By what motivates him, I mean what does he enjoy spending his time doing? What does he do for fun? What is he interested in?
Although this is off topic, I take exception to this line of thinking. My husband was the captain of his high school football team and had a football scholarship, but the teachers were actually harder on him because of it. He had this habit of doing the math so fast in his head he found it ridiculous of have to write out the equations, so his math teacher gave him F's on tests saying he cheated a few times. I know that he still does math in his head very fast but hates writing it down--pretty much like our daughter does now, I might add. His father to this day thinks he had it easy in school, but knowing how much of an achiever he has always been, he was a leader in boy scouts throughout his childhood, bought his first car with cash he earned mowing lawns, and that he is in a highly technical field now, I find it incredulous that his father still thinks this solely on that the-football-jock-has-it-easy-in-school stereotyping. My husband did not use the scholarship but instead worked three jobs with a full college schedule for four years and was debt free after he graduated with high grades...and his father still thinks this? Back on the subject, I think if the boy is most motivated by his own mother to get the work done then she should be the one homeschooling him, but I am assuming that is not feasible for some reason. So, I would say that the mother and you need to have some kind of agreement so that the boy knows what is expected of him by you, is also expected of him by his mother. I knew this one lady who had her first grader in a private school. Every day the child were good in class the teacher would give a few skittles, so each day the mother asked the child if she got any skittles that day. If the answer was no, then she had to explain why. Her problem was talking in class mostly, so after school the mother would have her stand in a corner for ten minutes and add ten minutes for each sequential day. The girl never went past 30 minutes (3 days) and eventually did not stand in the corner at all. Although the punishment this was not an agreement between the teacher and parent, the teacher had been informing the parent and the parent promised to back up the teacher. That really is the only way this problem is going to go away--and I am sure nearly every classroom teacher has faced these issues.
Being on his KNEES? Do you mean he kneels down and writes on the chair or floor? Interesting! I had a student once who did that! (Fortunately, I taught special ed with very few kids, so I could do that.) I also had one who would move all around his desk...literally!... when doing his work. But his work got done, so I put his desk by himself so he'd have the room to get all around it, and didn't say a word!
It seems like he has a negative attitude toward school. He may not have a lot of self-confidence when it comes to schoolwork, although he is smart. Also, since he doesn't like Reading/English, it's also possible that reading may be difficult for him for some reason. He may need some self-confidence, along with some self-direction. If you can get him to take responsibility for his schoolwork, that will make your life a lot easier. Why not give him the list of tasks that need to be done each week or day and have him draw out the schedule. He'll probably be more likely to do what he's committed to do that way. Also, 45 minutes is a long time to do something you really don't like. I might give him smaller time frames.. maybe 20 minutes instead. Or, possibly even, instead of using a timer, give him small assignments, like 1 worksheet, after which he can take a break and do something fun, like a short online game. Time4Learning offers a great curriculum for reluctant readers. I might also consider switching to that curriculum for English and Math. For $20/month, they offer English, Math, Social Studies and Science. It would also make your life a lot easier as the program does the majority of the teaching for you. He might really enjoy that independence. For the particular child your dealing with, I wouldn't use their Social Studies or Science programs, but I would definitely take advantage of their English and Math programs. Hope that helps! Amanda
Well, first of all, you don't know our local high school. I promise you, athletes get favoritism. They did when I was in school, and they still do. No, it doesn't mean that all jocks fit the dumb-jocks mold, but it does mean that if there's any "borderline" decision making to be made about grades at specifically this school, it will be made in favor of the jock. It's the "carrot" used to encourage all the kids who can to play sports -- it's a pretty small school, and the only way they keep their Class A rating is by fielding a football team. His mother and I DO have an agreement. She promised me faithfully the first day of school that if I send the homework, he WILL do it, if he has a test, he WILL study for it, etc. I've been sending notes home every day. What she chooses to do about it at home is up to her. At first, she returned every homework slip signed every day. Now he seldom brings one back. I asked her if she was still getting them, and she asked the boy where his last one was -- on stepdad's desk at home, he said. Stepdad works away and is not home every day. I've asked her to come inside when she comes to pick him up, so we can confer. Sometimes she sends an auntie or grandpa to come get him, and sometimes he walks the two blocks to the public school to meet stepdad's sister who is a teacher there, so mom's not coming every day. Sometimes I've called her, but she doesn't always answer her cell. I have a reward system in place in class, have used a timer, don't know what else I can do.
