Why do people choose an independent study program? I know why in my rural district

I was an independent study teacher for my local rural district until June, 2022. People pick homeschooling for several important reasons. Some make the decision rashly and find it to be too difficult, but most make it work - and it is a lot of extra parenting/work for our hard-working rural parents. Here are the reasons in the order of magnitude that apply to my local district:

• Student was constantly bullied - usually because of the 4th reason below. A diagnosed or, more often, undiagnosed disability made the student a bit odd. In my rural, red, heavily white district, students were also bullied due to the color of their skin or because they identified as LGBTQ. Staff members were often just as bad at bullying as students. Out of 25 students usually 20 were constantly bullied and most had considered suicide.
• Student unable to learn in the chaotic classrooms: students firing objects across the room, spitwads flying, openly using their cell phones, talking loudly to each other - often across the room, boys sexually harassing girls, loud music even with earbuds in, and every student is well aware that if the teacher confronts a student, the student will argue back with multiple profanities and there will be no consequences. Any student sent to the principal will be back in 10 minutes with a treat. Our kids are better than most (or so I was constantly told)
• The classrooms aren't safe - mostly because the classroom experience inflicts trauma. The IS program parents often reported that their kids were afraid to go to school.
• Student has a disability - usually without a school evaluation. Or the IEP was dropped at the parent's request. My self contained class of 25 usually had five students with IEPs and ten more with severe issues such as crippling anxiety, ADHD, learning disorders, ODD, and more. The parents soon learned their disabled child couldn't do well in a chaotic regular classroom and they didn't have any faith in our special education program.
• Student needs/wants to work - independent study offers flexibility. However, if a student can't keep up, their work permit is pulled.
• Student has constant behavior issues - and the parents can't believe that personality conflicts between the teachers and student, the principal and student, the counselor and student, the cafe staff and student, the yard duty and student, etc are causing adults to pick on their pumpkin. These placements seldom last for long because cooperation is a required component of independent study. But upon occasion, IS is a perfect solution. Sometimes, the parents KNEW their kid was a problem and removed them because they couldn't believe that the administrators wouldn't give consequences
• Student lives too far from bus service - we have the flexibility to see them in person biweekly
• Student was referred to independent study: either by SARB (monthly community-based attendance board) or by upper admin. Unless the attendance problem was due to a reason above, these referrals only put off the problem until it becomes unfixable. If they aren't attending due to all-day-and-night video gaming, IS is NOT the solution.
• Student wants to work ahead and graduate early - It's not a common TRUE reason in our small program. It never takes long before the student/parents reveal that they really transferred due to one of the 1st four reasons.
• The Karen factor: the district will no longer put up with the parents' constant demands. They flounce out of a meeting and pull their kids out and put them in the district's independent study program. They soon realize that they get far less, have to do far more, and the district still gets every penny of the ADA. In most states, you have to file a homeschool affidavit by a certain date in order to do your own thing. After that, you have to rely upon a state approved program and the ADA goes somewhere. In independent study, you cooperate or you're out.
• Student is an actor or near professional level athlete and needs flexibility

One reason I can't list for my local IS program is the "We hate the liberal school agenda" (not actually true in our bright red district, but it still comes up) because we are a public school program. Often people try to use our program as a way to teach their kids what they want, but we must stick with state approved curriculum assignments.

Submitted April 20, 2023 at 10:38AM by MantaRay2256 https://ift.tt/IcWHd8j