Oh Boy...This Is Going To Be Fun!

I met one of my new students today. As an administrator I try to meet all of my new parents as they register not only during the registration but throughout the year. Well today I met a young boy who is going into the 6th grade. He seems like a very nice kid but he was obviously a bit scared. So I pulled out the ol' Huffdaddy charm that 9 out of 10 times pulls kids out of their shells. This was the 10th kid....DID NOT WORK....as a matter of fact he stepped BACK towards his mother. Through the interview I learned that this will be Young Boy's FIRST year in public school. He has been HOME SCHOOLED since birth!

OH BOY!!!!

I see this quite often at this level. Each year we get SEVERAL home school's whose parents have decided that the curriculum is getting a bit over their head and decide to put their kids in public school.

So what are these kids usually like. Smart? Yes!!! But they S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E big time when it comes to socialization. They are missing the skill taught in kindergarten on how to deal with large groups. Usually the start of school we as educators field MANY phone calls from these parents listening to their "concerns" regarding their child fitting in.

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? YOU HAVE KEPT THE KID WITH YOU FOR 11 YEARS !!!!!!

Many home schools have kids who are in a Co-op! Those I think are great! If I were homeschooling that is what I would do. Many times these kids get together and learn from other parents and are in large groups! I have a couple of friends that do this and you cannot argue how well rounded their child is.

Unfortunately Young Boy was not in a Co-Op so I can tell he is going to have issues. ....heck I was nice to him and he had problems....Anyone here want to guess what a group of 6th graders who are feeling goofy are going to do? It's like a bleeding fish in a tank of sharks!

Then again....maybe he will fine.........maybe