Is homeschooling better than online schooling?

Start here to see wha tthe requirements are !
https://www.powerhomeschool.org/homeschooling-by-state/?gclid=CjwKCAjw1ICZBhAzEiwAFfvFhCRTax0-i7TbDcbcwjXm-698vS69zmjkvztam5l2s0az3uCpL5nSFhoCJlYQAvD_BwE

Can they expel you for seizures?!?!

I thought they were required by law to accommodate your disability. I did find this article that may be relevant, but I only skimmed it.

No, they can’t expel for a medical condition unless maybe contagious.

First, where do you live? Because you cannot be legally expelled for having seizures anywhere in the United States. But to answer your actual question, it depends entirely on who would be teaching you. A good homeschool teacher is probably better than a bad online teacher (or a bad online program). But if your online school is being provided by your local district, you are a lot more likely to have a qualified online teacher than you are to have a qualified homeschool teacher (unless you pay money for a private tutor, which is not what people usually mean when they talk about homeschooling).

Qualifications don’t guarantee a good teacher, of course, but very few parents are actually qualified to guide their children through the entirety of school. That’s why actual schools employ different teachers for different subjects. And a private tutor who is qualified will have almost certainly gone through the process of becoming certified. There are definitely parents who have done the work to homeschool their children properly, and there are probably a few manic pixie dream teachers out there who could tutor you despite never learning anything about how to teach. But your chances are better with someone who has proven they know what they’re doing.

Because your question is very specific, I will address the home vs online schooling issue.
Because of the pandemic, online schooling has dramatically improved, but also because of the pandemic, staff shortages are affecting its efficacy. Interaction with your peers is a desirable learning tool, and supplementing that with a homeschool curriculum should cover all bases.

Search online for homeschooling groups in your area, maybe a local Facebook page, these people will have information. A good homeschool curriculum will coach the parent in such a way that they won’t need a degree, it will help them to take advantage of resources available.

Fortunately, there is a lot of good info out there, in the last 25 years, homeschooling and remote schooling have become much more comprehensive and doable.

Good luck with this. It sounds daunting to contemplate, but it’s really not that complex.

I speak from some experience..

You’ll do well. <3

I think it all depends on the quality of the teaching. If your parents would be the home school teachers, it could seriously impact your relationship with them.

There is no one answer….it depends on which home-school program and which online program.

Interesting though is this from the CDC website: —Understanding the laws related to disability, medical conditions, and special education to ensure that children with epilepsy are able to access the free and appropriate education afforded to them under the law.

You can look at the site for complete context.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/npao/epilepsy.htm

This depends on the ability and structure of the Home School. There is an ability for it, but it is very difficult after about 10 years old due to the subject material that needs to be covered like Lab work and language classes.

It is illegal in the US for a school to bar you unless it is private. Everyone has a right to an education in the US. An IEP will get documented for your learning based on your needs.

Gosh, you guys have a lot of VERY helpful answers and I’m letting my mom look at all of these! I overheard something about taking me out of school but I don’t want to have to leave I want my education no matter what we need to do.

If the laws in your state are like the laws (used to be) in Colorado, then you would also have access to the resources of the public schools, like the library, clubs, activities, etc. Since the education itself is the most important thing to you, you might want to supplement regular school until your seizures are controlled.

This may be helpful too. It is current law in Virginia regarding management of students with seizure disorders in school:

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title22.1/chapter14/section22.1-274.6/

@janbb That is so helpful to know Thank you very much :)

I think you will have some trial and error. Homeschoolers often incorporate some online learning, but if you mean your county or state has online school so you are basically learning what other kids in your county are learning in class, you certainly can try it. Do you get a school diploma like everyone else?

Florida has an online school that I think people in other states can utilize, but probably your state has something too.

Do you want to be at home for school? I know people above were mentioning you maybe can’t be expelled for seizures, but my first thought was maybe you rather not be in school? I’m not assuming just asking.

I wouldn’t have done well doing school at home, but I know so many kids who do great! I have friends that homeschooled their kids.

There are sometimes stories of people who are homeschooled by religious zealots. They (the students) are indoctrinated and don’t receive a whole lot of regular education. For those people, it’s not better.

During the pandemic my grandkids had to do remote learning. It was pitiful to the point of being a bad joke. They would log onto the zoom call at 8 in the morning, the teacher literally told the kids their assignment for the day and that was it. The grandson as back to playing video game by 8:15. When asked why he wasn’t doing the assignment, he said it was done since it was the exact same assignment they had had for the past 2 days.

Homeschooling on the other hand has pluses and minuses. There are rules about the quality of the education, testing that has to be met. But it is more tailored to your needs. The time it happens, what you study and when are really all up to you and your parents (or teacher). The biggest downsides I can see are that (a) not all parents are capable of teaching all classes and (b) you are removed from a certain amount of socialization which is important for personal development…IMHO.

@seawulf575 This is a very Great answer and I did do some online (remote learning) during the pandemic. I don’t think my mom would be able to teach me school stuff like the teachers in school does. I’m gonna ask her about all this stuff.

@JLeslie I don’t know if I would really want to be home-schooled since I just know I’d be too distracted by things at home. I am kinda active and it’s hard for me to stay still for very long. At school, I seem to be able to focus a little better because I know I can’t just get up and walk around. I don’t think my mom would be a good teacher because she doesn’t know ALL these subjects and stuff.

@RayaHope Do you tend to get more seizures a certain time of day? I just wonder if you could do a half day in school, and some subjects at home.

