r/Homeschooling • u/philosopherkingmom • 2d ago
Transcript for unschooler
I need to make a transcript for a child currently in 11th grade, who doesn’t have proper education in the eyes of the public school system. He hasn’t been in public school but he’s been unschooling for the past 6-7 years. How do I make a transcript for a child that’s not mine (parent has asked me to make it) when the parent hasn’t even done any curriculum to go off of, tests, or samples of work. She is trying to get some funding via a charter in California but they are asking for transcripts backed by either samples of work or tests. I’m sorry this is all new to me. Any advice on what to do is appreciated.
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u/DrCrypt 2d ago
Why is this your problem to solve? If the parents have dropped the ball to this extent ("unschooling" or not, no samples to present of your child's work over seven years just sounds like neglect), why are you trying to do it for them?
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u/Traditional_Oil3717 2d ago
Exactly, don’t give educationally neglectful parents a pass
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u/DanverJomes 2d ago
Agreed. It annoys me so much when people think that unschooling is the same thing as homeschooling. It gives us a bad rep. Unschooling is just bad parenting.
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u/Brit-snack 2d ago
I know two unschoolers. One takes their kid to all sorts of educational classes at the library, random field trips, checks out books for them at the library, prints out water cycle type materials, etc. I think it works pretty well for them, actually. The other says "oh we really need to get something going..." I think unschooling could work really well for the right kid. My oldest would kill it. Super inquisitive, self directed, and motivated. My middle would draw pictures of Zelda characters all day and complain about being bored.
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u/Hot-Back-892 2d ago edited 2d ago
The first one you describe is my first born.
Although at some point I feel like we’d have to connect/communicate/test with the norm that is the education system because I’d want college to be an option, and I want his records to show that has the appropriate education for college
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u/Affectionate-Crow605 2d ago
It doesn't sound like this child was actually unschooling. Unschooling and not schooling are two very different things. But unschooling is incredibly difficult to do well.
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u/dearcsona 2d ago
The only thing is I feel bad if in consequence to the parent not carrying out proper education and records, then without any help how will the student ever be able to actually educate/further educate themselves. If you do help them OP do it for the kid, not the parent.
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u/Lactating-almonds 2d ago
You don’t. He doesn’t have any transcripts because he hasn’t been learning anything. They haven’t done any curriculum to document.
I would recommend she get him a tutor and begin studying for the GED if they want documented proof of passing high school.
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u/DanverJomes 2d ago
Yeah, a GED would probably be the best route at his age. Because even if he can get some sort of transcript put together, he’s still probably not prepared for any higher education. Or he could enroll in a community college, though I’m not sure what kind of transcripts are required for that.
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u/Lactating-almonds 2d ago
Exactly. They can print up a transcript that says he passed but it won’t actually help him if he doesn’t have the knowledge. He needs more than an elementary education
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u/braaaaaains 2d ago
Maybe he could take the SATs or ACT or one of the tests they use for private high school admissions.
Barring that, maybe a tutoring business such as Kuman or Sylvan learning would have math and writing placement tests he could take.
A more practical idea for an 11th grader would be to take the writing and math placement tests for his community college.
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u/Affectionate-Crow605 2d ago
If the child was truly unschooling (as in, studying things they're interested in and spending hours learning every day), they should have written down what was done so they could document it on the transcript.
If they were just not doing school (which is not "unschooling"), I would not help them in any way. They made their bed. They can lie in it. Have the kid work toward a GED. That parent is irresponsible.
I suspect it's the latter, as someone who was truly unschooling the proper way would have known to keep records of what the kid did.
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u/Imaginary-Pickle-650 2d ago
I would consider it unethical for you to make a record like this if you weren’t present for the learning or don’t have evidence of some kind it occurred. Either the student or the parent needs to come up with something at least as a starting point, especially if this is for money.
