1. What made you decide to homeschool your children?
There were a number of reasons. The most pressing one was that my youngest son has very High Functioning Autism (Aspergers). Institutional learning, especially in the upper grades, was a set up for failure for him. He got decent grades, but the emotional cost was tremendous. There was breakdown after breakdown. We did have services for him, but their focus was on him getting through the school system, where as mine was on him becoming an independent functional adult. They aren't necessarily the same thing. I am not faulting the school or the system, but it was the wrong environment for my son. After speaking with adult members of my family with Aspergers, as well as their parents, and a couple of friends and their parents, I found that one of the defining issues was that they had a very very difficult time in middle and High School. Those issues caused depressions that they have been struggling to come out of for years and really have shaped many of the problems that they have as adults just dealing with society and every day life. I could see my youngest son heading in the same direction and we've decided to take a different approach.
My eldest son (Junior in HS at this point) saw through the BS in the school system and decided to change it up a bit. The tipping point was when his Honors English class was forced to read To Kill a Mockingbird. Yes, it's a fine book, but for a child who read "100 Years of Solitude" in 8th grade, it was a bit simplistic. We did research to see the requirements to attend college without a diploma, and it was totally doable.
2. What difficulties have you had?
Trying to get my Aspie to have a regular sleep schedule, but that's more of an Autism thing than a homeschool thing. Another challenge is that I have a tendency to stress about whether or not I am doing things "right". I really don't want to mess up my children, and have to constantly remind myself that it will all be okay. They are happy and learning, I don't think that we could ask for anything better.
3. How's it working, would you do it again?
Like anything, there is good and bad about it. It's work, make no mistake. But, I was always very involved in my children's education, so that work is something that I was used to. My youngest son has not had a breakdown since we started homeschooling. I check in with him about his mental state regularly, and he assures me that he is happy.
4. What do you like about it?
The freedom to tailor a program to my children's needs. It is such fun to get my creative juices flowing and to work with them on coming up with ideas. Another unexpected bonus is that my sons seem to be getting along much better than they used to when they were in school. I don't know why, it may have something to do with them each being less stressed or that they now work together on learning activities. Sometimes, they even seem to enjoy each other *gasp!*
5. What do you not like about it?
At times I miss being in the classroom. I was an art teacher before we pulled our youngest out of school. I don't regret our choice, we are all much better off for it, but it would be disingenuous to pretend that I haven't given something up.
6. Any other comments?
We are fortunate here, the school district is welcoming of homeschool students. My sons can take classes at the local high school if they choose to, as well as at the local Community College. My eldest son will start at the Community College next year. We have been able to have the best of both worlds.
Check into your local homeschool groups, there are many that meet up regularly. I'm sure that there will be people in the group who would be more than happy to talk to you about your concerns as you consider your options.
There were a number of reasons. The most pressing one was that my youngest son has very High Functioning Autism (Aspergers). Institutional learning, especially in the upper grades, was a set up for failure for him. He got decent grades, but the emotional cost was tremendous. There was breakdown after breakdown. We did have services for him, but their focus was on him getting through the school system, where as mine was on him becoming an independent functional adult. They aren't necessarily the same thing. I am not faulting the school or the system, but it was the wrong environment for my son. After speaking with adult members of my family with Aspergers, as well as their parents, and a couple of friends and their parents, I found that one of the defining issues was that they had a very very difficult time in middle and High School. Those issues caused depressions that they have been struggling to come out of for years and really have shaped many of the problems that they have as adults just dealing with society and every day life. I could see my youngest son heading in the same direction and we've decided to take a different approach.
My eldest son (Junior in HS at this point) saw through the BS in the school system and decided to change it up a bit. The tipping point was when his Honors English class was forced to read To Kill a Mockingbird. Yes, it's a fine book, but for a child who read "100 Years of Solitude" in 8th grade, it was a bit simplistic. We did research to see the requirements to attend college without a diploma, and it was totally doable.
2. What difficulties have you had?
Trying to get my Aspie to have a regular sleep schedule, but that's more of an Autism thing than a homeschool thing. Another challenge is that I have a tendency to stress about whether or not I am doing things "right". I really don't want to mess up my children, and have to constantly remind myself that it will all be okay. They are happy and learning, I don't think that we could ask for anything better.
3. How's it working, would you do it again?
Like anything, there is good and bad about it. It's work, make no mistake. But, I was always very involved in my children's education, so that work is something that I was used to. My youngest son has not had a breakdown since we started homeschooling. I check in with him about his mental state regularly, and he assures me that he is happy.
4. What do you like about it?
The freedom to tailor a program to my children's needs. It is such fun to get my creative juices flowing and to work with them on coming up with ideas. Another unexpected bonus is that my sons seem to be getting along much better than they used to when they were in school. I don't know why, it may have something to do with them each being less stressed or that they now work together on learning activities. Sometimes, they even seem to enjoy each other *gasp!*
5. What do you not like about it?
At times I miss being in the classroom. I was an art teacher before we pulled our youngest out of school. I don't regret our choice, we are all much better off for it, but it would be disingenuous to pretend that I haven't given something up.
6. Any other comments?
We are fortunate here, the school district is welcoming of homeschool students. My sons can take classes at the local high school if they choose to, as well as at the local Community College. My eldest son will start at the Community College next year. We have been able to have the best of both worlds.
Check into your local homeschool groups, there are many that meet up regularly. I'm sure that there will be people in the group who would be more than happy to talk to you about your concerns as you consider your options.
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