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Graduating with SCM
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Hi I wanted to know if there is anyone out there that has graduated a kid using SCM or at least SCM through highschool. Was it rigorus enough and challenging? How did it compare to programs like Ableside? Thanks!
I don’t know how many responses you’ll get from this question, abbynelli, because the book lists that you currently see on the curriculum guide are a revision that was posted in 2012. That’s also when the Modern Times lesson plan book was published.
I did ask my third daughter, though, what she thought about her high school years. This is her senior year and she’s used the lesson plan books and book lists pretty much as you see on our curriculum guide. We’ve tweaked here and there, as I always encourage parents to do in order to teach the child. But mostly, she’s done what you see on the guide and in the lesson plan books. I was curious what her answer would be.
She said some years (and some days) were more challenging than others. With the Family books in the mix, there was an element of relaxed learning, but also challenging learning with the grades 10-12 books. She was glad there was variety and flexibility; i.e., not just the History/Geography/Bible lessons. Adding in the other subjects kept it enjoyable, not boring. She would not call her high school assignments “rigorous”; challenging, but not rigorous, which is a subjective term. She elaborated by saying, by way of example, when she wrote her narrations, she didn’t feel pressure to earn a certain grade; thus, she didn’t feel “rigorous” would describe her experience.
Just as an aside, I was pleased with her response. My goals were to give a mixture of ebb and flow, some relaxed learning and some challenging. I also tried to keep a nice variety in our schedule. I was happy that she focused on the narrations being a learning tool for herself, rather than a hoop to jump through to earn a grade. And I’m thrilled that she has started a list of books that she wants to read after graduation, just because she wants to learn more about certain topics that were introduced during her assignments!
So thanks for posting the question!
I love this answer! This is why I am coming to love SCM more all the time. I haven’t graduated on using these materials all the way through the high school years, but I am also very happy with the year that we did do…and feel much the same as above. And my goals are simlilar. I also think it depends on how it is implemented. i.e. The guide doesn’t tell you when and how much to have the child write their narrations. So, you can make it what you will.
Thank you Sonya for answering!! We haven’t gotten to highschool yet but I want to prepare my big picture so to speak. I like to see where we are going and what we are headed to. I loved hearing your daughters perspective! 🙂 I agree with you on the “rigorus” issue. I definietly want to challenge them. Challenge does seem to be a good word and fit for what I was wanting for them. I had asked this question several different places but had not gotten an answer. Thank you so much for all you do and for answering this question. It helps me out so much!! 🙂 I just love the idea of family readings!!
I had a repeating discussion with different parents each year that I taught public school. There were always a few parents that came to me saying that they felt their child wasn’t being challenged enough. It was first grade! I asked them what they felt would be necessary in order to “challenge” the child. Time and again, the answer was more work. Not necessarily harder work, but more work. I replied the same every time, “So, we will load up morebusy work for the sucessful child to do. He will not feel this is unfair? Like, ‘I do well and so I have to do more than the child who doesn’t?’ Do you think this might be a dangerous conclusion for your child?” Parents often saw the lack of logic in this line of thinking and then relaxed a bit.
There were also parents who wanted to “push” the child. I asked what that meant. The answers were vague, as they didn’t really know what they meant either. At some point in one particular conversation I said,”So do you want to ‘push’ the child until the work is so hard that they are failing and then you feel they will be pushed hard enough?”
The parent quickly answered, “Yes”. I sat quietly and looked at her for a few moments and then she said, “Well, that doesn’t seem quite right ,does it?” I replied that we should set the child up for success not failure or we run the risk of turning a gifted child off to learning. Thankfully she agreed.
All this to say that we as parents need to be very thoughtful as we approach expectations for each student. We want them to love learning and be successful. Maybe the idea of “rigourous” education can be dangerous to the love of learning for a child. I just think it is a delicate balance that must be thought through carefully. I want my children challenged, but not to the point that the love of learning is destroyed.
I meant to start this post above by saying “thank you” to you Sonya, not only for giving us such great tools, but for showing us that it is possible to challenge a child to success while maintaining the idea that education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. So, thanks for sharing this with us.
Thank you Sonya for your answer. I was thinking of posting this exact question. I want to trust the process, but I also want to know that it works out in the long run. I don’t know many CM homeschoolers in real life. I know I’m not supposed to worry or compare, but it’s hard to know what the end result of a CM education looks like.
KeriJ you worded my questsion so well. I am so unsure about the highschool years! Thanks for the comment!
This is my first year with our second grader coming home. I love the ideas of Charlotte Mason but have also wondering how it will pan out into the future. Will it be enough? Will she have a love for learning? Know how to seek more knowledge? Have the ability to go onto college, if she wishes? I plan to follow SCM completely this year and praying God’s grace fills in the gaps.
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