S/O If you could assign only one book for 9th grade honors English, what would it be?

[SilverMoon]

Amoret, Lori D. - Those are great ideas. Thank you for sharing them! A little young presenting is okay if it's a really good story. His overall skill level seems pretty average for rising 9th grade but his mental health needs protected more aggressively for now. 

[8filltheheart]

20 hours ago, Zoo Keeper said:

Just throwing this older thread into the discussion...

 

There were a lot of opinions thrown around in that thread^, and it made for interesting reading. 

You know what I love about that discussion? That it actually took place. I have not seen any conversations that curious about what constitutes high school credits in real life anywhere for a decade+. I'm surrounded by conversations about what online program is fast, simple, and doesn't require mom. This site was such a benefit to me as a younger homeschooler. I miss intellectually stimulating homeschooling conversations.

Eta: unfortunately I no longer recommend this site to new homeschoolers.

Edited July 7 by 8filltheheart

[EKS]

18 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:

You know what I love about that discussion? That it actually took place. I have not seen any conversations that curious about what constitutes high school credits in real life anywhere for a decade+. I'm surrounded by conversations about what online program is fast, simple, and doesn't require mom. This site was such a benefit to me as a younger homeschooler. I miss intellectually stimulating homeschooling conversations.

I will occasionally bring up some of the larger questions surrounding homeschooling, but it is rare for more than a few people to engage. 

In fact, just recently I brought up the question of the purpose of labs in high school science classes, and there were only two responses--one of which said "I won't go there."   But I think that it is vitally important to really understand why we do what we do in our homeschools and in education more broadly, and if what we're doing is actually fulfilling our stated goals.  

I do remember many discussions in that era, maybe 15 years ago or so, where we discussed what constituted a high school credit, that, for example, you had to take input and output into account as well as pacing.  Since I had accelerated students at the time, I was all ears!  The thing that I always found odd about it though was that once kids were of high school age, all of that went out the window and whatever they could handle became "high school level."  I'll add that when my son went to a b&m private high school for a year (well regarded), my eyes were opened to what really constituted high school level--and it was was well below whatever we were talking about here.

[royspeed]

3 hours ago, EKS said:

I will occasionally bring up some of the larger questions surrounding homeschooling, but it is rare for more than a few people to engage. 

In fact, just recently I brought up the question of the purpose of labs in high school science classes, and there were only two responses--one of which said "I won't go there."   But I think that it is vitally important to really understand why we do what we do in our homeschools and in education more broadly, and if what we're doing is actually fulfilling our stated goals.  

Thank you, @EKS, for bringing up such topics, trying to get such discussions going. — Thanks, too, to @8filltheheart, for being so honest about her disappointments with the tenor of our usual discussions here.

I, too, miss the substantive discussions. The endless rehashing of dual enrollment vs. AP, SAT vs. ACT, etc., make me want to tear my hair out.

The breadth & depth of the high school curriculum is so important to our kids' intellectual growth & development — we all need to understand it; every aspect of it warrants continual discussion.

[8filltheheart]

1 hour ago, royspeed said:

 

I, too, miss the substantive discussions. The endless rehashing of dual enrollment vs. AP, SAT vs. ACT, etc., make me want to tear my hair out.

 

Agreed. Since most of the conversations on here can be summed up as outsource (high school) or use X provider/prepackaged curriculum (K up), the conversations are no different than FB (which has got to be the worst source of educational advice.....why would anyone accept 1 sentence recommendations of complete strangers?) Here the answers may be longer but they still synthesize down to the same answers.

 I am incredibly thankful I started homeschooling when I did and that I had to rely on myself. I count it amg my kids'  greatest blessings.

[Porridge]

Respectfully, and not without a little fear and trembling, because I've been on this forum a long time and respect you all so much ---

Could it be that the tenor of the posts talking about how horrible the threads are these days actually contributes to the threads being horrible?  I know I feel shame and much less inclination to post thoughtful responses every time I read one of the posts about how great the threads were in the past and how shallow they are now. I have tried in the past to start or facilitate meaningful discussion on a number of topics, but one negative or belittling or bemoaning post kind of kills the whole mood.  Or one person who takes offense - that kills a thread, too.  Now I lay much lower than I did in the past and don't post nearly as much or as deeply. I'm going out on a limb to post this reply. I hope I don't offend anyone. I just wonder if we could all try to assume that everyone is really trying their hardest, and instead of telling them how they are falling short, or taking offense if they hold a different view, encourage or model how to do things differently or better.

