Encouragement for high school years

[momofkhm]

Lately the local homeschooling yahoo group has been very encouraging about high school. I don't remember the original question, but it had to do with asking those who have graduated home schoolers who went on to college and what was used. Or should we send them to public school. I think this one was very encouraging.

 

After watching a LOT of homeschoolers graduate and go on to college -- graduate from there and go on to jobs/family etc. Here is what I've learned:

 

It doesn't matter what you use so long as your child learns to enjoy learning (or at least be invested in the process) and develops the basic skills for reading/writing and math. The students who have been successful have used some of everything and in some cases – nothing specific. The specific curriculum matters far less than we probably realize - the outcome matters.

 

If your child is going into science in college you will want to invest more in those areas and Apologia is an easy source to use. So is BJU...... and so are the correspondance courses we can take through Keystone and others. If you do ANY labs at all you will be doing more than many of the "schooled" counterparts.

 

If your child is going to be an engineer in college you want to take the most challenging math classes you can afford and I don't think SAXON is it (though I'm ducking the tomatos that sure will be thrown). After going as high as YOU or another family member can take them they have to be able to learn on their own from DVD's or the computer until they can take classes at the community college (which is the best option if it again becomes available).

 

The best history and literature materials include a lot of reading and analyzing what they read. History and Literature can be as simple as a good, deep and wide reading list. There are SEVERAL well laid out and fine options for each of these courses that give week by week assignments and instructions. Students should be able to write the basic forms of paragraphs of essays -- or least be able to learn to write once they get to college classes. I personally think that learning how to answer essay question is the skill these classes should teach beyond the depth of the subject matter itself. Good old fashioned Charlotte Mason type narration is wonderful practice.

 

Despite all that you might do you cannot prepare them for college classes, they will only learn how to survive in college when they get there. Does sound flip? I don't mean it to...... the truth remains:

 

All students, even those from great public schools, find college vastly different from what they have done before - at least in some way. There is a learning curve and it is fairly steep. Every year students enter freshmen classes coming from high schools that use different texts, have different curricula outlines, employ different teaching methods and emphasis different disciplines -- their is not much homogeneity in school experiences. Homeschooled students are exactly the same. The students who do well are those who

 

1) are self -starters and know how to keep themselves on track

2) learn quickly how to adjust to the pace and expectations of a college class

3) can write clearly -- or least quickly develop this necessary skill. Many will say you must know how to write a critical essay or literary analysis. That is probably true, but I still believe most college writing courses teach the specifics of this skill and a good student will learn it quickly if they haven't done a lot in high school (actually I KNOW this from experience). What is necessary is knowing how to write good sentences and clear paragraphs. (Write Shop, IEW, Format Writing, Brave Writer -- all these are good and represent different degrees of complexity)

4) can and WILL talk to their teachers and self-advocate when necessary (i.e. ask for help)

5) know or can quickly learn how to study and demonstrate what they know on assessments (I'm not sure we can adequately prepare them for this).

6) have a broad range of experiences which help them place new material in context

 

One huge advantage most home school student have in college is that they haven't been tormented, fatigued or bored to death over the previous 12 years. Classes are a relatively new experience and they are interested in the subject or at least in doing well and conforming to expectations. They will show up with assignments done because it doesn't occur to them that one might NOT do that.

 

I could give you my suggestions for curriculum, but there are too many to choose from to be useful. You will find what works for you and that will be good enough. You are probably already doing an outstanding job and have a good feel for what works best for your student.

 

[sharon family school]

This post really encouraged me!!!

I have heard recently from an experienced HS mom who has sent her 1st child off to college that as long as they are great readers, they can write well, they have progressed well in math and you have taught them character skills....they are capable of great things when they go off to college! This encouraged me as well!

Susan

[ruth]

thankyou for sharing this message!

[FloridaLisa]

Lots of great wisdom in the post.

 

Based on ds1's experience so far, we have unfortunately found that not every freshman comp class teaches how to write.

 

3) can write clearly -- or least quickly develop this necessary skill. Many will say you must know how to write a critical essay or literary analysis. That is probably true, but I still believe most college writing courses teach the specifics of this skill and a good student will learn it quickly if they haven't done a lot in high school (actually I KNOW this from experience). What is necessary is knowing how to write good sentences and clear paragraphs.

 

Ds' prof was way more concerned about discussing pop culture than any significant literature or teaching the craft of writing. So, I am not relying on college to teach my dc how to research and write. These are skills we are developing at home so that my dc will in turn be ready for college (and hopefully AP out of the 2 freshman comp/lit classes :001_smile: ).

 

 

1) are self -starters and know how to keep themselves on track

2) learn quickly how to adjust to the pace and expectations of a college class

***

4) can and WILL talk to their teachers and self-advocate when necessary (i.e. ask for help

***

6) have a broad range of experiences which help them place new material in context

 

This I agree with completely. These are key to doing well in college.

 

 

5) know or can quickly learn how to study and demonstrate what they know on assessments (I'm not sure we can adequately prepare them for this).

 

I agree with *knowing* how to study before getting to college. Do NOT want to learn that skill in the middle of 15 hours of college courses! There are lots of opportunities to learn test-taking skills in home education as well. In fact, it's a critical skill for the college admissions tests themselves.

 

Good food for thought!

Lisa

Edited April 14, 2010 by FloridaLisa

[sbaloue]

This helps me. Thanks.:iagree: