specialized high school? per SWB old blog post

[Holly IN]

I just read Susan's blog that somebody linked on another thread. Here is what I read:

 

http://www.susanwisebauer.com/blog/the-raving-writer/a-writers-education/#comments

 

This post was about specializing for high school. SWB posted that her son Christopher is specializing for high school. How do you determine if your child is ready to specialize? My 14 yr old have no idea what he wants to do or to study. He wants to get school done asap so he can facebook or goof off.

 

:glare::glare::glare::glare:

 

HELP

 

Holly

[AnitaMcC]

I just read Susan's blog that somebody linked on another thread. Here is what I read:

 

http://www.susanwisebauer.com/blog/the-raving-writer/a-writers-education/#comments

 

This post was about specializing for high school. SWB posted that her son Christopher is specializing for high school. How do you determine if your child is ready to specialize? My 14 yr old have no idea what he wants to do or to study. He wants to get school done asap so he can facebook or goof off.

 

:glare::glare::glare::glare:

 

HELP

 

Holly

 

 

I am not sure how you would determine is child is ready to specialize. I just figure since my twins have been telling me for years what their career goals are, that we are just giving them the opportunities to do them.

 

For son who wants to be an astrophsics/geology major, he needs math and science galore, so that is what we are giving him. He will probably do:

4 years of English,

1 yr World History,

1 yr US History,

1 semester US Government, 1 semester consumer education,

1 semester health, 1 semester drivers education.

4+ yrs of math: algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, precalculus, AP calculus

4+ yrs of science: chemistry, physics, biology, geology, earth science, AP chemistry, AP physics, AP geology.

2 yrs of computer sciences.

He is choosing to learn Latin so that will be 1-2 yrs probably. He also wants to learn German (he thinks).

 

For daugter who wants to major in music and physical education (as back up) she probably will do:

4 years of English,

1 yr World History,

1 yr US History,

1 semester US Government, 1 semester consumer education,

1 semester health, 1 semester drivers education.

4 yrs of math: algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, precalculus,

3 yrs of science: chemistry, biology, anatomy/physiology.

1 yr computer science

4+ yrs of music courses

She is wanting to learn Italian, Japanese, Sign Language, and also has an interest in video stuff (she loves to record/editing) so she may add some of these courses in too.

 

They already have algebra 1 and 9th grade English done as 8th graders. They want to dual credit, AP, or CLEP as many courses as they can to get ahead for college.

 

Anita

[Holly IN]

Am I doing something wrong when my oldest do not want to go to college or do anything? He knows he will have to get a job to support a family/himself. However he is whining about it. He is whining about what he has to do for school and wants to just get by with bare min.

 

Dh and I told him that he has to keep his grades up or he looses phone time, game time and facebook for a length of time (not talking a week here but a month or even more). He thrives under pressure. That concerns us. He is a very bright kid but very lazy.

 

Not sure what is going on here or what to do about it.

 

Holly

[Laura Corin]

For comparison: the English system has students doing eight or ten subjects from ages 14 to 16, then four or five from 16 to 18. This leads to three or four A level exams, which are required for university entrance and are roughly equivalent to APs. The English university degree usually takes three rather than four years and is very focused: I have a degree in French and Drama, and studied nothing but those two subjects for the whole time I was at university.

 

The system is a very good one if the child is passionate about an area of study and that passion continues. Where it comes very unstuck is if, say, a child who is passionate about languages at 16 suddenly decides s/he wants to take a degree in physics. For that to be possible, the student usually has to redo the last two years of high school.

 

The school that my boys will probably attend uses the International Baccalaureate instead. I like the wider, more balanced curriculum.

 

Laura

[AnitaMcC]

Forgot the 1 yr World Geography and 1 yr World Literature both are doing along with the World History...

 

Anita

 

 

 

I am not sure how you would determine is child is ready to specialize. I just figure since my twins have been telling me for years what their career goals are, that we are just giving them the opportunities to do them.

 

For son who wants to be an astrophsics/geology major, he needs math and science galore, so that is what we are giving him. He will probably do:

4 years of English,

1 yr World History,

1 yr US History,

1 semester US Government, 1 semester consumer education,

1 semester health, 1 semester drivers education.

4+ yrs of math: algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, precalculus, AP calculus

4+ yrs of science: chemistry, physics, biology, geology, earth science, AP chemistry, AP physics, AP geology.

2 yrs of computer sciences.

He is choosing to learn Latin so that will be 1-2 yrs probably. He also wants to learn German (he thinks).

 

For daugter who wants to major in music and physical education (as back up) she probably will do:

4 years of English,

1 yr World History,

1 yr US History,

1 semester US Government, 1 semester consumer education,

1 semester health, 1 semester drivers education.

4 yrs of math: algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, precalculus,

3 yrs of science: chemistry, biology, anatomy/physiology.

