Life Throws us a Curve Ball

My son flunked out of high school in spectacular fashion because he simply did not want to be there. ANYWAY – the last thing he or I wanted to do was try homeschooling high school. I have a math disability and haven’t touched chemistry in 30 years. He is 16 and doesn’t want his mother in his face all day. So we looked for an online private school. We chose Laurel Springs School in California. It is entirely on-line and is an accredited private school which will issue him a California high school diploma. If I homeschooled him in NYS he would only receive a GED.  The young man who flunked out of high school now has an 89 average and the work they are giving him is HARDER than what he had in public school. I work in a family business and he has a desk in my office, some days we work at home. He can work whatever hours he likes, although we generally stick to traditional school hours. He has a lab pack of supplies for biology labs. He uses a microphone and headset for Spanish. He is getting an excellent education. We are very pleased with Laurel Springs. It is not, however, inexpensive. I will be posting further about our new economizing practices in our precarious economy. I don’t want to let his need for alternative schooling to lower our standard of living and therefore we are making changes. I have lots to say so expect regular post from here on in. My son’s good reason for dropping out of public school is that he has schizophrenia. I considered keeping my son’s issues to myself and preserving his privacy – but there are too many parents out there fighting this war and to much misunderstanding of this brain disorder. I feel that dispersing information for the greater good outweighed our need for privacy. Talk to you soon

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