Elizabeth Smart has not seen the inside of a classroom for over nine months, for reasons of which we are all aware.
If her parents were to take her to her local high school say, Monday, for the remaining two months of what should have been her freshman year of high school, she will be horribly behind the other kids.
If they re-enroll her in eighth grade for the rest of this year, she will be older than the other kids and quite possibly embarrassed out of her mind. And methinks it would be largely unnecessary anyway; a couple of weeks with a tutor and she’d be ready for high school again.
But, come next year, would she enroll as a freshman? That would put her a year older than the other freshmen; but then again I don’t see how she could enroll as a sophomore next year either. Of course, this is all moot, because her family has more money than God, so I’m sure they could hire a tutor to bring her up to speed on her studies.
Does anyone know what’s going to happen to her as far as her schooling is concerned? For that matter, what sort of systems are in place for kids who miss large chunks of their education for whatever reason (sickness, etc.)?
Probably the least of the girl’s problems. Finishing school a year later then expected really isn’t the worst thing in the world; after her ordeal, it might not seem that major at all. I’m sure it happens all the time to kids who experience long-term illnesses or serious injuries that take months to heal.
But, my guess is that she will be tutored from home to catch up, and then she’ll go in as a sophomore next year. Or, considering her ordeal, the poor girl may suffer some post-traumatic shock. If she has difficulty with panic attacks or agoraphobia, the family may opt to homeschool her for the rest of high school. This is assuming that she wasn’t a homeschooler before last year, as it is becoming more and more popular.
Public school systems will provide tutors and materials to kids who get mono, break both legs, ect, but can still work from home. Perhaps a teacher will be along to discuss it in more detail.
She may be able to complete her freshman year at home over the summer through a correspondence course, or her parents may opt to hire a tutor that will guide her through the equivalent studies.
There are programs in place specifically for these purposes. I’m sure it’s the same situation with child actors/actresses who are away for a movie filming, or students with medical complications that are in the hospital.
The news program I’m listening to said that we all have questions concerning Elizabeth Smart. I am willing to bet this question isn’t even in the top 20 in most peoples minds. I would imagine it depends entirely on her state of mind in the coming months.
How can people assume a level of tragedy/trauma knowing nothing about what she went through? For all we know it was a long picnic. Sure, it probably was not, yet we don’t know.
From what I’ve gathered, she has not stated that she was sexually assaulted, although I haven’t heard anything to deny it, either. Indications are that these sickos just kept her as their “pet” and thought of her as their replacement daughter.
Of course, this is a classic case of someone hijacking their own thread, and I’m sure more details will emerge in the coming weeks.
[hijack]
Please remember that not all of us live in the States, and so many of us have no idea what you are talking about (even though its easy enough to Google).
What the Smarts do regarding Elizabeth’s education is, of course, a private matter and beyond the scope of this website.
Accordingly, let’s focus on the broader General Question, which is “For that matter, what sort of systems are in place for kids who miss large chunks of their education for whatever reason (sickness, etc.)?”
I worked with kids who missed large chunks of school for one reason or another (usually illness). In general, the school would probably assign a homebound educator to work one-on-one with the student in an attempt to get them “caught up” with their class, if they weren’t too far behind. (I’d consider a year doable, more than that might be iffy.) Then the student might have to take, say, some freshman classes during her sophomore year, but for the most part she’d be fine. Homebound or distance learning could continue as needed to ensure that she earned the credits she needed to keep her on track.
Assuming good health and an ability to keep up with the work, she could conceivably miss her entire 8th grade year and still pick up as a freshman. In high school, where credits become more important, it might take a little more finagling, but it could be done.