Posted on 01/28/2006 7:49:24 AM PST by Clintonfatigued
Deschooling is the process where many of the bad socialization experiences are "cleansed" from a child who is making the transition from public/private schools into a homeschooling program.
(Excerpt) Read more at homeschoolzone.com ...
WOW motherbear, this is what I needed to hear. However, Your not the first person to tell me something like this. My friend who has two boys both ADHD, both are now grown men. The oldest wasn't medicated till later in life and by than he had become an angry person and now is divorced with a child he rarely sees. It is so sad. Her youngest who was medicated early on has graduated from college with honors and successful. She asked him one day whe was he the happiest, on his medicine or off and he said on.
thanks, this has been tough for me but I know whatever I do it is right for him. I love both my boys so much, I'd do whatever it took for them to be happy.
My comment was intended to be sarcastic.
I don't believe that ed schools teach that you should let the children direct their own studies or be responsible for their own learning (although I do not speak from firtshand knowledge).
Education is supposed to be complicated, and best left to the professionals, that's my impression of what ed school proposes.
Look, I wasn't trying to come as rude to you, please don't take it the wrong way. I appreciate your words of wisdom, really I do. I have been dealing with a lot over this issue so anytime I hear someone tell me I will be making the wrong decision putting my child on meds it bothers me some, cause we are all different and no one knows what is good for each one of us. I just know that if faced with me giving someone advice or not about whether they should put their child on meds or not I will simply say it is up to you. If I had experience with it I'd give them my experience and tell them whatever they decide for their child is best. It is a tough choice and not an easy one for a mom like me. I'm a big conservative who doesn't believe in quick fixes for everything,so believe me when I say this is hard for me. But I want my son to be happy and for that I will do whatever it takes.
Anyhow, no hard feelings.
Unless you're a doctor, it's none of your business.
With all due respect, scew you.
Should have previewed.
That would be "screw".
Thanks. I do not doubt that you want the best for your son. I spoke my piece because I have had a lot of experience homeschooling children, including tutoring other peoples' kids, many of whom were not good learners and/or did not have the right kind of atmosphere at home in which to learn.
As an example, last year I took care of and taught for 4 months an 11 year old girl who couldn't do her grade level. Her handwriting was terrible, she would spend 4 hours on a page of math that should have taken 20 minutes. She would whine, gyrate, and do anything and everything to not do her work. Her attentions span was miniscule.
This is what I did:
1. Made handwriting a priority. Invented games and wrote interesting sentences for her to copy. Had her do lines of letters, gradually doing the whole alphabet and then letters mixed. Concentrated on this until a few weeks later her handwriting was beautiful. Made her sharpen her own pencils and made sure she had plenty of pencils.
2. Started a "20/5" schedule. I only allowed her to do schoolwork for 20 minutes, then she had 5 minutes to do whatever she wanted - read, run outside and play, whatever.
After a few weeks she was begging me to extend the 20 minutes. We extended to 25 minutes, and then she had to do something physical.
3. She got to engage in her favorites activities on a regular basis, we would intersperse them with the stuff she didn't like. She was very artistic, and loved crafts, so we would do (for isntance) math/beadwork/handwriting/drawing/finish math/ etc. Of course, in between each 20 minute segment she would have 5 minutes off.
4. I had her do a lot of physical exercise. Often kids that can't pay attention need more exercise. Most kids need more exercise. Especially in fresh air.
5. Also made sure she ate well.
Anyway, I found her at the end of four months to be a changed girl. In many ways.
Great article.
I was subjected to government schools for a good portion of my life, and never learned a thing.
I self-taught, since I learned to read, at age 3. The only thing I really learned in school is that if you are smarter than both the students and the teacher, you will be ostracized.
I built my first transistor radio at six. Read the entire World Book Encyclopedia by twelve.
Government schools did absolutely nothing for me.
They require deprogramming for bright kids.
Yank him out of government school. He's likely very bright, and will bloom if you let him learn what he wants to learn, instead of what government wants him to learn.
I was about to flunk the second grade, because I was so bored I drifted off into day dreaming. My name would be called again and again, and it took a nudge from someone to come back to hell.
My parents objected to my flunking, and as a compromise, the school and my parents agreed to get me tested.
164 IQ.
Today, I would be medicated.
I was allowed to learn whatever I wanted to at home. I knew algebra in the sixth grade. And the poison content of the brown recluse. And pretty good chess moves. None of it taught by government schools, or parents.
Parents quickly forget the curiousity of children. They always ask, "Why?"
All you have to do is give them the tools, and information, and they naturally self-teach.
But frustrate them with years of "sit down and shut up," and you end up with drones. Their spirit is crushed, and then they shoot people.
I was pretty much designated as a gifted student in 1st grade...they were thinking about advancing me up several grades (I recited every capital of every state to my principal from memory after studying my older sister's U.S Geography book for just a few hours). I also made virtually no mistakes on tests.
When we moved to a larger, more urban school district, I was relentlessly bullied (I was a skinny little kid), but I did keep straight "A"s until fourth grade. From there it went downhill. I finished HS as just a "C" average student, a long-haired wanna-be hippie with low self-esteem.
When I joined the Navy, I realized my potential once again...graduated top of my class in Avionics Tech schools.
And after I retired from the Navy, I went back to school and graduated from Fresno State Summa Cum Laude with a 3.97 GPA in Biology.
If I had children today, I would ABSOLUTELY home-school if I couldn't find a good charter school or good private school.
I'm not quite that smart but if I could get a copy of the IQ test to study I'm sure I could get my numbers up:') I was bored in school and day dreamed a lot too. Still do. I self educated myself but my three boys would have majored in playing if they had not received direction. My youngest would hang off the couch sometimes upside down. That was ok with me as long as he kept reading. Somedays we studied on the beach. I took him to Galveston for finals one year and let him drive home for the first time. Some kids just don't do well sitting at a desk all day. They fall out.
"They require deprogramming for bright kids."
Especially boys!!!!!!!!
http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a3a7aee17289c.htm
Here's another FR classic that's germane to this:
http://www.freeRepublic.com/forum/a3b0e83a71dd0.htm
In doing what you did, you used a creative and flexable approach, and such methods are almost never done in public schools.
True IQ tests cannot be studdied for.
See a pile of blocks, and count them. But you must imagine the blocks behind them, holding up the blocks that you see.
Can't be faked, or studied for.
Either you have 3-d skills or you don't.
I did get a cou;le of dings, though. The test procter asked what is common between a foot and a pound. I answered that the basic units were divisible by four.
He said that the "correct" answer was that they were both units of measurement.
I said, "Duh."
Then he asked me to draw a man.
Thanks very much! : )
Since you're obviously someone who likes to learn, have you ever read about the real history of public education? John Taylor Gatto has published a number of very informative articles, and if you find time to read them, you'll tell yourself "SO THAT'S WHY SCHOOLS OPERATE THAT WAY!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.