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Is this 11th grader overworked?


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I honestly feel ridiculous asking this question on a homeschooling board which promotes such a rigorous education style. But I am getting so much push-back from my 11th grader that I wanted to do a sanity check to make sure my thinking is reasonable.

 

She is taking:

1. A year-long grade level English course which takes up about 10 hours/week - 3 hours in class, and 7-8 hours of outside reading and writing.

2. An AP art history prep course that I created by using suggestions from this board - she didn't start this until late November, so only about 6 months to get ready for the test. I think she should be spending about 7 hrs/week on this.

3. At the CC - a 3-credit "applied" art class. Last semester she took photography (her passion), and this semester she is getting ready to take beginning drawing. It means 6 hours in class per week, but not much work outside of class.

4. Also at the CC - last semester she took Liberal Arts Mathematics - her final math class which will transfer to any college she is considering - and so easy it was a joke. This semester she is taking Oceanography on-line - I think it will be a little more time-consuming than the math, but no more than 6 hours a week.

 

So I add that up to about 30 hours a week of class time and schoolwork. And ALL of it is stuff she has at least some interest in (I let her choose the Liberal Arts math over pre-calc, and Oceanography over another physical science such as chemistry).

 

Other than that - she is in musical theater which usually takes 4-6 hours a week. During show weeks it's much more, but that's only 2 weeks a semester. She also spends a lot of time on her photography. She is not over-burdened with chores.

 

I am so frustrated with her arguing ("WHY do I have to take this class??" whenever she's reminded to do her homework) that I just told her she can keep up with her schoolwork, or no spring show for her. The current show is going into performances next week, and then auditions for the next show are in about 5 weeks.

 

Is her schedule OK or am I a mean mom?

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I honestly feel ridiculous asking this question on a homeschooling board which promotes such a rigorous education style. But I am getting so much push-back from my 11th grader that I wanted to do a sanity check to make sure my thinking is reasonable.

 

She is taking:

1. A year-long grade level English course which takes up about 10 hours/week - 3 hours in class, and 7-8 hours of outside reading and writing.

2. An AP art history prep course that I created by using suggestions from this board - she didn't start this until late November, so only about 6 months to get ready for the test. I think she should be spending about 7 hrs/week on this.

3. At the CC - a 3-credit "applied" art class. Last semester she took photography (her passion), and this semester she is getting ready to take beginning drawing. It means 6 hours in class per week, but not much work outside of class.

4. Also at the CC - last semester she took Liberal Arts Mathematics - her final math class which will transfer to any college she is considering - and so easy it was a joke. This semester she is taking Oceanography on-line - I think it will be a little more time-consuming than the math, but no more than 6 hours a week.

 

So I add that up to about 30 hours a week of class time and schoolwork. And ALL of it is stuff she has at least some interest in (I let her choose the Liberal Arts math over pre-calc, and Oceanography over another physical science such as chemistry).

 

Other than that - she is in musical theater which usually takes 4-6 hours a week. During show weeks it's much more, but that's only 2 weeks a semester. She also spends a lot of time on her photography. She is not over-burdened with chores.

 

I am so frustrated with her arguing ("WHY do I have to take this class??" whenever she's reminded to do her homework) that I just told her she can keep up with her schoolwork, or no spring show for her. The current show is going into performances next week, and then auditions for the next show are in about 5 weeks.

 

Is her schedule OK or am I a mean mom?

 

Remember when she was 3 and you had to tell her to brush her teeth every night before bed? You taught her disciple and good habits back then; this is just the extended version. ;) Is she going to be a Theater major? What do the acting schools require for admission?

Edited by CherylG
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NO, not too much. I didn't see math, science, for. language or history. Most hs kids have extra curr.s plus english and the 4 I mentioned. What is she interested in majoring in? Most any college (any major) will have requirements like - 4 yrs math, 3 science with 2 labs and 2 for. language. That would be minimum. My ds has 6 classes:english, math (starting calculus this semester), physics, spanish, US history and a scripture study text book. And add to that for first semester he studies for ACT test. This I consider an average work load. If she is interested in acting, maybe these requirements would be less. Try showing her what a school in your area would be having her take? Maybe she would agree that doing what she is intested in is pretty cool. I hope I dind't sound negative by listing my ds's classes - I think homeschooling is great because kids can do what they are intested in. Just try to show her what a traditional schedule would be.

 

Barb

Edited by Barb B
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What I do with my son is write out a schedule. We write out how much time he spends realistically on each subject a day. That helps us see if I am expecting too much or if he just needs to work. I would consider things like her theater time as free time. In other words their hobbies and interest are what they spend their free time on. I tell my son, no he does not have as much free time as he did when he was a kid because he is no longer a kid, but a young adult.

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That's a light schedule, imo, especially if she is college prep. I never had less than 6 classes per semester. She's got 4 classes, only one of which is AP, and one of them is online? meh, sorry kid, I gots no sympathy! Most high schoolers are physically present at school for 35+ hours per week, with a great deal of homework in the bargain.

 

English, art, science and history is NOT a heavy schedule. The musical theatre is an extra-curriculuar activity; many, many students do both more classes and more extra-curriculars. I did, and I had a part-time job and chores as well.

