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raeanna74 · 02-24-2004, 08:31 PM

Our local school are lacking so greatly that parents are moving to homeschooling in large numbers. They have actually built a new school building in the past few years to consoladate a couple of their elementary schools into one big school. Though the town is growing the number of public schools in our town have gone from 5 to 2. The 2 parochial schools have expanded in the past couple years and the homeschool group is quite large. JUST in our town of 10,000 the homeschool group that meets once weekly numbers over 100 students. As a former teacher it can be a monumental job to try to give each student everything they need and some students that need more tend to fall by the wayside all to easily. A student with ADHD or other learning problems can end up being dropped back or pushed aside and just passed on to the next grade so that the teacher doesn't have to deal with them anymore.

A friend of mine has a daughter "Alice"in second grade. Her grades were slipping severely this year and the teachers approached her with their suspicions that Alice has ADHD. The schools would not offer any testing though because that would cost too much. They planned to drop Alice back a year and then if she didn't catch on they would test her. That makes me angry just thinking about it. How can that be a solution.

Well my friend approached my Mom to help her daughter and test her. My mother has been working on ther thesis in ADHD/Dyslexia/Hyperkinesis and has been a teacher. She tested Alice. Came to the same conclusion as the school that yes Alice had ADHD. Then she began to work with her. Gave her physical and mental exercises to help her train her brain to work like she needed. My mother also gave Mom and Dad specific morning and bedtime rituals to help her have a regular schedule. She started this in November of this year. Last week Alices grades came back and my friend met with her teacher to see how Alice was doing. Alice has moved from having the lowest grades in the class to being the BEST reader in class. In 4 months! The one on one working, the physical exercises, mental exercises, and regular schedule worked.

I have an Elementary Education degree. My mother has given me the same tests and believes that I have ADHD maybe in combination with mild Dyslexia. My daughter (I just posted today about her nutso day yesterday) can be so out of control sometimes despite everything I do that my mother and even I am beginning to wonder if she's not the same. I do not intend to give her ritalin. I do intend to use my mother's methods, and my own education to teach my daughter AT HOME. I have begun collecting rescources, textbooks, workbooks, and other supplies to help. I have a puzzle of the whole alphabet in interlocking squares that are a foot square. My daughter and I "play" with them quite often so that she gets HANDS on work. In my college classes they told us that students will always learn best when you use EVERY avenue for teaching, hands, eyes, ears, etc. Both of my husbands parents are teachers as well - his father actually being a professor of elementary education at a college. With my in-law's and mother's abilites and education as well as mine I see it as foolish NOT to teach my daughter at home. I realize not everyone has such an educational support system but I fully intend to take advantage of it.

02-24-2004, 08:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
raeanna74 I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot! Location: Upper Michigan	Our local school are lacking so greatly that parents are moving to homeschooling in large numbers. They have actually built a new school building in the past few years to consoladate a couple of their elementary schools into one big school. Though the town is growing the number of public schools in our town have gone from 5 to 2. The 2 parochial schools have expanded in the past couple years and the homeschool group is quite large. JUST in our town of 10,000 the homeschool group that meets once weekly numbers over 100 students. As a former teacher it can be a monumental job to try to give each student everything they need and some students that need more tend to fall by the wayside all to easily. A student with ADHD or other learning problems can end up being dropped back or pushed aside and just passed on to the next grade so that the teacher doesn't have to deal with them anymore. A friend of mine has a daughter "Alice"in second grade. Her grades were slipping severely this year and the teachers approached her with their suspicions that Alice has ADHD. The schools would not offer any testing though because that would cost too much. They planned to drop Alice back a year and then if she didn't catch on they would test her. That makes me angry just thinking about it. How can that be a solution. Well my friend approached my Mom to help her daughter and test her. My mother has been working on ther thesis in ADHD/Dyslexia/Hyperkinesis and has been a teacher. She tested Alice. Came to the same conclusion as the school that yes Alice had ADHD. Then she began to work with her. Gave her physical and mental exercises to help her train her brain to work like she needed. My mother also gave Mom and Dad specific morning and bedtime rituals to help her have a regular schedule. She started this in November of this year. Last week Alices grades came back and my friend met with her teacher to see how Alice was doing. Alice has moved from having the lowest grades in the class to being the BEST reader in class. In 4 months! The one on one working, the physical exercises, mental exercises, and regular schedule worked. I have an Elementary Education degree. My mother has given me the same tests and believes that I have ADHD maybe in combination with mild Dyslexia. My daughter (I just posted today about her nutso day yesterday) can be so out of control sometimes despite everything I do that my mother and even I am beginning to wonder if she's not the same. I do not intend to give her ritalin. I do intend to use my mother's methods, and my own education to teach my daughter AT HOME. I have begun collecting rescources, textbooks, workbooks, and other supplies to help. I have a puzzle of the whole alphabet in interlocking squares that are a foot square. My daughter and I "play" with them quite often so that she gets HANDS on work. In my college classes they told us that students will always learn best when you use EVERY avenue for teaching, hands, eyes, ears, etc. Both of my husbands parents are teachers as well - his father actually being a professor of elementary education at a college. With my in-law's and mother's abilites and education as well as mine I see it as foolish NOT to teach my daughter at home. I realize not everyone has such an educational support system but I fully intend to take advantage of it. __________________ "Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama My Karma just ran over your Dogma.