I have two “special needs” children. My son, Will, is 15. When he was 10
we took him to a doctor to see if what we saw as profound driftiness was
something like ADD. The teachers at school blew us off when we mentioned
it. One memorable teacher told me he had to “learn to be more
responsible.” He failed the TOVA (Test of Variable Attention).
miserably. Medication and therapy followed and for a time he did better
in school, better at home and found some friends. I acted as his
executive secretary. This year he decided that the meds make him too
“gorked” out, to use his words and he wanted to try school without them.
And we, as parents, decided to let him give it a try. He is failing all
his core classes.

My daughter, Abby is 12. When she was in 1st grade she didn’t learn to
read. She learned how to memorize books that were read to her and
recognize words in those books. Abby is a smart cookie. The teacher,
bless her, thought she was reading. So after some long chats with the
teacher we got her tested by the school. They decided she had language
deficits warranting special interventions and Abby was moved for language
and reading from the mainstream classroom and its Whole Language method
of teaching reading and writing to a Direct Instruction special ed room.
Within weeks she was reading and within months she was reading for
pleasure. I love Direct Instruction and phonics. We did all the usual
work with her. I got her a Franklin Speller. We sounded out words. We
practiced using phonics rules. We used the dictionary. We wrote and
rewrote and rewrote assignments. I rewrote math problems vertically so
she could read them. We used graph paper rather than lined paper–the
squares are easier to work with when you can’t see a letter or number
amidst all the “clutter” on a page. We did math drills and more math
drills. We never watch TV on school nights, which isn’t that big a
sacrifice. She got by but was isolated. Kids in special ed are “stupid,”
“dumb,” etc. Her self esteem suffered. She is belligerent with and
resentful of her peers. She can’t be in sports because she needs the time
to do her schoolwork. The teachers tell me she is always alone. And this
year she is failing all her core classes.

I tend not to completely trust experts. I tend not to trust rules. Some
are good and there for my safety. I always stop at a red light, even in
the dead of night when I am the only one on the road and could scootchy
on thru with no one knowing but myself. But when my kid is failing in an
institution set up to get them ready for “life” and no one knows how to
fix it and I have been working for years to help them make it in the setting
they are in, I am willing to look at alternatives. Outside the box
alternatives. So I picked up this book and read it.

This book is about parents who have chosen to homeschool their kids.
There are 21 stories of how and why and what they did to get their kids
ready for life. Some were more interesting than others. Some were more
helpful than others. Some were so far outside the box that I just didn’t
buy it. What the book did was show me that there are alternatives. I am
not sure I will homeschool my kids or even if that would help them. But
after reading this book I know I can do it. It is not beyond my
abilities. And that gives me a little more energy to deal with the
situation at home and at school.