TheBanyanTree: Whew! Yeehaw!

[Sachet]

  A friend suggested I share this with the Tree. So, here ya go. :)

 **Warning** This is a loooooong ramble. I had to settle down and gather 
my thoughts.



_____________________________________________________

The other morning I woke up from a nightmare where Chelsea and I both took 
the FCELPT (Florida College Entry-Level Placement Test) and failed, at 
which point I was told I could never ever home educate again because I 
was too inept. 'Twas a scary few moments there, until I woke up enough 
to realize that we hadn't tested yet. It was still a few hours away.

I have SUCH test taking anxiety. Thankfully, neither child is affected 
that way. I've tried very hard, over the years, to make it an easy 
enjoyable time, with no pressure. Chelsea has a laid back, "que sera, 
sera" level of self-confidence that I admire for the most part. There's 
one little part of me that wishes she would not be quite so nonchalant 
about it all and would slow down whilst taking a test. Zachary obsesses 
to such a degree that he takes more time, but still doesn't see the need 
to double-check answers. Ok, fine. They've been tested yearly & excelled 
since 1st grade and I'm no longer going to lecture them about test 
taking skills.

Chelsea is a sophomore now and we want her to participate in Dual 
Enrollment at the local community college next year. For English Comp I 
she'll receive one high school credit and 3 college credits. She'll 
start with that one DE class in the fall and proceed on to English Comp 
II in January and any other DE courses that she chooses that will 
transfer over towards her 4 year degree. Some of our friends are having 
their kids take all DE classes for their last two years of high school, 
thereby acquiring their AA or AS degree. Other friends are not requiring 
that their kids take any DE classes. We're in the middle, not wanting to 
rush her through her high school years, but yet wanting her to get used 
to the college atmosphere; so it doesn't hit her like a brick wall when 
she leaves for her 4 year college away from home. Since she's only a 
sophomore she's not due to take her PSAT until next October as a junior. 
She can take the ACT and/or the SAT as a junior and/or as a senior. None 
of which helps us currently with the requirement for college entrance of 
submitting FCELPT, ACT, or SAT test scores. So I was very pleased during 
all my research to find out that our Edison Community College offers the 
FCELPT by appointment, for free. (ACT and SAT now charge fees. They sure 
didn't when I was in high school.) I wasn't quite as pleased to discover 
that since it's been so long since I was in college, that I would also 
have to take the FCELPT, if I wanted to take any degree seeking courses 
next year. Drat.  Remember my test taking anxiety? No kidding. I get so 
uptight I can't think straight. Little mini-panic attacks. Oy.

Ok, so our appointment was at 11 a.m. We both take in two #2 
pencils, all nice and sharp. After we sign in we are led into a huge 
room full of computers and I am thinking we aren't going to have much 
room to write, before it dawns on me that the tests are now given on 
computers. Duh! Oh great. So now not only do I have my normal test 
taking anxiety, I have been thrown a curve because I was expecting to 
fill in the little circles with actual real paper to touch. Me, who 
resists change to the max, is feeling quite ancient and out of touch at 
this point. Why, I don't know exactly. I mean, geez, I know computers 
backwards and forwards so why is this such a big deal to me???? So once 
I talk myself (silently of course) past this unexpected twist, I sit 
down, presenting a convincingly calm facade and start the test. The 
instructor sez it usually takes an hour and 1/2. Ok, fine. I get done in 
an hour and sit there a while trying to decide if I should wait for 
Chelsea there so she doesn't feel rushed, or should I go to room 207 as 
the screen instructs. I sit and twiddle my thumbs a bit and then decide 
to go back and wait in room 207. Where I find my daughter, who tells me 
she finished the test in 40 minutes and thought it was easy.

So we take our new instructions and hike on over three buildings to the 
Advisor department to inquire about an appointment to go over our test 
results. At which time my darling daughter tells me that while she was 
waiting for me she asked several questions in the Assessment Center and 
discovered that we should be able to get our results within the hour if 
we know to ask this question. Which now we do thanks to her. We got our 
results and all our paperwork organized within 15 minutes and we on our 
way to celebrate. Yep, Celebrate! Chelsea, age 16, sophomore at the high 
school level, homeschooled all her life is now eligible to take college 
courses (next month even!) as she chooses to start working towards her 4 
year degree! She scored so well!

It might sound like bragging. I _honestly_ don't mean it that way.   
I have put myself through hell this year, questioning my capabilities, 
second-guessing myself, time and time again. This has been my toughest 
year by far in all our years of home schooling. Chelsea as a sophomore 
and Zach doing freshman level work because he keeps zipping past things
his sister has done. All of a sudden I have so much to map out in regards to state 
statutes, colleges, scholarships, testing, credits, dual enrollment, 
course codes, etc. It has been mind boggling to work my way through the 
vast array of information and misinformation. The majority of people 
working at colleges do not know home school law and will tell me things 
without knowing the pertinent Florida statutes. I've had to take a 
deep breath and get past feeling totally out of my depth and immensely 
intimidated by the Florida Statute website to research the home 
education program in detail. I could then intelligently write the Home 
School Legal Defense Association to confirm specifics. 

I have to be knowledgeable, sound capable and very well informed or else I WILL be 
patronized by those unfamiliar with any aspect of home education. The 
advisor presenting our test scores was very complimentary and in no way 
patronizing, and was in fact, very encouraging regarding home education. 
Whereas, when I went to request a form we need for next fall, the 
secretary at the desk was extremely patronizing once she found out that 
we home educate. She started talking slower, even repeating herself 
until I wanted to reach over and pinch her. I was flying so high from 
our test scores that I let it slide, but I will be better prepared the 
next time I have to deal with her. I think I'll prolly throw her a few 
of the state statutes, like s. 1007.42 and ss. 1002.41-42; real fast 
with words like "pursuant" and let her decide just how slow she needs to 
talk to me.  :-P 

I can NOT BELIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE how relieved I am to have made it past 
this hurdle. I was dancing down the hallway as we left the college, much 
to Chelsea's amused dismay. I could scream with relief and an amazed 
sense of accomplishment for making it this far with all my doubts and 
self-castigation over the years. I want to type up a letter and send it 
to all of Jim's family who have raised their eye brows and made placating 
remarks. But, I won't. Because we believed we were making the right 
decision for our family, and didn't require the approval of every single 
other family member, and my kids are maturing into people that I am 
tremendously proud of in so many ways. And it feels fantastic to have 
the irrefutable academic proof on hand. Plus, it gives me encouragement 
that I can now survive all of this upcoming college related stuff with 
Zach. <g>



...Sachet




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