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Raising Scholars: An Overview
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Raising Scholars * Phase 2: Establishing Roots
The journey of raising scholars concludes during these final years.
With mixed feelings of great joy and nostalgia,
remembering all the years leading up till now,
the parent-teacher turned mentor steps back
and lets the students become scholars.
Students are directed and taught; information is fed to them.
Scholars can teach themselves.
They have all the tools for reading, writing, researching, thinking,
analyzing, computing, and problem-solving,
and they actively seek out information and knowledge.
They have a hunger for learning new things
and understanding the world around them.
In The Journey Cultivates Wings: Students Become Scholars (grades 9-10), the scholars take a look at World History In-Depth, complete courses in high-school math, science, and engineering, and study formal logic and a foreign language. They are competent at the piano and begin branching out into other fine arts or further developing their music skills.
They have become engrossed in extracurricular activities that feed their interests and build their character. For our family, they learned self-defense earning their black belt in martial arts and have become leaders and teachers themselves through the scouting program where they earned their Eagle.
In 10th grade, they take a Life Skills course where they learn adult skills related to college and career planning, financial management and investing, and legal and civic matters. At its conclusion, they get their driver’s license, set up a checking account with debit and credit cards, and begin investing in index funds.
As The Journey Concludes: Independent Scholars Take Flight (grades 11-12), the once young children become adults. Their educational journey turns to the community college as they take dual-credit classes the last two years of high school. They also pursue a job, hopefully in a field in which they are interested, to become familiar with working for and with others, and to earn money to save and invest.
These scholars are cultivating wings
and learning to fly!
The Journey Cultivates Wings:
Students Become Scholars (grades 9-10)
Faith & Character:
Nurturing scholars’ faith and encouraging honorable character never ceases ~ it is built into the fabric of the family and thankfully is a part of our extracurricular activities as well (scouting is very strong in character and leadership development).
As part of World History In-Depth, the scholars independently read the historical books of the Bible alongside secular history. Our daily together time which began so many years ago continued these two years as we read the remaining two Gospels and finished the Apostle’s letters to Christians in the early church. As these scholars make their way through the teen years, this opportunity as a family to connect with each other and God, be encouraged and inspired by His great love, and pray for direction and wisdom in the coming years was so meaningful.
Three books that made a life-long impression on me back in college were Paul Little’s Know What You Believe, Know Why You Believe, and How to Share Your Faith, so we read those together during our “together time” as well. William Bennett’s Book of Virtues, a New York Times Bestseller, is a collection of “great moral stories” that we all enjoyed together. (You may remember in elementary years we read the adapted version of this book for children.)
World History In-Depth (+ Geography):
The World-History In-Depth study covering 9th, 10th, and some or all of 11th grade is the apex of this academic journey’s history study. World history was studied by era with three goals to be achieved at the end of each era:
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- COMPREHENSION: Scholars should be able to recount history as it occurred around the world during that particular era including civilizations/empires/nations, conflicts & wars, significant events, notable people/leaders, influential discoveries & inventions, culture of the time, and a snapshot of daily life for the people.
- SYNTHESIS: Scholars should be able to identify patterns in history, and be able to compare and contrast various time periods, various nations/civilizations, and various leaders.
- ANALYSIS: Scholars should be able to explain cause-effect relationships, the impact of events and people on the course of history, decipher the reasons for the rise and fall of civilizations and nations, among other things.
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In order to do this, scholars study various components of history:
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- Political history (e.g., civilizations/empires/nations; political leaders/dynasties; conflicts, revolutions, & wars)
- Cultural history (e.g, class structure, daily living experiences, struggles of the people, family & religious dynamics, leisure & entertainment)
- Music & Art history (including architecture)
- Religious history (e.g., rise and spread of various religions, biblical history, influential religious figures including martyrs and missionaries)
- History of Science & Technology (scientific discoveries, inventions, developments)
- World Geography
- Timelines
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A number of core resources and supplemental resources are used to glean information for this comprehensive, in-depth study. Scholars can also use internet and library resources to obtain additional information if needed. Though I searched for the “perfect” resources, all were less-than-perfect in some ways, but together they provided a fairly thorough compendium.
