Recently, Partners With Parents has seen a increase in the demand for private tutoring for use as part of a homeschooling program. In the past, homeschooling has had a reputation as a “solution” for parents who differed religiously or disagreed philosophically with how their kids were being taught in school. Now, particularly in places like New York City, there is a new group of parents who want, need, and are finding the vast benefits of homeschooling programs for kids with learning disabilities.

There is a lot to be said for the advantages of socialization in school and for the theory that having all different kinds of kids and abilities in a classroom is a good thing for all involved. I agree. My point in suggesting a short term homeschooling program is to save kids from acute stress — and that is what many with undiagnosed or newly diagnosed learning disabilities are experiencing.  This is especially true if they are in schools that aren’t appropriate for their needs or if their leaning difficulties are also accompanied by emotional, psychological, or physical issues. The fact is that a stressed child is using all of his or her capabilities to cope, not to learn. Changing the environment and social stresses can make all the difference if it is done well and gracefully.

If you think such a change might be beneficial to your child, consider:

1) Does your child complain about school, fear it, pretend to be ill, or otherwise avoid going to school?

2) Can you clearly see your child likes and wants to learn but is just in the wrong environment?

3) Can your child’s school make the accommodations necessary to help your child learn and function socially, in the near term?  Do they have the capacity to include you in a plan to implement changes for your child based on his/her emerging needs?

4) Do you question whether the school you chose was the right one for your current situation?  Is it too late to put your child somewhere else this year or do you worry that he/she can’t get into the school that is a better fit?

5) Can you envision your child connecting with one or two teachers/tutors in your home and getting to study more of what he/she likes and in ways that fit his/her learning needs? Would that be a good thing at this stage?

Depending on your answers to these questions, it might be time to consider a short stint of homeschooling, giving everyone a breather. Kids may need that emotional break, a respite from feeling like they are failing (often socially as well as academically). They need to find their natural love of learning, and discover the strategies that work for them.  Parents and guardians need a moment to get their bearings and figure out what is best for the whole family.  Logistically, it takes time to find and apply to the right schools even if you know that school is the place you ultimately want your child.  While, short term homeschooling may not be the solution, it may just be the right fit at the right time.

Many of the homeschool families that work with Partners With Parents value the traditional school environment and have the eventual goal of returning to it.  We find the most successful transitions happen when the school that the student has left and/or will be attending can be involved in the process.   In some cases, when a student has no choice but to be out of school, he or she remains matriculated while our tutors teach the school’s curriculum.  That way, the student can return to school once they have recovered or become otherwise able to attend.  It also avoids having to go through the bureaucracy and paperwork that the state requires for homeschooled students.  When that is not an option, there is a certain degree of manageable red tape in New York (as well as New Jersey and Connecticut) that you will have to endure.  The most time-consuming tasks will likely be developing a curriculum and creating an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) which must be submitted to the Department of Education.  There are many pre-designed age appropriate curricula that follow state guidelines available (some good, some bad) if the prospect of creating your own is daunting.

We, as parents, want a measure of control over our children’s education and seek solutions that work better for our kids.  Educating your child at home even for a short time can have multiple benefits.  One of the beauties of living in and around New York City is that we have many options.  NYC has literally thousands of resources and prospects for unconventional learning experiences.  You have the opportunity to tailor the learning environment to your child’s particular learning style, addressing individual needs.  One-one-one instruction, whether with an outside tutor or within the family, allows for engaging and meaningful learning.  This usually results in improved academic self-confidence and performance.  Often short-term homeschooled students reenter school better prepared to deal with its rigors after a short time away working independently.

Please visit our new expanded homeschooling page for more on requirements, curricula, and other useful information on the process of homeschooling in New York.  If you are from another state, contact us to find out more.

My first response was to think that we need to reduce kids’ seemingly incessant “screen time,” as opposed to their “book time,” which my colleagues explored in last week’s post, Nearsightedness and Competitive NYC Schools.  Over the last week, however, I’ve been stuck on this popular notion that we are overloading our kids with homework.  In this idea, we are dangerously close to coming out against a certain developmental rigor that is crucial for our children’s development.  We have all become familiar with the refrain that we should “let them have their childhood,” but if we’re talking about replacing books and academic challenges with a bag of chips and a 50” screen, I’m declining.

As adults with a certain amount of life experience, we know that few things come easily.  We know one has to work hard for the things worth having, and in the process one builds the skills and wisdom to manage the fruits of those efforts.  The classic example of this principle is the penniless lottery winner who, without the financial acumen to manage his new wealth, quickly burns through his winnings and finds himself stunningly penniless once again.  If he had worked to earn his wealth, he would have developed the skills to manage it and the emotional disposition to maintain it.  As moms, dads, and educators, we don’t want it all to be easy for our kids; we want them to gain strength through overcoming adversity.  To a reasonable extent, we are guided by the value, “That which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”  By working hard to meet a goal, or to pursue an interest in spite of distractions and hurdles, our kids “learn how to learn” and become effective, values-driven problem solvers.

At the same time, we also know that a person must be able to succeed at a challenge in order for it to be useful.  A task that’s beyond a person’s capacity to execute is an exercise in futility, and often results in misery (if not symptoms of illness or subtle acts of defiance).  If our kids are genuinely suffering with their homework, as opposed to battling through their own procrastination and getting the job done, then it needs to be addressed.  Adult and child learners alike must have the tools available to them so that they can succeed.  So our ophthalmologist seems to have the right intuition about children whose well-being is compromised by hours and hours of homework, but above his concern for their vision there must be concern for their holistic health and sense of success.  Beyond monitoring the impact of rigorous academic life on children’s eyesight, we need to “keep an eye” on how it is affecting every aspect of their lives so that, as they are challenged to stretch and grow, no part of them is feeling an unbearable strain.

Read the original article: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/eye_doc_shocking_charge_nearsighted_UP00JQisaUlsuMg78aGJZN

Will Craig, Educational Director at Partners With Parents, can be reached at will@partnerswithparents.com.

Partners With Parents Tutoring Service was contacted by the journalist to offer our expertise about the amount of homework students receive in New York independent and highly-selective public schools.  Essentially, our quote was that over the past decade we have seen a trend towards heavier homework loads.

Reading the article, we had a strong reaction to the idea that books and homework might be implicated as the primary culprit behind myopia.  While there is no doubt that the ophthalmologist has anecdotal experiences pointing to increased myopia in his clientele, we agree with others sited in the article who indicate that more than student workload needs to be taken into account.  From a brief look at the research, we can see that myopia is on the rise in far larger populations than NYC students.  Factors, both genetic and environmental, are being considered.

Our take is this: In the ultra competitive New York private school environment, there are stresses of both the physical and mental variety, one of which is surely ocular strain.  A few years down the road, carpal tunnel may be the next teenage epidemic.  And while this is not the forum to get in the middle of the homework debate, it goes without saying that more homework is not necessarily better – the purpose of homework is to reinforce learning and build academic independence, not keep kids busy late into the night.

Ultimately, our kids are spending too much time in front of technological gadgets that absorb their gazes: computers, TVs, cell phones, video games.  Much of the exposure comes from work related to school but much of it does not.  We, as parents and educators, need to monitor the amount of “screen time” our children are getting and make sure there are substantial breaks from it during each day.  Our kids need more time outside playing and moving their bodies . . . and having a chance to experience their youth.

Read the original article: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/eye_doc_shocking_charge_nearsighted_UP00JQisaUlsuMg78aGJZN