02]

I went to a great public high school. Ranked very, very high in those standings they're always breagging about with a lot of college course work. I was a straight A student, graduated with a 4.6 GPA due to AP classes and was valedictorian in a class of 820. I was also the yearbook editor, class treasurer and officer in a number of different clubs so I new all of the principles very well and considered them 'friends'. I still had to fight tooth and nail for every horse show I attended to prevent being 'failed' due to too many days missed.

You could only miss 10 days of class/quarter before the quarter of work was 'voided' and you had to repeat unless proper proof of an excused absence could be presented. Considering I missed 4 days of school per two week AA show (leave weds night late and fly back sunday night very late, so missing thur/fri) I was easily over that limit every quarter. I used to have to get my vet to write me notes saying I was career shadowing (which I did very often) and my BO's dad is my doctor and he would also write me notes 'excusing' me. The whole process was silly and annoying considering my class work was clearly NOT suffering from missing school but I think a lot of public schools have their hands tied by the district.

[Technicolor02]

As a side note, I've always wondered how the students did in college who often missed class in high school due to shows? Did they miss less in college? Work something out with the professors and miss the same amount? If they worked something out with the professors, what was it? I just think of some of the professors that I've had/friends have had... :lol: I mean I missed one class the whole semester in my Intro to Ed class to go to my boyfriend's grandfather's wake (we've been dating for 2 1/2 years so I knew the family well and wanted to go to pay my respects) and she wouldn't excuse it. I went anyways and just took the zero on the quiz but really? I couldn't imagine her excusing someone for a horse show :lol:

I missed a LOT of high school but I don't show as much now that I'm in college. Still I've had to miss some class for horse shows and all of my profs have been AWESOME about it. I give them a good 2-3 weeks notice if I know I'll be missing an exam and they have no issue with me taking an exam early. They post all their notes online so it's really no big deal to miss the classes themselves as long as I do the reading in the text book. I'm a biochem major at a very tough university with a big course load and so far it's been no problem. My classes are 100% science and consist of lectures every day and our only grades are exams (usually 3 exams + a final) so no worries about missing participation points/quizzes like english majors have to contend with. I'm graduating a full year early this May so I don't think all the missing of school has messed with me much!

[dghunter]

I missed a LOT of high school but I don't show as much now that I'm in college. Still I've had to miss some class for horse shows and all of my profs have been AWESOME about it. I give them a good 2-3 weeks notice if I know I'll be missing an exam and they have no issue with me taking an exam early. They post all their notes online so it's really no big deal to miss the classes themselves as long as I do the reading in the text book. I'm a biochem major at a very tough university with a big course load and so far it's been no problem. My classes are 100% science and consist of lectures every day and our only grades are exams (usually 3 exams + a final) so no worries about missing participation points/quizzes like english majors have to contend with. I'm graduating a full year early this May so I don't think all the missing of school has messed with me much!

Very interesting :yes: From watching my BF in his science classes, his professors seem much more lenient on attendance. Most of my professors have been fine with horse related excuses. In fact, one time I said I wouldn't be in class because we were taking our horse to the vet. Professor asked what was wrong and I told him (walking funny on one leg) and he goes "don't worry about it, that's much more important than anything we'll be doing in class" :lol: He's still my favorite professor and I'm taking my third class with him this fall :D He definitely would be fine with me missing as long as I let him know ahead of time. We have quizzes where the questions are "Did it rain today?" "What day of the week is it?" etc... when he wants to give us easy points. Wow I just went on a tangent...

I was thinking more of professors where participation is 10% and attendance is another 5 or 10%... I would imagine it depends on the individual professor of course but was curious :yes:

[Meredith Clark]

Well, because she won't have "lunch" scheduled in as a period, or 20 minutes of "homeroom".
I am guessing that cyber school also doesn't make kids take the time-waster classes like Health, and surely her riding counts as PE.
If she's very intelligent (sounds like it), she can also work at a faster pace than she would in an environment where instruction has to be geared towards a group.

As another poster said... kids don't eat when they're home schooled? In our district they kids only have homeroom once a marking period, to receive quarterly information. I would also assume that cyber schools would require health like classes if they are required by the state school board the children are in compliance with. Many states require students to take high school assessments for ANY student (in school or home). If either type of student doesn't pass they don't get a diploma. Although I believe "in school" schooling is a great choice for most students I do understand there are reasons why a child would be better in a home-school situation, and I do not object to their right to do so.

Best!

[Parker_Rider]

In HS, I would be on my deathbed and my mom would make me get up and go to school (yes, yes, believe me, we had arguments over my contaminating other students, but it seems my education in things like "public speaking, taught by the biggest stoner in the school" was more important...). However, I could miss Fridays for certain horse shows. The caveat, set by my parents, was that all h/w had to be turned in ahead of time.
When the principal questioned it (she was an absolutely dreadful lady), I brought up the fact that the football team, the golf team and the baseball team - all boys sports, none of the girls teams - missed more school than any other single group of people. That wasn't fair and if she'd like me to raise a stink about it, I would ;) Somehow, threatening the football team's ability to do what they want when they want always puts things in perspective... ;)
Not that that's a route I suggest the OP take. I agree about talking to your principal/teachers ahead of time and work out an arrangement to stay on top of your work to show them that you're as serious about your education as they are.