Homeschooling the Child Who Hates School
Homeschooling is not just for gifted students, Olympic athletes or those winning national spelling or geography bees. The beauty of homeschooling is that it works to meet the needs of the individual student rather than striving to placate a multitude of students with a multitude of needs.
Because of this, homeschooling is also an excellent alternative for those students who are deemed “at-risk” of not succeeding or possibly not completing their education. At-risk students often have lost their way due to many factors, including mismatched learning and teaching styles, illness, learning challenges, and/or repeated failures.
These students generally:
- Have poor grades
- Have reading, writing, or math difficulties
- Have school attendance problems
- Have poor self concept
- Have a lack of motivation
And while these students may have once enjoyed school they now find themselves discouraged, which is frustrating for them as well as parents. The “warning” signs serve to recognize a potential problem in students while they still have an opportunity to shine academically despite their environment, attitude, or circumstances.
By recognizing the signs, parents and educators can make extra efforts to support and enable these students to succeed. A new perspective on the situation can often be the spark that turns the situation around.
A short video called Animal School tells the metaphorical story of a school that tries to conform its animal students to fit its requirements. If you are the parent of a discouraged student watch this short video at http://raisingsmallsouls.com/wp-content/themes/179/aschoolnew1.html. It will give you hope and leave you feeling wonderfully encouraged about your son or daughter.
Recognizing the problem is only half the challenge though and finding a solution can often become the biggest hurdle. Fortunately homeschooling and some online educational programs can provide the individualized instruction and materials to solve each of those problems and to get your son or daughter back on track.
Philip Singh, director of the Ed Anywhere school, has a clinical psychology background working with at–risk youth for 25 years and the program uses former certified teachers with experience working with elementary-high school students. Unlike many alternative education programs, www.EdAnywhere.com provides extended support services and programs to help the whole student, which allows them to find the path that works best for them.
Children also deal with anxiety, for more help on this issue please listen to our podcast, Dealing with Anxiety in Children.
Tutoring
Online resources offer tutoring in specific subject areas, tutoring for students with learning disabilities, and both short-term and year round tutoring services. The tutoring services use interactive sessions that include problem solving and customization based on student understanding. The curriculum itself serves as a tutor as well. Ed Anywhere lessons automatically adapt to each student’s progress and comprehension and immediate feedback is provided to the student for each answer.
Remedial Services
In addition to tutoring, remedial help in reading, grammar, English and math is available via educational software that helps students master basic skills in these areas through a simple four-step process:
- Students are tested to determine basic skills deficiencies
- Lessons are tailored to remediate the deficiencies
- Teachers instruct students in the required basic skills
- Students are tested again to ensure skill mastery.
The ED Anywhere Basic Skills Series is correlated to ABLE®, CASAS®, CAT®, TAAS®, TABE®, TALS®, and many other popular tests.
Career Counseling
The Vocational Track at ED Anywhere takes career and educational planning to a new level with a self-administered system that measures both aptitude and interest, which is instrumental in helping an individual begin their career or educational planning process.
The Interest Inventory measures and identifies a user’s attraction to careers that correspond to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Interest Areas, which are Artistic, Accommodating, Industrial, Plants/Animals, Lead/Influence, Selling, Mechanical, Scientific, Humanitarian, Business Detail, Protective, and Physical Performing.
The results from the Interest Inventory are compiled into a comprehensive Individual Profile Analysis, which identifies each person’s most significant interest area preferences.
Consultations
Using an online program can sometimes feel isolating and staying connected to the program is important. ED Anywhere has both mental health and substance abuse services to offer in regards to counseling with areas of focus such as depression, anger management, parent-child relationships, substance recovery, codependency, and abuse.
GED Test Preparation
The instructional-based preparation for the GED exam offers a comprehensive software tool for all five GED examinations. The curriculum utilizes graphics, interactive lessons, sound and video features, visual stimulations, and lessons prescribed to meet individual needs.
Accredited High School Diploma Program
Students can also enroll in a complete, accredited high school curriculum that allows students to get back on track and graduate with a diploma, not a GED.
Just as with homeschooling, customization is a key element to the solution to getting an “at-risk” student back on track. By individualizing curriculum, educational setting, and support a student (and parents) can turn a frustrating and discouraging situation into an environment that brings encouragement, enthusiasm for learning, and peace of mind. Quite a difference a new perspective can make!
