Somebody Tell Me I'm Wrong or that It Is Alright

[rutamattatt]

I have two homeschoolers - a freshman and a 6th grader this year.   As I am planning for next year, I am wrestling with this awful feeling that the days of interest led learning are at a close.  

 

DS15 is currently interested in a military career, but my husband is adamant that both boys graduate with a college prep transcript so I feel like his high school years are already filled with "must have" courses.  I would love to do a military history course with him, and he would be all over that.  But where do I fit it in?  With DS12 I feel like I have his 7th grade year left to pursue subjects he is interested in because by 8th grade it was all about making sure we had the classes we needed to be ready for high school.  

 

 

It feels like homeschooling as they are getting older is losing the passion or joy.  It feels as I look ahead to next year like it is all about checking th eboxes.  Does that make sense?  Is this just the way of it?  Or am I chaining myself to a transcript and I don't need to?  What did you experienced HS homeschoolers do to keep your student's interests at the forefront of their education?  

 

 

[Paige]

Highschoolers in PS typically have at least 2 electives a year. Some may be able to have 4 or more if they take 1 semester courses. There's plenty of room for interest based classes- homeschooled students should have even more flexibility. 

[HomeAgain]

You could do world history from a military perspective.  The Great Courses has a War & World History set that he might be interested in.

 

It just takes a little outside the box thinking.  You can still fit their interests in, but you might have to work on the titles of the classes a bit to cover it.

[Garga]

I hear you!

 

I've posted things like what you've posted--about how high school is all about checking all those boxes and there's no room for interest-led learning. And then someone comes on and reminds me that I can tweak the required courses (like someone said above--history from a military perspective) and they remind me that there are electives, so there is a little wiggle room.

 

It's not the same as before, though, for me. I think that there really *are* boxes to be checked and I'm not able to get around that. Some people manage to keep things completely out of the box, but I'm only able to keep things about 25% out of the box, and 75% in the box: English, math, science, language...all following the traditional path with the electives and a bit of history being for fun.

 

If I were you, I'd find a way to make history be outside of the traditional box for at least one year, or even just one semester. I can see you being able to pull that off and still have the boxes checked.

Edited April 14, 2017 by Garga

[regentrude]

You can still tailor a college prep highschool education to the student's needs.

Even the most stringent admissions criteria do not require more than 4x4 (one credit per year in math, English, social science, science), and depending on selectivity 2-4 years of foreign language. That leaves plenty of room for electives, AND the above requirements can be filled according to the student's interests and career plans.

 

Military history can be one of his high school social science courses.

You can tailor lit courses completely to the student's interest.

[....]

 

DS15 is currently interested in a military career, but my husband is adamant that both boys graduate with a college prep transcript so I feel like his high school years are already filled with "must have" courses.  I would love to do a military history course with him, and he would be all over that.  But where do I fit it in?  With DS12 I feel like I have his 7th grade year left to pursue subjects he is interested in because by 8th grade it was all about making sure we had the classes we needed to be ready for high school.  

 

 

It feels like homeschooling as they are getting older is losing the passion or joy.  It feels as I look ahead to next year like it is all about checking th eboxes.  Does that make sense?  Is this just the way of it?  Or am I chaining myself to a transcript and I don't need to?  What did you experienced HS homeschoolers do to keep your student's interests at the forefront of their education?  

 

I was thinking like this last spring.   :glare:  It was terrifying how everything would look to college admissions.  My oldest two have always been very interest-led.  So, last spring (when dd was starting 9th grade), I panicked and put together a curriculum for her that checked all the boxes.  Yeah, it lasted about 3 weeks.  Lol.  And then it was back to business as usual.  One rabbit trail led to another and then to another...

 

I let the teens pick their courses for the year.  I also let them pick their courses for this year, too.  I would give them a guideline like...OK, we need a history/social studies credit.  And dd15 said, "Let's do Human Geography!"  Voila!  Human Geography, it is.  I then asked them questions about what they were wanting to do for their classes and put together a booklist, projects and field trips based on that.

