Oh, one other thing I forgot to say. GED is the General Equivelancy Degree. You take a test (which is disgustingly easy) and they give you a diploma which is pretty much equal to having graduated high school. [Resisting snide remark about whether having graduated high school is actually worth anything.]
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It’s actually “General Educational Development.”
(although the other is a good guess)
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I don’t know about Michigan, but in Minnesota, you can enroll in college and use college classes for both college credit and credit towards your high school diploma. The best part is that the state pays for this. The program was called PSOE–the “PS” stood for “Post-Secondary”, which is what students called the program. Most people I knew went to high school in the morning and took a college class in the afternoon, but you could, if you wanted to, go to college full-time for your last two years of high school.
Of course, in Minnesota, it would also be ridiculously easy to keep attending classes in your old school district, as long as you could get yourself there each day. I don’t blame you for not wanting to switch schools at this late of a date. Of course, your old school doesn’t sound so great, either. Perhaps your new one would be better.
To find out if Michigan offers any programs like these (or other alternatives), you’d need to talk to the guidance counselor.
As to whether a lack of a “real” diploma keeps you from getting a job–well, I don’t think anyone’s asked to see my high school diploma since the day I got it.
I would also be surprised if they would let you teach yourself and call it homeschooling. Usually, when I think of homeschooling, I think of parents teaching their children. However, if you are past the age of mandatory attendance, then there’s nothing they could do to stop you from, say, staying home and studying for a GED or something like that.
Are your parents OK with these plans?
My brother’s diploma says “General Equivelancy Degree.” Maybe it’s a state-by-state thing?
Interesting. It must be the state. The Official GED website says Educational Development, as does Wisconsin certificates and transcripts.
(I hope they spelled “Equivalency” right on your brother’s diploma!)
Sorry about the hijack, TTK. Cessandra is right though, whatever it’s called, it’s standard procedure for homeschoolers to finish up by taking the GED. See the link above.
I am all for homeschooling–this is the way I am educating my kids. But the decision is a personal one and I feel that there is no right or wrong here.
One thing I am THOROUGHLY sick of hearing, though, is how homeschooled kids have stunted social skills. NOT TRUE!!! Some might have this problem, but who is to say that it is being educated at home that causes this? How about someone like me who was TERRIBLY unpopular in school–what does THAT do for social skills? I only homeschooled one year–it was my senior year, we had just moved to a new state, and graduation requirements were very different, and so began my family’s exposure to the world of home-education. Going to public school for 11 yrs. left me very un-self-confident, but my 21 yr old sister never went to public school at all and is popular and articulate and can certainly hold her own in social settings.
Being around other people is what helps to develop social skills, true enough, but school is not the only place this is possible. We were all heavily involved in church activities (sports, dances, etc). We were not recluses simply because we chose to learn at home.
Again, how you choose to educate (yourself or your children) is a personal decision. I just get tired of the idea that children who are educated at home become socially retarded and that children who attend classes are always well-rounded and socially mature. How many of these school shootings were done by home-schooled students? It was, in fact, their negative experiences in the public school system that were cited as a reason for their behavior. (THIS IS NO EXCUSE TO ME–I HAD A TERRIBLE TIME IN PUBLIC SCHOOL AND DID NOT EVEN CONSIDER TAKING A WEAPON TO SCHOOL. I am not claiming that public school is all-evil. Just pointing out that ANYONE can end up with stunted social skills for any number of reasons.)