Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Is it best to homeschool through high school?

A good friend asked me this recently.  I have heard these questions before but was surprised hearing it from this person who plans on homeschooling her own children someday.  My answer was a resounding "yes" for all the reasons you all already know.  She was specifically worried about how she would teach the harder subjects.  I explained about co-op classes and all the help that is out there these days.  This conversation got me thinking about how passionate I feel about homeschooling.  I guess my favorite thing about homeschooling high school besides the moral aspects, is that my big teen is able to explore his interests and take classes that would not be offered to him in high school.  For one thing, my dear son would be in special ed classes for severely learning disabled students.  He would not be offered the opportunity to learn half of what I have offered him.  They would not have faith, time or interest in fostering and adapting things so that he could learn them.  Take for example my son's 10th grade Lit and Film course.  Like most teens, he loves films, but instead of watching twaddle, I found a course that studied films from great literature.  He loved it so much that when it was completed, I searched out more films at this site


Here is the list of movies he/we watched:


  • Gone with the Wind
  • David Copperfield
  • Silk Stockings- Sherlock Holmes
  • Pollyanna
  • The Thief Lord
  • Under the Greenwood Tree - Harding
  • Emma
  • Dracula
  • The Philadelphia Story
  • Maltese Falcon
  • 12 Angry Men
  • Shane
  • Rear Window
  • Friendly Persuasion
  • Great Expectations
  • The Great Gatsby
  • A Raisin in The Sun
  • Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
  • The Grapes of Wrath
  • Fox Fire
  • The Quiet Man
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • Bleak House
  • Arsenic and Old Lace
  • Henry the V
  • The Journey of August King
  • A Man for All Seasons
  • The Miracle Worker
  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • The Outsiders
  • Chariots of Fire
  • Miss Potter
  • Searching for Bobby Fischer
  • Wind and the Willows
  • The Glass Menagerie
  • Animal Farm
  • Silas Marner
  • The Hiding Place
  • Passage to India
  • Earogon
WOW! Thanks for hanging in there for that long list.  Can anyone tell me a public or private school student that has seen all those classic movies in school?  I have a bachelor's degree in Sociology and my ds has seen more classics than I ever saw growing up and read more books than I read in high school.

One funny -  My son will be upset if I do not share this.  When it was time to order Animal Farm, I was in a rush and somehow ordered Animal House.  I never even noticed my mistake even after it arrived.  I set my ds and dh up to watch it and wandered off to have some time to myself.  My dh came to me a few minutes later and asked why we were watching this movie.  He asked if this was for sex ed.  If so, he did not think it went at all with our courtship teachings.  LOL!  I was like, "What are you talking about?  The movie is supposed to be about post-revolutionary times in Russia."  OOOPS!  We all had a good laugh and life goes on.


Blessings,
Dawn

16 comments:

  1. LOL about the Animal House movie! MY friend's grandparents went to see ON Golden Pond back in the 80s and accidentally ended up in the theater seeing Porky's (a movie similiar to Animal House). They never went to the movies again.

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  2. Thanks for the laugh about Animal House! That is too funny!


    What a great list of movies; I'm going to hang onto it as a reference for when my kids get older. Of course, there are several that I've never seen and would love to watch!


    Denise

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  3. This was great all the way around...the mistake in the wrong movie! gasp! How wonderful that your son *knew* that was the wrong movie! =) I agree too, in that my children were destined for special ed at the age of 3. I had previously taught grades 3 and 5 in ps, and told myself that if I ever had special needs kids, I'd homeschool them! Here I am! And like you said, they are definitely learning more than they ever would have elsewhere! BTW, I love the list. DH and I will watch Arsenic and Old Lace (Carey Grant, is that the same movie). I haven't justified showing it to my kids yet. I think 14yod would enjoy it. How is that a classic? I'd love to know! =)

    Blessings,

    Laurie

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  4. homeschoolingmommaof4October 17, 2007 at 2:07 PM

    I agree there is so much help out there, there is no reason not to homeschool through highschool. Beside it gives them the opportunity to follow their interest. I had to laugh about the movie mix up. LOL


    BTW on my blog you told me I should feel guilty. Just wandering if you meant it or just mistyped.


    Have a blessed day!

