Well today was the straw that broke the camel's back for DS6 and when I picked him up today he was in tears, told me he was done and never wanted to go back.....I am shocked it took him so long to reach this point after almost a nightmare 4 weeks. They refused to do any kind of acceleration or differentiation despite everything we shared with them and then they get upset when he starts acting out. 4 weeks of work that was several levels below his needs and not expecting him to rebel in anyway due to this was absurd. This poor kid SO badly wanted this to work out.
I shook my head when I read that Obama is planning to address the students in the country to call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizen.
Well gee....if schools continue this trend of forcing all kids into a one size fits all box and if you are an out of the box thinker,want to share your own voice, or are advanced.... it's not allowed. All students must work at the same level no matter what....how are these kids ever going to learn to stand on their own two feet, learn to creatively solve problems and become global citizens if they are not allowed to explore, experiment,or shine at school?
Anyways - I am SO excited to be back in the world of homeschooling - we are looking at signing him up for the EPGY Math online class (still trying to figure out where the money is going to come from), I enrolled him in several science workshop classes at a variety of science museums around the state, he started karate this week and loves it, we are looking at attempting to set up our own Jr. lego or robotics league with my husband sponsoring it and now if I could just find a programming class for kids we would be set. I have put some feelers out for mentors for him and hopefully will find something. The stress level in the house is completely gone and for the first time in weeks, this afternoon he was actually smiling and happy as we went hiking with his best friend (who is homeschooled). We have already planned a trip to the local nature preserve tomorrow to meet with the ranger
and check out a special manatee education box they have :-) Manatees are his new love right now and he is adament in trying to figure out ways to protect them from boats :-) We even found an overnight camp out in 2 weeks at a state zoo that allows the kids to tour the manatee enclosure and go behind the scenes and then sleep in the manatee house overnight- he is completely giddy.
I am just still confused and angry that these special children are just falling between the cracks left and right, their needs are not being met or you have to fight tooth and nail to get any kind of change - I wish there was something I could do to just voice how upsetting and what a disservice they are doing to the world by not meeting these kids needs.
