Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Taking the Plunge...Starting Homeschooling

Hi Movingup6!

Coming from someone who has battled within the school for proper accomodations and is still working with them(ME!) it sounds like you don't have a lot to work with here.


I'm concerned about this attitude, it sounds awfully *punishing*. There are many ways to assess the child within the brick and mortar school. Many ways to do this without having the child feel that something valuable is being taken away from him.



Honestly, I do believe that this is a sincere concern on the part of the teachers/administrators, they really do believe this.

It's not a huge concern, however, as much of life takes place outside of the microcosm that is the grade school teacher's perspective. I wouldn't try argueing that point with them, though. I'd just disregard the comment.

It really sounds like you have made the right decision. There are some things you can do in the future if you decide that you want to take advantage of the opportunities at a brick and mortar school, I'd give it some time though.

Enjoy the learning journey with your child. There really is nothing better than watching them make those connections and become invigorated with real learning.

Neato

When the PS did this to me as a child just a year older than your DS, I got up and walked out of school to home. The school went nuts looking for me. I am sure your DS can come up with an even more imaginative way to act out. Its best to not let that happen.

The compromise reached was that I got to spend first and last hour in the library and read on my own in the back of class. I had to take tests with the class. (Not all schools were that accomodating.)

Good Luck Moving Up!!
Isn't it a horrible feeling to know your kid is at school all day and not learning. I dk if you feel as I do that it is wasted time. Math has been a waste this year w/my DS6, and I didn't have time to work on it with him. I am going to try harder to fit some time in to actually teach him something!

M6 - your story also sounds like ours...my DS6 is in K this year - we began unschooling him and it was the BEST decision we ever made...it did take a few weeks or a month or so of just allowing him some time to deflate from all the stress of dealing with school life and then we started to see a glimmer of our old child come shining through again after being squashed flat by school! You will do fine and there are SO many resources on the net and possibly near you concerning homeschooling.

How terrible. Good luck with homeschool.

Be careful with homeschooling. I know many,( one was my best friend) that were home schooled and when it came to college they did not have the social skills to survive the college life. I know a lot of schools where I live are willing to working with you and your child to get them the best education possible. If I were you I would also look at Montessori school so that your child can get the social aspect of life too.

Actually, there are a number of studies that have shown that homeschooled kids tend to be very well adjusted. Personally, I have known a number of public-schooled kids who ended up having horrible socialization problems in college (some of whom ended up dropping out). So unless you have something other than anecdotes to support your statement, I will stick with what the research shows. See, e.g., http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/19/ED71809.DTL

The research I have are kids. The real ones. Ones that were home schooled and have dropped out of college, committed suicide, or have just tried to drop off the face of the plant. Your studies and research you have are not of children from NM, TX, CA or AZ. These are the states I work with on run ways and "lost children" Right now 74 percent of them were home schooled.

In "Homeschooling- A Family's Journey" there are several studies sited that say that homeschooled children are perfectly well adjusted for college. They are so well adjusted that some colleges specifically recruit homeschooled students because they are self-motivated and understand the goal of college isn't to party and make friends. I believe Brown is one that has a homeschool admissions counselor to make the transition easier.

As a teacher, the hardest transitions I have seen though are homeschooled students who are dropped into a public 8th grade for some unknown family reason. These kids have a hard time adjusting to the terrible world of public middle school. It's not their fault that they have expectations of decency, kindness and civility!

I'm lost. You are saying that you are actually a researcher who works with formerly-homeschooled kids? Frankly, I don't buy it. If you were an actual scientist you would need to publish your research, instead of just spouting off random "facts" in an internet forum. Again, anecdotes are not a reliable way to judge the efficacy of homeschooling. I know plenty of kids with plenty of problems who were not homeschooled. I also know several kids who were homeschooled and have no significant issues. (And I don't know any homeschooled kids with significant issues.)

And they're not "my" studies. They are the only studies that I am aware of that deal with homeschooled kids and how strong their social skills are. Again, if you are aware of actual studies that conclude otherwise, I'd love to see them.