If the tone, instead of shaming people for asking about SAT/DE/online class/ whatever could be -- "great idea, but have you considered...." I think you'd get a lot more engagement. I'd probably go back to posting more.

As it is, I often leave feeling that I've fallen short. That kind of 😪.

But I've gleaned so much from all of you over the years, and piggybacking on what @EKS said, I think I've been able to give my kids well above what brick and mortar schools consider high school level because of all the thoughtful input from you all.

[Dmmetler]

I like LoTR as well, but it's because it's SO easy to pull in a ton of other inspirations and compare/contrast and really get into literary analysis. I also did the Iliad with my Mythology club, including doing a play version, and it was a really great way to dive into the story and the background and the history. 

 

L's college has a question about which work of literature that you read in school had the greatest impact on you as one of their standard essay questions, and "The Hate U Give" and "Beloved" were 1 and 2 for L's entry year, and there have been similar choices the last few years. But I suspect that reflects what is taught in schools as much or more than what they really found impactful, if that makes any sense. (FWIW, my kid listed "The Phantom Tollbooth", which they read in 2nd grade, because it sparked a love of PLAYING with concepts that has continued on-it wasn't the most emotionally impactful book, but had a huge educational and learning impact). 

We had an AMAZING homeschool Shakespeare class for many years, which had an enormous impact on mine and many other kids. One of our parents was on the board of the TN Shakespeare Company and set it up. 

[luuknam]

8 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

You know what I love about that discussion? That it actually took place. I have not seen any conversations that curious about what constitutes high school credits in real life anywhere for a decade+. This site was such a benefit to me as a younger homeschooler. I miss intellectually stimulating homeschooling conversations.

Eta: unfortunately I no longer recommend this site to new homeschoolers.

I also loved this site. One of the main things I've noticed is that the volume of posts has declined a lot (and yes, I know I'm part of the problem). It's nice that some of you older people I looked up to are still around though. I don't recall how many conversations back when I joined were about things like "what counts as a high school credit," but a lot of the great threads I read weren't that old yet (like that thread someone just linked from 2011 seems a lot more ancient now than it would've back in 2015). I also loved that there are so many different types of homeschoolers here... I'd been on a mailing list for unschoolers before, for example, but here there were diverse viewpoints, with lots of debates from people trying to figure out how to do the best by their children.

I haven't had the opportunity to recommend any websites to new homeschoolers, but if I were to recommend this website I'd probably mostly suggest looking for those older threads. 

2 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

L's college has a question about which work of literature that you read in school had the greatest impact on you as one of their standard essay questions, and "The Hate U Give" and "Beloved" were 1 and 2 for L's entry year, and there have been similar choices the last few years. But I suspect that reflects what is taught in schools as much or more than what they really found impactful, if that makes any sense.

It absolutely makes sense. With an essay prompt like that it doesn't really matter how great of a book you read in your spare time - you'd be forced to write about an assigned work, limiting your choices. I wonder why they'd give a prompt like that. My guess is that if they don't they'd get too many people writing about completely fluff books? I know St. John's College phrases their prompt like:

Quote

Discuss a book that you would call a “great book.” We want to learn both about the ideas in the book and about you. What makes the book great in your view? What effect has it had on what you think or how you think? (Minimum 400 word)

Which seems like it'd reduce the likelihood of people picking a fluff book, though the only people applying to a place like St. John's are the kind of kids who into a Great Books program... might not work as well for colleges that aren't Great Books programs. 

Though I think that depending on how you write about a book you could make an essay about just about any book have depth and be insightful etc... I think it's neat how L picked The Phantom Tollbooth. If I were in admissions I'd rather read an interesting essay about "Confessions of a Shopaholic" or some such, no matter how fluff of a book that is, than a poorly written essay about Hamlet. 

[Dmmetler]

I don't think it necessarily limits to an assigned work unless you're not creative about it. I was an  lit specialist for the Academic team, so I read literally hubdreds of books for that, plus a ton from the school library. And since I read when I had a spare moment, I could justify almost any book I read between the ages of 5-17 as being read "in school".Add things like AR point quotas and it's even more likely that a kid could count "Confessions of a Shopaholic" as long as they justify it (I read this one when Mrs. Green had a substitute for 6 weeks due to maternity leave and the assignments took about 5 minutes, so I read a lot of books....).