1 yr computer science

4+ yrs of music courses

She is wanting to learn Italian, Japanese, Sign Language, and also has an interest in video stuff (she loves to record/editing) so she may add some of these courses in too.

 

They already have algebra 1 and 9th grade English done as 8th graders. They want to dual credit, AP, or CLEP as many courses as they can to get ahead for college.

 

Anita

[AnitaMcC]

Am I doing something wrong when my oldest do not want to go to college or do anything? He knows he will have to get a job to support a family/himself. However he is whining about it. He is whining about what he has to do for school and wants to just get by with bare min.

 

Dh and I told him that he has to keep his grades up or he looses phone time, game time and facebook for a length of time (not talking a week here but a month or even more). He thrives under pressure. That concerns us. He is a very bright kid but very lazy.

 

Not sure what is going on here or what to do about it.

 

Holly

 

 

I don't think it is you/dh doing anything wrong. Each child/person is an individual. Not all want to go to college or are ready to go right out of high school. Also some people are just "lazy"- LOL. I think it is more they just don't have ambition. Hard to be motivated to accomplish something or work toward a goal, if you don't know what you want to do.

 

My almost 20 yr old nephew sounds so much like your son. He is very bright but has no desire to work or accomplish anything. He never put forth much effort (just bare minimum) in all his years of schooling. He just wants to play. We forced him to work when he dropped/failed out of his first year of college. He is not happy with us but we make him pay his way. We figure he will find his way on his own. He is just that way and nothing wrong with that... as long as he is responsible for himself.

 

Anita

[outtamyshell]

Now that we are wrapping up our second year of homeschooling, I feel like we are just scratching the surface of the liberal arts education I want my daughter to have. She doesn't have any burning desire to specialize in anything... including for college. I think she would be happy to do four years of science, math, great books, and latin/ancient greek for college. It's just this year (highschool Junior) that she decided she loves math and science. We've really sparked her love of learning and she doesn't want to let go of anything. We haven't gotten into what I would consider Great Books yet, but we're planning to dig into some for Senior year. I imagine she'll do most of her specializing in graduate school. Perhaps our perspective would be different if we did TWTM through middle school and highschool.

[Rhondabee]

In her talk last summer (I just re-listened to the CD), she mentioned that some kids *don't* know what they want to do in high school, and that's okay. Just plan on a more generalized mix. IOW, try to do as much as you reasonably can in each subject area, rather than dropping one subject at the minimum requirement so that you can specialize in something else. That's what I'm planning on, for now, anyway.

 

If you look at her blog, you'll notice her son had already written - what, like, 3 novels by 9th grade? Obviously, there's a reason there to specialize - that's his passion. My son's plans for his future are very nebulous. Missionary in the bush, astronaut on the ISS, manager at Mickey D's - they all sound equally good to him, depending on which day you ask him. He sounds very similar to your son. He *is* bright, but very phlegmatic. It is so very frustrating to me (type-A person). But, he does have his own strengths, and I really do think he will figure it all out one day.

 

ETA: You are *not* doing *anything* wrong! You are meeting *your* child's needs, so what you are doing is *right*. I'm trying to figure out how to plan some "pressure" for my ds next year (9th) as well. I'm hoping I can accomplish this by using ChalkDust for Math and RedWagonTutorials for Apologia Science - and setting *firm* deadlines (not my own strong suit - LOL!), and maybe an online class for Latin or Logic.

 

Best wishes!

Edited April 22, 2009 by Rhondabee

[Deb in NZ]

My just -turned 17yod wants to work as a ranger with the Department of Conservation here in NZ. As this work will include spending a lot of time in the bush, we have considered many "non-school" things her schoolwork. These activities have given her necessary real-life skills. These include:

• a week-long canoe trip with scouts
  
• CoastGuard DaySkippers certificate
  
• weekly sailing + competing in the NZ Starling sailing competition
  
• 2-3 long tramps with scouts (as part of her DoE challenge)
  
• Mountain Safety BushCraft 1
  
• Young Mariners
  
• Sea Scouts
  
• Venturer Scouts
  
• weekly volunteering at SPCA for over 4 years
  
• monthly volunteering at a local nature reserve island for over 3 years
  
• PADI dive course ( to do in June)
  
• MountainSafety Outdoor First Aid (to do in May)
  
• Sustained Rural Development 1-3 @ the local polytech 2 days a week
  

 

We have required a certain amount of schoolwork to be completed as well, but in hindsight the skills she has learned through the "extras" are in many cases much more valuable. Much of the interpersonal skills & writing she does as a member of the local venturer scout group will prepare her much more effectively for working in a government department than any English assignment I could design. This year she is studying Latin, Biology, Maths, & English at home with me,but we schedule her assignments around the opportunities that come up for "real life" learning.

 

We will design a similar program to fit the needs of each of our ds when they turn 16yo.

