Ben and I Embark on High School-What We Did, What Worked, What Nearly Killed Us

I have anticipated high school for a long time. All my years in higher education and I should be prepared to know what to do and how to do it, right? Logical, but no. I could sit most people down and give them some really good advice on homeschooling high school. But it would have been nice for someone to do the same for me. 😄

When I planned Ben's 9th grade year, I made several mistakes. 1) I planned it. This is partially because Ben typically answers any preference question with "Whatever you think." (Don't worry! God followed him up with two daughters who NEVER respond this way.) He needed to be more involved in the planning, and I'm currently working on correcting that for next year. 2) I failed to understand he is an auditory learner and enjoys collaborative learning. I worked independently in high school because that is the way I roll. I didn't really expect to do much with him, but he needs to talk things through and prefers I teach him. This is also the year I wished I had been giving him comprehensive finals in middle school.

Before I break down what we did, this was the year where I think Ben and I both started to see more of a path for him. We realized that while he is interested in technology, that he is ultimately an ideas person. He is artistic-music and art are natural to him. He loves the humanities and a good long discussion on western civilization, philosophy, and the implications of certain taxes. He enjoys the ideas part of science, but he is not headed into math or science careers. When I had to do a reboot on math, this calmed me. He is not going to need to take Calculus and we have time to get it all in.

Math (or not): So, not to get off on a bad foot, but he started in an online Geometry course, which was a disaster. Some of this was his fault, and some of it was a very green (first time teaching an online course) online teacher, and some of it was my fault for failing to realize that he didn't really understand all he needed to last year in Algebra. He showed a little trouble in two areas (pieces of Algebra) in the placement exam, but the teacher thought we could work through that. I didn't spend a lot of time observing when he was in class but wondered at how difficult it was for him to give me any idea of what they learned in class until I watched long enough to understand the teacher's difficulty in being precise with expectations. I think her style would have worked better in a classroom where she could observe what each student was working on and where they were lost as she walked around the room. But she didn't realize how lost Ben was for a long time. Nor did I. Ultimately, Geometry doesn't come easy for him. I had a terrible time with Geometry and have read enough research to know spatial thinking comes later. She also told us that Euclidean Geometry can be really tough for some kids, and he might do better with a traditional approach. So he withdrew a couple months in; a tough decision he made, and it was the right one. We are revisiting Algebra I over the summer with a different text that fits his learning style better than Horizons.

Grammar: We used Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind (red book) in what will be his final year with a formal grammar course. He did this course with Kyrie (purple book) and I reviewed it more thoroughly when I described her program. The course was bumpy for me, particularly because of errors in the book and answer key. But it was thorough, utilized excerpts of great literature, and was rigorous. I realized that Ben (and Kyrie) have a more solid grasp on grammar than I do and I suspect Latin is the primary reason.

Latin: Ben took Latin 2 online with Schole Academy and we appreciated Dr. Kotynski a lot. We also both decided that online learning is just not the best way for him to learn and that five years of Latin was all Ben really wanted to take. (He has two years in high school and we are calling foreign language credits good!)

History: I've been excited about The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer since it first came out. I'm a history geek and I'm really blessed that Ben is too. This is challenging curriculum and I'm fairly certain most high schoolers would find the text overwhelming and confusing. (I studied history in college and while I primarily worked out of primary sources and didn't have texts, but this would have been the level I would have been using.) We both really liked the books and the Study and Teaching Guide. This is not a course for everyone. Susan Wise Bauer jumps around a lot and is fairly anecdotal. Ben loves her snide humor and made all the leaps with her. We had great discussions around this class. I didn't require a lot of writing or additional reading because there is A LOT (85 chapters) of material to cover. Ben and I talked about increasing the load next year and I will be calling it an Honors course.

Biology: I did a lot of research and picked Miller & Levine Biology. I opted to buy the Kolbe Academy answer key, and work from the book on labs, as well as some online labs and research aids that go nicely with the text. Ben also jumped in on a few of the middle school lab projects we did. The text is thorough and is meant to be used for Honors Biology as well. I was thankful I had the answer key, which reminded me that not every question and/or assignment was expected to be done. It also switched around the order of a few units and dropped a few lessons. I need these reminders that we don't need to do everything. Ben struggled early on, and came to me and asked me if I couldn't teach him this class. I had him working independently and he needed to talk through the ideas a little bit with me and hear it, not just see it. The book was thorough, interesting, and really well-presented. I would whole-heartedly recommend it for anyone who has the capacity to really plan a lesson and cut out anything superfluous. There were multiple testing options, and after some readjustment, we did the harder tests and made them open book. But for those of us driven to do the whole thing who get a little overwhelmed, this might not be the right option.

Bible:  Ben read Chance or Purpose, which was fast and easy reading but unpacked a lot of ideas and went well with what he was doing in Biology. He also did a Genesis study, both of which he really enjoyed. (Note: Both are Roman Catholic, which reflects my frustration with most Protestant texts on the Creation account.)

Logic: We started The Discovery of Deduction during the last school year. We were trying to do it as a night class so Mike could participate, but we realized fairly early on that this wasn't going to work. Ben and I both really liked this text (an introduction to formal logic) even more than previous texts. It got down to some real world arguments and tackled how to have disagreements about difficult topics where fundamentally different worldviews are held. The text encouraged both verbal and written dialogue and included some persuasive writing.

Debate: Ben audited the course because we weren't ready for the time and financial commitment involved in going to debate tournaments in three different states. But he loved the camaraderie and learned a lot and wants to dive in full-time next year. He is a member of Kairos, a CCCA Debate club and he researched and debated in two different round robin tournaments. This year's resolution was  Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase the percentage of total revenue derived from indirect taxation. Suffice it to say, he knows more about taxes than most adult Americans. His mother, substantially increased her knowledge as well.

Art: Ben continued drawing once a week, working primarily on using geometric tools in drawing this year. He is working through the Feed My Sheep curriculum.

Music: He continued with piano lessons this year. Next up...drums.

Driver's Education:  Our state requires driver's ed for anyone who wants a license before 18. In a whirlwind, Ben became interested in learning to drive. He completed his 34 hours of driver's education (24 classroom, 6 hours driving, and 4 hours observation) and the task of continuing his education is now ours again. He has a permit and is moving along nicely.

I have a new found appreciation for all those parents who put together the transcripts I used to review in my college admissions years. It is hard on so many levels.

But 10th grade looks awesome!