 

[8filltheheart]

3 hours ago, Porridge said:

Respectfully, and not without a little fear and trembling, because I've been on this forum a long time and respect you all so much ---

Could it be that the tenor of the posts talking about how horrible the threads are these days actually contributes to the threads being horrible?  I know I feel shame and much less inclination to post thoughtful responses every time I read one of the posts about how great the threads were in the past and how shallow they are now. I have tried in the past to start or facilitate meaningful discussion on a number of topics, but one negative or belittling or bemoaning post kind of kills the whole mood.  Or one person who takes offense - that kills a thread, too.  Now I lay much lower than I did in the past and don't post nearly as much or as deeply. I'm going out on a limb to post this reply. I hope I don't offend anyone. I just wonder if we could all try to assume that everyone is really trying their hardest, and instead of telling them how they are falling short, or taking offense if they hold a different view, encourage or model how to do things differently or better.

If the tone, instead of shaming people for asking about SAT/DE/online class/ whatever could be -- "great idea, but have you considered...." I think you'd get a lot more engagement. I'd probably go back to posting more.

As it is, I often leave feeling that I've fallen short. That kind of 😪.

But I've gleaned so much from all of you over the years, and piggybacking on what @EKS said, I think I've been able to give my kids well above what brick and mortar schools consider high school level because of all the thoughtful input from you all.

Did you read the linked thread?  The conversation was quite opinionated and frank with people standing their ground for their POV.  It wasn't apologetic.  It wasn't disrespectful.  It was simply differing POV and no one had to agree or change other people's minds.  Similarly, in the thread that started this one, EKS was quite firm in her beliefs.  (Brava to her!)   

At one pt, there were a lot of different perspectives shared and there were a lot of people doing a lot of very different things.  The conversations were varied bc the perspectives were varied and supported conversations with people discussing options.  That is no longer the case.  There is limited traffic.  This forum suffers from limited voices and generic responses just like most conversations about homeschooling in general.  The mass profit-oriented marketers have pretty much won the playing field.  

FWIW, I am not going to apologize if my comment was taken personally.  It wasn't a personal comment.  It is just a very real observation.

[8filltheheart]

9 hours ago, EKS said:

I will occasionally bring up some of the larger questions surrounding homeschooling, but it is rare for more than a few people to engage. 

In fact, just recently I brought up the question of the purpose of labs in high school science classes, and there were only two responses--one of which said "I won't go there."   But I think that it is vitally important to really understand why we do what we do in our homeschools and in education more broadly, and if what we're doing is actually fulfilling our stated goals.  

I do remember many discussions in that era, maybe 15 years ago or so, where we discussed what constituted a high school credit, that, for example, you had to take input and output into account as well as pacing.  Since I had accelerated students at the time, I was all ears!  The thing that I always found odd about it though was that once kids were of high school age, all of that went out the window and whatever they could handle became "high school level."  I'll add that when my son went to a b&m private high school for a year (well regarded), my eyes were opened to what really constituted high school level--and it was was well below whatever we were talking about here.

I saw that thread.  I didn't have time to respond, but I didn't make time, either, bc I am already on the same page as you.  I have the exact same opinion toward all of the science stuff people do for elementary school science, too.  Labs have been on the very bottom of my priority list, even with my STEM oriented kids.  They have all been at the top of their science classes, so the lack of kiddie demonstrations and formal high school labs didn't hurt them.  (Chemistry is really the main science where do numerous "real" labs.  Biology is a lot of virtual with a handful of "real" labs.  Physics has been predominately virtual.)  

[Alte Veste Academy]

4 hours ago, Porridge said:

Respectfully, and not without a little fear and trembling, because I've been on this forum a long time and respect you all so much ---

Could it be that the tenor of the posts talking about how horrible the threads are these days actually contributes to the threads being horrible?  I know I feel shame and much less inclination to post thoughtful responses every time I read one of the posts about how great the threads were in the past and how shallow they are now. I have tried in the past to start or facilitate meaningful discussion on a number of topics, but one negative or belittling or bemoaning post kind of kills the whole mood.  Or one person who takes offense - that kills a thread, too.  Now I lay much lower than I did in the past and don't post nearly as much or as deeply. I'm going out on a limb to post this reply. I hope I don't offend anyone. I just wonder if we could all try to assume that everyone is really trying their hardest, and instead of telling them how they are falling short, or taking offense if they hold a different view, encourage or model how to do things differently or better.

