Zorro
November 3rd 05, 05:23 PM
first para is (a somewhat irrelevant) history... if you know me, skip it
Once upon a time... well 1997 actually, my son (josh then 7, now 15) decided
that he couldnt/wouldnt live with his mum and her (then, new) boyfriend.
Soooo, lucky me, the boy comes to live with his dad. All goes well until
summer of 02 when it was decided that he would return to live with his mum
(and older brother and sister and younger sister). Fast forward to summer
03... 'Dad, I'm really unhappy, can I come and live with you again' ... the
answer being 'Of course'... so he did. Onward and upward to the summer of 04
(do we detect a pattern here yet?)... and back he goes to his mums... (you
know what comes next doncha?) Summer of 05... but wait, we have a new
variant... not only does the boy want to come and live with dad... so does
the girl (charley-bee - 13). and in August, that happened...with their
mothers blessing... and with all being convinced that it was 'For the best'
So.... I give up my job (again - was working night shift in a factory) and
we all settle down... kinda...
Last year (04 - 05) neither of my kids (whilst living with mum) went to full
time school... both were Home-Educated... and that has led to some
interesting problems now.
No. 1 Son ... Josh is fine, gone back to his old school, with his old
friends and pretty much settled in to the routine... However, because he
missed a whole year of school and is now in the final year (examination
year) I have some (ok... I have MAJOR) concerns about the knock-on effect
with regard to getting enough qualifications at a sufficiently high level to
gain a local college place (other kids who didnt miss last year can
realistically expect to leave school with 6,7 or even 8 'O-Levels' with
grades B or C... Josh will be doing well to get 3 at grade D or below)...My
thinking being that if I can get him into college on a basic 'Career Minded'
course (say.. IT or something similar - which he has a genuine interest in)
then the clock goes back to zero... and after qualification he can look for
a decent job/ career ... and the 'hole' in his education will cease to be
important. So, a problem, but a manageable one (I think)...
No. 1Daughter ... Charley-Bee... now theres a story... Intelligent kid (I
would say that)... Sweet kid (I would say that too)... Kind hearted and
polite kid ( I would yada yada yada)... but seems not to be able to settle
at school... and that may well be the reason for last-years 'Home-Schooling'
(but I'm betting parental lazinesss played a part too)...
Upshot is... 'Dad, can I stay at home for schooling?'
Hmmmmm... never tried this before... but I'm not averse to the idea.
Anybody have any experience of this?
anyone here tried it?
know anyone who tried it?
know anyone who knows someone who tried it?
I'm thinking that a solution that gets this child some employer related
qualifications is a solution worth pursuing... (as in ... yeah, I could say
NO and insist on her going to school, and spend 3 years dealing with the
fall-out from that... knowing that she's unhappy/unsettled... and almost
certain to leave school having (at best) underachieved)
So... I'm looking for All and ANY resources that people can point me
toward... WWW / Usenet / Whatever.... Country is unimportant... more that I
need to find out if this 'Really' can 'Work' (but if anyone has UK specific
links.... please ... Post 'em
Nick
.... You mean you got all the way down here?... you read all that?
Wow! now that is
impressive...
Once upon a time... well 1997 actually, my son (josh then 7, now 15) decided
that he couldnt/wouldnt live with his mum and her (then, new) boyfriend.
Soooo, lucky me, the boy comes to live with his dad. All goes well until
summer of 02 when it was decided that he would return to live with his mum
(and older brother and sister and younger sister). Fast forward to summer
03... 'Dad, I'm really unhappy, can I come and live with you again' ... the
answer being 'Of course'... so he did. Onward and upward to the summer of 04
(do we detect a pattern here yet?)... and back he goes to his mums... (you
know what comes next doncha?) Summer of 05... but wait, we have a new
variant... not only does the boy want to come and live with dad... so does
the girl (charley-bee - 13). and in August, that happened...with their
mothers blessing... and with all being convinced that it was 'For the best'
So.... I give up my job (again - was working night shift in a factory) and
we all settle down... kinda...
Last year (04 - 05) neither of my kids (whilst living with mum) went to full
time school... both were Home-Educated... and that has led to some
interesting problems now.
No. 1 Son ... Josh is fine, gone back to his old school, with his old
friends and pretty much settled in to the routine... However, because he
missed a whole year of school and is now in the final year (examination
year) I have some (ok... I have MAJOR) concerns about the knock-on effect
with regard to getting enough qualifications at a sufficiently high level to
gain a local college place (other kids who didnt miss last year can
realistically expect to leave school with 6,7 or even 8 'O-Levels' with
grades B or C... Josh will be doing well to get 3 at grade D or below)...My
thinking being that if I can get him into college on a basic 'Career Minded'
course (say.. IT or something similar - which he has a genuine interest in)
then the clock goes back to zero... and after qualification he can look for
a decent job/ career ... and the 'hole' in his education will cease to be
important. So, a problem, but a manageable one (I think)...
No. 1Daughter ... Charley-Bee... now theres a story... Intelligent kid (I
would say that)... Sweet kid (I would say that too)... Kind hearted and
polite kid ( I would yada yada yada)... but seems not to be able to settle
at school... and that may well be the reason for last-years 'Home-Schooling'
(but I'm betting parental lazinesss played a part too)...
Upshot is... 'Dad, can I stay at home for schooling?'
Hmmmmm... never tried this before... but I'm not averse to the idea.
Anybody have any experience of this?
anyone here tried it?
know anyone who tried it?
know anyone who knows someone who tried it?
I'm thinking that a solution that gets this child some employer related
qualifications is a solution worth pursuing... (as in ... yeah, I could say
NO and insist on her going to school, and spend 3 years dealing with the
fall-out from that... knowing that she's unhappy/unsettled... and almost
certain to leave school having (at best) underachieved)
So... I'm looking for All and ANY resources that people can point me
toward... WWW / Usenet / Whatever.... Country is unimportant... more that I
need to find out if this 'Really' can 'Work' (but if anyone has UK specific
links.... please ... Post 'em
Nick
.... You mean you got all the way down here?... you read all that?
Wow! now that is
impressive...