One thing wrestlers can't handle: cooties

Tim Tebow made it (sort of) a national issue. If I remember correctly, his family had to sue for him to be able to play high school football. Since then, several state athletic associations have passed "Tim Tebow rules" allowing home-schooled students to compete in high school sports.

 

I totally agree. If the school is not "good enough" for you to attend, then the extra-cirriculars that school provides should be off-limits as well.

 

Tough call. I have a niece who is home-schooled as she is about to enter her high school years, and is quite a jock (AAU travel hoops team that went to Europe last summer). Sadly, her parents are in the process of splitting up, and her educational future may be at stake here. Thankfully, given her intelligence, accomplishments and load of extracurricular activities, she has a pretty good shot at landing some kind of scholarship even if she never gets to play for her town's high school.

 

What's wrong with home-school kids playing extra-curricular sports? Only if their parents somehow don't play taxes do I see a problem. Also, the kid is forced to play for whatever public school he would attend given where he lives, so no recruiting or shopping around. Extra-curriculars and the quality of a classroom education are two different beasts as far as I'm concerned.

 

The fact that he doesn't actually go to the school is what's wrong.

If the home-schooled kid whose parents pay taxes in the district can play, what's to stop a scenario where a kid tries out at the private school, doesn't make the team, then stays in the private school but petitions to play for the public school in the district where he lives?

 

I disagree. As much as I'm opposed to the home school concept, I think it's silly to exclude them from extra-curricular activities.

I almost feel like the kid is doing the town a favor by pulling himself out of the pool of children that need public school. He still pays in and should be able to obtain certain benefits that are at the disposal of others his/her age.

 

Yeah, but the prom really sucks!

 

Agreed. These families are paying taxes, so they should their children should have a right to participate in extra-curricular activities even if they choose not to attend classes at the public schools.

In the cases of Tebow and Taylor, it was possible for them to get an education at home. It was not possible for them to play football without joining the school's team.

You want to ban the kid from the extra-curriculars? Fine. Don't accept the family's tax money.

 

Just can't imagine the workload and knowledge base that the parent would need to take on such a task. No doubt any kid that I home schooled would end up a grammar / spelling deficiency.

 

No argument there. I certainly wouldn't want to do it. But that is a separate question to whether or not they should be allowed to participate in extra-curricular activities in their local public school district.

 

I won't send my kid to the local public school because(Insert reason here). Nor will I volunteer at that school, since my child doesn't go there, or do anything to help the local school operational levy/construction bond pass, because my kid (s) don't go there.

But I will take advantage of your school-sponsored athletic, drama, band, choir and other extracurricular activities; I expect your school-funded coaches to coach my child; I will take advantage of your school-funded transportation to and from those events, and expect that my child will be covered by the school-funded group insurance policy while my child is involved in a school activity; I expect my child to participate in the district and state tournaments funded by the league and state organizational bodies that are funded through school-district contributions, even if withholding my child from your school costs the district upwards of $5,000 per year it would receive from the state if he/she were enrolled in the district, money that helps pay for the extracurriculars I demand my child be able to participate in.

Property taxes don't come anywhere near paying for the entire cost of a public education. You can't be a little bit pregnant. You want to home school your kid because you don't agree with how the school is run? Fine. But if you're in for a penny, you're in for the whole pound.

Feel the same way about the kid. You don't want to wrestle the girl? Fine. You forfeit the match, and you're out of the tournament. A legitimate default is for kids who can't continue because of injury.

 

Horseshit. If you are paying taxes in that district, you have a right to take advantage of the services the district offers, even if you don't take advantage of all of them.

If anything, the kid is costing the district less than the ones who go to school there while the family is contributing just as much in taxes.

I'm still waiting for a good reason not to let a home-schooled kid take part in the public district's extra-curricular activities. What I'm seeing so far is a bunch of people who just don't like the idea of home schooling. I don't like it, either, but I'm not holding it against the kids whose parents make that choice.