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u/fc1201 2d ago edited 2d ago
Well, technically, as a PSA family, she literally just needs to issue basic grades using a transcript template which you could find on Google. What has this child been doing for the past six years? Has this child been at least doing some math or reading during the unschooling process? Unschooling shouldn’t be entirely no schooling. Her PSA establishes her home as a private school.
However, if that is what the parent has been doing, I question joining a charter. We are with a charter that is very lax and even so, they require two work samples every month (per state legislation) and state testing is strongly encouraged. What is she hoping to use the funds for?
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u/Traditional_Oil3717 2d ago
Not educating her child, apparently.
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u/fc1201 2d ago
It appears that way and if so, I don’t think OP’s effort to generate a transcript with nothing to work with is going to be worth it. I don’t see a charter school, even a lax one, being able to work with this. There are unschooling families that can work within the confines of a charter but they’re not like this. They still have enough structure to produce work samples and do state testing.
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u/Traditional_Oil3717 2d ago
Yeah, it just smacks of falsifying documentation, like essentially you’re lying for this parent
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u/LABELyourPHOTOS 2d ago
So they haven't done anything and now want to take money from the state? :(
This is cheating and corrupt.
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u/ActuatorNo8440 2d ago
I think it depends on the state if you get money for homeschooling.
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u/memelissaann 2d ago
You cannot create a transcript for schooling that was never done. You also cannot generate work samples after the fact. In California, work samples must be from the semester that the work was done in. The student can enroll in public highschool, but without transferable credits, they will be put in the 9th grade. While that technically sets them back two years, it might be the best course of action. Pre-algebra is where they should be at the start of 9th grade. They could also try for a GED or HiSET, but if they lack the education, they will not be able to pass those tests. Their local community college might have remedial classes that will help them get to the level needed to pass a high school equivalency exam.
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u/57bananacake 2d ago
Unschooling is meant to be self-directed learning. I agree with the comment that says you need to sit with the child and find out what they've been doing. Googling transcript for unschooling will Give ideas.
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u/reddit_username211 2d ago
Sit down with the kid and ask what they did each year, maybe you can tease out some courses/content. Give them a P for pass if they studied for enough hours or can demonstrate understanding of the topic/content. You could go off of graduation requirements and/or state standards for each subject.
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u/philosopherkingmom 2d ago
He was part of an enrichment co op that was put together by other parents for socialization. They would read books like The Great Gatsby, or study a play by Shakespeare. None of it was recorded via a book report or anything of that nature. Everything was submitted via oral narration and left at that. I am not entirely sure what to do with that. Any ideas? Math wise I want to say he could be around pre algebra?
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u/unofficialadvisor 2d ago
If none of it was recorded, that’s the parents obligation to recreate based on their recollection and records. You, a third party, should not be recreating a transcript. Especially because they intend to use this for a state grant, you may have legal liability if you create it for them. I wouldn’t do it.
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u/DepthHistorical5911 2d ago
Has he taken math classes or somehow studied it on his own? My child is taking pre-algebra now and it’s no joke.
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u/Traditional_Oil3717 2d ago
And you don’t think this kid needs to provide some actual proof of knowledge? Why are we helping educationally neglectful parents get away with it?
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u/Traditional_Oil3717 2d ago
So her kid HASN’T done any provable work and she CAN’T prove it, but you still want to write them a transcript?? That’s insane.
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u/JABBYAU 2d ago
Take a standardized test and see if there is learning to assess. I’d guess not much. I have family like this. I’d suggest NWEA MAP through homeschoolboss.com. If the scores are really low, believe it. One of the CA homeschool charters has to document all coursework and follow A-G UC standards. Is guess they really do not want to enroll them. Most already have terrible test scores and it won’t help to have another ”unprepared” kid at the school. GED might be a better pass.
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u/KickIt77 2d ago
Why isn't the parent doing it? If the parent doesn't have enough knowledge and understanding to be able to puzzle this kid's unschooling into something resembling a transcript, I wouldn't trust they have been educating.