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So now that you have a clearer idea of what’s involved as registrar and administror in your homeschool high school, what should you provide as an educator?
I strongly agree with my mentor, Lee Binz, on this one. High school students should get a college prep education as much as possible. There’s a reason for that. Teenagers change their minds!! Gasp!!! I know! But what looks appealing and interesting at 16, 17, 18 might not seem very practical ten or twenty years later. If they decide to postpone college, they will be better prepared if they had a great education in high school.
My current college student had a college prep education in our homeschool. He has been on the Dean’s List for all six semesters as he heads into his senior year.
Interestingly, my homeschool, highschool drop out student was able to pass the GED on his first try, because he had a good foundation. It also helped that he was so well-read in high school as he entered the work force and even socially. When friends and colleagues referred to books like, The Grapes of Wrath, he was familiar because we read the book in high school.
A good college prep education then would include:
- English 4 years including literature and writing.
- Math 4 years – Algebra I and II, geometry, pre-calc. Higher math if your student is interested and has the aptitude. Business math is helpful and consumer math is certainly practical.
- Science at least 3 years but great if you can do four. At least one lab, but in homeschool, you could do more than that.
- History – American, World, British. If your student has a particular interest you could pursue that as well. In my homeschool we do two years of American – from the explorers to the civil war and then from the reconstruction to modern day. I also do church history.
- Language two years. I think Latin is good because it helps you to understand English better and then maybe Spanish or French.
- Finance and economics
- Physical education.
- Electives including art, music, and other practical arts like car repair, homecare, computer skills … this list is really endless and depends on the student’s interests.
Do Remedial Courses Count?
Absolutely. They count as credit in a regular high school and they can count in your homeschool as well. Two of my students needed remediation in English and I gave them credit for it.
Can I count hobbies? Sports activities?
Absolutely! My daughter helped rehab a house! I counted her hours, called it House Rehab on her transcript and gave her 1 credit. My students have participated in piano lessons every year. They practice an hour a day and I give them one credit and ask the piano teacher for input on a grade.They participate in choir 2 1/2 hours per week plus performances. I give them credit for that as well. Of course with my daughter’s running, she has way more than 120 hours devoted to the sport and so she gets 1 credit for each year she runs.
My best advice is to let your kids follow their passions and figure out a way to present it on a transcript to give them credit for all of their hard work!