 

And I have no idea if I'm doing the wrong thing.  And colleges are probably going to be like  :scared:  when they see my kids' transcripts.  But, I just reached a point where I don't care.  You can't argue with the finished project, you know?  I'm pretty sure my kids are smarter than I am at this point.   :tongue_smilie:  So it's hard to argue against our method.

 

Ironically, their interest-led year does not look that much different on their transcripts than following a curriculum.  These are the courses we did:

 

Saxon Algebra (this was non-negotiable and why I can't wear the unschooling label)

British Literature and Composition

British History

Earth Science

Latin

German

US Government

Introduction to Fine Arts

Physical Education

Old Testament Survey

 

Being interest-led, does that really look THAT weird on a transcript?  I mean, I don't think so...  *shrug*

 

The only three courses that I told them are non-negotiable sometime in high school (besides math) are chemistry, physics and US history.

 

For 10th grade, dd15 has come up with:

 

Saxon Algebra 

Folk Literature and Composition

Human Geography

Human Anatomy

Health (I kinda suggested this one, because it went along with anatomy)

Ethology

Latin

German

Beginning Woodworking

Physical Education

New Testament Studies

 

:confused:   I don't know if I'm doing the wrong thing, either.  But, I know the kids are getting a much better education that I had.  

 

And lots of unschoolers get into college.  There are a couple of unschooling blogs where the kids are high school/college age and those have been very encouraging to read.

 

Another thought:  I'm thinking of doing interest-led learning until 11th grade and then following TWTM for 11th and 12th grades.  That would drop us off at US history and more modern literature, which is probably right where they will be anyway. 

 

Edited to add: sorry for rambling so much!

Edited April 14, 2017 by Evanthe

[regentrude]

Some examples from my own kids:

DD has four physics credits and five French credits. She unschooled English one year, and for others has English credits on Shakespeare and Fantasy lit. She loves to cook and has an elective on Culinary Chemistry (with extensive practical lab work in the kitchen)

 

DS spent a year studying WW1+2. He has courses on Myth and Folklore, Science fiction, Dystopian lit. He has an elective on History of Martial Arts.

 

Both had times for extensive extracurricular activities. High school is what you make it. There is a lot of wiggle room left.

[tampamommy]

One other thought is to have DS research and learn about military history on his own, during recreational time.

 

If it is an area that he is really genuinely interested in, he can pursue learning about it as a hobby, versus as a "school class." That way, he does it when he has the time. So the pressure of a more formal course is not there.

 

And when you see to what extent he is/is not choosing to spend his time that way...it will give you a better perspective on how sure he is of that career field and/or how much he wants it.

 

When my dc transitioned to high school, with specific and ambitious college goals in mind (and both in the military), many of their interests transitioned to their hobby/occasional spare time. They found time to pursue the things they were really interested in even with packed academic/extracurricular schedules. It also helped teach them prioritization/long-range planning.

 

 

[regentrude]

If it is an area that he is really genuinely interested in, he can pursue learning about it as a hobby, versus as a "school class." That way, he does it when he has the time. So the pressure of a more formal course is not there.

 

Just a comment: you don't have to have a "formal" course to count it for credit. You can also let the student learn at his pace, in his own time, with his own choice of materials and award credit when it turns out that he has done enough work in the subject. Some of the best learning happens this way.

[lllll]

nm

Edited April 22, 2017 by _ -_-

[busymama7]

I am being told by both of the school my two teens are looking at that they don't even want transcripts. It's 100% ACT based which is both terrifying and a relief at the same time 😉. I don't like that everything is riding on the tests but I do appreciate that I feel free to do their high school as I see fit and not have to fit into neat little boxes.

 

Is this very common or uncommon?

[Saddlemomma]

Our DD is entering 9th next fall.  Our interest-led courses are, by no means, ending.

 

DD wants to do Ancient History rather than World History, so that's what we are going to do. Our English class will be comprised of comparing ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian lit with the Bible, as well as the standard Greek & Roman fare.  However, our emphasis will be on Mesopotamian culture and literature. Again, this is DD's choice.