Online school you might be on zoom with teachers and you wouldn’t be able to just walk around.

I’ll send this to @YARNLADY I think she homeschools her grandkids.

Have you talked to people who homeschool? I know people who did it their entire k-12 education, some for a few years, some for elementary, some only during middle school. I think my point is, if you try it, I think you will be able to go back to school again if circumstances change or if it isn’t working well for you. Are you a junior? I don’t remember.

What about not being in school with your friends? Are you sad about that? Or, just worried about focusing on your work? Obviously, you can see your friends after school, but it will be different than seeing them every day in school.

@JLeslie The time of day can be about anytime, but I do tend to seize if I’m under stress like being overstimulated or the excitement of some kind, more than if I am being calm. The worst seizures are normally around my monthly cycle. I really don’t know much about what it’s like to be home-schooled, but I did do some online stuff during the pandemic.
I would miss my friends because most don’t live that close and since my mom won’t let me drive, I only see them in school. But, yes, I am focused on my work and I want to graduate next year. Yeah, I am a senior :)

@RayaHope Have you tried taking a birth control pill with a steady dose?

I finished school in December my senior year, but I guess now it’s too late for you to double up on required courses this semester, BUT it’s probably not too late to do a short day or only go to school a few days a week next semester if you have blocks instead of all classes every day. When I was young the average student graduated with many more credits than necessary, so exceptions could be made. My mom graduated after 11th, another person I know finished mid year. There are all sorts of accommodations they can do if they bother to help you with it. I had to ask for what I wanted, it’s not advertised as an option.

The question is would a lighter load help? I’m not sure by your answer. Have you had any coaching or counseling regarding reducing stress? I would imagine it’s a vicious loop to worry about having a seizure and the worry can cause the seizure. Although, don’t punish yourself, because a lot of the time stress is blamed and it’s like blaming the patient, when there is usually a combination of reasons.

@JLeslie I get nauseous and headaches with those birth control medications, we tried them last year. I had to repeat the first grade way back when I started school and I do everything I could to catch up. So taking on more would probably kill me. I did make up a lot of missed work and right now I’m caught up (I think?) I really don’t want a lighter load because then I may mess up and delay my graduation and I can’t do that. I am gonna be trying a new medication soon I hope it helps better.

I see. Ok.

I hope your doctor put you on a decently high dose of same dose every day birth control. A lot of them try low dose and varied dose and a lot of people don’t do well in that. I tried a varied dose for a few months and it was crazy making. On the regular consistent dose (higher than most doctors like) it was like I wasn’t even taking anything, I felt exactly the same as always.

@JLeslie Did it help or you were just the same and it didn’t help? I don’t know if a high dose would help or be worse. They have changed my medications over the last two years so I guess I’ll leave it to my doctor and mom as to what is best for me. I just want this to be gone, I get so down thinking about this mess. Why do I have this problem? I never hurt anyone :(

I meant I felt totally normal on BC pills. I still had cramps the first day of my period, it still lasted 7 days, my boobs never swelled, some people complain about the boobs and have shorter easier periods on the pill, but not me. The only thing missing was I didn’t ovulate every month. Except for that low dose triphasal pill they tried me on for a few months when I had stopped for a couple of years and went back to it. That pill was not good for me.

I’m not pushing the idea, you might very well simply not do well on the pill, I have a friend like that, and I don’t think you should take it if it makes you feel off or have headaches, just saying there are many many different pill hormone combinations.

Life is incredibly unfair and random shit happens both good and bad. The bad often has silver linings, but still sucks in my opinion to go through it or live with it.

There’s a book When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Written by a Rabbi who lost his young son to a degenerative disease. He realized a lot of things he used to say as a Rabbi to comfort people weren’t very comforting. I haven’t read it, but I’ve seen him in interviews. Anyway, you didn’t do anything. Epilepsy isn’t your fault.

I do get the swelling thing too and it is uncomfortable my bras get a little tighter and I do have a couple the next size bigger until they get smaller again. Ugg! But I’m used to that, it’s these seizures that keep coming no matter what we do. Some medications make them a little better at first but then they don’t seem to help a lot. Maybe I won’t get as many in a month but I still get them. I want to live a normal life and I can’t wait until these are gone! I forget, do you still get them? My memory is beginning to suffer I think.

The only seizure I had was as an infant with fever. My aunt worked for the epilepsy foundation so I know a little more than the average person, but very little still. There were jellies on the thread with much more knowledge about epilepsy.

You mentioned your cycle so I asked about the birth control pills. Maybe as you age and your hormones are more naturally regulated your seizures will lesson.

Have you tried keeping a food diary? Maybe certain foods trigger it? I’ve never read anything about that, I’m just thinking out loud. My MIL used to get terrible recurring migraines and she seemed to get rid of them by not eating chocolate. They still occur a few times a year, but she was getting them a few times a month for a while.

I have no idea if people with epilepsy have luck with it. Might be worth trying. I know you have some issues with food so I don’t want to give you something to obsess about, but sometimes what we eat affects other things. Sometimes when we don’t eat enough it affects things negatively in our bodies too. If you keep a diary you might see a pattern.

I do kinda keep track of food but like you said I do have issues with that. I do drink a lot of water. I try to not get dehydrated since I’m always doing something. If I sit too long on the computer or my phone in one spot I get a little shaky and need to get up and move around some. Even here I stop and do stuff between writing stuff and reading stuff.