If the tone, instead of shaming people for asking about SAT/DE/online class/ whatever could be -- "great idea, but have you considered...." I think you'd get a lot more engagement. I'd probably go back to posting more.

As it is, I often leave feeling that I've fallen short. That kind of 😪.

But I've gleaned so much from all of you over the years, and piggybacking on what @EKS said, I think I've been able to give my kids well above what brick and mortar schools consider high school level because of all the thoughtful input from you all.

I can see this, but...

25 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:

Did you read the linked thread?  The conversation was quite opinionated and frank with people standing their ground for their POV.  It wasn't apologetic.  It wasn't disrespectful.  It was simply differing POV and no one had to agree or change other people's minds.  Similarly, in the thread that started this one, EKS was quite firm in her beliefs.  (Brava to her!)   

At one pt, there were a lot of different perspectives shared and there were a lot of people doing a lot of very different things.  The conversations were varied bc the perspectives were varied and supported conversations with people discussing options.  That is no longer the case.  There is limited traffic.  This forum suffers from limited voices and generic responses just like most conversations about homeschooling in general.  The mass profit-oriented marketers have pretty much won the playing field.  

FWIW, I am not going to apologize if my comment was taken personally.  It wasn't a personal comment.  It is just a very real observation.

This is exactly what I remember, but also there were absolutely hurt feelings at times, as well as disagreements, accusations, misunderstandings, and apologies. In other words, there was passion on all sides. That shared passion for the mission of home education, even if the methods differed, is what I miss most of all. 

Anyway, no, I don't think it is just fear of hurt feelings that is keeping conversation so limited. 

Edited July 7 by Alte Veste Academy

[luuknam]

19 minutes ago, Alte Veste Academy said:

That shared passion for the mission of home education, even if the methods differed, is what I miss most of all. 

Not sure if this is worth turning into an S/O...

I'd imagine that the number of people with that passion hasn't declined as drastically as the number of people posting in these forums has (if it has declined at all). Yes, a lot of the new homeschoolers are just plug-and-play, but there have always been, and presumably always will be, people who care about educational philosophy, DIY, etc. But why aren't they here? What other forums are they flocking to? Are they just getting lost in the sea of plug-and-play sites? Are fewer landing here because SWB's book hasn't had enough new editions? Etc...

Btw, I don't love the forum interface since the site got changed some years ago. 12 stickies to scroll past to get to the actual threads isn't great design imo, and it being hard to find where unread posts start in a thread is super frustrating in some threads (unless I'm missing how to do that... but even if there's a way, it should be obvious to encourage forum use - that said, please let me know how if there is!). 

[Porridge]

3 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

Did you read the linked thread?  The conversation was quite opinionated and frank with people standing their ground for their POV.  It wasn't apologetic.  It wasn't disrespectful.  It was simply differing POV and no one had to agree or change other people's minds.  Similarly, in the thread that started this one, EKS was quite firm in her beliefs.  (Brava to her!)   

I've read that thread in the past - I haven't re-read it recently. I really appreciated Ester Maria's (and everyone else's) thoughtful input. I don't have any objection to people expressing different POV or being firm in their beliefs. But sometimes there is a tone of exasperation that comes out in more recent threads-- perhaps I'm just imagining it, but I don't think I'm entirely making it up. Maybe it's the post-pandemic fatigue. I don't know  

 

3 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

At one pt, there were a lot of different perspectives shared and there were a lot of people doing a lot of very different things.  The conversations were varied bc the perspectives were varied and supported conversations with people discussing options.  That is no longer the case.  There is limited traffic.  This forum suffers from limited voices and generic responses just like most conversations about homeschooling in general.  The mass profit-oriented marketers have pretty much won the playing field.  

I agree. I do think homeschoolers are coming from a very different starting place compared to 15-20 years ago. There are so many options available now. I personally don't think most even have a mental concept of being able to DIY. THey need a lot of reassurance and encouragement to even consider that approach, because all the marketing tells them or implies that outsourcing (or fill in the blank) is the only way.

3 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

FWIW, I am not going to apologize if my comment was taken personally.  It wasn't a personal comment.  It is just a very real observation.

No apology needed or expected! Nothing personal taken.

