If you could go back

[dragons in the flower bed]

and design a 9th to 12th grade curriculum for yourself, what would you do?

[Nan in Mass]

That was good. I suspect it was the Dol-whatever-it-is that people rave about. That and my father's tutoring. Geometry is where I learned to think. I'd skip the English and just read books on my own; I got more out of my own reading (and talking about it with my mother) than out of English class. I'd have better science. Mine was so bad that I when I took the SAT2 in physics without having had physics (my Dad just ran over some formulas with me the weekend beforehand) I got a better grade than anyone else in the school. And taking the physics instead of the chemistry was my father's solution to the problem of my not having learned anything at all in the previous year's chemistry. My parent's were horrified when they quizzed me. I would have been better off with my children's combination of Conceptual Physics, Conceptual Chemistry (guessing - we're trying it next year), and natural history. Not having learned any history doesn't seem to have hurt me any LOL, but I would have liked to have learned some geography and anthropology. I wish I'd learned how to do more things - really be able to speak a language or two, sight-sing, paint, write, compose music. Did I say music? I wish I'd had tons of really good music theory and instruments. Why wasn't I taught to write the music I hear in my head? Or speak a language or two? Or copy any picture I see? GRRRR. I wish I'd had good gym classes, ones that concentrated on making me strong and fit and able to do something that I liked and would be able to continue to do for fitness as an adult. That would have been far more useful than hiding at the back of the field and hoping the ball didn't come anywhere near me. I guess it all comes down to wishing that my education had been more practical and taught me how to actually DO something. It was a huge waste of my time, except for teaching me to endure bad things and how to escape into a book. Except the math. The math was really good. And I'm beginning, as an adult, to appreciate how untouched it left me. That isn't always such a bad thing. I think Beatrix Potter said something to the effect that she was glad she hadn't received much education because it hadn't rubbed off her creativity. In lots of ways, I agree. If I'd had a "better" education, I don't think I'd be as good at teaching myself now. I don't think I would have been able to hang on to my family's particular values as well as I was, or to ignore my peers as much. I don't think I'd be as creative.

-Nan

[Mama Lynx]

and design a 9th to 12th grade curriculum for yourself, what would you do?

 

I would do TWTM high school plan, complete with Latin and Greek, and Classical Writing. One reason I was so attracted to TWTM in the first place was that it was the education I'd always wished for, but never had.

[LisaNY]

I would do TWTM high school plan, complete with Latin and Greek, and Classical Writing. One reason I was so attracted to TWTM in the first place was that it was the education I'd always wished for, but never had.

 

Same here. :001_smile:

[Blue Hen]

I would do TWTM high school plan, complete with Latin and Greek, and Classical Writing. One reason I was so attracted to TWTM in the first place was that it was the education I'd always wished for, but never had.

 

:iagree: I would add that in, but I would keep the math and science education I had, which is just what I'm doing for my boys. And we're using Dolciani:001_smile:

Carole

[pmegan]

I would have read more books for English class. We only read 4 a year! And we discussed it in so much detail it was ridiculous. Every little sentence took on SO MUCH IMPORTANCE... there's no way the author meant that much behind every single little word. I think it also put me off reading: I was so scared of missing stuff, and thought of reading as this incredible chore which was so taxing. I was shocked, just shocked when I reread The Great Gatsby at the end by how, well, obvious all the imagery was... I have such a clear memory of the dread over having to write essay after essay on that book. And obviously we missed so much important literature!

 

I would have had more history, and science teachers who weren't jerks.

 

The best thing my school did for me was to let me out of math and science senior year (that was going nowhere fast) and instead let me take an independent study of history, where I wrote a 60 page original research thesis. I ended up cutting most of my classes second semester and just going to the library to read microfilm! One of the things that I like about the WTM system is the senior project, which is similar. Of course, I wouldn't condone my kids skipping all the other subjects!

[Veronica in VA]

Definitely use the WTM, complete with Latin.

 

Veronica

[Lori D.]

Gaaa! The horror... The horror! Those gymsuits made of some completely unstretchable fabric that snapped all the way down (but ONLY if you hadn't at all ... ahem ... developed through the chest or torso), and ended with elastic around the legs that made you look like you had a balloon around each thigh. Gives me the "jibblies" even now to remember those things!! (LOL!)

 

Can you tell that I was a product of 1970s public school?! :tongue_smilie:

 

Okay, seriously, I had NO grammar in school! Really! I've had to learn it as we go. BUT -- I did have two great literature and rhetoric (writing) classes. And worked as feature editor for 3 years on our school paper, which regularly won national awards -- that was excellent! I learned not only how to write, but how to be a good editor (both of my work and for the work of others), plus some fantastic intangibles of responsibility, meeting deadlines, setting up interviews, etc.

 

However, science and math were a complete washout. I don't think I ever had a math or science class which really taught the *connections* between concepts. It was all about rote memorization for a test. History was a joke.

 

So, I guess I'm a bit like the other ladies... I'm so thankful for homeschooling and the WTM suggestions, because I'm getting to re-do my high school education now and really "get it", using some great materials (like Jacobs, Singapore or MUS for math), or getting exposed to subjects never offered in high school (like Logic and root word studies!), and really enjoying learning all the things I never had in my public education...

