Homeschooling thru High School FAQs
Homeschooling thru High School FAQs
by Pat Fenner
The thought of teaching high school can seem daunting even to the most passionate homeschooling family. But it doesn't need to be that way! Here are 4 of the most common issues I dealt with, and questions people have since shared with me, about homeschooling your high school aged student.
1. How do I know what to teach?
There’s lots of help in that area! First of all, graduation requirements are decided by your state only for the public school system, and they do notapply to your homeschool. You, as parent/teacher/principal, decide on what should be required. With that said, don’t go making requirements will-nilly, or go "soft" on your non-academically-oriented student. First, check out World Book Encyclopedia’s Typical Course of Study, and to feel a bit better about what you will put together, read about how this typical course of study was prepared.
Next, if your child is college-bound, begin to look at schools they may be interested in to see what admissions requirements they have. You can usually get this information at the school’s website; if not, make a quick phone call to the admissions office and ask them to send you the information through the mail. Here is an example of a private school's requirements, and a state school's requirements. (see p.17)
Finally, to “get moving”, please take a moment and read this wonderful article on approaching a high school course of study for your child, by Donna Young. I wish I could come up with better forms to plan and arrange high school studies, but in my book she has a corner on the market! I use lots of her stuff!
2. How can I teach advanced subjects?
Not to fear, resources abound! First of all, check with people in your local support group to see what services might be available in your community. For example, when my kids needed high school science labs, our support group had enough teens in the same boat that we approached the local community college. They put a semester-long lab together, using a textbook that we had recommended, provided the lab and teacher, and "made it happen" for us. There was a fee, but it was much less than if we'd have had to buy all the equipment and supplies ourselves. Sometimes there are classes available in continuing education; sometimes the school will allow your student to audit a class (you, however, can give class credit for it), and when your child is in junior and senior year, many junior colleges offer joint or dual enrollment. This enables your high student to attend class in a college setting and get both college and high school credit at the same time! Ask around at local museums to see if there are fine arts or science classes available; and if need be, get together with some other parents of high school students and see what options you can put together as a team. Co-op classes, as these are called, are great ways to pool and use the wide range of knowledge, skills and abilities of the people around you!
3. Will they get into college?
Without a doubt, YES! As the homeschool movement grows, more and more colleges see what good students homeschoolers are: out-of-the-box thinkers, self-starters, motivated, creative, knowing “how” to learn...everything that breeds success in higher-level academia. According to a survey completed in 2004 and published by HSLDA, homeschooled students taking the ACT scored an average of 22.6, compared to the national average of 20.9. Another study by Brian D Ray, at the National Home Education Research Institute showed no support for the idea that parents need to be trained and certified to successfully teach their children.
4. What about transcripts?
The only thing that transcripts do is to put all that wonderful learning your child has experienced and put it in “school administrator-ese”. This was a hurdle I was initially intimidated by as well. If the thought of doing that scares you too, take a deep breath and relax. I again defer to Donna Young (why reinvent the wheel?), who has not only super step-by-step instructions to determine a GPA, but forms to use to create transcripts, as well as any other forms you might even think you might need!
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