Do it yourself schooling

I just had an epiphany.

In the shower. Or maybe it was a Zen satori. Knock it off, already, with the sniggers, okay?

I think I know how to improve a whole batch of my son’s schooling and personal woes. Some background: my seventh grade son has a very high IQ, but a lot of behaviors which make him borderline Asperger’s Syndrome. He writes in some kind of Sanskrit/near gibberish which even he cannot read, misspells nearly every word, sometimes using several variations in the same sentence, and cannot begin to translate his spoken eloquence onto paper. This writing handicap translates, as you can imagine, to every other subject. He has very little ability to note norms in interpersonal interaction, leading to his isolation from his peers.

I think he needs to pen some several paragraph observations about the everyday world and the actions of the people in it, about everyday objects and about various other aspects of society. He needs to do this on a daily basis, with each paragraph written winning him computer game time, and he needs to execute these essays in an unusual manner – he needs to write the essay on the computer first, then translate it to the written page.

I think this approach covers a whole range of areas in need of improvement. By focusing on everyday objects and the actions of people around him, he is forced to extend his awareness to things previously seen but not really seen. By doing it daily it becomes habit; using it to earn computer time (10 minutes per paragraph?) makes it imperative. Using the computer to write the rough draft gives him some assistance with spelling and removes the actual letter-forming drudgery from the creative process…translating the product to paper as his finished product makes him focus, separately, on the need to be legible.

Some thoughts for beginning (non research-requiring) essays:

• Describe a hammer
• Why do people cry?
• How does cold feel?
• Why are video games important?
• Describe Van Gogh’s Sunflowers
• Describe lunch today
• How do your classmates dress?
• Why is freedom important?
• What would Hitler and Napoleon talk about if they came to tea?
• Why was Mr. Ed funny?
• Why is work important?
• How does dust feel when it’s vacuumed?

There will, of course, be more ideas to come. I’m also thinking about encouraging him to begin his own weblog (good for those non-game computer skills.) The key, of course, is consistency and demanding quality work which pushes his effort.

Stay tuned: We’ll see how this works out…I think I’ll start this weekend.