Edited July 8 by Porridge

[Clarita]

13 hours ago, EKS said:

In fact, just recently I brought up the question of the purpose of labs in high school science classes, and there were only two responses--one of which said "I won't go there."   But I think that it is vitally important to really understand why we do what we do in our homeschools and in education more broadly, and if what we're doing is actually fulfilling our stated goals.  

I was saddened by that and I was glad you went there, because we should think about why we assign students things and that will absolutely inform what needs to be done.

I like reading the high school thread but sometimes I hesitate posting my opinions because well I'm not there. I can only speak to what was helpful or unhelpful to me as an adult. 

In terms of literary analysis and books, I'm currently reading a book Why Read? So, far it seems the reason to read the classics or books that challenge you is to increase your circle of knowledge (I guess this circle thing is something Emerson talked about in his essays). In high school for me that book was "Memoirs of a Geisha". It challenged me to go for my goals despite what people thought of me and despite my dream not being the goal. Although I don't really think that book would be a good pick for the general high school population. That's why I think it's important to have at least a few books in a high school class, because some books just won't have that challenge and deep meaning for some people. 

[luuknam]

6 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

I don't think it necessarily limits to an assigned work unless you're not creative about it. I was an  lit specialist for the Academic team, so I read literally hubdreds of books for that, plus a ton from the school library. And since I read when I had a spare moment, I could justify almost any book I read between the ages of 5-17 as being read "in school".Add things like AR point quotas and it's even more likely that a kid could count "Confessions of a Shopaholic" as long as they justify it (I read this one when Mrs. Green had a substitute for 6 weeks due to maternity leave and the assignments took about 5 minutes, so I read a lot of books....).

It probably doesn't help that I'm not American, but the vast majority of books I read when I was that age never entered the school building, and we didn't have things like AR point quotas etc. Even if you could justify them that way though... all I was saying is that it seems like an odd restriction, to say "book read in school."

[luuknam]

2 hours ago, Clarita said:

I like reading the high school thread but sometimes I hesitate posting my opinions because well I'm not there. I can only speak to what was helpful or unhelpful to me as an adult. 

I wouldn't hesitate if I were you. You can offer your thoughts, and your experiences from when you were a teen, and so long as you make it clear that you don't have personal experience teaching high school, that should be a-okay. Even those of us who do have or have had high-schoolers have only had a limited set of them, and different things work for different kids, etc. 

[Porridge]

13 hours ago, Alte Veste Academy said:

Anyway, no, I don't think it is just fear of hurt feelings that is keeping conversation so limited. 

Maybe not hurt feelings, but fear.

I was on a FB group for homeschoolers and someone (a newbie) mentioned this forum. Several people replied and told them to stay away from WTM forum because it’s “the Wild West” — that folks are really mean and unfiltered on WTM.

[EKS]

1 hour ago, Porridge said:

I was on a FB group for homeschoolers and someone (a newbie) mentioned this forum. Several people replied and told them to stay away from WTM forum because it’s “the Wild West” — that folks are really mean and unfiltered on WTM.

Perhaps they are referring to the subset on here who aren't afraid to point out that homeschooling well is incredibly difficult, especially as you get into the high school years.  And I'm not just talking about the instructional aspect, which is huge on its own--literally the hardest thing I did in my homeschool career was playing college counselor, and it got only slightly easier the second time through.  

Of course there is, and has always been, another subset who believe that any sort of homeschooling is better than traditional school.

[luuknam]

2 hours ago, EKS said:

Perhaps they are referring to the subset on here who aren't afraid to point out that homeschooling well is incredibly difficult, especially as you get into the high school years.  

Yeah, if someone is looking for rah-rah-anyone-can-do-it WTM isn't the place for that, especially for high school. I've seen a good amount of encouragement for elementary grades, but even there people here will tell newbies that it does take work (and it does - not necessarily some crazy amount, but, anyone thinking of parking their 6yo in front of the computer with some homeschooling website for 20+ hours a week for their 'homeschool' will get to hear the downsides of that plan here).

And even then, when someone posts about their teenager really not being served by the school system and needing to homeschool, people here are helpful in trying to suggest how to make it work despite whatever obstacles the parent might have (lack of education, working a lot of hours, being below the poverty line, etc), though people aren't afraid to suggest ways to get accommodations in public school or find funding for private school or w/e either. This place isn't part of some homeschool-über-alles cult, and that's a good thing (but clearly some people disagree). 

