Wish I had thought of this, back in the day....

[BERIGAN]

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_1ph...57.story?page=1

[GA Russell]

There seems to be two issues here.

The first is the concept of the mental illness itself.

The second is the sum of money the taxpayers have forked over.

I wonder how that sum compares to the cost of homeschooling.

[Jazzmoose]

Um...she's afraid to go to school, so the state pays for her to go to an out of state boarding school and modeling school? Okay...

[Alexander]

Um...she's afraid to go to school, so the state pays for her to go to an out of state boarding school and modeling school? Okay...

I would think that home-schooling would be an ideal solution for someone with this disorder...

[Aggie87]

Um...she's afraid to go to school, so the state pays for her to go to an out of state boarding school and modeling school? Okay...

I would think that home-schooling would be an ideal solution for someone with this disorder...

According to the article, she's being raised by a single mother (her father lives in Peru). I'm assuming her mom works, so she probably doesn't have the time to devote to homeschooling. Also, the article says her mother doesn't think she'd be able to help her with math and writing problems, and opted not to homeschool her for that reason. It sounds like the mother's education level may not be very high. And there were tutors that were sent to the girl's home, with varying levels of success, apparently.

But I think psychological help could have addressed and resolved this issue at alot earlier age, rather than allowing her to continue like this. Allowing this girl to get through "school" like this isn't helping her address her issues, and is rather teaching her to avoid them.

Edit - I think the mother is milking the system too, by the way.

Edited May 20, 2008 by Aggie87

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I find this a bit confusing, probably because the system's a bit different here. My daughter had to have home tuition for her last two years at secondary school (13-15) - which was arranged for by the education authority (the equivalent, I think, of your school boards) - because she couldn't walk (eventually she got over it). But the education thus provided wasn't really all that one would have wished for - she only got about five or six subjects, though she did well in all but one. But of course, she wasn't school phobic.

Now I would have been regarded as school phobic - hated five of the six schools I went to and kept absconding. But I loved the third one I went to. So I guess I wasn't really school phobic; I just hated most of the schools I was sent to, to the point of punch-ups with the teachers. But I still learned to read and write and add (and History, French and German) and learned to learn.

Psychological help? Just get on with your life! And so I did. I suspect this woman may well be doing the best for her daughter in sending her to a boarding school, which will keep tabs on her full time. It doesn't matter if she hates it. Education is something that people really have to be forced into, even if they're most unwilling.

MG

[Noj]

Catering to unreasonable requests and enabling weakness instead of empowering her by making her expand her self-imposed limits. Time to stop coddling.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I think perhaps she isn't being coddled if she's compelled to stay in a boarding school.

MG