 

All this without the cliques, the snobs, the drugs, or the stress of "trying to do something with my hair." : ) Cheers! Lori D.

[Nan in Mass]

They sound dreadful! Ours were just a knit teeshirt and shorts that were attached in the middle. At first, they zipped up the back. Later, they had a stretchy neck. The zip ones were nicer. Making a neck that would open wide enough to step through made the neck pretty uncomfortable. I successfully ignored everyone my age. Except my husband. Mostly, I read and waited to go home again.

[Zoraida]

I would have used TWTM also and incorporated a little bit of the Catholic Faith in the history courses. I would also stay away from any P.E. coach who taught history.

 

Blessings

 

Zoraida

[Jane in NC]

because my high school education was ideal in some respects. At my all girls Catholic high school, we used Dolciani for math. I studied Latin and worked by way up to reading excerpts from The Aeneid. I was a member of the debate team my freshman year and participated in forensic speech competitions several times. We read good and great books in our English classes--one Shakespearian play studied per year. The emphasis in my 9th grade English class was on writing. Teachers' personalities may have come into play here. The emphasis my sophomore year was on reading classic novels like Tale of Two Cities and The Hobbit. My junior year English course was interesting--world literature with a teacher who gave C's for the usual formulaic paper. She raised the bar for all of us who were accustomed to churning out superficial papers. I should write that woman a thank you note.

 

History, for the most part, was awful. We used dull text books. I will say that attending high school when I did (the Watergate hearings were in progress) brought constitutional issues to the forefront, so American History was kind of interesting. We did not read primary source documents, although our teacher had much to say on the constitution. She also had much to say on the American Civil War that went beyond our text. Despite this, I decided that I had no interest in history and refused to take history courses per se in college. Nonetheless my undergraduate transcript is peppered with things like History of Philosophy, History of Mathematics, History of the Novel, and Art History. I think that I associated regular history with war which I found to be disheartening.

 

Our science courses were not bad; however, I did not take proper advantage of them. I liked Math and was drawn to art/literature/philosophy, labeling myself as a non-science person. (Somehow I have evolved into an environmental/wildlife biology educator in my freetime. Go figure.)

 

After three years of high school, I went to college and graduated with highest honors. My high school and my parents did something right. Or maybe I was just born curious.

 

Changes? More great books, more engagement in history instruction, someone kicking me in the behind to study more science.

 

Jane (who did not have to wear those horrible one piece blue gym suits--but my sister did! Gosh, were they awful!)

[Denise in NE]

I had one 9th grade English teacher and one 10th grade history teacher in my public school who were worth their pay. If it wasn't for them (and my boyfriend who was attending an all boys Catholic prep school), I wouldn't even KNOW what a classical education was.

 

The rest of high school was a waste of time.

 

As with the others, the WTM way provides the education that I always wanted but never had....

 

....But my girls SHALL have it!

 

Denise in NE

(who DID wear a one piece gold/white striped polyester gym suit. By golly, how could ANYONE look good in that?)

[kleahey]

I feel very fortunate because my high school education was ideal in some respects.

Ditto. I would have given anything to be homeschooled, though. I went to a classical secular high school and loved essentially every person in my class, but I would have benefited from being able to work ahead at my own pace. I also wish that I would have been able to study Greek in high school.

[1cat2ferrets]

Sonlight route as I absolutely love to read..unlike my son .:glare:

[SkateLeft]

My high school experience was pretty good. I was overseas for most of my freshman year, then tested out of 9th, despite the fact that the only "academic" stuff I did was read through the entire sci-fi/fantasy section of the Gateshead public library. Then I moved again the summer between 10th and 11th grade, and ended up in a ridiculous public "Blue Ribbon" high school in CA that was more like a daycare than a school. Fortunately, I had some great teachers throughout my high school years who encouraged my interests.

 

My 10th grade English teacher gave me Sweet's Anglo-Saxon primer and tutored me in Old English, and my 11th grade Spanish teacher gave me the Artes Latinae books when he found out that I wanted to learn Latin. In 12th grade, another teacher let me lead the GATE 9th graders in a literature unit I wrote based on All Quiet on the Western Front. (I went on to do Latin, OE, Greek and biblical Hebrew in college, and I totally credit those teachers for encouraging me.)

 

So if I could tweak my old high school curriculum, I would...

-Have more say in choosing classes. (I did in NY, but none at all in CA.)

-Add classes in Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Greek :D

-Assign more real literature and less stupid twaddly textbooks

-Never require more than one reading of "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller. I think I had to read that every year in high school.

-Drop PE. Seriously, did anyone actually learn anything useful in PE? I still had to take it even though I fenced varsity. :P

-Way more world history and the real study of world cultures and way less "social studies"

-Stick with the Sequential Math program I did for three years (8th-10th) in NY before moving to CA. It made more sense to my language oriented brain.

-Have teachers who really liked science and enjoyed teaching it. I only had one good science teacher.

 

I wish I'd been homeschooled throughout. I was the kind of kid who would have done really well unschooling, I think.

[Jackie in AR]

I would do TWTM high school plan, complete with Latin and Greek, and Classical Writing. One reason I was so attracted to TWTM in the first place was that it was the education I'd always wished for, but never had.

 

Ditto.