The School Conundrum

I want to thank Ron for his comment to my last post. It has inspired me to elaborate on our current homeschool conundrum.

It all began six years ago when Alex was in second/third grade (public school, or government school as I sometimes refer to it). To make a long story short, we noticed that he was being passed through the grades without really understanding the lessons, primarily in Math. The "new" math curriculum was such that Vicki and I had no way to help him because we didn't understand these "new" ways of teaching this subject. After two years of futilely attempting to get help and answers from the school, we threw our hands in the air, and pulled Alex and Connor out of the system we deemed broken. Alex had just been promoted to fifth grade; Connor to second. BTW, Connor's issues were antithetical to Alex's. In first grade, by March/April, Connor had completed all the material available to his teacher, who had "run out" of material to give Connor and essentially just began to give him busy work until the school year ended. That was unacceptable to us.

Skip ahead. I now have five students, a two year old, and a three month old in the classroom. The grades I teach are 8, 5, 3,and two first graders. Of course, all but the first graders are not really doing grade level work. Alex is almost finished ninth grade math. Keep in mind, when I began homeschooling him, he was at least two years behind, in math comprehension. Connor is advanced in all but Science, as is McKenzie, who I think is 'the most' advanced, compared to where her brothers were at the same age. Over the years, each of the older three has become more and more independent; as they could handle more, I let them have it. Now, other than review and checking (I check and discuss all their work, every day, to make sure they understand their lessons, which are pretty much self-guided), they are pretty much on their own until they come to me for help with some new concept.

The problem. Recently, meaning since about the beginning of this school year, Alex has become less and less enthusiastic about just about everything. He maintains a high level interest, to the point of a life's passion, in the care and well being of his siblings. He loves his baby sister, feeds her, changes her, looks after her whenever he can. Same with Bekah, the two-year-old. Oh, and of course, he'd spend every other waking moment in front of PlayStation or cartoons, if I let him. He won't show any interest in anything else. He even says he doesn't want to play baseball this Spring. Playing baseball has always been the reason for existence, for him. I've tried talking with him, to get him to understand that he can have a say in what he does, if he just talks about it. I'm answered by silence and shoulder shrugs. I'm chalking the change up to the beginnings of puberty, but that doesn't make it easier for me to deal with in the middle of all the other things going on around here. I don't want to throw away this school year by continuing to do something that simply has not been working; that is: he and I butting heads every day over his school work. I still am not confident that I know exactly what he wants. He's said he wants to try school again. But he's also said that he doesn't. And he's never given a reason for either option. Well, since we do want to do what's best for him, the first step seems to be changing the situation we're currently in. The only way to do that, within our budget, is to send him back to the government school for at least the remainder of this school year. We'll see what happens from there.

I've talked to friends and family. No one has the answer, except that what's happening now is not what's best for this family. I still feel a little uncomfortable about sending him back to school, but it doesn't have to be a permanent decision.

We are scheduled to meet with the school tomorrow morning to get Alex registered. The third quarter starts on the 24^th, his birthday, so he'll have about a week to acclimate to the new arrangement before his grades will start to count. Nothing else to do now except wait and see how it goes. I don't think it'll be worse than staying home and doing what we've been doing (I also don't think it'll be any better, but you never know).