Need a schooling opinion plz!

[MariaDeLaLuz]

So I had vented the other day about my stepson running away from school and being found by the Hwy. Since then he has not been allowed to return to school by family choices. We do not feel that he will be safe there even though it was his choice to run away but the school's lack of doing anything about it could have resulted in him being lost to us forever, since it was only a fluke that we were notified about his disappearance.

All 5 of us, his parents, have discussed differnt possibilities of what should be done with his educational needs for now and we are still a little confused on what to agree upon. Before I say the options I just wanted to say that he is In first grade (sorry that I put kindergarten theother day, wasn't thinking) and he is failing it completely.

1. home school in our local home school and mock school environment
   
2. Mt. View (a nother elemntary school by my mom's new house)
3. Wa He Lut (a Tribal school, 45 min commute)

• We are unsure whether to enroll him into the tribal school asap for the rest of the school year and conitue so every year.
• Do home school and for the rest of this school year in hopes to catch him up in what he should know by now then enroll him into Mt. View next school year.
• Or homeschool to ctach him up and enroll him into Wa He Lut this next school year.

My mom is iffy about Wa He Lut because they tend to focus on the whole "white man vs Indian" issues of the past including land taking and such and she feels that this incourages the next generation to carry on a dislike for it. But my hubby is Tribal and feels that whether or not his son goes there he would eventually learn what happened in the past. To me it would be his choice of how he grows up to view it. Mt. View is literally 5 houses down and across the street from where my mom and stepson lives. And the idea of doing home school for the rest of this year would give him more than plenty enough one on one to catch him up to speed. So yeah in the end we have 5 parents not sure of what to do.

Please lend me your opinions in what you think. And sorry this is a bit long.

[Emerald_storm01]

Do home school and for the rest of this school year in hopes to catch him up in what he should know by now then enroll him into Mt. View next school year.

That's my vote

[BAMBAMmommy]

Uhmm. From what I understand Tribal schools are suffering a lot, a lot more than public non tribal schools. But that's just from my Intro to Education class (we recently learned about the educational diversity).

I need to go back and read the other post you made. Did he say WHY he ran away? Why is he failing 1st grade? Does he have a learning disability or have you had him tested for learning disabilities?

[Naegore]

 i personally am going to be trying homeschooling myself so that is my vote. he'll be in a familiar environment and will have the one-on-one he needs.

[LilGina]

please excuse me for saying this but at 6-7 years old whatever problem he is having is not the schools problem sounds like he is having some issues and instead of putting so much effort in to which school hes going to go to maybe you all should be seeking a counselor for him to find out why hes running away

[penguinbabe44]

It's really a tough decision because even if he goes to Mt. View near your mom he could steal sneak out or skip unless she is gaurded around the school the whole time. If you put him there you should have all the hall monitors know that he's not to leave the building and that if he is outside during lunch time to have a monitor standing there.

I think a school where they are strictly watched would be better if you don't want him wandering off like that again. That's scary because anything could have happened.

The safest would be homeschooling but it's hard work and can make him antisociable if he's not around other kids. It's also good to be around different cultures too...

[BAMBAMmommy]

I think that would be a little over zealous. The kid ran away once, it's not like he's a delinquent 24/7. Homeschool may be the best option because not only can you keep an eye on him, but you can deal with working out whatever issues he may have at home and on your time, rather than trying to have to work around a school schedule.

Quoting penguinbabe44:

It's really a tough decision because even if he goes to Mt. View near your mom he could steal sneak out or skip unless she is gaurded around the school the whole time. If you put him there you should have all the hall monitors know that he's not to leave the building and that if he is outside during lunch time to have a monitor standing there.

I think a school where they are strictly watched would be better if you don't want him wandering off like that again. That's scary because anything could have happened.

The safest would be homeschooling but it's hard work and can make him antisociable if he's not around other kids. It's also good to be around different cultures too...

[MariaDeLaLuz]

We have asked the school to test him out since he was having some learning issues at the beginning of the school year. They still have not and keep saying they will adventualy to so. He says he ran away because he did not want to be at school anymore. We had to learn from him and later confirmed with the teacher that they have for a while now kept him seperated from the class on the other side of the room or he spends time in the in school suspension room. This is because the teacher feels he can be a distractions and claims she moves him away from the class so she can teach the class and let him do whatever without being a distraction to her or the class. I know he has a hard time understanding certain things at school but I do know part of it is him not turning things in and that leads to lower his grades even more. The teacher also has him separated so much that he is not even involved in the learning and work so he does not get grades that way either.

