Liza Q Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 My son will be a senior next year. I've planned 12th grade before with my 3 daughters but every time is different! My priorities for him this year are - Writing writing writing Enough Math to help him see if he wants to pursue engineering or business (he's interested in both), as it will help in deciding on a college Managing his time better, in preparation for college To finish High School in NY, he is required to take: Economics - .5 credit (Textbook, extra reading, a few tests, writing) Government - .5 credit (Textbook, extra reading, a few tests, writing) English - 1 credit (Reading, writing, including an online Lit Analysis workshop, some grammar, polishing off a Vocab book) Art/Music - .5 credit (maybe music history, maybe some theory, maybe photography, maybe a little of each) PE - .5 credit (PT for his scoliosis, exercise, soccer) I am requiring a few more classes: Pre-Calculus - 1 credit (with Jann in TX @myhomeschoolmathclass) Chemistry - 1 credit (probably DIVE with Zumdahl World of Chemistry and a lab kit, maybe an online class - dithering on this one) Senior Thesis - .5 credit (Memoria Press Online) He has requested 1 class: Business Math - 1 credit (ABeka or ALEKS) Other possibilities: Statistics - can I fit in a half credit course here? Do half as much Business Math and add Statistics for a full credit of BusMath/Statistics? I know that he'll take it in college no matter what he majors in, so is it really necessary right now? Spanish - he'll be about 2/3 through BTB 2 in June. Should he do another full year, finish BTB 2, get as far as he can in BTB3, and call it Spanish 3? Switch to an online class where he'll get more speaking practice and call it Spanish 3? Can we just wrap up the end of the BTB 2 book, add some reading, conversation, and review, and call it Spanish 2.5 for a .5 credit? He doesn't want to forget everything he knows but we are both thinking of maybe maintaining, not learning more. Without Spanish and/or Statistics, and not counting PE, he would be taking 6 credits. It's unlikely that we will be having him look for a job this year so I think he has room for some more work. But how much more? And maybe a job would be even better than adding anything? My budget has been increased a bit, so I can add an online Chemistry class or an online Spanish class...but probably not both without dropping the writing classes, which are my #1 priority. Bottom line - he is not a self-starter and will spend most of his free time playing video games with his friends and never think to pick up a book. But he actually likes to read and especially enjoys any non-fiction I give him. He'll do whatever he is assigned and he is getting better about not dragging his heels on the boring stuff so I want to keep him busy, without overloading him. And there are college applications coming up, so I need to allow time for that. So my actual questions are - should he keep up with Spanish? How much should he do? Should I add Statistics, either as a stand-alone or as part of Business Math? Do less academics and look for a job? Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur Actress Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 If it were me, I would finish Spanish 2 and stop there. And definitely have him get a job...this will help with time management and money management, plus give him spending money. And save Statistics until college. You're right...college applications can take a lot of time. Not sure what the Senior Thesis is...does he really need that? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 I'd follow his lead. If he really wants then you can do more Spanish and statistics. However, I think you schedule is fine without them. I would have a conversation saying you expect something more than video games in free time - whether it be more academics, more free reading, athletics, job is up to you all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 (edited) .. Edited February 15, 2017 by Heigh Ho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 (edited) Intro to accounting instead of business math. Statistics is not necessary unless it was not integrated in to earlier courses. Spanish....if he will be in a college major requiring a LOTE, he should consider completing up to Regents Exam level,or as they call it now, FLACS Checkpoint B. If he is there now, call it good as another high school.year isn't going to move him a course ahead in college. Consider a speech or drama class if not already done. Oral communication is important in college and he should be comfortable giving presentations. Both chemistry and english are needed. Consider drafting or intro to machine shop. A job can be afterschool or weekend. Edited February 15, 2017 by Heigh Ho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 Maybe things are vastly different here (Canada) than where you are, but here the math required for Engineering is much higher than Business. Here you need Calculus and Advanced Functions. Also Physics is required. I'd look at the requirements for the program he wishes to enter at University, and make sure he has them. If this isn't how things work where you are, then disregard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 About the Senior Thesis - when my older girls were Seniors, they each chose an elective - one Philosophy, one Psychology. They did a lot of reading and thinking, then research, then a large research paper. I advised them, but it was really independent study. I want my son to have a similar experience before college, but he is not interested in doing it independently, or at all. And it is part of my first priority goal for him - writing writing writing! So a 1-semester class that teaches research paper skills