Homeschooled Aspies who went back to public high school?

Post Reply New Topic

Juggernaut, you bring up a point that is kind of haunting us as we make this decision, and that is the fact that homeschooling sometimes does not prepare someone for the rigors of college life. This concerns me both academically and socially. I'm sure that some homeschooled children have made the transition well, and that their parents have done a good job. But not all have done a good job. For instance, we have looked at the statistics for our local cyber school, and they aren't very good. That doesn't mean that in our situation our son wouldn't test well as a result of homeschooling, but it does mean that as a group, the homeschoolers that use our local cyber school do not do well.

I also worry about proper preparation for college entrance exams such as the SAT or the ACT. Especially now that they've changed the test to require more written skills, and explanations of HOW a person arrives at a certain math result.

I also agree with en_una_isla, that homeschoolers can be better socialized than other kids. I constantly marvel at how unsocial some of the kids at public school are -- we try so hard to teach our kids fairness and concern for others and polite behavior, and then send them to school where they are confronted with a few kids who have had NO TRAINING in this area. I could really see where homeschooled kids would be friendlier, more able to quickly make friends, especially with other homeschooled kids because there is that knowledge that they are being homeschooled for a good reason, often because the public school kids are not very kind.

I'm kind of wondering if we can kind of prepare our child for academics and social life in high school purposely by HOMESCHOOLING him in the middle school years. There would be more time to concentrate on areas where he is lacking, including social life. We have a good church group to use for social purposes, and I frankly want to try and construct a curriculum for learning how to be funny and have a sense of humor by using TV shows and (clean) standup comedy, so that by the time he got to high school he could learn how to quietly joke his way into making friends. Middle school is where most children lost a lot of their self esteem, even the kids that to our outside eyes look fine and well-liked. I've also heard that middle school is a kind of educational wasteland, where nobody seems to know what else to do with these kids, where they are changing and emerging as semi-adults, but don't have the rational where-with-all to actually be adults. I almost feel like it's a holding tank on the way to high school. If that's the case, and the social life is battering a child's self-esteem, why not skip the whole process?

Just a bunch of thoughts, again . . .

Kris

I agree with the part about middle school definitely. I am not a big fan of kids that age, as that is perhaps the low point for many kids in development. 9th grade is still sort of in that stage as well, but at least they are with other older kids as well. Getting socialization through church is good, because hopefully they are mature and moral kids, though my personal experience with a couple youthgroups was both positive and negative--one I went to was great (most of the kids were homeschoolers actually), and the other was very clickish and conformist (mostly public schoolers). How old is you son by the way?

I think High School is a must for a kid to get prepared for college. Of course, my experience with most formal education, especially college, is that it is hindering my education, as ironic as that sounds. I love to learn, and if you gave me a stack of books to read I would have them memorized, but making it formal and attaching a grade to it destroys my motivation because I know I'm just doing it for the grade, not because I care. A lot of the courses are not relevant to me either. Which is why I think homeschooling was good for me, but unfortunately, the workforce cares that you have a slip of paper that says college degree on it more than that you are educated. So we just have to put up with certain bs to succeed.

schleppenheimer, frankly I think middle school is the worst time to send any kid to school. Every study I've read of bullying indicates that middle school is when a child is most likely to be bullied. It also tends to be the weakest period academically for most kids. Even if I send any of my other kids to school, I will withdraw them and homeschool for middle school (unless they are adamently opposed to being homeschooled).

There are alternatives to highschool for test prep-- software, test tutoring courses, community college courses. It's becoming not uncommon for homeschoolers to earn a two yer degree at a community college, instead of going to high school, and then going on to a 4 yr undergrad degree from there.

But most of all, just listen to your son... what does HE want? Let that weigh heavily in your decision.