These are the resources we used:
CORE:
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- Western Civilization by Spielvogel + Asia: A Concise History by Cotterell
- History: The Definitive Visual Guide (Dorling-Kindersley)
- Almanac of World History (National Geographic)
- Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World
- The Medieval World (National Geographic)
- World of…. series by Genevieve Foster
- Historical Atlas of the World + excerpts in Western Civilization (world geography)
- Illustrated Timeline of World History OR Timetables of History (timelines)
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SUPPLEMENTAL:
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- The Annotated Mona Lisa + excerpts in Western Civilization (art history)
- The Idiot’s Guide to Music History + excerpts in Western Civilization (music history)
- Story of Science + excerpts in Western Civilization (science history)
- The Bible (historical books) and Trial & Triumph (biblical history/heroes of the faith)
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(NOTE: We initially used Susan Wise Bauer’s History of the Ancient World + successors, all of which are excellent and provided an incredibly-detailed history, especially political history. However, we switched to Western Civilization for several reasons:
1) Bauer’s series does not continue beyond the year 1450, so we were going to have to switch to something else anyway,
(2) the material was so dense it was difficult to see the big picture (that is, we got lost in the “trees” and couldn’t see the “forest”), and
(3) because of the amount of material, the reading was taking so much time, we did not have time for the other readings, discussions, or analyses. If her series had continued to modern times, we may have made it work.)
So, what did the scholars do with these resources?
For each era (see below for time divisions), they took notes of important information from the relevant sections of each of the resources covering all the above history components.
This note-taking exercise taught several important skills which were very important for them as independent learners and college students:
(1) how to identify important information in a larger context,
(2) how to take notes from resources, and
(3) how to consolidate a lot of information into a concise summary from which to study.
After taking notes from all the resources, the scholars studied corresponding maps using Rand McNally’s Historical Atlas of the World (or the maps in their core resources) and created a timeline for the time period being studied.
After the history study for an era was completed, the scholars were given an exam assessing comprehension, synthesis, and analysis of the information learned. These were not multiple-choice or matching exams ~ they required the scholars to know and understand the information enough to describe and explain it.
This world history study was meant to be comprehensive in nature and also to mimic to a certain extent the demand of college-level classes. “A Guide to Studying World-History In-Depth” is the guide given to the scholars with instructions for carrying out this in-depth world history study – it is linked in the Resource section below.
Ancient History was divided into eras covering sizable periods of time (usually 1000-1500 years), determined largely by prominent civilizations at the time. Medieval Ages were divided into periods between 500 and 300 years. The years between 1400 and 1800 were studied by centuries. After that, the time periods were studied as follows: 1800-1850; 1850-1900; 1900-1945; 1945-1985; and 1985 to the present. The exams were given at the end of each time period.
As with state history and U.S. History, at the conclusions of World History In-Depth, we took an historical tour through Europe, seeing as many historical places as we could. See “Historical Tour” below for more about this.
Literature:
Classic nonfiction and fiction literature take center stage during these years, with non-classic but excellent historical fiction books interspersed.
The scholars began learning to actively read, annotate, and identify literary elements and devices last year using short stories. This year they expand and get extensive practice analyzing classic literature.
They begin by reading and taking notes on the classic How to Read a Book by Adler, which forms the foundation for reading with intent. Bauer’s The Well-Educated Mind is a shorter, simpler yet still valuable approach to reading literature.
The scholars then use this process of active reading to annotate select classic literature and writing either literary analyses or critical thinking essays (an abundance of essay prompts can be found online).
As in previous years, not every book needs to be fully analyzed. Be selective. Do enough so that active reading, annotating, identifying literary elements and devices, and analyzing a piece of work can be done with ease, but not so much that enjoyment of reading is squelched.
Alternatives to formal written analyses for the other books are thought-provoking essays or just a rich discussion. Be creative and vary the assignments so the scholars don’t become bored or overburdened.
In general, my scholars would read two shorter books and one classic every month.
Composition, Literary Analysis, Thesis & Rhetoric:
At the high-school level, composition and analysis is no longer a separate “subject” but is incorporated into all the other subjects, especially history and literature where a fair amount of writing is required.
