Well, we're getting down to the wire here.....the last week before school starts....I've read quite a few blogs where mom's have talked about this....some kids, in some parts of the United States have already started back to school, some moms are homeschooling, and can have their own timeline.....I did that for two years, and at my age, unfortunately, that's not going to happen! Part of me really wish that I could...last year I wasn't really happy about some of things that went on in both of the schools that my kids attend. The three oldest are in high school-one in grade 11, one in grade 10, and one in a comprehensive class (which he likes to say he's in grade 11, but since he's allowed to stay four more years til he's 21 I wonder what grade he's going to say then...grade 15?).....anyways, and then the youngest is just going into grade 7. Now the youngest is a predicament ......she's 13 but intellectually and emotionally a 4 year old. When they had her as a teacher's assistant, part time for a kindergarten class, they had the problem of her becoming a kindergaten student instead of helper! I've been warned that the grade 7 curriculum is very hard and they're not quite sure what to do with her.....she doesn't qualify for a full time Educational Assistant (E.A.), and actually she has to spend a lot of her time in regular class placement. I honestly get the feeling that she's just being babysat there and not really learning anything. The option...special class placement, isn't really an option....the nearest special class is at least an hour and a half drive away, which would make for an exhausting day, especially for a child with a serious heart condition. Oh, I didn't mention that part, did I.....Megan has a fairly serious heart condition that began with her being born with Transverse of the Great Arteries, and she has what they call a Fontan, in her heart to help shunt the blood over to her lungs....she does function physically well,...but does show some scary signs at times that indicate that she may be struggling...or may not be...it kind of throws teachers into a tizzy! Now, Megan's older brother Ben, who is also delayed (in the high school comp class) had an excellent E.A. throughout elementary school, did okay academically, because that's what his E.A. focused on, but since he's been in high school, and they've focused more on life skills, he's lost most of the academics! So, what is the answer for Megan? I don't know...it surely is a quandary....I feel I'm too old to take on homeschooling Megan at this point in my life, but it is a concern when the head of resource at the school says that they aren't quite sure what to do with her in regards to her work......doesn't really give you a lot of assurance...and whatever they teach her academically, does it really do any good when she'll just lose it in highschool anyways?
The older three,...well, that is also a concern....the boy in the comp class participated in a few things that I wasn't actually thrilled about last year, the grade 11 daughter, had some assignments, watched a few movies (teachers show sooooooo many movies now!) that I wouldn't even allow coming in my front door, and the one that is in grade 10 this year went through all the normal grade nine attitudes which is annoying in itself but did quite poorly in her grades and the teachers passed her anyways!
Now, if I was 20 years younger there would be absolutely no question that I would homeschool these children....special needs kids are way different socially and the "regular" kids aren't exactly kind. Next week, they will all go back to school, bright and early Tuesday morning......I really feel that I'm in the middle of a quandry.
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