If you son was interested in politics and law...

[Mommyfaithe]

What courses in high school would you set up for him to cover??

What exams (act/ SAT, SAT2"s AP's etc.) would you have him do??

 

What schools would you have him apply to?

What volunteer work would you have him involved in??

 

I have no idea how to guide this child...but he seems quite driven in the direction of law and politics...so any ideas, experience, pitfalls etc. would be greatly appreciated...

 

Thanks so much,

Faithe

[Kelli in TN]

My Sarah is starting in the fall as a political science major and plans to apply to law school following that.

 

I did not do anything special with her. She naturally followed politics, I did not have to guide her there. For awhile she was involved with GenJ, until our local club folded. She went to 4H Congress. As soon as our county started a Young Republicans she joined. She held signs for politicians and such. But she followed this passion on her own, I was just her driver until she was old enough to drive herself.

 

Academically I felt she needed to be well rounded and a deep thinker. I think if you follow the principles in WTM you are going to accomplish that.

 

I'd just follow WTM for the core curriculum and then let your son find political things to plug into. Let his electives be things that fit his passion; Sarah studied Constitutional Law for a semester for example.

[Gwen in VA]

1) Debate! I would seriously investigate opportunities to participate in a local homeschool debate club and compete in the NCFCA debate and public speaking tournaments.

 

2) Speech. If there are no debate clubs nearby, I would investigate Toastmasters so he could improve his public speaking skills. Many Toastmasters clubs are open to having junior members.

 

3) For volunteer work, I would certainly investigate opportunities with local politicians at both the state and federal level. However, I think almost any work that involves interacting with people would be helpful.

 

4) I would check out Teenpact and see about him attending your state Teenpact event.

 

5) For AP courses, I would encourage him to take any he is interested in, but AP economics and any of the AP history courses might be particularly relevant.

[jananc]

My 14 yo is interested in this area also. Here's what little we've done, but I'm looking forward to seeing more responses!

 

He does Speech and Debate classes through NCFCA (www.ncfca.org) and competes in those tournaments.

 

We did a 2-day seminar through the Leadership Institute (a conservative org. which encourages political involvement for high school and college students)

 

I plan to put him in Generation Joshua next year (through HSLDA)

 

I'm planning to look into AP economics, AP government, and I'm looking into the online Constitutional Law class that Michael Farris teaches.

[Michelle in AL]

A friend of mine went to law school and said it is all writing. I would concentrate on logic, composition and rhetoric to learn how to write and form an argument.

[laughing lioness]

:iagree:with what everyone else has already said. A hearty second on TeenPact. I'd also suggest a 2nd language. My bil is in the diplomatic corp and he had to be fluent to get in. He lOVES it!

My ds is very interested in law as well. We are hitting logic hard, public speaking, political activity (he's worked on a couple of campaigns), lots of memory work- so that he'll have a large repreratoire of material to draw on during public speaking :001_smile::001_smile:

[FloridaLisa]

1) Debate! I would seriously investigate opportunities to participate in a local homeschool debate club and compete in the NCFCA debate and public speaking tournaments.

 

2) Speech. If there are no debate clubs nearby, I would investigate Toastmasters so he could improve his public speaking skills. Many Toastmasters clubs are open to having junior members.

 

3) For volunteer work, I would certainly investigate opportunities with local politicians at both the state and federal level. However, I think almost any work that involves interacting with people would be helpful.

 

4) I would check out Teenpact and see about him attending your state Teenpact event.

 

5) For AP courses, I would encourage him to take any he is interested in, but AP economics and any of the AP history courses might be particularly relevant.

 

These are excellent suggestions. I was a litigator until my 4th child was born. :tongue_smilie: Of Gwen's suggestions, I would put five stars next to debate. Hands down, debate teaches students to analyze, reason, think on their feet, research, argue and persuade better than any other activity I've yet to encounter in the hs years. On top of that, the students learn an enormous amount regarding economics, government, history, world affairs and current events. In the past 5 years, my son has extensively researched and argued energy policy, medical malpractice, NATO, illegal immigration policy and US-India relations. The cumulative effect of speaking skills and substantive knowledge is outstanding. Okay. Enough on that. :001_smile: (I coach team policy debate and have become a believer!)

 

For high school, I would encourage a thorough liberal arts education. Writing skills are essential, both in law school and practice. Law school is essentially reading (and reading and reading), analyzing and writing.

 

For political science experience, you might look into having your son page for your state house or senate. Political campaigns, both for issues and candidates, are always looking for helpers. Even in the campaign off-season, your son may be able to volunteer in your state or national reps' local offices.

 

Also, when you look at colleges, colleges in a state capitol (or DC) seem to have more opportunities for internships, visiting professors and that sort of thing for political science majors.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Anna]

My Sarah is starting in the fall as a political science major and plans to apply to law school following that.

 

I did not do anything special with her. She naturally followed politics, I did not have to guide her there.

 

Same with my oldest dd. I wasn't surprised last year when she declared Political Science as her major.

[outtamyshell]

I would pick up a copy of the book "What High Schools Don't Tell You". It's full of ideas for summer programs that kids can start as early as 8th grade.

 

Some of these are fairly expensive. But to be surrounded by like-minded kids and take an entire AP course in 4 weeks might be worth it to your son. The Junior Statesman program at Georgetown looks great! Costs a bunch. But they include some ideas for fundraising for the self-motivated student. Wish I could go back in time and do this myself.

