What happens if Home school High School Just isn’t Working?
Among the list of great things about homeschooling is the freedom to make changes when things aren’t working. With high school, don’t forget that if it works you use it. Whenever it fails to work, then discontinue using it and try something else.
One more significant theme: You don’t have to teach. They just need to learn. You don’t necessarily have to teach ANYTHING in high school, you only have to be sure your children learn it. I didn’t know the answers to a lot of the math or science. You would probably think I would given that I’m a nurse, however it’s not true! I thoroughly lost it with math about a month into Algebra 2. Everyone seems to lose it in high school math – everyone. But, again, it’s not our job to learn the information. We basically have to make sure our student learns the stuff.
My kids did chemistry and physics completely on their own. They did Algebra 2, pre-calculus and calculus completely independently. I simply gave them the tests, and had to look up the answers. By the time we got to calculus, I failed to even recognize what the symbols meant anymore. I only knew that the answer had to be like the answer in the book. I had one mom tell me her high school wasn’t working as she could no longer teach them writing. She said “they are better writers than me – and I’m a professional. ” I just had to point out to her that homeschooling appeared to be working because they WERE being successful. Once you get into high school, writing is mostly about practice. Edit the papers for spelling and grammar, yes, but it’s mostly important to practice, practice, practice.
I could hardly keep up with the books either. I have confessed before that I didn’t do “literature analysis” with my kids. I just asked them if they liked the book (to which they commonly said “yes” and not much more. )#) They have grown up and done fabulously with the honors literature courses in college, so I know they weren’t damaged by my weak spots. I couldn’t keep up with my kids reading either, but you know what? They were reading thousands of books for pleasure, and I didn’t stress out about reading those books ahead of them. So why did I stress out about reading their school books ahead of them? I don’t know! Consider public school for a moment. Would the teacher pre-read every book? No, just the one or two they used in a year. Would the teacher have the ability help with writing more than you? No, likely it would be just grammar and spelling.
What about science? I didn’t help my kids at science in any way, but my boys both got straight-As in college science after homeschooling, so I know that it worked. My problem with the comments that “Homeschooling isn’t working” is that people forget the alternative. Homeschooling can be tough (OK, it absolutely IS tough) but it is much more effective than a public or private school. It is the 1 to 1 tutoring, the mastery before moving on, the absolute love for the student that make homeschoolers do well. None of those elements are available at a public or private school. You can find lots of resources for homeschoolers. Online courses, tutors, co-ops, video programs, and curricula for every learning style. You may need help, but that isn’t going to mean that homeschooling isn’t working OR that putting your child into school is THE one and only remedy to problems.
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