[The Reality of Correspondence High Schools] Is my son, now a second-year student, enjoying his youth as he hoped before enrollment? Is he doing okay with his studies?

This is an update on my eldest son, who did not attend a single class in a classroom during his three years of junior high school. He enjoyed his first year of correspondence high school life, and I will share, without holding anything back, what his second year is like.

You might think, "Isn't it inferior to a full-time school?"

However, watching my son, my perspective has changed to:
It doesn't matter if it's a full-time or correspondence school. What's important is whether the individual is in an environment that suits them and is able to engage in the activities and studies they desire.
.

Dancing on stage at the school festival

My son is a correspondence high school student who has chosen a course that requires him to attend homeroom once a week since his first year. In that course, everyone in the class is expected to participate in school events in some way, including behind-the-scenes work.

I was lucky that I didn't have work on the day of the school festival in late June. My husband and I never went to support our children at school festivals or sports days during their junior high years, so being able to go and watch was deeply moving for us.

Me: "Where on stage will you appear?"

Son: "I'll be dancing in the center when we do the YMCA song and dance, so you'll definitely be able to tell."

A stage created by everyone in the class. I never dreamed that a boy dressed from head to toe in an American flag costume, wearing a blonde wig and sunglasses, would be there! I never imagined he would play the role of Hideki Saijo, dancing in the center of the stage with a microphone. Actually, he doesn't have much stamina and his dancing wasn't very sharp, but he danced with a smile until the very end.

By the way, I thought, "Maybe he just stepped out of his comfort zone because there are few boys in the class and no one else would do it?" but he showed unexpected initiative, saying, "I volunteered to do it!"

In addition, he also served on the "School Festival Executive Committee," which recruits from the entire school, so he went to school for opening dance rehearsals and pre-event preparations, living his youth to the fullest. On the day of the event, he went to a hamburger shop with the boys from his class, went to karaoke, sang YMCA together, and then came home. That's youth for you.

Acquiring communication skills as a cast member

He says, "This is the second time in my life that something has really clicked for me."
The first time was when he attended an open campus for the correspondence high school he currently attends during his third year of junior high. He liked how the teachers and student staff seniors interacted with him and talked to him, and he thought,
I want to enter this school and become like these seniors too.
.

After enrolling, he applied to be a student staff member (cast) for the open campus, went through an interview (to confirm his motivation), and after receiving training, he began working as a cast member. Now that he is a second-year student, he is also involved in training new cast members as an experienced staffer.

"Observing the other person and changing how you speak"

What impresses me when listening to the cast members is that they observe the parents and children who come to the open campus and interact with them in a tone that suits them, whether that means speaking gently or speaking energetically.

"I like communication"

Since he says this definitively, I am glad that he has discovered one of his own traits and has been able to develop it.

What about the studies you're worried about?

Studies at a correspondence high school involve taking far fewer classes (schooling) compared to full-time schools, submitting reports, and then taking tests; if you pass, you receive credit for the course.

He has been working on these minimum requirements on his own since he enrolled. He has the opposite personality of my second son; he is so independent that I, as a parent, have never even had to wake him up in the morning, and everything is handled entirely between him and his school teachers.

However, compared to full-time schools, the class hours are overwhelmingly shorter, and if he only does the minimum amount of study required by the school, his study time is quite short. Since the amount of knowledge he is exposed to and the amount of time he spends actually working with a pencil are both small, I thought, 'It's a shame not to train yourself while you're young.'

In the midst of this, a turning point arrived.
When he became a second-year student, as part of career guidance, people from various industries came to the school to give talks.

At the end of July, he had the opportunity to hear a talk by a Self-Defense Forces officer as part of the school's career guidance, and he suddenly said, 'I'm going to aim for the National Defense Academy.'

Since then, he hasn't just been looking things up on the website; he bought the 'Akahon' (a book containing past exam questions and information for university entrance exams) for the National Defense Academy, grasped the overall picture of the entrance exam, and started studying.

Specifically, he understood the subjects required for the exam and first started working on high school mathematics and English. Since he hasn't even mastered the junior high school level of English yet, he is reviewing from that level. Even though it's summer vacation, he is studying for several hours a day.

He also says that the entrance exam is interview-oriented and requires physical strength, so he is going to the gym more seriously than before.

As a parent, I believe it is important not to hold my child back. Working with the goal of protecting peace and the nation seems to suit his personality, so I just hope he works hard and seizes his future.

For about four years, from the sixth grade of elementary school until he graduated from junior high, my eldest son was a school refuser. As a parent, I was always worried, but by believing in him and staying by his side, I found a son who could find what he loves and take action.

Introduction to my book on raising a child who refuses to go to school

【Click here for works themed on communication in raising a child who refuses to go to school👇】

【Click here for works created in collaboration with my eldest son👇】

【A true story about how I, as a mother, organized my own heart by writing while raising a child who refuses to go to school👇】