One thing that we have noticed in the youth that live in our home is a consistent struggle with their classes. It doesn't matter if the youth is in highschool, middle school, college, public school, private school, weekend school, whatever...they have all struggled. This is something that has been difficult for us to understand especially since education is so important to us and is something that we value greatly.
Last month, I went with Elias to pick up his final grade card and was very upset to find out that he had failed the school year. Elias came to live with us in June and he seemed to be a very responsible youth here in our home. In August I got the opportunity to see his grades for the first time and was shocked to see that he was failing almost every class. The even more shocking thing was that he too seemed to be surprised by it, like he didn't have a clue and didn't understand what had happened! I went to the school and talked to his teachers and all of them reported that he wasn't turning in his homework and had done poorly on his exams. Elias had been through a lot of changes this year, and many many family problems. His father died, he lived with his mother, then his grandmother, then his grandfather, then an uncle, and then he moved in with us. He had also suffered abuse physically, emotionally, and verbally. After thinking about all that he had been through this year, we thought, "who wouldn't have poor grades after going through all of that?" So, we told him we understood, we reassured him, and we set out to make an improvement for the fourth quarter grades.
We thought that all was going well, until I received his final grades and seen that there hadn't been any improvement at all during the fourth quarter. At first, I admit, that I was quite frustrated. Were these bad grades a result of laziness or a lack of self-discipline? My answer came shortly thereafter.
In mid-October I began teaching a basic english class in the church. The class is 12weeks long and meets twice a week. Elias's english skills are very very basic so we felt like it would be a good idea if he attended the course. There are 12 students in the class, with an age range of 9 years old to 60 years old, with a variety of learning styles and levels. Slowly, however, as weeks went by, I began to notice Elias falling farther and farther behind in the class, despite the fact that I am the teacher and the material is constantly reinforced at home!
I had begun sitting down with him and working with him one-on-one several times a week and have noticed that he is very far behind for his age and that he has a lot of problems analyzing and setting up problems. For example, I was reviewing money with him (in english) and asked him to tell me how many quarters are in five dollars. He didn't know the answer. Thinking that perhaps he didn't understand because I had asked him in english, I then repeated the question in spanish, and he still didn't know. I went on to try and walk him through the problem by asking him (in spanish) to tell me how many quarters are in $1, he told me 5. Oh no. I corrected him and told him 4, then went on to ask, "if there are 4 quarters in $1, how many are in $5?" He couldn't answer and seemed confused. This is when I realized that his struggles went beyond foreign language learning. He wasn't able to set up the problem, and he doesn't know his multiplication tables.
So, with all of this new insight, we have now been trying to decide how to best help Elias succeed. A friend of mine (who is a teacher) suggested homeschooling. At first I laughed off the idea because the thought of homeschooling a teenager in another language seemed crazy. However, after a little research, we are feeling like this may be the best option for him! Actually it seems that homeschooling adopted or traumatized teens is a fantastic option! I am following a blog of a homeschooling mom doing just that, check it out http://teacher-mom.blogspot.com/2008/10/homeschooling-esl-part-1.html
It seems that many teens who have been adopted, or come from difficult family situations, abuse or trauma, struggle greatly in school. These kids need an educational style that will meet them where they are at. My kids may all be in their late teens/early 20s but there emotional age does not match up with their chronological age! In addition, these kids suffere from a lot of emotional problems, and the social pressures of school (as well as the frustration from not being able to keep up), adds to their problems.
Okay, so this brings us to our next problem....homeschooling isn't recognized here in El Salvador! Yikes! So, now what do we do? Well, after much thought and prayer we have come up with, what we hope, is the next best option. There is a school one block away from our home that offers Saturday only classes for adults who want to finish their high-school education (kind of like GED equivalent classes). The students go to school just on Saturdays and then, after 18 months, receive their high-school diploma. Since he will just be studying on Saturdays, this will open up the ability to be able to work with him during the week. Our plan is to bring in a tutor two days a week to work with Elias one-on-one reviewing the content of his Saturday classes. Then, I will also be working with him two days a week on more basic levels of reading, math, and english, using a homeschool curriculum. Our hope is that the combination of the Saturday course, with the private tutor as well as myself homeschooling will help to get him caught up as well as improve his self-esteem and chances for success in the future.
The other flips-side of homeschooling is that it does decrease his opportunity to socialize, which is also extremely important when working with traumatized youth. We are hoping to address this issue by signing him up for the local soccer league here in Nejapa (he really loves soccer!), as well as having him take computer courses at the youth center here in town as well.
Lastly, he has also recently begun seeing the same psychologist who has so wonderfully worked with Beatriz and Jonathan. We hope that she too, will be a great resource for all of us as well.
We would love to hear from any of you who may have homeschooled, are teachers, or who may have children with learning disabilities or who have struggled in school. Your prayers, support, advice, and wisdom would be so greatly appreciated!
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