These last two years are a time to bring together all the writing skills they have learned from years past and put them into practice. The scholars write an abundance of research reports, literary analyses, compare-and-contrast papers, and opinion/thesis essays on a variety of topics from history including civilizations, wars and conflicts, influential individuals, classic novels, scientific discoveries, and controversial topics, to name just a few. They also prepare informative and persuasive speeches for competitive speech tournaments. Consistent constructive feedback on compositions and analyses helps the scholars refine their skills.
Rest assured, by this time, your scholars have done more writing and studied more grammar than most other youth their age. They go on to other academic venues feeling comfortable and confident with their writing abilities, able to tackle a wide variety of composition types with style and elegance.
If a more advanced course in thesis and rhetoric (the art of developing and defending an argument) is desired, Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) has a program called Classical Rhetoric through Structure and Style that builds on their previous programs and uses classical arguments to teach this skill. Pahlow’s English also has a course teaching this (English 5).
Speech:
Speech is an important skill in a wide variety of settings and occupations. It is also a required high school credit.
This speech credit was obtained in two ways:
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- Thesis and rhetoric course in which they gave multiple speeches and publicly presented and defended a senior thesis.
- Speech and debate club in which they competed in multiple tournaments with a variety of types of speeches including informative, persuasive, expository, oratory, interpretation, impromptu, and extemporaneous, as well as Lincoln Douglas debates.
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Foreign Language (Spanish):
I learned three languages in my life: French, German, and Spanish.
The first two I learned in high school and college; the third I learned while living in the culture. After three years of high-school French, I was barely conversational though I could read and write it passably. After two years of college German, I only became proficient when I went to Austria to live and study for a semester, though remembered little a few years later.
Spanish I learned while living in South America and serving as a teacher in several villages where no one spoke English. I was forced to communicate, however poorly at the beginning, in Spanish. I learned to read Spanish with the help of a small Spanish grammar book, a Spanish Bible, and a Spanish dictionary (I was in a very remote area with no internet). Within a couple months of arriving, I was conversationally fluent, and within five months I was thinking and dreaming in Spanish. Twenty years later with minimal ongoing practice, I am still able to converse passably in Spanish.
I say all of this because I felt strongly that having an immersion program was the only long-lasting option for learning a foreign language.
When we began our independent academic journey, Rosetta Stone was the most highly recommended program available – we purchased the homeschool version which included grammar, writing, reading, and speaking portions, and an accompanying workbook and written exams. Two of our scholars completed three levels of this program. However, the results were less than desired without significant external instruction, so our youngest scholar is instead using the much-acclaimed apps of Duolingo and Babbel.
Regardless of whether Rosetta Stone or Duolingo and Babbel are used, the scholars round out their Spanish program with the following:
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- A comprehensive Spanish grammar workbook including exercises and tests
- 5-7 Spanish novellas in increasing difficulty
(We like the Blaine Ray novellas which are instructional in nature and incremental in difficulty.) - Telenovelas (Destinos and Extra! can be found on Youtube and are meant for those learning Spanish)
- Private tutoring sessions with native Spanish speakers to improve verbal/conversational skills.
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At the end of their study of Spanish, we went on a mission trip to a children’s home in Costa Rica where the workers and children did not speak English. This gave my scholars the opportunity to intensely use their Spanish for 8 days.
Math:
If scholars did not complete geometry in 8th grade, they spend this year working through Jacob’s Geometry including studying the text, completing the exercises and taking the exams.
Upon completing geometry whether in the middle or at the end of a year, they proceed on to advanced algebra and trigonometry with Foerster’s Algebra and Trigonometry text which is studied over 1-1/2 to 2 years.
Khan Academy instructional videos and practice problems online are used to supplement and further explain these upper-level math concepts.
Scholars are encouraged to use the answers in the back of the book to ensure they are understanding the concepts.
The parent-mentor’s role is to go over new concepts, answer questions, and grade the math exercises and exams.
In the spirit of self-learning, scholars are encouraged to independently seek out resources (especially online) to clarify any confusion and answer their own questions before asking the parent-mentor. This approach prepares them for college courses.
