Are you thinking about COLLEGE yet? If so, what are your concerns/insights/etc

Hi Claire. I have periods when I stress a lot and others when I am at peace with the whole high school and college thing. At the heart of the matter, I believe that God is answering my prayers to lead me and guide me as I educate my daughter, and to lead and guide her into the future He has prepared for her.

I have always planned on having her get her AA through a local community college before worrying about what comes next. We may take advantage of Dual Enrollment benefits here in Florida (free college for high school students) or we may try CLEP tests during high school.

Community colleges around here are not very selective. As long as you’re willing to pay for your classes, they are willing to take you as a student so I’m not concerned about my daughter being accepted. I have several friends who have gone this route already and their children have excelled in their college classes. Some used traditional methods, others practically unschooled, and still others were eclectic homeschoolers.

My daughter is only 14 and so far she has shown interest in Biology, Marine Biology, Zoology and Architecture. I mean, she is interested in a great many things but these are the areas she is considering career wise. If she were interested in being a doctor or something along those lines, I would probably do things incredibly different. As it is, I am very confident that she is receiving an excellent education that will prepare her for college but, more importantly, will prepare her for life.

I know many people who chose to go to college later in life. For instance, a relative of mine dropped out of school in her junior year of high school. Several years later, she decided she wanted to go to college. She had to take one remedial math course and she was ready to go. She went to a community college for 1 year and then on to well respected state college to get her BA. Another friend of mine graduated high school but never went to college. Fast forward 10 years and 3 or 4 kids later and she starts working on her degree. She has earned her AA and is now working on her BA, all from home.

Then I know a young lady who is going to nursing school. She graduated at the top of her class and received several scholarships. She only read 2 books a year in her English Honors classes, has never heard of most of the authors we have our children read, and knows very little about history. She also admits to remembering little from her science classes and really struggling with geometry. Yet, she scored well on her SAT test and maintained a high GPA.

These are just a few examples but my point is that I think we stress about college way more than we should. If our children are motivated to go, and it is God’s will, He will make a way. We should certainly do our part by giving them a quality education but that quality education doesn’t need to look exactly like a public school or private school education. In fact, the desire to give my children something different and more meaningful is what drew me to Charlotte Mason methods in the first place.

The new math requirements blow my mind! As well as the science ones. I mean does every student really need Calculus and Physics? However, community colleges don’t require you to take all of those classes, thankfully.

Also, I listened to a recording from Julie Bogart of Bravewriter. She said she didn’t give her son a college prep education because he wasn’t planning on college. He changed his mind at the last minute and she scrambled to put together a transcript and get him admitted. She said they took his studies in Klingon for foreign language credits and she admitted to giving her daughter an American history credit for studing the American History CLEP book for a few weeks. She also said that the college admissions counselor said not to worry about him not having higher math or science courses because he didn’t need him for his career path. I’m not advocating her methods. I’m simply saying that it’s not as tough as we think it is. 🙂

Hi Claire, et al,

No, you’re not the only ones but I believe I had my personal freak-out back in August which my sister helped me through.  A few years ago I sat in on a campfire talk with Jack Kelly, who is a CM-home school graduate and at the time was at a state university working in admissions.  Most of the questions posed to him by parents were fear-based and he basically told everyone to “stay calm.”  He relayed how the well-roundedness of an individual has become increasingly important in admissions where so many applicants look the same with all their AP classes.

Massachusetts is considered one of the most highly regulated states in the union for homeschooling so I’ve grown a bit accustomed to the amount of detail required by my state and school district and have looked ahead to current college requirements (albeit, college may not be what my high schooler chooses to pursue).  We have a rough sketch of all four years of high school based on Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education and it does tentatively include four years of math.  Not because my high schooler is math-oriented but mainly because it seems knowledge due to him as a person.  I really don’t want that to sound trite and please know, coming from someone who majored in the humanities, that I don’t believe it will be easy.  What I have witnessed is the steady amount of progress my high schooler makes in mathematics with 30-minutes of concentrated attention each day of the week.  Though math doesn’t necessarily come easy for him he does have a love of language.  We did a non-math term of physics in sixth grade and an idea caught hold that he would like to speak the language (of math) that he saw physicists speaking.

Ideas are the hooks on which the facts hang and Charlotte considered it so important to give our children those “captain ideas” in mathematics.  A few years ago I read an article by a physics professor written to students that were preparing to take the GRE physics test for graduate school.  In it, she encouraged students to go back and audit a “physics for poetry” class in order to get the ideas the world’s great physicists had which would, in turn, spark the imagination and carry the desire to continue that a mechanical ability in math wouldn’t.

I think it’s interesting to note that PNEU schools did add Trigonometry to their upper level forms’ study of mathematics in 1924.  As always, in mathematics at Charlotte’s PNEU schools, it was taken with a slow and steady approach.  Trig was added to the university matriculation requirements in Britain around that time as well so whether that was a factor is unclear but I believe the predominate reason was because it furthered a person’s knowledge of the universe, which would further kindle their love of God.  I remember reading that students at Oxford and Cambridge actually fought for trigonometry to be added to the classes available to them years earlier.  Anyhow, another thing to note is that the way we have maths divided in the US can be confusing.  If one has Algebra II with Trig than that student can usually go on to the study of Calculus without PreCalc.

A few years back there was a blogpost on SCM regarding apprenticeships that was quite thought-provoking.  We’ve also had German friends encourage our kids to escape the high cost of education in the US by matriculating in a German university.  At 14, my son has already started his own business where he helps elderly or non-technical people set up laptops, Kindles, Nooks, and Smartphones gifted to them by well-meaning relatives.   Really, though, I don’t know what my children will do as they have such a wide variety of interests but I have a lot of faith in the Lord and CM’s gospel-based education.

Thanks for starting the conversation.  I’ll go breath into a paper bag now 😉

From joy to everlasting joy,

Richele

@Claire: I’m in agreement with you re: work until they are at A/B level on their lessons.

In math, if they get it wrong, then it’s wrong and graded accordingly. I then require that they go back and correct everything and not move forward until they understand the material.

Now, my son uses Tabletclass. So, if he doesn’t understand it, he rewatches the video. It’s obvious early on that he’s not getting it, so he usually doesn’t get too far in the lesson before backing up, thereby reducing the poorer appearance of grades so he can reach understanding.

I average out the totals from the daily exercises and the Quiz/Test.

Avoiding the lower scores is a motivating factor for both of mine, therefore they strive to get it right the first time, or if they don’t understand, stop and relearn the material before continuing. I hope that makes sense with the way I wrote it.

I’ve never graded until this year, so it’s a fresh thing for them; and I don’t do + or minus and there are no D’s. Just basic:

90-100= A;

80-89=B;

70-79=C;

Below 70=F

For Lit analysis (i.e. story charting-oral), I’m using and tweaking a Rubric from Reading Roadmaps, using a point system which turns into a grade.

Currently, they have an Essay course online which will formulate a grade for them, based on a point-system rubric.

My dd’s Spanish teacher at our co-op handles her grades there

My son and dd’s Landry classes handle their grades, too. (Son-1 year: Latin 1A; DD-1 Sem. each of: PreAnatomy, Pre-Chem; Art)

History: I haven’t quite decided yet; as well as a few other items, since our Full-schedule doesn’t begin till Nov.