Thanks to Covid – 19, I came to realize that what my son needed was one on one time for school. He has struggled in the classroom due to ADHD issues and the plain fact that school is boring to him. After countless conferences and therapy, this was the way to his educational success.
Alternative learning is not available for kids with his outlook so I had to take the chance and elect Virtual Eschool for his benefit. Sure, the pandemic played into my choice, but it wasn’t the end-all to my decision, getting him to pass middle school was.
Now comes the joy of getting this kid to sit still and focus, something he refuses to do when the material is not basketball, cars, or weight-training. Instead, he has to read about why famine in 8th century China was important.
This is what I get:
I don’t know. I don’t remember. This is stupid. Can you repeat that?
And the best one of all: How is this going to help me with my future goals?
You get the idea? I have to drill down and threaten him then the teaching begins. Don’t forget that my method is different than this “new” way of learning taking place in our school system, the one where a math problem can be solved with one step but the curriculum shows you ten ways around, up, down, and through to get to the final answer.
Here is what helps:
Deep breaths. Having your kid focus on the end goal and bargain with taking something they love to do. Take note that yelling doesn’t help at all. I’ve done plenty.
Once my son realizes that nothing good will happen until he completes his assignments for the day, he has no choice. Of course, this takes place after the griping and “I hate my life” comments.
At the end of the day, I am glad because there is no way he will get this type of attention in a classroom full of students. Teachers just don’t have the resources so while learning at home isn’t a walk in the park, it’s the only option for some kids with this type of issue.
Be patient and push through it.
I’ll be back with more on my homeschooling journey.
Take care of yourselves,
