Mom tells her unschooled daughter she has straight A's and a 4.0 GPA, has no high school transcript for her to send to the 17 colleges she's allegedly been accepted at: 'I don't see how one could be radically unschooled and not have straight A's'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Nov 29, 2024 6:00 PM EST

I have always been a little suspicious of alternative methods of schooling. I know that there are some parents out there who are completely competent at teaching their kids from Kindergarten to 12th grade, but I highly doubt that's the majority of homeschoolers. Most of the time, kids who do their schooling at home would be better off in the hands of an online teacher who can hold them accountable for their work because they're not their mom or dad. 

Unschooling is one of the worst offenders in terms of educational neglect. Unschooling is "an informal learning method that prioritizes learner-chosen activities as a primary means for learning." Now, it might sound utopian for kids to learn what they choose to learn instead of having a curriculum forced on them, but without any real structure, kids' basic educational needs can easily slip through the cracks. One mom of an unschooler recently went viral for trying to overcome the hurdle of not having a transcript during the college admissions process by lying about grades she didn't earn.

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    Cheezburger Image 10434218752
    via Andrej Lišakov (Unsplash+)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Mom 'unschools' daughter, tells her she has all As, daughter tells potential colleges... what could go wrong?
    via u/JadedAyr
  • 03
    Radical Unschooling Transcript for College 3d. Last year when my oldest daughter asked what her grades were I told her that she has an A in every topic. Please don't criticize this. I don't see how one could be radically unschooled and not have straight A's. The point of this is that through some common application for college she has already been admitted to 17 colleges based upon her 4.0 GPA. While she still is not sure that she wants to go to college, apparently this has incited a real intere
    via u/JadedAyr
  • 04
    StrangeBookkeeper593 Okay. I'm lost here. What did she do? I'm sensing that she in a way lied to her daughter, but I'm not getting the full gravity of the situation.
    via u/StrangeBookkeeper593
  • 05
    anony1620 She's gotten into college based on the lie that she got all As and has a 4.0 because that's what her mother told her. In reality, she's going to struggle so hard in college because she's never actually taken real courses or anything that didn't interest her. She won't actually be admitted to any college though if she doesn't have a transcript. Her mother has set her up for failure.
    via u/anony1620
  • 06
    briellessickofurshit "I don't see how one could be radically unschooled and not have straight A's."??? You're grading her work, your A means f -all if it's not on a transcript. Otherwise, you're just picking letters you think would look good on paper.
    via u/briellessickofurshit
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    HenkVanDelft I of Aren't an A, a 4, a froggy face sticker, and a chewed bubblegum found under the kitchen table all basically top marks for home Unschooling?
    via u/HenkVanDelft
  • 08
    flcwerings Would a college even take the mom's transcript?? Because Im pretty sure even home schooled children taught by parents have to get some type of program from the state and take regular testing like other schools at official places. I could be wrong bc I only did online schooling for a year but thats what we did.
    via u/flcwerings
  • 09
    This child will have nothing. And even if they did take the transcript... wouldnt she have to do some type of placement test and at that point, youd think most schools would see what she tests at and deny her??
    via u/flcwerings
  • 10
    Nonniekins I think she's lying about the acceptance from colleges. I don't think you can submit your application without the transcript. Yes, it has to be an official transcript through an educational agency. Lordy!
    via u/Nonniekins
  • 11
    SmurfStig Correct. Even for the Common Application she mentions, there has to be a high school transcript attached. Our youngest had to do so when he applied last year. I know some people who are into this "unschooling" bulls . These poor kids are royally fed in the future. Hopefully they at least do some activities with other kids or their socialization will be f ed too. I remember when I was in high school, there was a family in our
    via u/SmurfStig
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    church who homeschooled and their kids (all girls) were clueless. The only socialization that had was the few kids in our small church. Most of the stuff they were taught revolved around being a good homemaker and wife. I felt really bad for them and told my parents they need help. I often wonder what happened to them. Probably married off as soon as they turned 18.
    via u/SmurfStig
  • 13
    flcwerings thats what I thought. I didnt know if it was different for home schooled kids or something. Maybe shes taking pre-acceptance letters as actual acceptance?? I mean, mom is dumb enough to post and do this in the first place and poor daughter doesnt know any better.
    via u/flcwerings
  • 14
    genesfiend Just wanted to share that once you register as a homeschool with your state, your school is a legit school that can make its own transcript. You can add any class you want to it and not every state has minimum requirements for homeschool. This is why college placement exams are useful for homeschool transfers. An SAT or ACT would be telling in this kind of situation.
    via u/genesfiend
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    flcwerings Thats what I thought and isnt unschooling all about NOT doing anything state required?? So who knows if the mom even did that. That also makes sense with the tests which it doesnt sound like the daughter did either
    via u/flcwerings
  • 16
    smschrads I was homeschooled, with an accredited school, 9th-beginning 11th (or just over 2 years), and graduated early. My community college had me take intake exams to verify my grades/education level because so many home school parents do this. (My grades were legit) This girl is in for a ride r ide awakening, her mom f ed her over so hard. States allow you to do SAT prep and whatnot at your school district. They can also, if needed, verify your grades with your home school to provide a non-t
    via u/smschrads
  • 17
    MELONLORD_-_ My father did the unschooling thing in my 9th grade year. He made me write name in cursive 60 times and read those "How To Be Successful" books. Also, i would go to work with him and would be required to help work on cars. (his own business) A complete waste of my life I ended up annoying him so badly about going back to school he just caved, and I went back to my 10th grade year. I was definitely behind my peers when I went back, and it was embarrassing. I don't think he even had g
    via u/MELONLORD_-_
  • 18
    LeVoPhEdInFusion Lying to your kids always works out well, doesn't it?
    via u/LeVoPhEdInFusion
  • 19
    RlyehRose It does just ask my mother! I'd give you her phone number but I don't know what it is. XD
    via u/RlyehRose
  • 20
    Odd-Zebra-5833 That kid has been set up to fail.
    via u/Odd-Zebra-5833
  • 21
    reala728 Seriously even if somehow this kid slipped through the cracks and got accepted. They would absolutely not be prepared to do any college level work.
    via u/reala728
  • 22
    simbabarrelroll I really don't understand why some parents choose unschooling.
    via u/simbabarrelroll
  • 23
    swimmerboy5817 Control. Schools teach kids how to think critically and question the world around you, and grown adults actually feel threatened when their own kids question their beliefs and the things that they were taught growing up. It's easier to control how someone thinks when you don't let them get information from anywhere but yourself.
    via u/swimmerboy5817
  • 24
    BornAfromatum I'm a high school teacher. Every single homeschooled student I have ever encountered has had a 6th grade or worse reading level, can only add and subtract, and don't understand the basic concepts of writing. Homeschooling is awful. The students also are usually the weirdest kids you will ever meet.
    via u/BornAfromatum
  • 25
    purple_kathryn Unschooling - how to utterly f your child's life before it's even begun while pretending you're doing THEM a favour
    via u/purple_kathryn
  • 26
    clintkev251 Unschooling means that the daughter has had effectively no real education. So those "A's" she's received don't really exist, at least not in any way that a college would accept. So there's basically no way the daughter is going to get into any serious university, because she has no real education history
    via u/clintkev251

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unschooling school university teenagers bad parenting reddit story bad parents parenting grades homeschool Reddit mom Parenting Fail college parents Parenting FAILS
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