Let Them Go... Watch them Blossom

They enter the classroom like cattle being herded into a corral. They take out thier books, pencils and paper in unison. I'm talking about sending our children to public school... don't get me wrong, public school is fine for some children but can also be harmful to others.

Take for instance my youngest son, he was just not wired for public school. He is way to active to sit in a chair for any length of time, he does not retain information from a book and he fidgets during lectures. No, he is much better off in a more relaxed and open environment.

When he was in grade school the confinement and regimented schedule had him having melt downs on a daily basis. I would receive phone calls from the school telling me to come and get him because he had either crawled underneath his desk, ran off the school grounds, or simply began to cry and the staff could not get him to stop. Mind you, this began in kindergarten. By the time he was in third grade the school psychologist wanted to evaluate him. She thought he might have ADD or ADHD. I told her that I didn't believe that that was the problem, that I believed he was not getting the help he needed from the teacher and that the schedule was too regimented. She didn't believe that was the problem and told me that I should take him to be tested for Add or ADHD. Needless to say I did take him to the doctor and was explaining what was going on at school and without testing him, he wanted to perscribe Ritilyn to keep him "calm and managable at school". Then he would schedule an appointment with a psychologist with the hospital. I was flabbergasted and refused his suggestion. To prescribe a mood altering medicine without testing him first was ludicrous! I took my son's hand and left the doctors office in a hurry.

Each year came and went and with them the straight "F's" followed. The schools didn't hold him back each year, oh no, he was promoted each year falling more and more behind in his education. So by the time seventh grade came around, he had fallen through the cracks so much that I pulled him out and began to homeschool him. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I was bound and determined to make sure he was not going to keep falling through the cracks each year. For the rest of his seventh grade year I had him do "nothing", pretty much just "deschooled" him. I'm not saying he didn't do anything at all, I'm saying I let him do whatever he wanted and that's when he really started to dive into learning more about the mechanics of automobiles.

He is now a Junior in high school and can tell you pretty much anything you want to know and can repair just about any car on the road.
In conclusion, just by letting him go and exploring his interests, he has blossomed into a very bright and calmer young man. And I am so thankful that I listened to my gut feelings when I did.