Arkansas Ged
Q: We are considering Home Schooling our 16 year old son. We would be interested
in hearing from anyone who has started this late home schooling. We
are well aware of the reasons and benefits, but need to know the issues
of starting at this time.
Any help is appreciated...
A:I had the unique opportunity to be a home school student at the age of 17.
It was at this time that my parents extracted me from the Cedarville High
School in Arkansas. At the time I was a "straight A" student and that was
exactly the problem... I was coasting. Totally bored. Learning almost
nothing except that the system can be fooled quite easily.
The biggest issues I had to deal with were the shock and the isolation. As
a teenage male this was a difficult social period and I would encourage you
to be patient with your son. His hormones are clouding his mind and the
lack of daily exposure to other students will seem like you stole his
oxygen... for a time. He will adjust and adapt. And he will start to make
better social decisions too. A nice benefit.
The shock will take longer. I did almost nothing for about a month after I
was taken out. I was so stunned. My parents helped me with this aspect by
keeping me engaged with household chores and projects. ( We lived on a
small farm)
After that I began to wake up and prepare for the challenges of real life.
Please note at this point that most states allow your young person to be
officially "done" at 16 or 17. This gives you a huge area with which to
work. You do not have to follow any rules or do anything the state demands
anymore. Your teen will love this freedom to explore what *he* wants for a
change. I would encourage you