regentrude Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Some of you may remember that, when I started homeschooling, I was a worried about my ability to homeschool English, because my background is in science and not humanities, and English is not my native language. Encouraged by DH, I then decided to trust my instincts and simply let DD read a lot of great literature, discuss with her, and have her write some (but not large numbers of) essays, completely eschewing any formal language arts program. I always thought she was a pretty good writer, but I was concerned that I might be too biased to have an objective judgment about my own child, especially with no writing background of my own. This semester DD is taking a 300 level literature course (her first formal English class; the instructor waived her the prerequisite of English Composition). She had to write her first college essay on an aspect of Henry IV and got a perfect score on her paper. The teacher commented "Your parents have taught you well." I am so relieved to hear that our relaxed approach to English worked so well. DH keeps saying "I told you so" - but it is nice to have the external validation. And I want to shout out a big THANK YOU to those on this board who encouraged me to do what we were doing - that helped my confidence a lot. As an aside: this instructor gives amazing feedback: every student gets a 20 minute one-on-one conference about her paper, and the teacher not only has comments and corrections written in, but also a typed up page of further thoughts and suggestions. For shorter assignments, they get full corrections and half a page of personalized notes. This level of feedback is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Well done! Your dd should be very proud of herself, too! :). That is quite an accomplishment. Outside affirmation is a wonderful blessing. I felt the same way when my kids were doing really well in upper level math and science. ;). (Writing I had covered.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 That is wonderful, Regentrude! I have to admit that I am relieved that so far, none of mine have put my relaxed English approach to such a rigorous test. I am just relieved that youngest is managing to get A/B's on his music papers lol. He says it is a good thing he took cc comp. : ) Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Congratulations to your daughter (and you)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Sandra Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Bravo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Congratulations to your DD! I'm glad to hear your method worked because it is similar to what I would like to do. and wow, that sounds like a great professor she has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Awesome!!! Thanks for sharing! And kudos to both of you - you for encouraging her to read on and her for actually doing it! ;) Often the best kids in an English class are those who read a ton of "decent" books (variety of words and concepts, etc). I wish I could have convinced two of my three to read more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Regentrude, how wonderful that you were able to prepare her so well, and that she now had the opportunity to work with such a committed teacher. This is awesome news, and I am so happy for you both. It's often funny that the things we worry about the most, and do the least about, often turn out the best. Christians explain it that God has no grandchildren and prepares his children himself. For those of us who are not Christians, we have different explanations or no explanation. But I see this trend. I have no explanation. I just rest in that it all works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 That is a great encouragement to hear. I agree that the level of feedback your dd is receiving is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Amazing, but not surprising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: to you and your DD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 That is wonderful to hear. Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I'm so happy for you and your daughter. Getting confirmation that your English teaching method worked is wonderful. Having a teacher that gives so much time and energy to improving your child's writing is a treasure! What a great double victory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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