 

In addition, DD has requested a class using the Great Courses Plus (GCP) Ancient Astronomy course.  I've bought a couple of books for her to read in addition to the lectures, and she will also answer the lecture essay questions.  This will be one of her elective courses. DD has also asked for a more in-depth Mythology class, so I've covered that as an elective as well. Strategic thinking is another.  She asked for the book, The Art of War for Christmas.  I looked on GCP and found Masters of War: History's Greatest Strategic Thinkers. It uses the Art of War as one of it's suggested readings. So there's another elective for next year.

 

About the only classes DD has next year that she does NOT want to do and/or has little interest in are math (Geometry) and Spanish. DD would rather do Japanese than Spanish, but the only problem with that is that she has very little motivation to stick with any language and at least I can actually help her with Spanish, as I still remember enough to get her through levels 1 & 2. I couldn't do that with Japanese, and I know that she would let the ball drop as soon as it got a little challenging. She's just not into other languages.

 

FWIW, I felt the same way as you when I started thinking about high school.  I was terrified I would mess it up, mess her up, and she would have to learn all these boring, standard classes like the PS kids.  The more I thought about it, the less appealing that was for both of us.

 

We homeschool for a reason. Part of that reason is to have the freedom to explore options that PS kids don't have. As long as DD gets her 4 history/4 science/4 English/4 math/2 language credits on her transcript, I'm not too concerned about what type of history class, science class, etc. make up those credits.  My DD has no clue what degree she wants to pursue in college, and frankly, I think kids are too young to know, at this stage of the game, what they want to do for the rest of their lives. So, I'm going to let her explore her interests as much as I can.

 

A week ago, I asked DD to make a list of subjects she could think of that she was interested in.  This is just a portion of her list:

 

• Acupuncture
• Archery (She has a compound bow, and DH will work with her as part of PE)
• Pressure Points
• Swordplay
• Knife Throwing (She & DH got throwing knives for Christmas. The will work on this together - PE)

• All points of History and Mythology

• Physics

• Chemistry

• Toxicology (I will work this into each year - for our Ancients study this year, I have purchased a book on Ancient toxicology)

• Astronomy (Again, each year I will integrate how Astronomy has advanced through history beginning w/Ancient Astronomy )
• Star Navigation (This will dovetail with Astronomy)

• Micro Expressions

• Herbology

• Strategy (Elective for 9th grade)

• Breath Control/Meditation

• Psychology

• World cultures
• Nanotechnology Maybe
• Medicine

• Japanese

• Ballroom Dancing?

• International Politics 

 

This list allows me to build classes around DD's interests.  I mean -- Nanotechnology and International Politics???!!! Seriously?  I had no clue.  Who is this kid and what did she do with my DD?!

 

The most amazing thing is that DD has never been very interested in science at all. Just look at all the science on that list! However, GCP's course, The Joy of Science, has changed all that. Now she's fascinated by physics and chemistry of all things. She tells me that that lecture series with the textbook I got her to go with it has made science more clear and understandable to her than all our science rotations & curricula through elementary school. She's loving science for the first time and wants to pursue it further...and so we shall.

 

Ask your DS to make a list of his ideal high school classes or interests and then see how you can build courses around those interests.  You may just be as surprised as I was.

[MerryAtHope]

I have two homeschoolers - a freshman and a 6th grader this year.   As I am planning for next year, I am wrestling with this awful feeling that the days of interest led learning are at a close.  

 

DS15 is currently interested in a military career, but my husband is adamant that both boys graduate with a college prep transcript so I feel like his high school years are already filled with "must have" courses.  I would love to do a military history course with him, and he would be all over that.  But where do I fit it in?  With DS12 I feel like I have his 7th grade year left to pursue subjects he is interested in because by 8th grade it was all about making sure we had the classes we needed to be ready for high school.  

 

 

It feels like homeschooling as they are getting older is losing the passion or joy.  It feels as I look ahead to next year like it is all about checking th eboxes.  Does that make sense?  Is this just the way of it?  Or am I chaining myself to a transcript and I don't need to?  What did you experienced HS homeschoolers do to keep your student's interests at the forefront of their education?  

 

While there are subjects that need to be done, there is a lot of wiggle room. US or World history could be done from a military perspective. Or do a year of each of those traditionally, but let him do an elective military history course for a third year of history. My oldest did Japanese history one year. 

