We are in Texas and I have been planning on homeschooling my oldest son. I have done alot of research on it for the past year. My son is in the 4th grade and has Aspergers Syndrome He does so much better one on one than he does in a classroom. He has always had teachers that help him and do great and he made great grades, however , this year his teacher doesnt seem to care, .or want to help and he is making bad grades. I even wrote her a note the other day asking about his progress and told her to call me to let me know, but she still has yet to respond. Im so stressed right now because Im pregnant, at risk of preterm labor, already been in the hospital and now Im on bedrest, so I cant go up to the school to talk to anyone. Before I ended up on Bedrest I went to talk to the Assistant Principal, but that didnt seem to help. ANYWAYS, enough of that. I just wanted to explain whats going on. Is it ok to take him out of school now, or should I let him finish out the year? Thanks
2007-01-11 11:18:34 · 13 answers · asked by Blondi 6 in Education & Reference ➔ Home Schooling
Aspergers Syndrome is a high functioning Autism.
2007-01-11 11:44:38 · update #1
Yes, it's fine to pull him out midyear. We're in Texas and that's what we did. You will need to provide the school with a letter of intent and officially withdraw him. You can look over regulations for this under the FAQ's at The Texas Home School Coalition website. The link is below.
I would recommend that you start out low key without high expectations because homeschooling can be stressful too. You will need some sort of curriculum, but you can pick up some Spectrum workbooks from Mardel, or just order them online just to have something to get started with. Or you could just grab some library books on Texas or American history (or whatever your son is interested in) and just work from there--pulling out spelling words from what you're studying, having him write about the subject matter, etc. In Texas, you are only *required* to teach reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics and a study of good citizenship, but your curriculum can come from any source. (You'll find that information at the link below, too.) So, some of what you do while you're on bedrest could be educational videos that your dh could grab from the library.
Just give you and your son both some time to de-stress, and try to keep everything low key for a while.
2007-01-12 01:49:36 · answer #1 · answered by Mom x 4 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would normally say, pull him now if that's what your heart is saying. With you on bedrest, it's something to figure out--how will you manage to do stuff with him, even just supervise him? While your son's well-being is an issue here, your health and the health of that unborn child take precedence.
If you think you'll still be able to do stuff with him or you'll be able to have some help or he is just really independent and doesn't need much supervision, then I say pull him out now. No point in having further damage done to him. He'd be better off not learning a single new thing the rest of this school year but regaining his happy self than he would be to slowly drizzle down and not be learning much while he's at it.
Texas is very relaxed when it comes to homeschooling. Check out this page: http://www.texashomeschoolers.com/texaslaws.htm . You just send in a formal letter to the school and voila, you're homeschooling.
2007-01-11 12:42:06 · answer #2 · answered by glurpy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You can do whatever you want. Homeschooling does not mean you have to stick to a rigid schedule everyday, however, disciplining yourself to keep a schedule helps the kids who are being homeschooled.
Yet, if there is a need to miss a couple of days it doesn't matter. Besides, homeschooling is not all day long. You can do all that a school offers in an hour or two.
With your pregnancy and the stress, is it a good time to do this? Will it reduce the stress? I'm all for homeschooling and wish I had done it for my kids.
Everyone I know that has been homeschooled are far more advance than any of my kids ever were and they were on the honor roll every year and good grades in high school. Also everyone I know that has been homeschooled goes to college.
I'd say go for it? Especially if your husband supports the idea and let him do the homeschooling on days your not well or in the hospital.
Best of luck to you and your new little one on the way.
2007-01-11 11:27:58 · answer #3 · answered by Child of Abba 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Hi. Before you pull him check and see if Texas has any publically funded virtual schools and look at those options. Here in FL - you child can be enrolled in virtual school after they have made the FTE counts in September and February...they are eligible the following school year. So look into virtual schools and see if you think that might be a good fit...the public virtual school supply you with all your curriculum and usually computer free or charge. You work with him on the assigned lessons on your pace and a teacher for the virtual school calls once or twice a month to check on your progress...
So research that option and see if he would need to have been present for any certain counts or number of school days to be eligible.
If virtual school is not an option for you - then there is no reason to wait to pull him. Check with your school district to meet their requirements (here you just file a letter of intent to homeschool with the county and then submit yearly test scores or portfolio review). There are so many homeschooling support groups...and it is fine to visit or join BEFORE y ou make the decision...that way you can get some advice from others in your area.
Best wishes! I myself am a certified teacher and have homeschooled and am now chosing virtual school.
2007-01-12 03:52:04 · answer #4 · answered by Benjimina 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My son has aspergers, and his fourth grade year sounds just like this. You can email me privately if you want, but for now I'd suggest asking him if he minds. My son was very rigid in his mind, and pulling him out midyear would have upset him...regardless of his depression, anger and suicidal tendencies because of the school atmosphere. So we just told him to do the best he could, and just ignored the grades.
You only have one child, relatively old enough to homeschool easily from a resting position (not like you'd have do do a daycare theme running around) I found out I was pregnant the week before we started homeschooling, and it was actually a blessing because dealing with all the special ed CRAP was soo much worse than figuring out curriculum and teaching my son. That was like a walk in the park!
What about your husband/significant other? Is he willing to work with you and help out? Like someone else said, your son will probably need to deschool a bit, and there's only four months of school left. So pull him out, work on what he wants to do, get to know him and his interests, act like it summer break already. Then in the fall things will be better with you, and he'll be more willing to work.
Anyway, email me, it's in my profile.
2007-01-11 14:35:47 · answer #5 · answered by ? 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
It is definitely okay to pull them out - there is no one that can say you may not do with your childs education what you please. I pulled my child out of private school a little over a month ago - my advice is this:
If you pull him out, DESCHOOL for a few months. It takes time to get the child accustomed to a different learning style and to break any bad habits formed in school. I used to have a website that talked about the benefits of deschooling (they suggest one month per year of formal eduction) but I can't find it now.
Just weigh your options carefully. Your child is his own person. Some kids will do better in a homeschool enviroment, others may not. If you do decide that HS is best, I personally would pull him out now rather than waste several more months in a stressful situation. You could be doing more harm than good by keeping him in an enviroment that is not supporting his growth but rather hindering it.
2007-01-11 11:37:01 · answer #6 · answered by The Organic Sister 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
contact the teacher and see if she can come to your home. Dont send a note talk on the phone to her.
Talk to your school counsler and have him/her help you out.
Get to the school superintendent and explain what is going on and what the problems are.
you are unwell at the moment and need assistance. If you need to then see if his teacher from a previous year can help you.
Do not go to any assistants again....go to the top.
You cannot really teach at the moment since you are on bed rest so tell them at school to get on the ball. It looks like you have a teacher that cares less. If there is another teacher for the same grade get your son changed now.
Stick to your guns.
2007-01-11 13:46:58 · answer #7 · answered by spider 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you can't teach him at home, then it's best to leave him there at school and pray that someone will have pity on him and take him under their wing. If you have friends that work at the school, or maybe even the mothers of the other kids in his class can help you out. If it's a learning disability, mabye you should get a tutor for him. I'm homeschooled, and trust me, it's hard enough when you're healthy. Wait till school's out of until the baby's born.
2007-01-11 11:32:37 · answer #8 · answered by redneckgal 3 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Wow, pull him out! I pulled my three kids out of school after 13 visits to the school in the first month of school. The principal said i didn't dare to pull them, and voila! They all did much better at home. I had a 2nd, 4th and 6th grader.
2007-01-11 11:24:36 · answer #9 · answered by dt_05851 3 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Go ahead and pull him out. He isn't going to learn a lot the rest of this school year anyway, as it sounds... I've known a looooot of people who have pulled their kids out of school to hs, and I have never met ONE who said they wish they'd left 'em in longer - every single one says that they wish they had taken them out sooner.
2007-01-11 14:47:01 · answer #10 · answered by Cris O 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