Does anyone afterschool their high school students?

[SoCal Sandra]

Ds may go to a public charter school next year, 9th grade. Although it offers some "integrated" programs such as integrated STEM, Global History of Ideas, and IB in 11th and 12th grade, none of the programs follow classical pedagogy or classical content.

 

I am wondering whether afterschooling in Latin will be a good idea. Ds will be taking Spanish at the school but also wants to continue his Latin studies.

 

Do any of you still afterschool at the high school level? If so, what do you do?

 

TIA

[Arcadia]

 

I am wondering whether afterschooling in Latin will be a good idea. Ds will be taking Spanish at the school but also wants to continue his Latin studies.

There are high school students in my kid's Saturday German school who are taking the Goethe Institut's exams.  They are attending public high schools and taking a foreign/world language at their school as well.  It is definitely doable.

[SoCal Sandra]

Thanks for the replies, ladies.

 

Heigh Ho, is your afterschooling a continuation of homeschooling or have your dc always attended brick and morter schools?

 

Ds will be going from a classical pedagogy to a fast paced, competitive environment, so I may postpone afterschooling until the second semester. I don't want to sacrifice deep reflection to the AP arms race which I'm told drives the high performing students, but I also don't want to overload ds during the first semester by afterschooling in Latin. He will continue with piano, so that may be enough to start with. Any advice on how to keep the balance? TIA.

[SoCal Sandra]

I appreciate the advice, Heigh Ho. Kudos to you for years of supplementing your son's education.

 

I actually called the school to ask which textbooks it uses so I could compare them and decide among the various programs the school offers, but the school does not disclose the name of textbooks to parents for some reason, The school gives a very general description of the various programs and based on that the student must rank his 1 through 5 choices. It seems like many parents simply demand their dc take all Honors and AP classes, become one of the school's 40 valedictorians and get accepted to an Ivy league school. They supplement by sending the dc to tutors and test prep courses. After years of appreciating education for its intrinsic value, I'm a bit of an outsider in all of this.

 

Not that I'm against that level of achievment--I was raised in gifted classes and was valedictorian of both my junior high and my high school--but I have come to value the depth and richness of classical education. 

 

I like your idea of the 2 hour time block. Especially during the first semester as we learn how demanding the classes are. Ds' standardized test scores will put him in the Honors classes. The only AP class offered in grade 9 is Human Geography. Did your son take that course? If he did, was there value in the material and did you have to supplement it? If so, what supplementary materials did you use?

 

If you don't have time to answer, don't worry. Another member of the hive might chime in. Take care and thanks again.

 

 

[SoCal Sandra]

Yes, I will check the high school forum.

The school here offers 24 AP courses (46 sections)and requires parents to sign statements declaring that they are not enrolling students in AP just to boost their GPAs or to get them accepted to college, but because they value scholarship.The parents must also promise not to involve their children in too many extracurriculars. This suggests the courses are offered for their intrinsic value, which is more in keeping with our educational philosophy.

Sorry to hear you have so few offerings there. Thank goodness for the Art of Problem Solving. Good luck and thanks again. :)

[LibraryLover]

  At home we focus on the discussion of ideas, plus critical thinking.  We talk a great deal about news, books, politics, and global situations. We continue to participate in our community. .