is, I think, a good choice for him. About the math for Engineering - he has come late to a love for math/physics and there is no way he will complete a higher level of math than Pre-Calculus before college. If he were further ahead in math with amazing grades, I would consider looking at Cooper Union or NYU (hoping for merit aid) or City College. Oh - we live in NYC and he wants to stay home and put any money we/he have/has into tuition, not room and board. If he decides that he wants to pursue Engineering, he can start at one of the CCs here and, if he get strong grades in math and Physics, transfer to a 4-yr school. About the math for Business - this would be in addition to Pre-Calc, not instead. He's looked at accounting and business math classes and he found the accounting programs too narrow. The Bus Math we looked at had some acctg plus other topics. He wants to get a feel for different aspects of math-in-business, which is why I thought we might add Statistics to the mix. Since he is also taking Economics, he hopes to get a better idea of how he might actually use math if he majored in Business or Finance. There are several schools in the area that would be a good choice for business....just not a lot that would have a good foundation for both Engineering and Business! So we're trying to prepare a bit in both directions. Pre-Calculus is, of course, foundational to both. We considered having him take a more advanced Physics course, but I think he needs Chemistry on his transcript. And he'll have to take Chem as a pre-requisite for the Engineering and Physics programs we've looked at and I don't want that to be the first time he's taken Chemistry since the 8th grade. About Speech class - he took Debate for 2 years and, sadly, the teacher moved on. We've been looking to start the class up again and if we can work it out, we will definitely add that, no matter what else we are doing! But he is fairly comfortable with public speaking, thanks to debate. About a job - things are tight here. His competition for jobs are either college kids or kids in the city jobs programs...though I have been keeping my eyes/ears open! About the d***ed video games. All of his friends are homeschooled, so you would think that they would see each other more often. But online classes and sports have them on such different schedules and often 5-6 weeks will go by before he can get together with anyone. Youth group at church is another bunch of kids and soccer yet another but, while he likes several of the kids, he hasn't developed any let's hang out/go to the movies/come over because my Mom made brownies relationships, kwim? So he does have a lot of alone time and I have not been that willing to cut down his game time since I do feel badly about him being alone so much. But he is almost 17 and I want him to grow up a bit...so I need to make a firm plan over how much is too much. But I am not sure exactly how much IS too much, and neither is my husband. This is a parenting thing and even as I am typing this, I am seeing some ways we could be more proactive here. Thanks for all the ideas!!! I don't have to make any actual final decisions until the summer, but online classes fill up fast and I like to plan ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 (edited) Does the term "business math" have negative connotations for the transcript? I thought that at the high school level it is typically applications of arithmetic and some algebra. If he is also taking precalculus, maybe not, but business math seems to have the stigma of not being college prep, even for business majors. Has this changed recently and I am wrong? I just wonder if finding a better title for this elective might look better, and then list some accounting, statistics, and whatever other business math topics you cover in the course description, especially if your business math course is going to be more advanced than what is typically called business math in public schools. Like maybe it would include software applications that business owners use, or other entrepreneurial topics. Edited February 15, 2017 by Penelope 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 About the Senior Thesis - when my older girls were Seniors, they each chose an elective - one Philosophy, one Psychology. They did a lot of reading and thinking, then research, then a large research paper. I advised them, but it was really independent study. I want my son to have a similar experience before college, but he is not interested in doing it independently, or at all. And it is part of my first priority goal for him - writing writing writing! So a 1-semester class that teaches research paper skills is, I think, a good choice for him. If I was preparing my son for engineering/business (which I am), I wouldn't do this if he had no interest. I'd focus on the type of writing he'll need as an engineer, which, according to the engineers I've been speaking to, is more report writing, describing labs and results, methods, etc. Yes, writing is important, but different than what you are describing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 Penelope - hmm...lots to think about there. I haven't thought about how his transcript will look, only what he wants to learn! I could...drop the business math work to one semester and then add - I need to research this more. Definitely a case of not knowing what I don't know! Wintermom - good point. He has used MLA citation but he is very shaky and doesn't want to go in depth for a paper and I want him stronger in this before college. But that time might be better spent writing a few shorter papers, maybe for Govt and Eco, and then doing other stuff.... Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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