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Homeschooling and what should I do if it's not being done?

ForeverAnAirhead's picture

I have a 16 year old stepson who has been sent to live with us until April because his mother is out of state for personal reasons and his stepfather's brother doesn't want him staying at his house anymore. That's not my biggest problem. He was kicked out of high school last fall because of behavioral issues. He is supposed to be doing homeschooling, which I was ready and willing to take over. Come to find out, she has not done a single thing with his homeschooling since she decided she was going to teach him. Now, I can't really blame him, because what 16 year old really wants to go to school? (I realize there are many out there, but he isn't one of them). I lay the blame completely on her. She wanted to homeschool him, and hasn't done a single thing. There is no curriculum, the books he has for homeschooling do not include a single text book or website, they're all teacher's answer books. After doing lots of research into the books I was given...she's got 7th grade level texts and he's a sophmore. This kid is a genius, so there's no reason for holding him back, so to speak.

What can be done? His father is just as upset about this as I am, but he's kowtowed to her for so long that he doesn't know how to stand up and say something is wrong. She's also told my stepson to his face that he is too stupid to ever go to college. WTF?!? I have absolutely no problem doing whatever needs to be done to teach him while he's with us, but I'm just afraid when he goes back to her it'll all just get pushed to the side again. I'm just so angry I could scream!

onthefence2's picture

I would suggest taking a look at http://allinonehighschool.com/ . It is completely free. You can do as much or as little as you want. And he can do it once he goes back home if he has a computer, even if mom has no clue. You don't say much about how willing he is, but have a conversation and find out what he would like to do when he graduates. He will probably like that someone cares enough to ask, especially since his own mother is neglecting him! I homeschool my kids who are in 6th/7th right now. At his age, his learning is MOSTLY independent, especially if he is a genius. He just needs guidance and checks to make sure he is doing the work appropriately. I also suggest reading whatever book he reads for literature. It is a great bonding experience and you can tie in real world things to what he/you are reading. Good luck!

jumanji's picture

Tell Dad to get off his ass and teach his kid. He's known for months that his kid was supposed to be doing something - what interest has he taken? But no - it's all Mom's fault 'cause Dad's a lazy wuss. Gah.

ForeverAnAirhead's picture

Thank you for the advice, everyone. This homeschooling issue is just the icing on the cake when it comes to the dumb things BM has done to ruin the future of her children. Jumanji, I didn't mention that the kid normally lives almost 8 hours away from us, and as far as we have been led to believe, his homeschooling has been going fine, so no, I don't blame dad. I know SS is interested in learning, because he wants to come to school with me once a week (Finally going to school for my marine science degree, yay me!). DH and I are going to be discussing options over the next couple of days.

Calypso1977's picture

homeschooling when done properly is not dumb nor does it ruin a child's future.

QueenBeau's picture

I think the issue is she was saying she was homeschooling & not. Therefore that is dumb. I don't think OP was saying homeschooling is dumb.