 

The biggies in junior high with prepping for high school is just trying to shore up writing skills (which you work on throughout high school as well), keeping up with math, and working on study skills--and you can work on study skills while you work on subjects they enjoy, too. 

 

Most of the time you need:

 

4 math credits

4 English credits (do a mixture of lit and composition, and focus on lit they enjoy)

3 Social Studies credits (many schools want US and World, some specify a semester of Government--so it's good to include those. But "world history" doesn't have to be all of World history--you can do "modern world history" for example--or maybe "military world history" in your son's case, for a specified time period--be creative!) My oldest did 4 SS credits and did electives he was interested in like the Japanese world history. My dd only did 3 SS credits, but she did Psychology for one half credit.

3 Science credits--usually they specify at least one with labs, some want 2 with labs. My dd did the traditional bio-chem-physics, and then did Anatomy and Physiology--she plans to go on in nursing, so these were all interest-led for her. My ds did Physical, Robotics (his choice) and Biology (box-check course for him).

2-4 years of foreign language--DS chose to do Japanese--totally interest-led there. 

That's only 16-18 credits, which still leaves a lot of room for various electives. Both of my kids had 13-14 half-credits in various electives as they explored their interests. (Some schools do specify a year of fine arts too, but that's pretty easy to fill through various interests).

 

So...think creatively about how to fill requirements they DO need to do, but also about straight-up electives.There are things they don't have choices about (like whether to do math or social studies...), but often there really are choices about HOW you fill at least some of those. 

[Reefgazer]

Military history is a legitimate history course, and can be listed that way on a transcript.  Or use it as an elective.

I have two homeschoolers - a freshman and a 6th grader this year.   As I am planning for next year, I am wrestling with this awful feeling that the days of interest led learning are at a close.  

 

DS15 is currently interested in a military career, but my husband is adamant that both boys graduate with a college prep transcript so I feel like his high school years are already filled with "must have" courses.  I would love to do a military history course with him, and he would be all over that.  But where do I fit it in?  With DS12 I feel like I have his 7th grade year left to pursue subjects he is interested in because by 8th grade it was all about making sure we had the classes we needed to be ready for high school.  

 

 

It feels like homeschooling as they are getting older is losing the passion or joy.  It feels as I look ahead to next year like it is all about checking th eboxes.  Does that make sense?  Is this just the way of it?  Or am I chaining myself to a transcript and I don't need to?  What did you experienced HS homeschoolers do to keep your student's interests at the forefront of their education?  

 

[Guest]

You should join us on the Scholé threads over on the high school board. You aren't the only one struggling with this and seeking to find a better way!! :) 

 

 

[fralala]

I don't have high schoolers yet, but I was lucky enough to attend prep school and much of the above advice you received corresponds with what my high school experience was. We had course catalogues full of fascinating classes! I would say interest-led learning would describe my junior and senior years especially well. This was wonderful college preparation, and admissions officers know that. Checking the boxes? Well, one must, but it's not always meaningful, as seen in the number of high school graduates who struggle with college-level work.

 

I see some wonderful lists of fascinating possible courses above, and I thought I would just add a prep school course catalogue to the mix, because I think it can be helpful in showing how you might name and describe courses on your transcript.

 

 

[SebastianCat]

My DS is finishing his 9th grade year, and has decided he wants to pursue a career in military aviation or military/space engineering.   So we are planning on adding an Aviation Science course next year.   We will probably also do at least one leadership course along the way.   His 10th grade courses look different than what I thought he'd be taking when I made a 4-year high school plan a year ago.   We ARE "checking the boxes" for required courses, but we are tweaking and using electives to cover interest-led subjects.

 

[Wheres Toto]

When I was in high school in public school, I took Military History for one of my required history courses.

 

I took what was known as "multi-course slide" to students because it was considered easy/interest-led, for English one year.  There was a required quarter of writing and a required quarter of literature, then you could pick what you wanted for the other quarters.  I took Science Fiction literature and Creative Writing.  I went from Honors English for two years to that course for my Junior and Senior years.

 

I also ended up taking two cooking classes my senior year after dropping Calculus.  

 

I still have a few years but I'm hoping to be fairly creative with my son's coursework.

