Forgetting Something

[aready]

There have been two big concerns in our household recently in regards to HSing.

 

1- Is there something I'm missing? I am attempting to HS my kids this summer for the first time. This is our trial for seeing if HS is something that both I and they can do. We are all enjoying it, but also realize that it is a COMPLETELY relaxed version of what we would do during the year.

 

In our attempt to decide between HSing and Private School, we have had many discussions on the matter. In these discussions one of the main "fears" is that we will skip something that is important and needed for later in life. Not like "oh we forgot to cover time and reading a clock" but an entire subject matter and realizing too late that they should be at say "level 5" now and we haven't ever done anything with it.

 

I know you can't cover everything in either HS or Private, and it is completely unrealistic to assume that you would. How do you decide what to teach and what you don't have time for? I have done many searches and gotten a few suggestions, but nothing from a classical prospective.

 

2- How do colleges view HSers? In my research it seems as though you are more likely to have smaller schools accept HSers that lets say a UCLA. Do any of you have experience sending your kids to college? If so- how was the application process? I just don't want to limit the kids possibilities for college because we chose to HS. And I know people say that it isn't a problem but I have never heard of anyone with experience doing it.

 

Thanks so much! I know I should just take the leap of faith and start HSing, but am too much of a 'researcher.' Ack!

 

-Amy

[lapsetmom]

As a former public school teacher, we have the same questions. How do we cover what we are supposed to in the time we have? We go by our state's standards; however, even public school teachers have trouble covering everything in depth.

 

What they are telling us in our Master's of Education program is that you CAN'T cover everything. What is important is giving them the tools of learning (reading, writing, arithmatic, cooperative learning skills, critical thinking skills, etc.) and teach them to learn for themselves. Cover what you can, but try to go in-depth and get at the deep underlying questions of a subject area as often as possible.

 

Get your state's standards off the internet if that will give you peace of mind and give you some direction. Just be aware: this is something all teachers struggle with. Knowledge is progressing at such a fast rate; so most important of all teach them the skills they need to be life long learners.

[creekland]

For what it's worth, I still work in our public high school and I know my boys learn a LOT more than their peers do as we have as much time as we need to cover something... We finish textbooks - they barely get half way through. We have time to add in relevant movies, etc. If they do, they cut out other class time. If mine can go faster because they understand something, we do. If we need to go back because they really didn't get something, we do.

 

To make sure you didn't/don't miss anything, check to see what colleges want... and cover things.

 

As for colleges... if my oldest is any indication, we're finding every single college we've been interested in has been VERY open to homeschoolers. It probably helps that he did quite well on his SAT (beat all but one of his public schooled peers)... We have colleges calling us that we've had no contact with. He's chosen not to go into a high (educational) demand major, so it's even easier for us. However, my middle son is looking toward medical research and I don't expect that fact that we are homeschooling to be a burden on getting into a school he wants either. It may be an asset considering mine are getting more of an education than their public school peers.

 

You asked to compare to private schools. That I can't do as there aren't any we consider 'good' close enough for us to have compared them.

[mcconnellboys]

As both you and others have said, you simply can't cover everything. I believe that WTM provides a very thorough outline for covering all the important bases of learning. You might take a look at E. D. Hirsch's series entitled What Your ______ Grader Needs to Know. I believe that it also provides a good idea of important topics to cover. And you might take a look at your state's standards, or requirements, although I must say that in reading the info for my own state, it's just a muddled mess, so I'm not entirely certain yours will be any more understandable.

 

With regard to college, there is an ever growing number of schools, from ivy league level through community colleges, who readily accept homeschoolers. The more well documented learning is, the better test scores are, the more well rounded the student, the better the acceptance rate - no matter where they've schooled.

 

If you want more specific information about those who have been there and done that, you might post on the college board here, which is a sub-board of the high school board. You might also check out homeschool2college online (but I will tell you that many say it is a rather daunting board to follow).

[April in CA]

Hi Amy,

I am homeschooling my two high-school aged sons - soon to be senior and sophomore, and we are in the middle of researching colleges. You mentioned UCLA; if you are in CA, you may already be aware that the UC system is not very receptive to homeschoolers (with the exception of UC Riverside). However, I learned something interesting at our homeschool convention this weekend - the heavily crowded and very competitive schools like UCLA are starting to encourage students to transfer in after completing coursework at CCs. At that point, nobody really cares about your high school diploma. Of course, even though the UC system is unfriendly to homeschoolers, they still like prospective students with very high test scores, including SAT 2s. I have heard that public universities in other states are more receptive to homeschooled students.

As far as homeschooling high school, I would say, "jump in, the water's fine!) The stress level is higher because everything counts and time is short, but the benefits of doing it well and nurturing strong and healthy relationships within the family are huge.

 

Hope this helps!

Blessings,

April