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Looking at my daughter's transcript, I see that she did the following in 11th grade:

 

Three Writing and Literature classes at the local community college (one each quarter)

 

College Algebra and Trigonometry (two quarters at the local cc)

 

Three Geology classes at the cc each with lab

 

AP Latin

 

AP Comparative Government and Politics

 

 

I don't believe that your daughter is overly burdened; however, each child is different.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Thanks for the feedback. As mom, *I* think it's a great schedule for an artsy student. We aren't neglecting academics - her English at Torrey Academy is considered honors-level, her math and science are at the CC, and her AP Art History - well, the only way to judge the level of that will be when we get the test results! But we are letting her explore her interests at the same time. She plans to major in photography, so the CC classes she is taking meet the lower-division prerequisites for the photography programs she is interested in.

 

I was very frustrated Saturday night with some pushback she had given me as to whether she should have to do any homework on a weekend. I am seeing more clearly this morning. :D I am going to take the advice from Cedarmom and have a scheduling meeting with dd this morning, now that we know her spring semester schedule.

 

A couple of you had questioned whether the schedule is heavy ENOUGH, much less too heavy.

 

NO, not too much. I didn't see math, science, for. language or history.

 

She did a 3-credit math course at the CC last semester, which is considered 1-yr of high school credit by the high schools in CA. She had already completed Alg 1, Geometry, and Alg 2, so this was her 4th math credit.

 

She is taking a 4-credit science course at the CC this semester - again, considered 1-yr of high school science credit.

 

She has already completed through high school French 3.

 

She has completed 2 years of history and will take a third her senior year.

 

I hope I dind't sound negative by listing my ds's classes - I think homeschooling is great because kids can do what they are intested in.

 

No, you didn't sound negative, and Yes, I think so, too!

 

This doesn't even meet the minimum requirements at the local high school.

 

This year she will have completed the equivalent of 7 year-long classes: English, Math, Science, AP Art history, 2 college fine-arts classes (photography and drawing), and PE (forgot to mention dance classes and gym membership). But by using the community college for some of her classes, we have essentially set it up in block scheduling where she is only taking 4 classes at a time (3 academic and 1 art). The schools with which I am familiar in CA either have 7 periods a day, or block scheduling with 4 classes per semester. So either way she's fine if we are just looking at crossing the public school bar.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by In The Great White North

This doesn't even meet the minimum requirements at the local high school.

 

This year she will have completed the equivalent of 7 year-long classes: English, Math, Science, AP Art history, 2 college fine-arts classes (photography and drawing), and PE (forgot to mention dance classes and gym membership). But by using the community college for some of her classes, we have essentially set it up in block scheduling where she is only taking 4 classes at a time (3 academic and 1 art). The schools with which I am familiar in CA either have 7 periods a day, or block scheduling with 4 classes per semester. So either way she's fine if we are just looking at crossing the public school bar. quote.gif

 

She did a 3-credit math course at the CC last semester, which is considered 1-yr of high school credit by the high schools in CA.

 

 

 

Well, that's the difference. Here, if a student takes a semester course at Dartmouth, it still counts as a semester course at the high school.

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So I add that up to about 30 hours a week of class time and schoolwork. And ALL of it is stuff she has at least some interest in (I let her choose the Liberal Arts math over pre-calc, and Oceanography over another physical science such as chemistry).

 

Other than that - she is in musical theater which usually takes 4-6 hours a week. During show weeks it's much more, but that's only 2 weeks a semester. She also spends a lot of time on her photography. She is not over-burdened with chores.

 

I am so frustrated with her arguing ("WHY do I have to take this class??" whenever she's reminded to do her homework) that I just told her she can keep up with her schoolwork, or no spring show for her. The current show is going into performances next week, and then auditions for the next show are in about 5 weeks.

 

Is her schedule OK or am I a mean mom?

 

I'm not in the "that's light" camp. Two CC classes and one AP class are heavy for an 11th grader at my house -- even my oldest who was a strong public school student. 30 hours of serious concentration is probably as long as most college students actually focus (as opposed to 30 hours in high school/high school homework with lots of casual studying & not paying attention), except during exam weeks. But it's kinda hard to judge from a distance.

 

I wanted to suggest you re-think holding her back from theater as a punishment. I believe in holding kids back from TV, phone, computer, and more, but I don't hold kids back from anything related to academics or future career paths as a punishment. I think you can prevent a child from following their gifts in that way. JMHO.

 

Oh, and eek to the high schooler in the college drawing class -- when I was showing my college-aged niece my old drawings, I was shocked at the amount of nudity that I had forgotten :blink:

 

Julie

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I think many students receive a full credit for high school for taking a one semester course at the college level...college doesn't typically offer Intermediate Algebra part 1 in the fall and part 2 in the spring...right??? It's all in one semester...at least where I live it works this way. :001_smile: Now, if the local hs has an agreement with the CC to offer a higher level math course for dual enrollment, those will be spread out over the whole year just like a regular hs class...they do this in the ps district where I live.

 

Also, the op never said she was trying to "meet the minimum requirements for ps high school"...all ps high schools are not created equal...I've had kids in ps/graduate from ps...even high schools within the same district do not have the same rigor factor. :glare:

 

I think if you sit down with your dd and determine she has met YOUR requirements, then you have been successful. Kids are going to complain about the workload, whether it be heavy or light...they want to see if they can get away with something:tongue_smilie:...

 

I try to align my dd's courses with a typical ps hs courseload...in the end that's what the colleges usually require as well...if she has what she needs to get into the college/program of her choice, then she is probably fine. I'm not saying to do the minimum amount of work to get there, but for some students that is all they need.

 

The op was looking for genuine feedback on her dd's workload, not insults.

 

Good luck to your dd and her photography career...I always loved photography, but did not get to pursue that field.

 

Robin

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