momto2Cs Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 My ds will be in ninth grade this fall, and I am debating how hard to push him at this point. He is certainly bright, doesn't mind working hard, and seems to do well with challneging material overall. But, he is also very good at interest-led learning -- he is capable of finding topics, exploring them, putting pieces together, etc. So I am of two minds as to how to approach his first high school year. One would be to give him a full load of work, which I am pretty positive he could handle. The second is to require basic subjects (math and writing, for example), and allow him to unschool the rest. I do want to allow him room to expand his interests, room to grow, but at the same time, I am wondering if I should take advantage of his decent work ethic. Thoughts? Those of you that have allow a more student/interest-led approach in high school, how well did it work? Did you ever wish you had implemented more direction? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 If he is self motivated, then you don't have to push. I do not see a dichotomy between interest led learning and work ethic - a strong work ethic will enhance his self driven learning. We outlined a basic plan for the core subjects: one credit each year in math, science, history, English and foreign language. Math and science were fairly clearcut, textbook driven, but for humanities, I designed my own integrated course with lectures, textbooks spine, literature, and my kids have a lot of input on the choices. Moreover, I let them structure their day. I insist on one hour of math daily (not even this was necessary for motivated driven DD - she'd do math in larger binges and none on other days), but for the rest of the time, they choose which subject to work on for how long with which of the materials that I have "approved". They were free to find additional resources to use and run them by me for approval. One year, DD completely unschooled English, without so much as a reading list from me. Electives - they could structure freely. DD did a unit on culinary science, and DS one on the history of martial arts. So, maybe giving him a framework of requirements, letting him have as much freedom as possibly in filling in that framework, and leaving extra tome for free electives would work well for your DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thank you both so much. I can definitely see working on developing his "course outlines" with him, allowing him to fill in much of the framework. And I like the thought of having him contribute his ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Once you hit the HS level you need to consider college and/or career here are the AZ minimum reqs for an AZ state U: English - 4 years (composition/literature based)Math - 4 years (algebra I, geometry, algebra II and one course requiring algebra II as a prerequisite)Laboratory Science - 3 years total (1 year each from any of the following areas are accepted: biology, chemistry, earth science, integrated sciences and physics)Social Science - 2 years (including 1 year American history)Foreign Language - 2 years (same language)Fine Arts - 1 year plus others equals 22 credits look up your state standard and take that into consideration. The rest can be free electives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Okay, I took everyone's advice. I printed out the state requirements for graduation, and we looked at the general ed pattern for undergraduate studies, as we plan on concurrent enrollment at the cc. This ending up leading to a wonderful discussion about high school! My ds decided, very simply, that he wants to meet the California standards for graduation, because "you never know" what he might end up doing as far as college. So he has chosen that he wants to do (based off both minimum graduation requirements and those for UC/CSU admission): 4 years of English 3-4 years of math (min. req. is only 2!) 3-4 years social studies/sciences 2 years (maybe more) foreign language 2-4 years (probably 4) science, including lab componants for at least 2 (cc, most likely) 2+ years in the fine/visual/performing arts Loosely translated, I think we'll simply go ahead with "requiring" English, math, science, and history/social sciences each year, plus foreign languages for at least 2 years. Now, within that framework, he gets to choose to a certain degree, e.g. the focus of his English classes (we're eyeballing this for ninth grade lit), as well as history and science. Math will follow a pretty standard pattern. So he is working on brainstorming ideas for history and science for fall, thinking about English, and considering electives. Some of the courses he chooses/is interested in (such as Comparative Mythology) will fit right in with the GE requirements at the cc, so we are killing two birds with one stone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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