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[Mostly Harmless]

I put in a Letter of Intent to homeschool with the local public school my teenbeast, Zeph, was at last year.  They sent me back a boatload of administrivia. I completed all their paperwork and sent it back to them, along with a detailed curriculum for the year. Needless to say it was all approved.

Next I get a letter saying the school can't "release" Zeph to a homeschooling program because he hasn't returned any of his books. This is BS. He returned all his books to his teachers before the end of the school year. My best guess is because he returned them early, the teachers didn't mark them off as returned. (I'd told him to take them to the school office and get a receipt for them, but he knew better. Riiight.)

School for the PS kids started Sept 8th. Zeph started his unschooling by picking up my Compleat Shakespeare and reading A Midsummer Night's Dream just before Labor Day. He's having a good time, reading Shakespeare, researching Vikings, learning to use MS Word and Excel, all at his own pace.

On Sept. 8th he decides to meet some friends after school. So he hops the bus down to the center of town and when school gets out, he's standing in the parking lot of the building next door, waiting for his friends. The building next door is Quincy Junior College. Not part of Quincy High at all. (this is an important fact.)

The kids start pouring out of the school building, under the watchful eye of the security guards. Next thing Zeph knows, the principal is standing in front of him. The conversation goes as follows:

Principal: Are you in school this year or what?
Zeph: I'm homeschooling.
P: What are you doing here if you're not in school?
Z: Meeting my friends.
P: Well you can't be on school property.
Z: I"m not on school property, this is Quincy College parking lot, not Quincy High.
P: You can't be on this side of the street. If you don't leave I'll have you arrested for trespassing.

At that point Zeph walked off, not wanting to get arrested. A wise move under the circumstances. I guess the principal is either even more of an idiot than I gave him credit for, or else he's just a sore loser.

Or both. Come to think of it, probably both.

[beech_trees]

"Stop harassing me on public property, or I will publicly accuse you of touching me inappropriately."

[Joel]

Sheesh.  Sounds like a man with too much time on his hands.  Needs a hobby.

Or...then again...maybe that is his...

[lewlew]

Not that this is a funny situation, but this principal reminds me of the one in Ferris Bueller, intent on catching Ferris skipping finally.  With all the kids in his school, he has the time and memory to single out one homeschooling student standing on college property?  Man, get a life.

[clarence]

Next I get a letter saying the school can't "release" Zeph to a homeschooling program because he hasn't returned any of his books.

if you still feel like writing letters, write the head adminstrator for the district and demand that they audit their returned books to prove that they are short. might as well make them do some useful work this year.

take care,
clarence

[debeez]

Or go above said principal's (jerkoff) head and write to the school board stating that they won't release your son even though he returned his books early and claim obstruction of your rights as your child's educator. 

But then again, I'm not the best person to ask.  I've always been a bit of a shit-disturber.  When I wrote the letter of intent to homeschool my daughter at the end of her 8th grade, I included a quip that the Social Studies teacher (who was also a coach and had suggested during a parent teacher meeting that my daughter was psychologically unstable and needed to be in a mental facility) should stick to those things he knew best...coaching and playing Solitaire on his computer during Social Studies class.

[Henry Bowman]

I've been a member here for some time, but just got back around to being here, after seeing a post on another site that reminded me to return here.

That being said, my wife and I home"educate" our children, and although we have biblical reasons for doing so, and could (and at some time probably will) invoke those, the book "Adventures in Legal Land" taught me more about being fearless and knowing how to ask questions that will embarass the hell out of the "judge" or the "prostitutor" or the "principal", etc...

I am not spamming this book in any way. If you don't believe me, the author has hours of free material on his site.

www.adventuresinlegalland.com

I own two of Claire's books, and think the world of her writing. I believe this information is timely, in that "disappearing" from the "system" is no longer as feasible as standing up to it, and voicing the truth. (no argument, just questions).

Glad you are all still here.

Henry Franklin

[securitysix]

Principal: Are you in school this year or what?
Zeph: I'm homeschooling.
P: What are you doing here if you're not in school?
Z: Meeting my friends.
P: Well you can't be on school property.
Z: I"m not on school property, this is Quincy College parking lot, not Quincy High.
P: You can't be on this side of the street. If you don't leave I'll have you arrested for trespassing.

At that point Zeph walked off, not wanting to get arrested. A wise move under the circumstances. I guess the principal is either even more of an idiot than I gave him credit for, or else he's just a sore loser.

I'd have sat down....or told him "Go ahead, I'll wait."  Then again, I had a tendency to stir shit with faculty if I had a problem with them.  And faculty at my school knew who I had a problem with, too.