Thanks, Amanda, but I can't do internet classes because I don't have internet at school. I don't even have a landline phone at school. Can't afford it. His schedule is on the board -- everybody's is, even the first grader who can't read it yet. Bible, Literature, Grammar, Spelling, Math, Science, History/Geography. It's all written out on the board, and everyone is free to choose what they want to do when. That's why he keeps choosing the ones he doesn't mind doing first, and putting off the ones he doesn't prefer until last, when maybe he won't have to do it at all. He's not the first one to do this, which is why I do the directing some days.
Do you think there's anything that could be done to make the curriculum more desirable for him? Learning should be fun. What's his learning style?
This was my first thought. After all, he aced all the questions in five minutes flat when his mom was there. Presumably you are going through the same material with all the children in your care. If not, it would seem that this young lad needs a different approach. I'm trying to think what we would have done. Instead of asking him to label states or regions, maybe give him a detailed map of a state and ask him, in ten minutes, to find as many towns as he can that are named after a person (e.g., Harrisburg is presumably named after Harris), or as many roads as he can find containing the name 'Ferry', or finding as many towns as possible that have a river flowing through them, and so on. If he beats the record of 20, say, he gets an award of some sort to show his mom that he's the champion. You could even put his name up on the wall as the reigning champion. It would take more preparation, but maybe a challenge or competition of some sort, that's different from just going through a book, would spur him along.
I mean he didn't do his homework, so I made him kneel next to his desk as a punishment while he did the neglected work which was on the seat of the chair. Now some of my littler girls and a few of my littler boys have been comfortable kneeling IN their desks, sitting sideways, or sitting on their feet, or in any number of other "contortions" because they liked to, and if they like doing it that way and it gets their work done, I just let them. I even had one who preferred to stand next to his desk, leaning over on his elbows on the desktop to work. But doing your work on your knees when everybody knows it's because you're being punished is a pretty good incentive to hurry up and get it done. Kneeling can hurt! but not THAT much, just enough to get you to keep your mind on it and get it done so you can get up! There's carpet on the floor, so it's not like kneeling on rice, which was a pretty common punishment in this part of the country "back in the day".
Actually, Steve, I have five different kids of different ages and different abilities, each doing different curriculum in each subject. The eighth grader is doing 6th grade R&S Bible, finishing up 7th grade CLE reading before moving on into the 8th, CLE 7 language arts, second half of CLE 6 math, ACE 8th grade science, and a public school state history. The "sixth grader" is doing R&S 2 reading but is doing it for Bible, with the R&S 2nd grade phonics, English, and spelling, CLE 2 reading, R&S 3 science, and Christian Liberty 1 social studies. The second grader is doing CLE first grade LA, second grade math and Bible, Pathways 2 reading, R&S 2 social studies and ChrLib 2 science. Her first grade brother is doing all CLE first grade for Learning to Read and math, with first grade LA, Bible, science and social studies yet to come. This fifth grader is doing CLE 4 reading, Bible, math, Abeka 5 science, and CLE 5 history/geography. It's just in the last little while today occurred to me that possibly he's trying to fail on purpose, with the thought that if he's not doing well here, his mom might give up and just put him back in public school with his friends, even if he has to repeat fourth grade there. I'll have to think about that some. I feel obligated to get him through some form of American history, because that's what the public schools teach in fifth grade. I put him in this one because it's got the whole of North America, with the geography as well as the history thereof, included in the one course. There are other study guides available for this course -- with quizzes that break up the work into smaller bunches to be learned at one time. I may try that way and see if it works better. I can't afford to buy more materials right now, nor can I spend tremendous amounts of energy just on him because there are four others just as deserving of attention and less capable of working independently. I can't just let him read historically themed books because he'll never finish (he'll sit and look at the pages, but be "off in lala land").
Every single day since Aug 21 (Day One). Sometimes it's finished, sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's finished but totally wrong, which is why we go over it together, every single question, and correct his answers together. THEN, sometimes he doesn't even write it down after being told specifically, "Write this down."
Something that might help is a notebook. You can write in it DAILY what he accomplished, what he needs to do, etc. And Mom writes back to you daily. Start with talking with her, so she knows to expect it EVERY DAY. If she doesn't get it, she needs to be asking where it is. That way, it doesn't matter if G'ma or auntie picks him up. It is something we used for the special needs children, especially those that were non-verbal. But it might work here, too.
Since he seemed to get it right when he was on his knees, then I would make him do it all on his knees! lol. When he eventually complained about it, then I would tell him he could only sit if he maintained the work. If he did not - then back on his knees he would go.
Hmmm- I generally reserve kneeling for punishment, but with kneeling AND a notebook, we might have something here..... This bears further thought!!! Come to think of it, I'm not so sure about the traveling notebook either -- he's misplaced his glasses, after wearing them about three times....