Science:
We outsourced high school science to an academy for self-educators taught by experts in the field. My scholars chose to take just Chemistry (and Biology if not taken in 8thgrade) there and took the other two high-school science courses (Physics and one advanced science) at the community college in order to get college as well as high-school credit. The group setting for lecture and lab made these high-school sciences more engaging.
Outsourcing is not necessary, however. The same college-prep Biology and Chemistry programs (as well as Physics, Advanced Chemistry, and Marine Biology) are available through Apologia.com, with complete lab kits available for each of these programs at Home Science Tools. Online courses for these programs are also available at Apologia Online Academy.
Engineering:
Having experience and knowledge in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields can give scholars an advantage in higher academic and occupational pursuits.
Our local academy for self-educators offered courses in Engineering by engineers, both basic and advanced, which my scholars chose to pursue as electives as part of their STEM education. One of my scholars was so inspired, he designed and built his own computer.
Many homeschool communities have similar programs in engineering and robotics.
Logic:
Logical reasoning and critical thinking have been part of our academic pursuits since elementary years, with these concepts becoming more focused in the intermediate years.
In the high-school years, the scholars complete a two-year logic program, Critical Thinking Books 1 and 2 by Anita Hernadeck.
(NOTE: I was only moderately impressed with this program. It was dry and confusing at times. This program came upon recommendation and had moderately good reviews, but it is worth looking into other options.)
Fine Arts:
While fine arts such as music and art were actively encouraged, no formal instruction was used at this stage in their academic career. Scholars use online resources to build on the knowledge and skills they have already acquired.
However, the history of music and art is learned as part of their broader World History In-Depth study. A specific music appreciation or art history course is pursued as dual-credit since it is required for college anyway.
Life Skills:
Most of the courses in our academic journey are, well, academic. This one, however, is about life skills needed for adulthood. In 10th grade, the scholars learned these different life skills, and in 11th and 12th grade will put them into practice while still under the guidance and support of the parent-mentors. So what does this course cover?
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- Life Purpose & Goals (1 month):
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Using the resource Please Understand Me, scholars take personality tests and explore the implications of the results as they relate to social relationships and careers.
Reading Purpose-Driven Life and journaling their own thoughts and ideas lay the foundation for thinking about the direction of their lives.
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- Career Planning & Developing Personal Portfolio (1 month):
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Scholars read What Color is Your Parachute? and complete the self-discovery exercises.
They also take online career planning quizzes (we liked this one) that identify careers matches for their interests and personalities.
Lastly, they develop a comprehensive personal “vitae” detailing their academic background, extracurricular activities, job experiences, volunteer/service experiences, awards and accolades, leadership training and experience, personal achievements, and references.
Though vitae often refers just to education and professional background, this personal vitae is a more comprehensive view of the scholars’ past and present activities and experiences. From this vitae, they can select appropriate sections to include in college applications or job resumés.
Once completed for this course, I encourage my scholars to update it regularly as a resource for the future.
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- College Preparation (1 month):
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With the information from the previous section, the scholars hone in on what higher education or training they need. They identify a major (if going to a university) and begin researching colleges. They learn about orientation camps and campus visits.
Our scholars begin college-credit courses in 11th and 12th grade, so they begin exploring options such as dual-credit classes at the community college, CLEP tests, and AP exams (our scholars chose mostly dual-credit classes with a few CLEP exams – see next section for why).
During this month, they also learn about the PSAT and the SAT tests and the process for registering and taking those. Since our academic journey did not involve standardized testing, I encouraged my scholars to prepare for and take the SAT more than once.
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- Driver’s Education (1 month +):
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My scholars took an online Driver’s Ed course which took several weeks, followed by several months of behind the wheel training before they could test for their drivers’ license.
We wanted our teens to obtain their driver’s permit at age 15 to have as much time as possible driving under supervision as possible before testing for their driver’s license. We also wanted our teens to get their driver’s license at 16 so they could drive themselves to the community college campuses for classes.
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- Financial Management and Investing (2 months):
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Learning to be responsible managers of their finances has been a part of our scholars’ training since elementary years (seeTeaching Financial Responsibility). By this time, they have already been receiving an allowance and learning how to spend conscientiously and save considerably. They have also been given opportunities to earn more substantial amounts of money.
During this course, they read several books on finances, financial management, and investing.
