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September, 2000
Home Schooling High School Grades Linda's Story A vivacious and extremely intelligent senior with a keen interest in the sciences, Linda impressed me as a young lady with enough potential to achieve any goal she might set for herself. As we parted, I gave her a business card and asked if she would drop me an e-mail from time to time just to let me know how she was doing. Over the next few months, Linda and I became close internet friends and I was thrilled when she told me she had decided on a career in medicine and had applied at Colorado State University for her pre-med college work. My joy was short-lived, however because she soon notified me she had not done well on her SAT nor ACT test scores. "I took them both," she wrote, "because I was afraid I might blow one of them." Finally, after two other failed college admission attempts, Linda attended a local Junior college where it took her three years to complete a two year program. Her grades were marginal at best in spite of the fact that she was a dedicated student. Linda graduated from Southern Colorado University last May, to date she has not been accepted at any medical school... and she applied to many! I suspect the problem is in her GPA, for although she maintained excellent marks during her last three semesters, she was playing "catch up" most of her college career. The Home
Schooling Argument Educators, parents and law makers could go on debating the pros and cons of home schooling forever and never reach a consensus, so realizing that committed home schoolers are not about to be dissuaded by any number of arguments, the best way for opponents to deal with the issue is to either help out or get out! I prefer the former... Married to a retired school superintendent, and an ex-educator myself, I am a proponent of the public school system when that system functions as it should. Sadly, that is less often the case now. But rather than beleaguer the issue further, I would prefer to offer some practical suggestions for all home schoolers, especially for those home schooling their high school age children. Get Qualified! Sure, you may know the material in the lower grades especially, but there is a good reason why professional teachers are required to invest in all that college education. You don't need a degree, but you DO need to learn about how your child's brain functions at various stages; you DO need to know effective teaching methods; you DO need to know what your child needs to learn and the sequence of that learning... I could go on, but you get the picture. In order for your child to have a good teacher, you need to learn how to teach! Hopefully, you are already an accomplished teacher by the time you tackle the high school grades, but even so, and no matter how skilled you are at guiding your child along the paths of knowledge, I pray you have the wisdom to turn over part of your child's high school education to others... more on that later. Get a
Curriculum! With a great curriculum at your disposal and the materials to apply it, you may feel you're all set, but don't fall into the trap of letting the texts, workbooks and other aids become the primary method of delivery... YOU are the teacher and YOU need to teach! And test! And review! and apply! If in high school, your child wants to study a language you aren't fluent in, or play football, or take drama, solid geometry, or any other thing about which you may know nothing at all or may find impossible to provide, I beg you to let go... Allow your child room to explore even if it means he goes on without you... again, more on this later. Get a Program! Public schools are required by law to be in session a certain number of days or hours each semester... and for good reason - learning takes time and repetition. Even so, unless a schedule is adhered to, home schoolers easily get off track. Distractions and duties of the household will be less compelling if you have an area set aside as a classroom and set regular times to be in class. You'll need to be firm about this, firm with your child, firm with yourself. Tantamount to classroom and timing structure is the need for enrichment activities, preferably including other children the same age. Joining or founding a home schoolers group in your community is an excellent idea. Plan educational and recreational activities together and have different group members alternate leading the activity. It will be good for your child to learn from and interact with other adults as well as to become comfortable with her peers. Get Tested! Get a Life! Give
a Life! At the elementary and middle school levels, teachers are normally certified by grade level alone, but at the secondary level they must also be certified as to discipline (subject area) and there is a very valid reason for this requirement as well as the one mandating continuing education. As a student ventures into the more theoretical and technological arenas of the high school curricula, demands on the teacher's knowledge base increase drastically to extend well beyond the scope of the text book or teaching guides. Students should be able to explore the desired and required disciplines with a qualified guide... one who can answer the probing questions leading to the thrill of genuine discovery by the student. Simply put, there's no way you can become sufficiently expert in all subject areas to properly teach an entire high school curriculum. To be blunt, I would challenge anyone who believes she can do so as either a complete egoist or so naive as to be incompetent in any subject. For example, it is not enough to merely teach photosynthesis as presented in the text, your child can read that as well as you, to properly teach the concept, you must understand it deeply enough to answer questions not covered by the book. You cannot do that without a fairly thorough knowledge of biochemistry which is why Biology teachers must also have a background in that discipline. Nor can you effectively teach high school math without understanding Euclidean and other higher math concepts. So, having accepted that while you may do a fine job in some subjects, your high schooler needs more expert tutelage in others, you need to make arrangements for this and back off a bit... get a life, as it were, for both of you outside the home classroom. The Senior
Class... Most states permit home schoolers to enroll in some classes while continuing studies at home. So, your child may take French and Physics at the local high school and play in their band while continuing his home education. Yes, he will be somewhat exposed to the less desirable elements of some teen cultures, but the Lord has promised if we raise up a child in the way he should go, he will not depart from it. He is almost an adult and by this age he already has a fairly well developed Christian value system. Part time enrollment in a public or private school will address the need for more advanced teaching in some areas as well as the need for expanded peer socialization. Not to be forgotten is the fact that many, many adults cite the high school years as some of the best in their lives. Perhaps that was not true in your case, but this is your child, not you, and she may enjoy and gain a great deal from it. Kept in their proper place, Prom, sports, band and other high school enrichment activities are an important part of the high school education package and help prepare young people for successful Christian lives as adults in a complex society. Conversely, some home schooled teens are fearsome about attending school in any form. They are afraid they'll not fit in or will know less than their peers, etc. In such cases, I believe it doubly important to get them out there! Off to College
or Work? When your child enters life outside the shelter of your home, she will encounter a world with which she's only vaguely familiar. Far better that she be initiated gradually while still under the protective covering of your home. A few classes at public school will help her see that there are many subcultures in our society (Christianity is one of them)and give her experience in discerning which are good and which are destructive.... all while safely under your wise parental control.
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