H was aces, good thing, because I was pretty out of it - had that horrible pit in my stomache that felt like just after I discovered my H's affair - YUCK!!!!
D is asking to change schools, since one of the problems she has had at this high school is a bitchy group of people that have spread gossip about her because of her ED problems last year, and although it is a big school, she has had trouble ignoring them - leading to her hanging out with the "loser" kids. I know a lot of this is in her own mind, because she has lots of good friends who have known her for years and would welcome her - more a matter of her distancing herself, and doing things that make her stand out and bring on more gossip.
I really don't feel a change of schools mid-year will do the trick - I'm afraid she would bring her same problems along with her, and most neighboring schools she could transfer to have way bigger problems (gangs, etc.) than our school, which is the best in the district. The only realistic possibility might be the performing arts high school, but it is quite far away (would involve 2 hours commuting each day) and I doubt she could transfer now anyway, since the new semester starts in a week and they have waiting lists.
That leaves us with - drumroll please - homeschooling. Although nothing has been decided yet - it looks like our best option may be for me to homeschool her for the rest of this year, then maybe transfer to another school next year.
I must say - much as I understand all the potential value in homeschooling, and much as I recognize the shortcomings of our schools - I am NOT looking forward to this!!!!! Oh, I feel perfectly qualified to do the teaching - and our district has an organized "independent study" school for homeschoolers that includes classroom science courses and tests and grades. I just don't look forward to dealing with the motivational issues. And, of course, this throws a big wrench into my plans to go back to work (thank goodness my H was the one to bring it up first - if I had, I'm sure he would have thought I was looking for a way to get out of working.)
But my D isn't getting much out of school in her present state of mind, and pulling her out of the drama of high school interactions at this point seems like a healthy thing. I guess I will be forced to follow through on my ideas of setting up a medical coaching/consulting business, or of finishing my book(s), since those will be the only things I can work on while we are homeschooling.
So - anyone out there who has homeschooled a high-schooler to give me any pointers?
