Expert
Posts: 1905
  
Location: South Dakota | Cara,
I, too, want to add encouragement. While your son will have to learn some academic skills, they need not be learned in the same way a public school teacher might present them.
Martha has given a wonderful example of her son learning valuable skills in other settings. I will add my two children to this list.
My son was and still is a very outdoors person. Being locked up in a building for much of the day was stifling to him (He attended public school through 7th grade). When he was 8 years old, he kicked me out of the family garden, telling me HE could do a better job. He was right. At 14 he built his first greenhouse, and at 15 he joined the newly formed Farmers Market Association in our community. He still is a member, and that garden is his full time occupation. He did go to college on scholarship. But I find it fascinating that he still has the business he started at age 15. He is now 29, married, and dad to my 3 granddaughters.
My daughter has always been an artist, since she was a very little girl. In high school she was able to do volunteer work at our state Art Museum. Again, she could not do that on a public school schedule as all the volunteer work was during weekdays.
She attended college, and recently completed a Master of Fine Arts degree. She is actually making a living as an artist.
And here is a little interesting tidbit from my daughter's high school education. I expected my children to read good literature, but I did not choose it for them. In fact, I said if they could convince me it was good literature they could read anything. My daughter also worked at a radio station when she was in high school. At some point, she brought me a music magazine about classic literature and the "themes" that recur in music lyrics. The article suggested reading things like "Romeo and Juliet" in understanding music literature. She would not have chosen that, but did read it because the article suggested it was important. So, she read some good literature, and was happy the choice was hers.
Your son needs to learn good written and spoken communication, and he needs some math background even if only to understand compounding interest on a loan. But he does not have to do this with traditional textbooks and sitting in a desk. As long as he learns the skills, they can be learned in a variety of settings. And he may actually learn them much better if it is coupled with the pursuit of something truly fascinating to him. |
Advice please?
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