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Minute to Minute
Readers Helping
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| October 27th, 2007 |
| Whether you've been homeschooling one year or twenty,
you've undoubtedly had a time when you could say with
David the Psalmist, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me?" (Psalm 42:5)
We have all faced isolating moments of confusion, even
when surrounded by friends and family, pondering if there is
any hope or aid for us in our time of need.
This week's homeschool mom, Barb, feels alone and
confused. Let us strengthen her and remind her of David's
conclusion when he felt "cast down." He did not stay in the
gutter of self-despair but renewed his soul saying, "Hope thou
in God."
If you feel alone and hopeless please turn
to God; God's simple plan of
salvation offers to replace your loneliness with a
lifetime of friendship, and God's comforting promise, "I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews
13:5) | |
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| Confused and Alone |
Dear Minute to Minute Readers,
I am very new to homeschooling. I have three
children: two that are already grown and out of the house and
a 9 year old boy. Last year I made the decision to homeschool
my son. He went to public school for three
years. During those three years he struggled very much
with his school work. He was way behind all of his classmates
in just about everything. I didn't know until first grade how
far behind he was in reading compared to the other
children. Almost the whole class could read pretty well.
When my son was asked to read out loud in front of the class
he could barely read. I felt so terrible. The kids began to
make fun of him.
I started to work hard at home with him to
try to get him up with the rest of the class. It became very
stressful for both my son and I. Every night he had homework
plus he had to redo papers that he had failed, then we would
sit down and read together. It would be midnight most of
the nights before we were finished. I couldn't keep this up.
He wasn't getting anywhere. He was then put into a special
class for students who had reading problems. I thought that
would be good. It turned out to be more stressful because now
he also had 3 more books to bring home and read every night.
He started to fail in more subjects after that. Every time
after going over all of his daily papers that he had failed, I
would have to teach him how to do the work. After he would
finally pick up on it, he felt good about himself. Then the
next day the teacher would start on something new. He wasn't
learning as fast as the rest, and they were just pushing him
through.
At the end of second grade he
was promoted to third. He was not ready for third grade.
I had gone to the principal to see if he could hold him
back. My son already hated school, and I knew that
he would just give up if they moved him on. Things were
going to get a lot harder.The principal wouldn't hold him back
because of the No Child Left Behind law. So they had to just
push him through the system. He still could barely read. There
was no way he was going to make it. I couldn't do that to him.
I thought very hard about homeschooling, but I felt so
unsure of myself. Was this the right thing to do? Would I be
able to do it? Then one day during that summer, I was sitting
at his ball game watching him play, he came out of the dugout
for a drink and there sat one of his classmates from last
year, she yelled over to him, "Hey what's up LITTLE
BRAIN?" I could tell it made him uncomfortable. I
asked her why she called him that name, and she
said,"Because he's stupid!" I told her he's not stupid and
that wasn't a very nice thing to say to someone. That was
it, I had made up my mind to homeschool him. Those kids were
not going to do that to my son.
My family couldn't believe that I was going
to do this to my baby. He isn't going to have any friends; he
needs to learn with kids his own age; his own brother and
sister thought it was a bad idea. I was so confused. Well, I
did homeschool him last year. It was rough, but we got through
it. I think he learned more last year then he did in the three
years he went to public school.
This year I am feeling confused again and
very alone. I can't seem to find any kind of support group
where I live. I read about homeschoolers on-line all the
time and they all seem to have someone. They get together and
do things as a group. The kids all get to know each
other. They go on field trips. We have no one. I am now
thinking like the rest of the people who are always saying
things about how my son needs to have interaction with kids
his own age. He does need friends. Right now he is only
involved in baseball and bowling. Baseball is over now and
bowling will be starting soon. But is that enough
interacting? Am I hurting him now? I want to homeschool
him again, but I am not sure.
I have failed to tell you that I am a single
parent, and I have a home daycare which I run myself. Through
the school year I have children that range in age from 1-5yrs
old. Sometimes my son starts acting their ages. He really
doesn't help me with them, but he wants to play with them in
the daytime. He wants them to play the things that
he likes, baseball most of the time. When they don't want to
play, or they quit playing in the middle of the game, he gets
very angry. I have to always remind him of their ages. Then he
wants me to play, I'll play catch with him for awhile, but he
never wants to stop and again gets mad at me when I have to
quit. I have a business to run and can't always drop what I am
doing when he wants me to.
I know he feels lonely, I just don't know
where to turn or what to do. I asked him if he wants to go
back to school, he says no he hates that school. I can't
afford to send him anywhere else. He says he likes doing
homeschool. Do you have any suggestion for me? I feel so
very alone. Even after reading all the articles that I can
find on-line. Most everyone that I read about has more than 1
child at home, and they have a husband, and they all go
to church. Our family life is very different than that. I
wish someone whose family is like mine would write
in. If you have any comments or suggestions
please let me know. We really need some kind of
support. Thanks again!
A Confused and Alone Homeschool Mom,
Barb |
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| Homeschooling Resources |
 "What homeschooling mother at
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Kautzer
E-book: See, I Told
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personally. In an easy E-book format, this 18 chapter book
tells homeschooling parents, "You can stop
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today. | |
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Please email us with your
encouragement and advice for Barb as she feels alienated and
confused. The letters that you write never stop
aiding discouraged homeschool moms across the country. When
you email us you give
us permission to post your responses in the Minute to
Minute e-newsletter, send your responses to Barb,
and use them in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's My Voice column if selected.
Sincerely, |
Elisabeth Marlowe, The Minute to
Minute Editor
The Old Schoolhouse
Magazine | | |
