Where do we go from here?

[jens2sons]

We have finished up our time with Classical Conversations Challenge program this past school year.  My son experienced extreme anxiety due to the rush of the Challenge 1 program and what is expected in 30 weeks versus a regular 36 week school year. Now I'm having anxiety trying figure out where to go from here.  He has always wanted more of an actual history course as CC doesn't cover that until Challenge 3 & 4 (11th & 12th grade).  I just want a more comfortable pace and less stress this year but I am feeling the pressure of getting things covered because he is 16 and we only have a couple of years left and there seems like we have so much to cover!  I want to teach classically but I need hand holding which is why I stayed with CC for as long as I did.  I also dont want to just throw aside all that we have learned just to go back to a traditional textbook method.  Should I stay the course and find a used Challenge 2 guide to just work through at home without community?  Is that an awful idea?   I would love some feedback and ideas to chew on.  TIA!

[Rosie_0801]

What, for you two, is the point of studying history?

(I'm a history major, but not in the US so I've no idea what American high school history classes are like.)

[ScoutTN]

Breathe.

You do not need CC. You can do this!

I would start by reading through some of motherlode pinned threads and this year’s thread for 10th grade course planning.

Think about what credits your son completed last year. 

Ask him what he wants to study!!! Does he have a strong academic interest or bent?

I would start with math and English. Math is just do the next thing. English could be a zillion things and does not need to be tied to history. 

Has he been doing Henle Latin? Where is he in this and does he want to continue? 

What lab science did he do last year and what seems good for the coming year? 

History is the easiest to plan and implement, imo.

Electives? Do fun things he likes.

There is very little you
actually “have to cover”. You are homeschoolers. Enjoy the freedom! 

What are your strengths as a teacher? Are you also teaching younger children? Budget? Extra curriculars? 

Do you or he consider an online course or two an option or not? 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by ScoutTN

[8filltheheart]

2 hours ago, jens2sons said:

 I just want a more comfortable pace and less stress this year but I am feeling the pressure of getting things covered because he is 16 and we only have a couple of years left and there seems like we have so much to cover!  I want to teach classically but I need hand holding which is why I stayed with CC for as long as I did.  I also dont want to just throw aside all that we have learned just to go back to a traditional textbook method.  

First, take a deep breath and completely let go of the idea of "seems like we have so much to cover!"  It is impossible to cover a fraction of everything there is to learn.  Pick and choose what is important to you and your ds.  I have had a child spend an entire yr studying Russian history, another on communism in the 20th century, another modern global studies.  What is the "right' answer?  I personally don't believe doing a superficial skim of history serves anyone.  It simply makes you ignorant of the depth of anything.  I'd rather my kids understand the dynamics/realities of some topics well than meaningless info on a breadth of material.

Second, CC was not providing your ds with a classical education.  CC is classical in name only.  (Even the WTM isn't classical.....it is a list of subjects which is not what classical education is.  Ironically, the quality of discourse on this forum demonstrates the fulfillment of that perspective.)  Ignore labels that are pretty much meaningless in modern pedagogy.  I would focus on what you want your ds to master and focus on that. 

FWIW, I don't use any textbooks other than math and high school level science.  My kids read what we together decide (or sometimes just me) they are going to study.  I pull together reading lists, documentaries, Great Course lectures, etc.  We talk.  They take Cornell Notes.  They write papers.  They don't take tests.  They don't fill out worksheets.  I am the decision maker.  You can be, too! 

Edited August 12, 2023 by 8filltheheart

[Clemsondana]

I have done courses at home, outsourced to a co-op, and outsourced online, so I am not a purist as far as approach. But, I wouldn't outsource a class in a situation where I couldn't explain what the benefit was.  In your case, your student doesn't seem to be learning well and is stressed.  There doesn't seem to be any benefit to that approach for that student. 

My kids have taken a class at co-op because they'll enjoy it with friends, or I've outsourced to somebody who is very knowledgeable in their field (our co-op French teacher is actually French!).  I've even outsourced because a kid was being particularly cantankerous and I needed to not have conflict with them over a subject.  But, there are lots of great ways to teach your kid at home and we've done different things. 

