Hey!
My 7-year-old keeps consistently asking to be home educated. He has high functioning autism and struggles with the amount of social interaction that happens at school. His school work isn't a concern as he loves to learn, but I think he would do better with a less stressful environment to learn in.
Problem is I'm worried about making the jump and making a mistake. Has anyone else been in a similar situation?
TIA
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Home ed
7 year old is desperate to be home educated
issy1990 · 22/01/2024 21:06
TomeTome · 23/01/2024 01:32
Try it over the summer holidays and see how it goes.
Saracen · 23/01/2024 02:39
On the face of it, that seems like a good idea. People often suggest it as a less scary option than taking a child out of school. But there are a couple of problems with "trying home education" during the school hoildays.
One problem is that a child who has been very stressed at school probably needs a break to recover. Taking away their holidays and telling them they have to get stuck in to something new immediately - and implying that they'd better get it right or they'll be sent back to school - just piles the pressure on to a chid who is already overwhelmed.
Another problem is that home education isn't just something you do. It's also something you don't do, namely school and all the associated things. As an analogy, suppose you were in the habit of eating loads of ice cream and McDonald's burgers, and you decided to improve your diet. You wouldn't accomplish that by eating plenty of fruit and veg while still eating just as much ice cream and McDonald's burgers as before. That might be even worse than your original diet! In the same way, you can't really add home-based education in on top of school and expect to get a picture of how life without school might look.
I'm not sure if I've explained it properly. Does that make sense?
TomeTome · 23/01/2024 01:32
Try it over the summer holidays and see how it goes.
Saracen · 23/01/2024 02:39
On the face of it, that seems like a good idea. People often suggest it as a less scary option than taking a child out of school. But there are a couple of problems with "trying home education" during the school hoildays.
One problem is that a child who has been very stressed at school probably needs a break to recover. Taking away their holidays and telling them they have to get stuck in to something new immediately - and implying that they'd better get it right or they'll be sent back to school - just piles the pressure on to a chid who is already overwhelmed.
Another problem is that home education isn't just something you do. It's also something you don't do, namely school and all the associated things. As an analogy, suppose you were in the habit of eating loads of ice cream and McDonald's burgers, and you decided to improve your diet. You wouldn't accomplish that by eating plenty of fruit and veg while still eating just as much ice cream and McDonald's burgers as before. That might be even worse than your original diet! In the same way, you can't really add home-based education in on top of school and expect to get a picture of how life without school might look.
I'm not sure if I've explained it properly. Does that make sense?
TomeTome · 23/01/2024 01:32
Try it over the summer holidays and see how it goes.
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