After reading and studying these topics, they are allowed to pool their monies (previously, their “spend” money, “save” money, and “give” money had been kept in separate places) into one checking account with a debit card and checks.
From this pooled money, they would decide an amount to put into an interest-bearing savings account and the amount to invest in one or more index funds. They understood that beginning early and investing a small amount on a consistent basis can lead to large payoffs in the future.
A cash-rewards credit card was also obtained for the scholars’ use to teach responsible use of credit cards.
Unlike previously where we the parents dictated the divisions of their monies, now the scholars have to make those decisions, understanding the profound consequences of mismanaging their money.
(NOTE: In our home, debt was prohibited, frivolous spending was discouraged, living within your means was emphasized. The benefits of being debt-free and having a high credit score were highlighted.)
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- Legal matters and civic duties (2 months):
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The scholars met with a lawyer friend and a police officer friend to learn about legal matters (contracts, wills, powers of attorney, criminal and tort law basics, information about owning property, legal rights) and civic duties. They met several times each.
During these two months, the scholars read several books by Richard Maybury (we love his books) including Whatever Happened to Justice?; Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused?; and Clipper Ship Strategy
In order to keep important papers organized, a good-quality divided accordion-style portfolio was purchased. Scholars were consistently mentored to immediately file important papers and keep the portfolio secure. The sections were divided as follows:
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- Identification & Certificates: Social Security Card, Passport, car title
- Medical: shot records, important medical reports, medical insurance information
- Academic: transcripts (high school & college), SAT scores, other important academic info
- Bank information: paperwork from bank such as application and terms/conditions of account
- Bank statements: monthly statements *
- Credit card information/statements *
- Investment information/statements *
- Auto: Warranty information, repair/maintenance records
- Important Receipts: receipts to be retained long term, especially for electronic equipment or items with a warranty
- Pending Receipts: receipts waiting to be reconciled with bank/credit card statements after which they can be discarded
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The “Life Skills Course” description given to the scholars at the beginning of the year is attached in the Resources below.
(NOTE: Initially, I required my teens to receive paper statements from the bank and credit card companies in order to train them to be cognizant of their expenditures and deposits and to teach them how to reconcile the statements with their receipts. They are also taught how to write checks ~ though check-writing is not common these days, I wanted them to know how to do it if needed. After and only after they had shown consistent competence in managing their receipts and paper statements were they allowed to do this via online banking. In my opinion, it is too easy with paperless statements, online banking, and auto-pay features to ignore your financial situation which can lead to mismanagement of finances and debt. This is antithetical to all we are trying to teach our children.)
LOGISTICS:
The young men and women are scholars at this point, and the role of parent is mentor. Expectations have been established and reinforced over a period of years relating to character, behaviors, responsibilities, and academics. Hopefully, these teens have embraced their broadening freedom and responsibilities and earned the parents trust.
In our home, we as parents reserved the right to monitor and review their smartphones, computers, online accounts, and finances, and the teens knew this (they understood we still held legal responsibility for their actions). In reality, we rarely did. Only when they had violated our trust did we look into those things with significant loss of freedoms resulting. This they also knew. Like any teens, ours tested our resolve and complained when consequences ensued, but such tough love in the long run strengthened our relationship and taught them important character lessons about responsibility, trustworthiness, integrity, and respect. (See Parenting with Purpose for more on this.)
On the academic front, scholars are independent learners by now. Coursework was laid out similar to a college course. (I had taught several college courses in the past.)
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- At the beginning of the semester/year, the scholars received a syllabus with the academic work for the entire year. This syllabus detailed:
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- courses to be taken,
- a description of each course and the expectations for that course,
- assignments to be completed and due dates for assignments,
- and how grades would be assigned.
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- If a subject used multiple resources (e.g., World History In-Depth, Life Skills Course, advanced Spanish), a more detailed description of how to complete the course was also provided .
- At the beginning of the semester/year, the scholars received a syllabus with the academic work for the entire year. This syllabus detailed:
An example of such a syllabus and detailed course descriptions for World History In-Depth and Life Skills Course is in the Resources below.
How and when they completed their work was up to them. However, they were expected to make a plan and to work diligently toward that plan every day.
