Best School

Post Reply New Topic

My wife and I feel that the current school my son attends is not the best for him. Does anyone know what the best school for a 5th grade AS child is in the Chicago area or for that matter in the United States I am willing to move if I have to get him the best schooling.

You are his best teacher....home school.

another vote for homeschool! My Mom is a single Mom, I am 19 and I homeschool my younger sibs while she is at work-there is always a way

Homeschooling is a rare phenomenon in my country. What are the benefits of it, and what capacities/skills do the homeschool teachers need?

One vote against homeschool, and it's hard to answer without knowing more about your son. How good of a student is he? Does he have any special talents/interests?

Some times homeschooling works, other times its the worse thing possilbe.

I agree with Pryaxis...we would need a lot more info that we have. I suggest you contact an educational consultant and get their input. Its not cheap, but then, niether is moving....

BeeBee
(PS....my schooling wasn't a bad as the spelling would indicate. I'm learning disabled. )

I would say homeschooling if you can do it and if you can keep him communicating with others at least a lil bit.

What country do you live in?

Some of the benefits are that each child can move at their own pace, it takes much less time(a few hours 4 days a week, usually..."regular" schooling uses SOOOO much "filler") any areas of interest can be investigated thoroughly without pressure, learning stays fun, parents, and the family in general stay closer together, etc. The benefits vary from child to child, due to individuality, but the benefits are almost always significant.

You don't need any special education/training to be a homeschool teacher. The curriculums are designed for people with no special training or experience, very easy to use. I am 19 and I am homeschooling 2 of my younger sibs(one 12yo, with Down Syndrome and one 6yo...other sibs-15yo does online school, profoundly ret*d 16yo brother goes to a "special" school). I have been to several public schools from k-10th grade), and was subsequently homeschooled....homeschool all the way, definetely!!

If you want to know more, I'm happy to answer questions

I've been homeschooling my 6th grader for 2 1/2 years. What a rewarding experience to see his self-esteem grow. I read everything I could about AS. Currenting Asperger Sydrome and Adolescence by Teresa Bolick, PH. D. serves as a good guide. We struggled at first because I was learning about him and making mistakes. I don't understand how a child can learn if his emotional needs are not met first. School crushed my son who never got into trouble. P.E. and field days made him the brunt of jokes. With all the harrassment going on and teachers not understanding, how does a child learn? I advocated for my child but not at his expense.

There are many programs out there you just have to do the research and choose. Allow your child to be a part of setting up the structure for your program. My son sets his alarm to make sure he has time to do the things he wants do in the morning before we start homeschooling and at the scheduled time he's ready to home. Unless he is learning a new concept, he is mostly independent.

My son is a musician. His special interest keeps him involved with other young musicians each Saturday for 4 hours. He has been weight lifting since January and we are planning to join a class now that his confidence is way up. We are looking for computer classes and other interesting courses offered at the continuing education dept. youth programs at the local college.

Homeschooling has made us so very close. My son never held my hand in public or allowed me to show any affection toward him in front of anyone. That has all changed. Sometimes when we are out and having a good conversation while we're walking, he'll reach for me.

Learn as much as you can about homeschooling vs public and private schools and make up your own mind but only you know your child. After reading many of the post from the younger crowd, I'm convienced more and more I've done the right thing.

Interesting. I live in the Netherlands and never encountered this (though I know that there are children in this country who're being homeschooled) in real life. My question was about the contents of the things that children learn. Is it all stuff that children learn at elementary school? Or do homeschool teachers also teach their students about calculus, physics and the like? Just curious.

Homeschool students learn all the things that public and private school students do, and often more than they do. Homeschool curriculums are designed so someone with little or no knowledge of a subject can teach it thoroughly and accurately. There are also video classes available very readily for the more advanced math and science

Dont forget online classes, I know a couple people who take classes online (for a bit of money) and I think these classes exist from at least HS up through college.

I have a close friend who is homeschooled, and she takes some of her classes (mostly advanced sciences and maths) at the local community college. That is also a choice for high school, especially for the advanced, more specialized classes.

What state do you live in? here in New York the community colleges won't take homeschoolers(stupid state laws!)

I'm California. It is mostly the older high schoolers who do this. They register as students at the local community colleges and can take classes there. Also, advanced students in government-run education can do stuff like that. That is probably what I would do if I were in one of the public schools.

This is also true in Georgia. Also I emailed the University of Georgia and was told as long as the homeschool is accredited they would accepted homeschoolers into college.