4 hours ago, Porridge said:

that folks are really mean and unfiltered on WTM.

Personally, I feel that if someone said a homeschooling forum was unfiltered I'd see that as a pro. I wouldn't want people to tell me everything I do is great and let me ruin my kids in the process. Now, mean otoh is something I'd want to avoid, and seems unfair to WTM. Yes, there has been the occasional post over the years that has seemed kind of mean or w/e, but I wouldn't call that the norm here at all (and let's be real, just about any site without over-the-top moderation will have a mean post once in a while). 

 

[8filltheheart]

Lol...yeah, I'm mean and unfiltered on FB, too, bc I tell them, no, a teen taking 2 hrs or less (yes....high school takes less than 2 hrs is a common mantra) does not provide a quality academic education. But rah-rah for subpar academics is FB's MO.

FWIW, I would rather be seen as mean and unfiltered than silent if it makes even one parent stop and reevaluate bc it might change children's futures.

[luuknam]

1 hour ago, 8filltheheart said:

Lol...yeah, I'm mean and unfiltered on FB, too, bc I tell them, no, a teen taking 2 hrs or less (yes....high school takes less than 2 hrs is a common mantra)

[Dmmetler]

As someone who has homeschooled very, very different kids, some of whom have been able to do high school FAR more intensely than others, I've found this group very supportive. I will also say that this is the only homeschooling forum where I have seen parents supported for deciding that homeschool might not be the best option for one or more of their kids and their family at that stage. 

 

I do think homeschooling has changed. I honestly don't think this board has changed so much as that it HASN'T, but the world changed around it. 
 

 

 

[LauraClark]

On 7/7/2024 at 8:23 PM, luuknam said:

But why aren't they here? What other forums are they flocking to?

Facebook has opened up a whole new world of interaction. I frequently ask things on homeschooling FB pages-especially when it's a simple fast question that doesn't require a ton of thought or opinions on a specific curriculum. My deeper questions go here, though. I am super intimidated by the homeschooling parents here: that keeps me around reading and learning from you all, but it also prevents me from posting often. I would bet there are many many more like me: moms who are striving to educate their children in a deep, meaningful way, but who feel inadequate to offer advice yet. I fully intend to be here all the time giving encouragement and advice...just as soon as I graduate a couple kids and get the reassurance that what I'm doing worked 😉

[luuknam]

On 7/10/2024 at 4:27 AM, LauraClark said:

I am super intimidated ... I fully intend to be here all the time giving encouragement and advice...just as soon as I graduate a couple kids and get the reassurance that what I'm doing worked 😉

Sigh. I wrote a looong reply to this yesterday, and then the internet ate it all when the forums went down. 😱

Anyway, the general gist was: don't feel like you have to wait. High school graduation isn't a magical end point - the proof in the pudding is how people do in their adult lives, on their jobs, with their spouses and kids, in their community engagement, etc. I'm glad my long-time heroes didn't wait until their kids were 40 in order to post, though it's nice to see that some of them are still here posting! 😍

When I've felt/feel intimidated, I try to keep in mind that a) we don't know what *really* goes on in other people's homes, and b) some people have super gifted kids etc to the point where it wouldn't matter how I'd parent/teach mine, I wouldn't get the same results. 

Hearing different perspectives is nice too - it increases the odds of encountering an idea that will work for us. And by the time that kids are graduating high school, we'll often have forgotten/misremember/romanticize what happened when they were 1st graders (I was so frazzled when mine were little). And your opinion on whether a program helped your 7yo with subtraction is unlikely to change between the time the kid is 12 and 18. I do get that it's more complicated with educational philosophy overall than with a single program, but you can see whether, say, an 8yo or a 12yo is doing okay academically and seems to have a kind, hardworking personality and such, which should give some kind of a hint (and, people can learn from failures too! - not all advice has to be from successes - it's worth hearing that a certain approach seemed to work well wrt A but seemed to have downside B, or only had downside B and didn't seem to have an upside at all. In the end all kids are different though, so what was a success for one doesn't mean it'll be a success for another, etc). 

[againstthegrain]

Pilgrim's Progress would be my choice if I could only have one. I would choose it for the biblical alignment, the amount of analysis material, and I could easily structure writing pieces that covered a large number of writing genres. Pre-research (expository essay?) into Puritan Literature would provide a great foundation. Definitely a hero's journey.