 

Less expensive alternatives:

US House or Senate Page: One semester of Jr year living and working in DC and taking classes at 6am in the Library of Congress. And they get paid. This is competitive, and your son will want to start working on his resume.

 

State Page Programs: Ours has week-long programs with the Governor's office and the Senate. Ours is easy to get into. And free.

 

Debate: obviously, the best extra curricular. We've had trouble finding a program to participate in.

 

Internships: Can you find a mentor and let him work in an office? Scout out opportunities in your local area.

[Kelli in TN]

Of Gwen's suggestions, I would put five stars next to debate. Hands down, debate teaches students to analyze, reason, think on their feet, research, argue and persuade better than any other activity I've yet to encounter in the hs years.

 

We do not have this option in our area. I was very, very tempted to drive her back and forth to Memphis once a week just to get debate. In fact I posted about my indecision about it on here (on the old boards) but was encouraged to carefully consider how a weekly trip to Memphis was going to affect her younger siblings. It WOULD have been too much on them.

 

I wish Sarah could have had debate though.

[FloridaLisa]

We do not have this option in our area. I was very, very tempted to drive her back and forth to Memphis once a week just to get debate. In fact I posted about my indecision about it on here (on the old boards) but was encouraged to carefully consider how a weekly trip to Memphis was going to affect her younger siblings. It WOULD have been too much on them.

 

I wish Sarah could have had debate though.

 

Kelli,

 

I have already started my *wish* list! My oldest never really pursued music past 1 1/2 years of guitar. Major guilt here. But, in the end, I firmly believe that the Lord provides for us what our children need. Also, I never did any kind of debate in hs or college and went right into litigation without a hiccup.

 

For those looking for debate options with no NCFCA club nearby (the homeschool league), you might look into forensics at a local Christian school (these are few and far between as well), your community college or the local high school. Oh! I just remembered that one of the leading NCFCA training groups is starting an online club with online instruction. You can find more info at http://www.trainingminds.org.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[kloumc]

Besides getting involved in debate and Generation Joshua, I would recommend studying Logic. My brother-in-law is a lawyer, and once when he was at our house he picked up our Logic book, Logic I: Tools for Thinking by Norman Birkett (http://www.ClassicalLegacyPress.com) and read several chapters. He said he wished he had taken Logic before going to Law School.

[dopeyfav]

My ds is also interested in these areas and would like to become a lawyer. We live in a rural area and would appreciate suggestions for debate. I am also not familiar (this is our 1st year to homeschool) with logic curriculum. I will check out Classical Legacy Press; are there any other options / suggestions for this?

[Mommyfaithe]

You guys are awesome!!! Much to think about , research and put ds up to. My niece may be a good link for him as she works in the state Senate. There are no many opportunities for hs'ed kids in our public schools, and unfortunately, many in my area un-school or stop hs'ing at 9th grade. sigh....

BUT I am excited about Gen J, Toastmasters...and any other types of programs I can find for ds.

 

Keep the ideas coming.

~~Faithe

[Samuel]

I'm working on a doctorate in political science. I also have friends who work on the hill- studying politics and practicing politics are quite different. By politics do you mean academic politics, policy (think tank or govt carrer) or elected office?

 

This advice is more on the academic politics/intl affairs or policy work side.

1. learn how to write (this is also vital for law school). Both technical proficiency and reserach skills are important. I think one mostly gains such skills by doing. Write a major research paper in high school. Write a lot of small papers. Refine, refine.

2. Learn a language in high school at least reasonably well. I.e., 3 or 4 years of the same modern language.

3. Learn mathematical skills. I wish I was better at math than I am. calculus would be useful, but statistics is most important. Someone who is good at writing and math will have a lot of opportunities.

4. I second debate and things like debate-peer court would be a good volunteer program if there's one in your area.

5. volunteer on a local campaign for state house or mayor. This is a good chance to see politics at its most basic level.

 

Typical career path:

a BA in politics or something related (history, economics, intl studies(a rigerous program, not a fluf one). A double major/minor in a modern language or area or math would be an asset.

While in college:

-Do an internship (or two) in DC or at 2nd best the state capital (if international things are of interest, an embassy overseas or with a NGO aboard is also good.

-Either become fluent in a modern langauge or skill in an aylaticial skill(s).

-excell academically. Aim for honors, at worst a 3.5 GPA

 

For a policy/gov't carrer

Work in the field for a year or two in something either 1) related to the field in some way or 2)interesting (e.g., teach english in Zambia)

 

Work on a masters. Usually this is concurent with internships. Usually professional masters programs try to place their graudates in jobs in the field.

 

For an academic carrer

Doing a phd is a different beast, and less common than a masters. However, langauge, math, and analysis skills are all very important.

 

If you could tell me more specifics re interests I could give more detailed advice about skills and places to consider.

[Kelli in TN]

Samuel, Thank you for this post. Right now my daughter thinks she would like to go the law school route, but that could change. I feel like if she does not go to law school she might go and get her master's and serve in government admin. or something like that.

 

She is tentatively planning a break between undergraduate and whatever she does next academically to serve a stint in the Peace Corps. I personally find that idea very, very cool. I don't know if it's wise career wise or not, but I still thinks it is very cool.