Homeschooling help

thehoneybadger

My H wants me to look into homeschooling our kids because of his fear of violence in schools and bullying. I don't agree with him at all. Our son looks to be on the spectrum, non verbal and has SPD. He has been in the preschool program for just over a month now and has made a ton of progress. I feel that his teachers are better qualified to teach him than I am. Our oldest DD is set to start kinder this fall. Can anyone help me come up with a way to help him see that school is better for C's development than homeschooling. All of this is spawned by our drop off this morning being altered a little and a different person getting C instead of his usual teacher. He said I should have just left and brought C home instead of handing him off to another person. I get that he is protective of our kids but I saw the teachers badge and name.

pastalady

I am going to see if anyone has insight into this. We have been debating this for awhile in our home. Do I want DD to be able to handle adversity and learn to deal with teasing? Yes, of course. Will I subject her to bullying everyday? No way. 

My hope is to homeschool if bullying and other things become issues as she gets older. She will be going to a very small private school where I can be really involved so I hope it doesn't come to that but we will see. I figure she can continue her education with her peers after home schooling if she is able, through online classes, college, etc. I am hoping we don't have a need for home schooling but am open to it. If you are not on board with HS there are other options. You need to do what i best for your family. Good luck!

thehoneybadger

Auntie- I am glad you responded. Do you know of any studies or articles that I can show him that shows that if we want an independent mainstreamed kid in the future that he needs to be in school? My husband is an engineer and likes to see "proof". He has come a long ways towards accepting the diagnosis. I think seeing A lap C in verbal development helped that along. 

thehoneybadger

-auntie-:

I don't know of any. It would be difficult to compare given the differences between different approaches to homeschooling, what school options are available to an individual child. There are homeschoolers who "unschool". Some let students study whatever appeals to them. There are rigid Christian curricula that teach religious dogma as science. There are people who unschool. And others who do very highly academic cyber approaches. And other who access homeschooling groups that are cobble together experts to teach specific ages and subjects.

Given that your district has already recognized your son as needing special education services and is delivering them effectively, I'm assuming you are in a decent district.

Coudl it be that your DH's reaction to a different teacher is an excuse to get out of a program that validates your concerns for your son instead of allowing him to continue to deny them. I don't see how he can equate a substitute at drop off with bullying- that's nuts.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say this is more about what's comfortable for dad than what's best for son. You say he's an engineer. Having a dad who is an engineer is almost a red flag for autism. Does he strongly identify with the boy? Do people comment thet the son is just like his dad at that age? Does he have quirky family members and see your son in the context of a techy nerdy family?

I wish I could help you strengthen your argument because I have seen homeschooling go spectacularly badly.

Yes we are in a decent school district. His two teachers are amazing with him and he loves them. The main teacher is ABA certified and weaves some of the principals into her classroom. His concern over the altered drop off today was that I just handed my son off to some "stranger" instead of our typical teacher. DH tends to be overprotective of our kids and trusts almost no one. Ever since Newtown, he has been scared to send our kids to school. I believe our kids have a greater of incident in us driving on the road in our major city. Yes, I have been told that C is much like his dad at his age. There have been some fights with the IL's over my seeking services for C. He does admit that preschool has been really good for C and that he is seeing progress already.  I've already honestly told him that I don't feel that homeschooling is right for us or our kids. I will just keep pushing my side, especially since the burden would fall on me instead of him if he got his way. 

Lulobug22

Lurking here my niece and nephew have special needs so I like to read posts here...

Anyways we have decided to homeschool our children for a variety of reasons. Some of the larger more recent studies have shown that homeschool children preform better on standardized tests than children who attend public school. This only applies to homeschoolers who follow a similar curriculum to kids in school not "unschoolers".

I taught in public schools until I had my own children and there are things that I do not agree with in the schools. Having a child with special needs depending on what they are might do better with a public education. Good luck!