Catherine Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 My 18 yo nephew is coming to live with us. He graduated from high school last spring, did well, but has been drifting ever since. He's basically a good kid, but has lacked direct, specific guidance. His dad died when he was 15, mom, has a rather hands off style. I would like to assist him in getting started in life, starting paid work (and I'd prefer jobs that provide some motivation toward higher education, which he says he wants). Ladies, and gents, what kinds of specifically school-oriented work would you do? I think my priorities are:driver ed, math SAT review (any recommendations?), and writing\literature such as a great books study. Can any of you recommend programs\curricula that are NOT teacher-intensive, yet will involve me in some way (keeping him honest). Any specific stories or curricular recommendations would be much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam "SFSOM" in TN Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 My 18 yo nephew is coming to live with us. He graduated from high school last spring, did well, but has been drifting ever since. He's basically a good kid, but has lacked direct, specific guidance. His dad died when he was 15, mom, has a rather hands off style. I would like to assist him in getting started in life, starting paid work (and I'd prefer jobs that provide some motivation toward higher education, which he says he wants). Ladies, and gents, what kinds of specifically school-oriented work would you do? I think my priorities are:driver ed, math SAT review (any recommendations?), and writing\literature such as a great books study. Can any of you recommend programs\curricula that are NOT teacher-intensive, yet will involve me in some way (keeping him honest). Any specific stories or curricular recommendations would be much appreciated! ALEKS and Bravewriter online courses are the two that most immediately come to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Is there anyway he could be taught/apprenticed(?)/take a course on hands-on type of things, too? A skill? Mechanical stuff? A girl from our church's christian school graduated last year and didn't go to college right away. So, the school did a "continuing education" program with her. She took correspondence courses from a college and throughout the year spent time with various members of the church, learning specific skills. The skills were things like sewing, cooking (which I taught :D), first aid, secretarial work, and even a basic mechanics class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Actually, I would start him off right away part-time in community college with a part-time job. He probably wouldn't need the SAT or ACT to get into community college. Most will accept either a high-school diploma or passing their entrance exam to get in. He could pay for his cc tuition with his part-time job (assuming you are providing room and board for free). Driver's ed would be a high priority. I just don't see homeschooling an 18yo who already has his high school diploma. The credits from most cc courses will transfer into four-year state colleges too, whereas homeschooled subjects will not. If you're not sure he can handle the studying at cc, I would enroll him as an auditing student. In either case, you can monitor his studying for these courses at home while the burden of planning the study (and keeping him accountable) are off your shoulders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 I will need to talk more with him when he arrives in a few days to assess his needs. ALEKS and Bravewriter both look like they could be very useful to us. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Not sure how to implement yet, but I think I will just gradually assign him jobs and then instruct where necessary until he is proficient. I'll need to involve dh on this one. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 level of preparation for college, based on what he studied in high school. At the very least, he will need to be brought back up to speed to do well on the SAT, most likely, particularly in math which is not his forte. Do you think cc math classes would be better than something he could do at home, like ALEKS? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuthouse Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I'd have him involved in three areas, education, job, and community service. I'd have his input into structuring these three areas, but he cannot be allowed to drift. It's okay to continue exploring different passions before choosing a life's direction, but it's not okay to do little or nothing. If he were my nephew, (and he's not and this is my opinion), he'd be in at least one community college course, in a part-time job or internship and be involved in at least 10/week of community service. Each of these areas has potential for education and exploration as well as time for growth and maturity. I hope this helps. Ms. D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 it provides education and he is giving back at the same time. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I think Well Educated Mind might work for a great books study for you. I've heard that the online SAT reviews actually lower points earned on the test for some reason. I'm not sure they have any idea why yet, just that there seems to be a trend. So I think I'd do paper reviews as opposed to online. How about a job at a library, summer school, or camp, or something that would be more educational for him as well as allow him to educate others? Regena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria from IN Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Perhaps you need to employ a "What Color is Your Parachute" approach with this one. Find some personality/job tests and find out where his strengths and interests are. If he finds something he's interested in, find out what it takes to get there and shore up those areas. If college is the way to get there, do whatever it takes to get him in college. Visit a few and talk with admissions people to see where he is and where he needs to be. I also agree that a job and community service will round out his day nicely. I did some searching and found a few career personality tests. Some are just for fun, and some are more serious, but they may give some insight. http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.asp?action=choices http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_work/tests/career.htm http://www.walnutsmoothie.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 level of preparation for college, based on what he studied in high school. At the very least, he will need to be brought back up to speed to do well on the SAT, most likely, particularly in math which is not his forte. Do you think cc math classes would be better than something he could do at home, like ALEKS? Thanks! Yes. A community college course would be more rigorous than Aleks. CC also offer remedial courses in math, English, etc. They don't qualify for college credit, but they would be more rigorous than Aleks. He could do rigorous math at home (Lial's series, for example) but the reality is he probably won't do enough on his own, and you mentioned you don't want to have to supervise him a lot. Math at that level can be quite a slog, and it helps if he has to meet teacher expectations, classroom expectations, and sees other students his age working to meet all of those expectations. He would not need to take the SAT to transfer to a four-year college if he maintains a passing average in courses at the cc. The biggest downside to cc is the tuition cost, but a part-time job would cover that and be good for teaching responsibility, etc. He could take a part-time cc college load while working half-time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 For math SAT prep work, I can recommend the Chalkdust SAT math review set. My teen is using this right now (prior to taking the test on March 1) and is finding it very valuable. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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