There is no way to learn everything, so I put together plans based on my kids' interests and goals.  We do some courses as standard college prep (or career prep, if that's what you are looking for). Knowing that my older was interested in engineering, we wanted to make sure that kid was well prepared for college with solid math and science (we did AP, but standard high school classes would have also been appropriate).  We also made sure that we covered the expected gov/econ, world history, and US history.  But, we handled those in different ways.  US History was done through a co-op class with friends.  The class didn't use textbooks at all, but kid took the AP exam and did well after taking it.  For world history, we picked some topics of interest and kid read a ton of books that we discussed and kid wrote a paper.  There is no way to do all of world history in one year, so you can choose your approach.  A survey?  A deep dive into one area?  Exploring a theme?  One of kid's major books was something about the history of weaponry...which covered all sorts of conflicts that one doesn't usually hear about.  I wouldn't have enjoyed it, but kid learned a lot.  I wanted to cover a few specific topics in government, so we did that semester very much together - I found some videos and some interesting resources that we discussed.  Then kid did online econ.  

In your shoes, I would look at what specifically you are feeling like you have to cover  - why are you feeling like there is so much and so little time - and figure out what your student really needs to learn.  What is the math plan, what do they need to work on in English (essays?  reading literature? forming good sentences and editing?).  Then for history and science, look to see what is needed for their goals.  Are there state graduation requirements?  Specific classes needed for the college/career your student is interested in?  Once you figure out what you need, you can figure out how to address each thing.  You may choose to outsource some classes and do others at home.  You may even choose to outsource everything, but if you go that route, there is no reason to do it in a way that is stressful for you or your student.  Any time you outsource, you are giving up some control and flexibility, so if you do outsource choose classes that support your goals for the content and also your student's non-academic needs.  

[cintinative]

I want to just take a moment and say to you that textbooks are not universally evil.  I completely understand that there are bad ones and that sometimes we get twitchy thinking that we are going to hand our child a poor textbook like the one we used in school years ago. But there really are some well written ones.  Can you do history without a textbook? Yes, absolutely. If you choose to use a text as a spine, though, you are not failing!!  Many of us have used texts as jumping off points. 

As overwhelming as it may seem, your first goal is to figure out what subjects still need to be addressed.  Have you covered American history yet? If so, options for history are endless. If not, you will need to cover it before your dc graduates.  

What is the next math in line?  Has Saxon been working well for you? If so, just do the next thing. 😃

Science--typically kids will cover bio, chem, physics and then whatever is interest led. What science have you covered? What does he want to do next?

English is usually comp & lit (either separate or together).  Do you want something already set up or do you want to design your own course?  There are tons of options.

etc. etc.  You might need to start threads to ask questions, BUT, you can totally do this.  One step at a time.  Knock off the easy stuff first (like which math) and then proceed to the harder stuff.  Little gains will translate to bigger ones. Just hang in there. 

[Farrar]

36 minutes ago, cintinative said:

I want to just take a moment and say to you that textbooks are not universally evil.  I completely understand that there are bad ones and that sometimes we get twitchy thinking that we are going to hand our child a poor textbook like the one we used in school years ago. But there really are some well written ones.  Can you do history without a textbook? Yes, absolutely. If you choose to use a text as a spine, though, you are not failing!!  Many of us have used texts as jumping off points. 

This, so much!

Honestly, half the purpose of a good textbook or curriculum is to help you whittle down the content. Otherwise, you're in a sea of everything. Textbooks get a bad rap because they condense. And that's sometimes justified. Sometimes, in condensing, they cut things that are important -- either to the student or teacher's goals, or just to understanding the subject -- or they just become dull accountings of a subject instead of living books that engage. But if you don't condense and you aren't an absolute expert in the field, then it's an impossible amount of work to pull together a whole high school level class on a topic. Textbooks are your friend. A good teacher uses them as a jumping off point for discussion, writing, experiment, investigation, etc.

But also, balance is important in a high school curriculum. You can't do it all. It's okay if a student just checks the box on something by going through the textbook, especially if their interests are elsewhere. They can't do it all. Just like how textbooks condense and make choices, you also have to make choices. You're the teacher. You're empowered to do that and make those choices.

[FrabjousDay]

There are so many ways to do history!  He could look at the various online history courses out there, see what period/topics grab him, and then you and he could design a history course for him. I did not know how great history could be until college(!) when I took a course that relied on biographies, books written about the time, & primary sources from the time. If he is diligent and self-directed, this is a great opportunity for him!

Some places I'd look at history courses: Classical Learning Resource Center (dd did a couple of the Great Books courses online w/ Mrs. Turscak-they were excellent & I esp. liked that they had solid writing components, Wilson Hill Academy, WTMAcademy,.... Booklists for history classes are a great source of ideas, too.

Best wishes for a wonderful school year!!  I think both you and your son will find it incredibly freeing to have dropped CC!