 

JMHO,

[Gwen in VA]

About "lazy" children who needs deadlines to get motivated -- I think some adults are like that too! (wink, wink...)

 

Sometimes I look at my kids, lamenting their imperfections. Then I stand back and realize that dh and I have many of those same faults (sins) and we continue to struggle with them.

 

Our kids WON'T be perfect when they leave the house. Hopefully we will have equipped them with enough tools that they will be prepared to learn and grow -- from books, from life, from other people. But our kids are human and they won't have it all together.

 

I have never met anyone who totally "had it all together". Life involves striving for holiness, but that is not something we will achieve in this life.

 

We struggle...we persevere....we grow...and we pray.

[Cedarmom]

I don't know if I specialize, or just give more to weight to his desires for education now. Last year we started debate and he also wanted to do a current events speech, so we made time for tha. For his senior year, he wants to do more speech and also study economics. I rearranged my schedule (dumped art aprreciation but kept english) to fit his desires in. There are still more great books I would like to do, but I will probably just do a few, so he has time for what he wants. If what my son wants has value(in other words not just playing) than I try to find time for it.

[Jill- OK]

How do you determine if your child is ready to specialize? My 14 yr old have no idea what he wants to do or to study. He wants to get school done asap so he can facebook or goof off.

 

Our 'schedule', such as it is, is similar in some ways to Susan's/Christopher's.

 

There are non-negotiables. For their upcoming year, 10th, that means Biology and Geometry (taken at co-op), history/literature (kinda-sorta done WTM style, using Spielvogel's Human Odyssey as a spine, and literature suggestions for the time period), English (Word Roots for vocabulary, and compositions based on their reading/other pursuits), and Spanish (taken via a correspondence course).

 

Then...there's the pursuit of their bliss.

 

For my son, who plans (at the moment) to become a vet, this means working through a herpetology text, and researching/learning/discussing to death his love of reptiles. He's also planning to volunteer at a nearby city's zoo this summer.

 

For my daughter, this means participating in drama at co-op, taking a musical theatre class at the academy attached to a local theatre, and voice lessons.

 

They're also both volleyball crazed, so that knocks out Phys. Ed. :-) (Ds takes guitar lessons, too, and will be studying art with a good friend of mine who is extremely gifted.)

 

As far as how to determine what your child is interested in...I can only tell you what I've done, and that's...talk to them.

 

I've gotten more than my share of "I dunno" and shrugging, lol, I don't mean to make it sound as if my children are these bright, ambitious wonder kids. I've had to make an effort to encourage, say, geckos rather than Gameboy, or books instead of boys. Not by relying so much on banning, or restricting...but by surprising them with support when they show an interest in something...well, worth being interested in.

 

Talk about college and The Future is necessary...but I'm careful not to let that dominate my conversations with them. I just think they're more apt to take my boring ramblings more seriously when I've spent countless hours listening to theirs, lol. It's a give and take, and sometimes, we meet in the middle and intersect. A light bulb goes on. Sometimes for them, and sometimes...for me. It's awesome when that happens.

 

Some children are seemingly born with a sense of purpose, and a desire for academic adventure, and some have to have it cultivated in them. I wrote an article once called "Salting the Oats" and that really is my theory, in a nutshell. (As the good ol' boys say, you can't make a horse drink, once you've led him to water...but you can salt his oats. ;-)

 

Facebook and video games still have a part in my kids' lives, and I allow it...but I jump on any mention of any type of higher interest like a duck on a junebug, and I support the dickens out of it. I guess it's kind of a reward system, in a way. I listen and engage when dd babbles about Facebook, and so-and-so liking so-and-so...but I up the ante when it's about a play, or musical, or piano music. I endure ds's endless stream-of-consciousness monologue about genetics, reptile breeding, and scientific discoveries about herps, hoping that it goes a long way towards building a good relationship with him, and cementing a love for something that could actually turn into a career some day.

 

And I guess you could say that they do the same for me, when it comes to college, views of marriage, careers, and world political systems. :-)

 

You know, even if this changes, mid-stream, and they decide to go a totally different direction...they'll have a basic, sound education in things that matter, to build on, and they'll have spent time pursuing something that mentally trips their trigger. I don't think that's ever a waste.

 

I just believe that a love for learning is the biggest asset of all, and I think that helping them discover something to be highly interested in is a worthy pursuit.

Edited April 24, 2009 by Jill, OK

[debbiec]

Thanks, Jill ~ great post.

[Oakblossoms]

Am I doing something wrong when my oldest do not want to go to college or do anything? He knows he will have to get a job to support a family/himself. However he is whining about it. He is whining about what he has to do for school and wants to just get by with bare min.

 

Holly

 

Holly have you looked in a different direction for him? I found out recently that our state not only offers the CC education for High Schoolers, but it has a program with the technical Colleges, as well. My nephew will be training for HVAC. It's a great opportunity to get a nearly paid for education, as well as earning money pretty much straight away.