Weekly Wrap-Up ~ Dawson Says {An interview with the student}

This is Dawson. He is 13 years old and getting ready to start the 8th grade. You can go here to read about why I decided it was best to bring Dawson home for school this year. Although I have remained steadfast in my decision, Dawson has gone back and forth in his. I think this is natural. I thought the best way for you to get to know Dawson was to hear directly from him.

As you will see, he is caught somewhere between hoping that this school year at home will be different than what he has experienced in public school, and fear that it won't be.

Here is my interview with my newest student:


What are your interests?
My dog Crusoe, skatingboarding, cars, shooting air soft guns and playing video games.
{I also see his interests including lots of art and music.)

What are your greatest strengths in being a student?
Experiments and projects.
{By his individual grades in public school, this is completely true. He would get straights A's on these things and much lower grades on daily work.}

What are your biggest weaknesses in being a student?
Not getting along with my teachers. Organization.
{Organization is something we will really be working on this year. I know a full year of hands-on help will make a huge difference in his future!}

What do you think you want to do with your future?
Join the army and then go to college.
{He has expressed an interest in teaching special education children, with an emphasis in Spanish speaking kids. He wants to use lots of art in his work with them.}

What made you initially decide that you wanted to be homeschooled?
My grades started getting bad and I couldn't concentrate in school.
{His grades weren't bad as long as I was able to stay on top of everything he did. That became increasingly more difficult.}

What did you like most about public school?
All the other kids.
{Might be why he has trouble concentrating.}

What was the hardest part of public school for you?
All of the different teachers. None of the teachers were good teachers.
{My view point would be "indifferent" teachers.}

What qualities do you think make a good teacher?
One who is funny and in a good mood, who doesn't give tons of homework and who is PATIENT.
{His biggest factor was PATIENCE! .. and that happens to be my most difficult character trait. We both have our work cut out for us}

What will you miss most about public school?
My girlfriend.
{This is his first year to have a real girlfriend. I know this part will be difficult for him.}

What won't you miss about public school?
Homework.
{Hmmmm ... technically won't he have all homework this year? I think he means doing work in the evenings after he has spent a whole day doing work at school.}

What are you most looking forward to about homeschooling?
All of the field trips we will get to go on.
{I hope to get him out and about as often as I can find activities that will correspond with our units.}

What are you least looking forward to about homeschooling?
I am unsure how hard it's going to be and I don't know what to expect.
{Yeah, me neither.}

What is your biggest fear about homeschooling?
That homeschooling will be worse than public school.
{Then he will feel such defeat and hopelessness. That's a lot of responsibility for me.}

What subjects are you most interested in learning about?
Art. Doing experiments in science instead of just reading out of the book.
{Hands on .. hands on .. hands on !!!}

What are you most hoping to gain from being homeschooled?
Being smarter.
{I think he means just being better "at doing school." He is extremely smart already!}

Do you have any fears about learning from your mom?
A couple. That she will get mad at me and stressed out.
{My hope is that he will increase his expectations of himself and that I will decrease my expectations of him. Cutting each other a little slack will go a long way!}

What about homeschooling do you think you will have the hardest time with?
Concentrating at home and it will be weird learning at my house, getting used to being at home all the time.
{Actually, I think he will love this part.}

What are your general thoughts about the next year of homeschooling?
I am nervous.
{So am I, buddy. So am I.}

Visit more classrooms at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and see other great students at the Not Back-to-School Blog.