    Joann

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  5. Oh Joann that was such a typo. I will go fix my comment right now. Sorry. That will teach me to type and talk to kids at the same time.

    Blessings,

    4sweetums

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  6. Oh, definately, wholeheartedly, it's best to homeschool through high school. Not only are there co-op classes, but for many kids, parents will be surprised how many things they really don't even need a teacher for. Many are perfectly capable of reading the material and learning for themselves.


    What a sweet little birthday party for your daughter. How cool to get a free boat ride!!


    Way to go to your son for his home economics, and way to go to mom for making him learn how to do those things. His wife will be very proud. I hope he is very proud of himself, and knows what great skills those are to have.

    Letitia

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  7. Animal House vs. Animal Farm! LOL!


    What a GREAT idea that film course is! I've got to file it away in my idea file. Thanks!

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  8. for my son. He will be going into HS next year and there are so many classics that I want him (and his sister) to be exposed to. There are so many great books and so little time. We listen to books on CD while in the car, but again, limited time. I think that by watching the movies they will be at least exposed to the story lines and may perhaps on thier own chose to read the book. Thanks for sharing this helpful insight.

    I've seen both 'Animal' movies and had to laugh at your mix-up. Funny story.

    Blessings,

    Ginny

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  9. this is actually a question from your last posting - what age did you start the "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons?" You mentioned that your son was thriving on it...i have the book, but don't want to start too early...our daughter won't be four until this December. She recognizes all letters and some words, and that's just from reading a lot to her. For now, I am just reading a lot to her....

    if you have time, you can always answer next time you visit Peter Rabbit Preschool!

    thanks!

    -Katrina

    p.s. I have a BS in sociology also....and don't remember most of what I might have read....I hope to read and expand my own reading list with the kids as they get older...

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  10. Dawn,

    How great that you have such a great attitude about homeschooling thru high school! We have our son who is 14 and would be in 9th grade and I would have it no other way! He is learning to work a trade with his dad -- who is a carpenter, and that would not be happening if he was in school! He can school in the A.M and then head off to work with dh in the afternoon! It has worked out so great! He is learning so much -- more than can be found in textbooks!

    Real life skillls are just as critical as learnig how to read and write and compute!


    Blessings,

    gloria

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  11. I love your attitude toward homeschooling through high school. My daughter started high school this year and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to teach her everything. After asking people in my coop, I found plenty of opportunities for her to take those 'difficult' classes! Plus, my son has Add, homeschooling was the best thing I ever did for him and I will definately keep doing it through high school.

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  12. I have told people in the past that I would let my son go to public school if he wanted to when he got older. I really didn't mean it. :) It was just words. I thought he would like to play football or other sports and would have to go to school to be able to do it. I really plan on homeschooling on thru high school. I relize that sports come second to homeschool and maybe they will be offered them to hsers when he is older. I don't know if this makes any since???


    I like your funny. It made me laugh. LOL.

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  13. So many homeschoolers I know are "puttering out" as high school approaches. I'm sure it's tough and I'm sure teens can come up with long lists about why they "need" to go to high school. I think high school is potentially when homeschooling is most needed. It makes me sad when parents give in. I pray God gives me the energy and conviction to continue as those years slowly, but surely approach.

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  14. I LOVE homeschooling my high schoolers. I think the hardest part of it has been finding other teens who are still homeschooling.

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  15. This is the first time I've been online all week I think! I sure enjoyed catching up on all your posts. I loved your sons home-ec final....great work! Now that my morning sickness is sooo much better, looking at all the yummy food was making my stomach growl! I enjoyed reading your goals for the upcoming weeks too...have a wonderful rest of the weekend in Him!

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  16. oh my goodness ...ROFL !!! I had a good chuckle over the OOOPS. [ 0; Yes, we get going and sometimes things happen. I am so GLAD your dh was there to catch it. [ 0; You are doing such a GREAT job with your ds and his education. It is amazing and PTL you have the heart for him. God has lead me to write about the same question but haven't gotten it down yet. I hope to SOON. I will let you know when I post it. [ 0= Thank you soooooo much for your prayers and encouraging words. It means A LOT.


    Blessings and ((hugs)) my SSiC

    In HIm<><

    -Mary

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