My son is in high school and does not fit the typical high schooler. He just did not do well in the traditional high school setting (studies are finding this to be true for a growing number of students).
Now to be fair the high school he was attending is not very good. In fact, the school district he attended is poor (same district I teach in myself). The test scores are average and the district struggles to attract and keep high quality teachers and administrators. Case in point, last year we lost an excellent AP (assistant principal) because of, in my opinion, poor decision making by our downtown staff.
Not only are the test scores poor, our attitude in this district is unique. Our attitude is a top/bottom approach (see above). Very little comes from the campus, the line is, “I’m just doing what I was told” is often the approach. I like people who think on their feet and are creative. Those who are able to think and not only follow a policy. Only a couple of his teachers fit into this mold. Plus, the administration was doing the minimum to get by, you know, just do what you are told and that gets you home and I get to cash my check thinking. So we pulled him out of that school and started him in an online school.
We liked the school, but were faced with the same issues of structure. There was not a lot of room for creativity. He was still facing the inability of the school to be flexible and creative, a must for my son (or any of us if you think about it).
So we decided to withdraw him and fully homeschool him. I know that in high school this will be difficult, but I have already found great choices and opportunites for him to learn in a creative way. Here are some of the ideas for study I have:
- Financial Peace University
- Bible
- Podcasting
- Blogging
- History (me teaching of course)
- Math (his brother is his tutor)
- Science (I found a course on Udemy, it is great, you should check it out)
I think he will do much better, in fact, I am predicting early college for this boy. Check back and I will give you his blog address and you can check for yourself.
If you have ideas and suggestions regarding homeschooling your high schooler, I am all ears. Until next time, peace.
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