Reply #135: Right on the button @ social skills. That is the only drawback that ...

[ebayfool]

has made me even consider putting my boy in public school. At 13 he is feeling more of a need to be around groups of kids, & the only options other than public school involve an outlay of cash that we just don't have. I know he needs this contact in order to be a functional adult, but I am frankly terrified to put in in the school in our area. I have personally had to pull a kid off the street into my car when they (2 different boys, at different times) & take them home, they were getting the crap beat out of them by a group of thugs right after school ... right across the street from the school. I would try for an out of district transfer, but they are woefully hard to get - and I'm not certain the other schools would be any better?! My grandson has to learn to live in the real world, I know - but he can't take any kind of physical pummeling & come out of it intact. I really wish this were simple as it was when my daughters were in school, but they have degenerated, in many areas, to the point where the kids aren't getting a real education (other than the kind that convicts learn in prison - survival of the fittest, & the rest how to roll up & cover your vitals).