Lindina, after reading other people questions/suggestions and your responses in this thread, I honestly don't know what to say other than this approach is just not working for either of you. Even though you have a small number of students all learning different things, you still have a traditional classroom set up, largely because you are not his parent and cannot enforce discipline as you could with your own child. This boy may flourish with a different approach far from the traditional, less like a classroom and with textbooks. What he has now a change of venue and more one-on-one than before, but other than that the education style and expectations have not really changed for him; the approach is not tailored to his learning style and interests. You may be homeschooling in the legal sense in your state, but not in the spirit of homeschooling as I see it. He needs some joy in learning and from what you have described so far he has not gotten that in public school and he is not getting that with the approach being used now. Even if his mother's main purpose is just to put him back in public school, what he really needs to learn first and foremost that he has not yet learned (or it was lost somewhere along the way) is the love to learn. Otherwise, he will just continue to do what he has been doing; he has no real incentive to change. You have such an opportunity to change this boy's outlook about education perhaps by making some radical changes in the approach to get his attention and peak his interest, however you have to answer to his mother's wishes and you have other students to which you are obligated...so if changing to a tailored style of education for this boy is not feasible, it may come down to you just do the best you can with how it is and you realize that you cannot reach every student you have.
Oh, I learned long ago that I will not reach every student! I have had some spectacular failures. No, we're not really "homeschooling", but more like private schooling, registered with the state as private school, all that. I guess we'll just keep plugging along. While textbooks don't seem to be "his method", it is what is expected, and what he will return to. I hope to teach him to be an independent learner, rather than an A student of history - one who knows that if he applies himself he can do it, and share some Gospel and love of Christ with him along the way, planting seeds as it were. I shouldn't expect more of the kids who come than what public school instills (the ones here, anyway): school is to be endured, by doing as little actual work as possible, getting by with the minimum. I've had kids come who can't write properly in either manuscript or cursive, who don't even know how to write in a notebook, which side of a sheet of looseleaf paper to write on first!!! Never mind spelling, composition, dictionary skills, comprehend on grade level (although most of them can actually read aloud at grade level). Up through fourth grade, he has not been taught yet to find the subject of a sentence, or the verb, but he can write an answer in a complete statement (although it's likely to be the wrong answer). <sigh> I'll keep you guys posted on whatever progress we make from time to time.... thanks, everybody!
Well, today we got him through almost every subject. Gave him a pop quiz in English -- sentence, complete subject, complete predicate, simple subject, simple predicate... which we've been working on since day one of school. He made a 20. Got one out of five right -- which one expresses a complete thought (a sentence). I don't understand how he gets the oral and written classwork correct day after day, then blows it completely on a simple little quiz like this! I started him on a different studyguide for history -- we'll see tomorrow how well he did with it.
My honest opinion....I think his curriculum is soooo "school at home" but the most boring parts, that it is a huge snooze fest. And I am not overstating that at all. You listed the most tedious curriculums and a full round of it. 45 minutes each subject on a timer too. I would switch it up big time. Since you like Creationist science anyway, I would go with Considering God's Creation (plan to spend 3 yrs, doing 12 units a year) or Apologia. We actually did CGC and even though it does not seem like much, the way it is done sticks in their heads so much that my daughter has scored over the 90th percentile in science since about 2 yrs in to homeschooling and ever since. I also let my children watch all the educational TV they want. When they were younger, this included Magic School Bus and older, they picked all sorts of things. We go to science museums and I share interesting things with them that people post about here or are usually in the news. Actually, more from here as people here post about all the interesting stuff. I have a variety of books of experiments and about various topics in science and they are free to read any and all of it. If we have the supplies for an experiment or I can easily get them and they ask, we will do it too. For social studies, I would just study whatever interested them. We listened to Story of the World in the car and that sparked their interest in a lot of things. I also have kept various interesting history books and historical fiction. For word building, I would get a computer program for that age to mix things up so you are not doing a workbook. I use Critical Thinking Press's Word Roots computer program. Best part is, I only had to buy one disk and I can keep using it for all my children. I did Spelling Workout and it was just one page a day..one side, and final test on Fridays. Spelling took very little time and SWO is not tedious and has interesting little stories and can be fun to do. I think Rod and Staff English is an excellent program, but it can have tons of writing in it and most people have mentioned it takes a long time to get through. You may want to consider changing that program too. I hope I have helped. I would seriously look to change up the curriculum and make your day more like learning-at-home rather than school-at-home. I did the "boxed curriculum" our first year and had to change things up or we would have cracked. I hear that from a lot of people too. Good luck with whatever you decide!