A plan was required for two reasons (even though this may seem like it restricted their freedom):
(1) to guide and mentor them toward goal-setting and time-management which are important life skills, and
(2) to coordinate schedules with the parent-mentor who has to give the exams, grade the coursework, and set aside time for “together time.” In the “real world,” coordinating with others requires clear communication of goals and schedules.
Together time at this stage is no longer parent and child, but two (or more) independent-minded individuals sharing topics of faith and having analytic discussion related to history, great literature, logic, and more.
Because coursework at this level is meant to mimic college-level work, so does the grading. Course grades are primarily based on comprehensive exams and compositions/analyses, with a more minor part of the grade based on intermediary work such as math exercises, completion of outlines/annotations, and discussions. The importance of making every grade count is emphasized since not many grades constitute their final grade.
A final grade report is provided at the end of the year with all their grades for all courses as well as the final grades for the year. The final grades are recorded on their high school transcript. (See RESOURCES below for an example final grade report and example transcript that we used.)
At the end of the 10th-grade year, the parent-mentor assists the scholar in completing necessary paperwork and online applications to be admitted to and registering for community college courses, CLEP/AP exams, the PSAT and SAT. Each institution is different, but for my scholars, taking the SAT and a math placement exam with acceptable scores allowed them to be exempted from having to take the college readiness exams and lower level math courses (which would not have transferred to the university). See Raising Scholars: The Journey Concludes (11-12) for more information about dual-credit, CLEP/AP exams.
EXTRACURRICULAR:
Scholars at this age become more intentional in using their time, cultivating their interests, developing their leadership skills, and seizing service opportunities.
Some become leaders and teachers in organizations in which they are involved, some pursue competitive activities (e.g., sports, speech & debate, STEM competitions), and some become young entrepreneurs, to name just a few possibilities.
It is important that the parent-mentors encourage productive use of time and discourage laziness ~ laying this foundation leads to ambitious productive adults.
However, these are the last years where your “children” are not burdened with all the responsibilities of being a self-sustaining adult, so it is also very important that your teens have plenty of fun with friends, experience some amazing adventures, and make memories to last a lifetime.
My sons became leaders and teachers in martial arts and scouts, and had the opportunity to man a sailboat in the Caribbean, canoe in Canada, and hike in the Rocky Mountains. These adventures increasingly are done independently of the parents as the teens demonstrate their maturity and good judgment.
While spreading their wings in the areas of extracurricular activities,
we made special time during these last years in the same home for
BUILDING FAMILY MEMORIES:
trips together, devotions at family mealtime,
games when we were together in the evening,
movie nights, and chats in their rooms
were just a few of our special times.
In the busy-ness of life,
especially as they head towards adulthood,
having that quiet sanctuary of family and home
gives them a place of encouragement, peace, perspective,
and unconditional love.
HISTORICAL TOUR:
The apex of our study of World History In-Depth, and in many ways our entire academic journey, was a field trip abroad. Because we were most familiar with European history (and because I had lived and traveled there before), we chose to travel to Europe and visit many of the places we had studied, as well as experience other languages and cultures.
The options are endless to customize a tour such as this, but we were limited to 22 days due to other long-term commitments flanking this time frame. Like our Early American History Tour, my scholars selected places they wanted to see ~ this information combined with my own experience having lived and traveled in Europe was used to create a rich itinerary. Unfortunately, the pre-packaged European tours through tour companies I researched all left out important parts of our ideal itinerary, so I ended up creating a custom tour of all the places we could reasonably visit in the time frame we had, incorporating a variety of transportation, accommodation, and culinary experiences.
Click on the links below for more information about this trip including preparations, itinerary, notes, and packing lists:
RESOURCES USED & BOOKLIST
RESOURCE LIST ~ “Spreading Wings: The Journey Cultivates Wings – Students Become Scholars”
“A Guide to Studying World History In-Depth”
Example ~ Final Grade Report (grades 7-10)
The Journey Concludes:
Independent Scholars Take Flight (grades 11-12)
These last two years in the nest, the scholars need to be allowed to be fairly independent, both academically and personally. Under the love, care, and mentoring of their parents, they spread their wings.
