When you realize you made a mistake
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Anonymous
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My sister for years has been saying she's homeschooling her children (my nieces). However whenever we get together with them it's patently obvious that not much actual schooling is being done.
To her credit, she has finally decided to enroll two of the three children in school this year. One is in K, so no issue there. The other is in 4th. We'll see if she's on grade level. But apparently the niece that should be going into 8th is still being homeschooled even though it was she who actually expressed the most interest in returning to school It turns out that she's not on grade level at all. And sister said they really didn't want to put her in a 5th grade classroom, and I have to say I don't blame them. Question is, what to do now? After she asked for my opinion, I've suggested the best course of action would be to focus on using tutors, etc. for at least the next six months to focus on bringing her up to speed and maybe get her to grade level for high school enrollment and meanwhile look for extracurricular activities with her peers -- a sports team, a community play, etc. Does this seem reasonable? I'm worried, however, that they won't be able to afford tutors and may slip back into old habits of lots of screen time and letting the day waste away. Should I offer to pay for some tutors? |
Anonymous
| They can get a curriculum online. Much cheaper than tutors. Or, see if the school is willing to put her in 7th with lots of additional support at home. Or if she can aim to start 8th grade next year, after a summer school program. |
Anonymous
OP here. They were supposedly using a curriculum before. I think the issue is more discipline than access to instructional materials. Candidly, sister is lazy. She means well, but maybe after a week or two of running "classroom" at 8 a.m. that slips to 9, then 10, and then before you know it they're not doing much at all except watch screens. At least a tutor would be an appointment they have to keep. |
Anonymous
| If you can afford it, I think offering to pay for tutors is a good idea. That's pretty rough for your niece. Kids can be like sponges at that age, though, so I bet with some concentrated effort she could catch up. Do you know the areas she was most behind in? I imagine math perhaps. That might be the most effort to catch up with, since it basically builds up on learning what came before. |
Anonymous
| This is really sad. Your niece needs to understand that lazy days and too much time on screens are not the path to getting back to school with her peers and real learning. She's old enough to partially take the reins and try to create some structure and discipline for herself. Are there any homeschool classes in the area where your niece lives? (Tell us the area and we can help you there.) They are often somewhat mixed-age, as can be the on-line live classes. Assuming you don't live near them, are you able to do some "correspondence"-course work with your niece on any subjects? For instance, if you're good with writing, can you jump in with helping on that front? Tutors are good but it gets expensive quickly. A local university would be a good source for cheaper tutoring. I'd think the main pushes would be for math and reading/writing, and the other subjects can be done by your sister. It's possible that with only one child at home, your sister will have more ability to focus and push. Homeschooling those three different ages is tough unless you're really organized. Tell us the city/area and we'll see if we can help with resources. |
Anonymous
7:30 here. I didn't mean to sound harsh or imply it's your niece's fault, more that if she wants to be in any kind of self-preservation mode, now's the time. She can't depend entirely on her mom. How long has your sister been homeschooling? It's surprising she hasn't realized before now that her oldest was falling so far behind. 
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Anonymous
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A one on one tutor should be able to get her up to speed pretty fast. If you can afford a once a week session that would help. (Twice a week to start would be better but she’d probably be fine either way.)
I agree that the most useful thing you can do now is to get her in structured activities. Sports is great. Her tutor will give her homework and she will have to plan around the sports practices to get everything done. Theatre, dance or whatever she’s interested in. Suggest at least 2 activities, that way she has something every other day. This will help build discipline and get her ready for school. Starting school for the first time as a 9th grader - so high school! will be really difficult for her. She’ll be getting used to the academics and dealing with the social dynamics for the first time. It’ll be exhausting. At least this will give her some practice. |
Anonymous
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grade level?
Public schools accept 21 year old illegals that don't speak English in 9th grade. DC graduates illiterates. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/i-couldnt-even-read-the-diploma-now-he-struggles-to-learn-what-schools-didnt-teach-him/2018/01/18/76fb7cc8-fc58-11e7-a46b-a3614530bd87_story.html?utm_term=.9ae87f3506ad |
Anonymous
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I would suggest a co-op that meets at least 2x/week and which has educated parents teaching the class (some co-ops have parents involved who are college professors, engineers and former teachers).
Plus private tutoring at least 1x/week. Plus enroll in some activities. PP above who posted about ESOL and illegal immigrant students was correct. Depending on the school, your niece might not be as far behind as you think she will be. |
Anonymous
This post can't be real. The public school goes by birthdate when the child enrolls and will put her in a grade with her peers. She will then take remedial classes if necessary and maybe they will offer after school tutoring. It's likely if she needs those she will catch up rather quickly as long as English is her first language and she doesn't have any learning disabilities. |
Anonymous
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There are plenty of non 'illegals' that can't read or write at 21. I see them struggling in remedial college classes every year. As far as I can tell, a person's immigration status alone doesn't impede them from learning the difference between a noun and a pronoun.
There are a great many resources online that may be helpful to bring your niece up to speed, but it would require some research and effort to put it all together. It can be time consuming to do that and she would have to be motivated if she lacks someone to oversee the process on a regular basis. The tutor idea is an excellent one, but as some have mentioned, it can be pricey. You may consider homeschool co-ops, too, if she is interested. That may be another option if any are available in her area. You may also be able to find a retired school teacher at a very reasonable price, or even free, who may be willing to work with her one on one to bring her up to speed. Developing a good rapport with an instructor can be very motivating and pivotal for a student. As she attains her goals, she will gain confidence in her ability to tackle more challenging subject matter. I wish you all the best. Your niece is lucky to have such a caring aunt. |
Anonymous
+1 I don't believe this post either. Sounds like typical anti-homeschooling stuff to me. The fact is that there are plenty of kids in public school who aren't on or even close to grade level. They're placed in classes according to age. |
Anonymous
| She can also do partial enrollment where she goes for 1/2 a day and then she can use the other part of the day to catch up. Khan Academy online is free and there are many others. It's really math that's the thing, not a huge deal. |
Anonymous
| Actually, I can believe this, because I've seen it happen to someone I knew. When they were enrolled in public, the school worked to address the situation without having to put them back so many years. The person graduated with a GED through the public school system. This needs to be rectified immediately, before OP's niece is too far behind to help. I would speak with the school, have the child tested (free through the public school system. If they try to make you pay, balk on that. They have to pay.) |
Anonymous
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Your sister needs to put her daughter in 8th grade ASAP.
If she has a birthday near the cutoff, then put her in 7th. She will catch up sooner in school then at home. |