Quoting BAMBAMmommy:

Uhmm. From what I understand Tribal schools are suffering a lot, a lot more than public non tribal schools. But that's just from my Intro to Education class (we recently learned about the educational diversity).

I need to go back and read the other post you made. Did he say WHY he ran away? Why is he failing 1st grade? Does he have a learning disability or have you had him tested for learning disabilities?

[MariaDeLaLuz]

It is the school problem when they do not confront his family about him having any sort of issue at school. They have no right to deny him to participate and keep him separated from the others in his class for practically all the school year as well as in school suspension without telling us. They have never said he was a problem or anything until this happened and then they told us what they have been doing to him for this school year.

Quoting LilGina:

please excuse me for saying this but at 6-7 years old whatever problem he is having is not the schools problem sounds like he is having some issues and instead of putting so much effort in to which school hes going to go to maybe you all should be seeking a counselor for him to find out why hes running away

[BAMBAMmommy]

Wow I would have a serious problem with the school too! Not only for the fact that they aren't even communicating with you, but that they are full on separating him from the class so he can "do whatever" while the other kids learn. And he's getting terrible grades because what? his school just gave up on him? BULLSHIT! I'd be in a rip roaring rage in the principals office telling him where he can stick his school. There is NO excuse for that. It has nothing to do with budgets or money or lack of staff, it has to do with a lack of giving a shit on their part.

I would try to see about getting him into an educational therapist so they can figure out what sort of learning disabilities he has. Even it's is not a disease like ADD or something, if it's just that he has a different learning style (ex. he learns better by visual stimulation than by vocal stimulation) or something like that. But whatever it is they can assess it and help you help him learn to the best of his abilities. Especially if you plan on homeschooling you will want to consider this so that you can make sure you are conveying everything to him the way he needs to to be conveyed so that he can learn it and process it.

Also, if you're thinking about putting him into a school after the school year and catching him up I would seriously caution you to interview each school and ask specifics about their attention to kids with learning disabilities. If they seem to put it off like his old school was, move on. If they seem to have a clue and are really supportive of kids with learning disabilities then you should consider that.

Sorry I'm so gung-ho. I'm an Elementary Education major so things like this make my blood boil. I hate seeing an education system just give up on a child. And technically they are in violation of the law and I would bring that to their attention. Not that you have to go anywhere with it, just let them know that you know and that you plan on telling everyoone you can. Hell I'd call every news crew in town and tell them this ridiculous story. Ugh I am so sorry you had to see that from a school, that is terrible.

Quoting MariaDeLaLuz:

We have asked the school to test him out since he was having some learning issues at the beginning of the school year. They still have not and keep saying they will adventualy to so. He says he ran away because he did not want to be at school anymore. We had to learn from him and later confirmed with the teacher that they have for a while now kept him seperated from the class on the other side of the room or he spends time in the in school suspension room. This is because the teacher feels he can be a distractions and claims she moves him away from the class so she can teach the class and let him do whatever without being a distraction to her or the class. I know he has a hard time understanding certain things at school but I do know part of it is him not turning things in and that leads to lower his grades even more. The teacher also has him separated so much that he is not even involved in the learning and work so he does not get grades that way either.

Quoting BAMBAMmommy:

Uhmm. From what I understand Tribal schools are suffering a lot, a lot more than public non tribal schools. But that's just from my Intro to Education class (we recently learned about the educational diversity).

I need to go back and read the other post you made. Did he say WHY he ran away? Why is he failing 1st grade? Does he have a learning disability or have you had him tested for learning disabilities?

[Shy_Dia]

 i'd do the mock home school/school setting thing, but also get him a tutor for whatever he needs help in (he's failing- he needs help!)

then i'd ask HIM what he wanted to do next year- which school would he want to go to, or if he wants to stay at this mock homeschooling thing.

for the homeschooling- at least you can find out what he DOES know and get him up to speed on what he needs to know in order to go to the following grade. if you place him in a new school- he'll have to be up to date on what they already know, plus what if they are teaching different things already? i know in kindergarten, some of the teachers are teaching addition, while others are still working on identifying numbers. you dont want to place him in a school thats above what he learning now b/c it'll make him fall further behind.