As they learn to drive to new places, manage their credit card bills and balance their bank statements, get their first jobs, navigate community college registration and classes, and explore college majors and career options, these young adults know their parent-mentors are there to give them support and advice.
It is tempting as parents to give unsolicited advice, try to save them from making mistakes, and rescue them from logical consequences to their decisions. However, this disrespects the autonomy of your scholars and burgeoning adults and inhibits their maturity development. (See Parenting with Purpose for more information on these things.)
Academic training transitions these years to the community college, where the scholars can get both high school credit and college credit. In our state, there is a “university core curriculum” which contains basic courses that all state universities require, regardless of major. These are the courses on which we focused and, by the end of these two years, the scholars had achieved between 40 and 55 transferable college hours (taking between 3 and 5 classes per semester).
SIDE NOTE: It was very helpful for the scholars to know which university they wanted to attend. They are then able to go to the university’s website and obtain a list of equivalency courses between that university and the community college. By doing this, we made sure ALL of the courses taken at the community college would directly transfer, and no hours would be lost.
NOTE: An alternative to dual-credit classes at the community college is AP and/or CLEP exams which can be taken for college credit. These take advantage of the thorough coursework the scholars had completed the past 11 to 12 years. After careful consideration, the scholars ultimately decided dual-credit classes were a better option for the following reasons:
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- Consistent with the practice of the local public schools, grades for dual-credit courses were weighted on the transcript, thus their high school GPA benefitted. (AP courses are also weighted, but my scholars would have only been taking the exam, so would not be getting weighted grades for these.)
- The universities they were considering varied in which, if any, CLEP/AP tests they accepted. The universities all accepted the dual-credit courses and even had course equivalency lists available.
- By taking the community college classes, the scholars gained experience with a college campus, college class schedules, professors & teacher’s assistants, office hours, syllabi, and online communication, registration, and grade tracking. All of this helped ease the transition to the university.
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LOGISTICS:
As the scholars begin community college courses, they need guidance the first semester, completing the application and other paperwork, scheduling qualifying exams, registering & paying for courses, finding and renting/purchasing textbooks, and setting up online access to the community college.
After this first semester, the scholars should be encouraged to do as much themselves as possible. Of very high importance is to not interfere at all in their classes – these are college classes and should be done independently. If the scholars have questions or problems, they should be directed to contact their professors.
Our scholars had their drivers’ licenses and drove themselves to college. They each had their own laptop and smartphone and were given much flexibility with these resources and their time as long as they were doing well in their classes and using their nonacademic time wisely and productively. If it seemed like they had too much lazy free time, they were encouraged to get a job.
During the 11th and 12th year, the transcript is finalized and prepared to submit to universities, if that is the path the scholars have chosen. In our state, self-educators need to submit a school profile and description of courses with the transcript. I combined the best of several transcript examples I found into a comprehensive one for my scholars. Their coursework load during high school was based on the requirements for the most advanced academic program offered to the students in the public schools in our state ~ in our state, this was called the Distinguished Achievement High School Program – Advanced. An example of the transcript we used is linked in the RESOURCES below.
In the 11th year, if not done already, the scholars decide what they will be doing after finishing high school/dual-credit coursework, whether that be continuing on to a university for higher education, technical school, employment, gap year, or some other pursuit.
If continuing on to the university, deciding a major and submitting applications occur early in the 12th year (or sometimes in the summer after the 11th grade year). The final SAT (Scholastic Achievement Test) is taken and scores are sent to the universities to which the scholars applied.
If not continuing on to a university, applications for technical schools, employment, or other pursuits would take place during the 12th year.
Other than completing the transcript and answering questions, it is best for the parent-mentors to let the scholars complete the applications themselves. Encouraging them to find their own answers through internet research, phone calls, or emails can be empowering for the scholars learning to be adults.
Now, you the parent-mentor become a “fly on the wall,”
watching your scholars take flight,
exercise their independence,
and blossom into the adults you have spent all these years nurturing.
The heart swells with satisfaction
and looks forward to a new type of relationship,
an adult relationship.
RESOURCES USED & BOOKLIST
RESOURCE LIST ~ “Spreading Wings: The Journey Continues – Independent Scholars Take Flight”