[SebastianCat]

 

May I suggest the 

Aerospace: The Journey of Flight Hardcover â€“ 2008

by Barb privulick Jeff Montogomery (Author)

 

Dd loved it. She read The God Machine (helos) and The Rise of the Rocket Girls, along with some lab work. The FLight book is the one CAP uses. 

 

We already have that book, and are planning to use it in the fall.   :thumbup:    I will check out the other ones as well.  Thanks!

[....]

His 10th grade courses look different than what I thought he'd be taking when I made a 4-year high school plan a year ago.   

 

Yeah, for us, doing the "map out your 4 years of high school" was a waste of time.  It looks absolutely nothing like how I mapped it when dd15 was in the late middle school years.  I didn't even bother mapping high school out for ds14.  We do best when we just fly by the seat of our pants, I guess.

[G5052]

I have one in college and one in 12th. Both have some interest-led courses. Granted, you have less room for that, but you can fit it in. You need to start looking at what kinds of credits are needed for whatever happens after graduation. It may be more flexible than you think.

 

Generally you need a year of American history and a year of world history, and after that the history credits are more flexible. Same with science. Most want biology and either chemistry or physics, then whatever.

 

My older one did four years of Latin, two years of Spanish, and a year of conversational Russian, which was overkill in languages, but he was thinking of being a linguist. At the end of that, he decided that linguistics wasn't for him, and he's now an accounting major.

 

My younger one did two years of studio art and a year of home arts (cooking, household management, sewing).

[regentrude]

I am being told by both of the school my two teens are looking at that they don't even want transcripts. It's 100% ACT based which is both terrifying and a relief at the same time 😉. I don't like that everything is riding on the tests but I do appreciate that I feel free to do their high school as I see fit and not have to fit into neat little boxes.

 

Is this very common or uncommon?

 

Very uncommon.

Every single school we looked up required transcripts and had certain requirements that had to be completed to be eligible for admission.

[Renai]

The only college I've come across so far that doesn't need the high school transcript was one dd would be transferring to if she decided to dual enroll an AS degree at the cc, then graduate high school. The college would accept the AS credits/transcript (transfer agreement), but still require the ACT before accepting her into the BS program. All other colleges we looked at still want the hs transcript.

[katilac]

I am being told by both of the school my two teens are looking at that they don't even want transcripts. It's 100% ACT based which is both terrifying and a relief at the same time 😉. I don't like that everything is riding on the tests but I do appreciate that I feel free to do their high school as I see fit and not have to fit into neat little boxes.

 

Is this very common or uncommon?

 

Never heard of such. 

[Renai]

I hope it's alright. I got my advice from many of the ones advising you in this thread.  :lol:  Dancer's transcript will be slightly unconventional. Like a pp said, the 4-year plan we started with looks nothing like we're doing now. And I'm far from experienced. My oldest is in 11th.

 

We planned ancient history, world history (after ancients into modern), American, government and economics. She started Ancient History in 10th last year (her world history credit), but her study extended way beyond into this year, thus giving her credits in Ancient history (last year) with some readings in Spanish to contribute to a bilingual language arts credit, Comparative Ancient Literature (for English 11), and an in-depth study on cultures and religions in ancient times (another social studies/history). She will still get American History, even though she's not excited about it. And she's finished government (finally!) and working on economics, so will also get conventional required courses.

 

She suffered through chemistry until I got "permission" from the experts here on WTM to pull the plug, and let her take culinary chemistry. With her taking baking courses in DE for her certificate, culinary chemistry fits more to what she needed. She CLEPped out of Spanish (a heritage language going under "Language Arts" instead of an "English" heading), and this semester decided to study Japanese on her own. If she continues, she'll get credit for that too. Neither culinary chemistry nor Japanese were on the plan. In fact, culinary arts wasn't foreseen either.

 

At this point, I don't know what her 12th grade year will look like.  :huh:

[knitgrl]

You could do world history from a military perspective.  The Great Courses has a War & World History set that he might be interested in.

 

It just takes a little outside the box thinking.  You can still fit their interests in, but you might have to work on the titles of the classes a bit to cover it.

I have dealt with Civil Service and that is all it is. They have their requirements, all you have to do is figure out how what you do fits within those requirements. It's all about how it looks on paper.