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MaryM
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MacBeth wrote:
| My son-who-nearly-never-is-assigned-anything has decided he needs more structure in his life, |
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MacBeth, I've been posting in my head all weekend and finally actually getting it to the board. I have two sons who are now in a local Catholic high school one is a senior and one is a freshman. Our style tended toward unschooling to a large degree though not entirely. I had a lot of the same wonders particularly as we went through it the first time - how was my first going to actually do in school (his choice also to go) with the structure and the requirments. I also didn't "assign" him much and he didn't do "tests."
MacBeth wrote:
| The Marianist brothers assured me that homeschoolers do well at their school, but it seems that most of the homeschoolers they have accepted in the past had used Seton, and those that didn't used some other curriculum supplier. I don't think Trip has ever opened a textbook, except in German school. |
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Yes, most of the high schools are used to getting some homeschoolers but they do tend to have been Seton students or Kolbe. They are more familiar with that and recognize the style so were more unfamiliar with my style. We actually had to provide transcripts at the time he applied and took the entrance tests in December. When I asked about what they would want me to include (in transcripts) as we had not done enrollment in a school (i.e. Seton) the admissions counselor was rather patronizing -I knew he would do well on the placement tests and pretty much told her that hopefully that would help in their assessment since they probably didn't think I could be objective. "We are a college prepatory school, you know," she says.
MacBeth wrote:
They will need an official transcript in June. I wonder what they will think of what I send them. Hmmm...I wonder what I will send them.  |
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So what I put together was a topic listing of classes we covered each year, listing any texts we used (I had them around for reference and as a spine for some classes). I only included what would have been considered the middle school years (grades 6-8). I also included his reading list for those same years. He read a lot so the list was pretty impressive. In fact other than math (which he did do with a text) all this son did was read, (and read and read). That was his education. So the listing had lots of classics and historical fiction and non-fiction. Getting this son to write anything for me was a struggle. He was very articulate and tested well in comprehension, vocabulary, etc. but getting him to articualte anything in writing was always unpleasant. (Part of the reason he also choose to go to school, a sense that he wanted to "work" for someone else). Anyway he definitely did not have what would be considered the standard preparation in education for high school. Yet he has done phenomenally well. He will likely (fingers-crossed) graduate as valedictorian of his class. My non-writer had the ability, just needed the right atmosphere, has gone on to do fine in that area - even scoring a 5 (out of 5) on the AP American Literature test last spring. The teachers love both my sons - they are so impressed with the fact that they are hard workers, can really think not just reguritate information, and are well-read. I also wrote a personal letter for each son, outlining our educational philosophy, how I evaluated their skills and knowledge, and what I saw as their strengths (both in character and academics) and as their weaknesses.
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Just the thought of having to follow a school schedule, meet with teachers, make lunch, drive him when he misses the bus, get up in the morning at a time not-of-my-choosing  , check homework (which, nightly, will be more work than he has ever been assigned by me), and, worst of all, be denied the freedom to take a vacation whenever, is making me cringe. |
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There is a lot that is "lost" from the flexibility of homeschooling when you have one go to school, but we have adjusted to the changes and in many ways these actually don't affect me and the younger kids. I am not a morning person so still don't get up early iwth them. They are up early with their dad. They fix their own lunches and do their own laundry (uniforms, athletics). My 14 yo who was sleeping in until at least 10 as an 8th grader is managing on his own to do the "leave by 7:30 AM" thing. My husband dropped the oldest off at school until he was driving on his own. (I did have to pick him up the first two years -except for the 4 months of baseball season when dh did, and that was a pain to make sure that I was finished with any activities in time to get him) but you have the bus option so hopefully it won't disrupt your routine too much. Trip just better not miss that bus, right! I don't check homework unless they ask me specifically to proof something or have questions on an assignment. They are very responsible with doing their homework (which is more "work" than they had to do at home)- they realize it is a big way to keep grades up. It's amazing the number of students who blow off the homework. As far as vacation whenever, that one was a bit harder to adjust to, although our trip taking had already started to be dictated by baseball schedules 6 months out of the year. So it does take more planning or we have some options for leaving the boys with friends for short times. I also have continued to take some shorter trips with the younger ones, leaving dh and ds at home.
I do have more to add, MacBeth, but need to run.
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MacBeth
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Mary, thanks so much for your thoughts and insight. I'd love to hear more, and promise to read every word down to the letter  .
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Oct 01 2006 at 5:17pm | IP Logged
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'Bout time I updated this...I've been prompted. 
Trip has indeed begun highschool.
All of the things that I thought would bother me, do. The high school, though it's excellent, is a real "bucket-filling" operation. Fortunately, as a friend has pointed out, we did lots of "fire-lighting" while Trip was home. And I really don't enjoy the early mornings!
The first week was rough, not academically, but socially...for the teachers. For those of you who know Trip, it would not surprise you to hear that he did not say a word. Indeed, Trip would make a fine addition to any Trappist Monastery. He has always been very, very quiet, and I think this was a bit unnerving for the teachers. During the first parent-teacher night, his German teacher intimated that the faculty was a bit frightened. We reassured her that he was fine. I think she believed us, but the rest of the faculty has been checking on him, including calling him to guidance to ask if he were being forced to attend, if he homeschooled "alone"  , and if he had any friends outside of school. Typical Trip replied with answers of one syllable for 20 minutes...I think Trip wore out the counselor (who is his history teacher) and he gave up.
The second week, he spoke. In music, he sat in the wrong chair, and the teacher was about to mark him absent, asking if anyone had seen him. He replied, "I think he had his schedule changed."  Luckily, she thought this was very funny.
As he warms up to the place, he is very relaxed, and is having a good time. He went to his first dance last week (Don and I chaperoned--a story in itself--and Libby came as she had an early concert that night). Libby has always been very outgoing, and he was relieved to have her around. His classmates kept asking him why he was so quiet when his sister was so chatty (and, the Monday after the dance, they told him she is "hot"  ). Clearly, this is a demonstration of how a person can be naturally quiet, and homescooling has nothing to do with it. Anyway...
Academically, he is cruising. There is a huge amount of homework, but while it is taking up his previously free time, it is not very hard. During the first English class, the students took a quiz on sentence structure. Apparently, the class as a whole did quite poorly, so at parent teacher night, the teacher explained that he would not count that quiz. Trip alone had aced it, though he had never, ever used an English grammar or composition text book. The rest of his classes are similar. He is even in honors religion, though we made it clear he has never gone to CCD. Trip is the only Freshman who tested out of first year German, and is getting A+s in a class full of sophomores who call him "frosh".
He is playing various sports on his homeroom's intramural team, and in orchestra he is playing viola. He has also been invited to play in a small chamber cello ensemble. He joined the social studies club (who knew??), the German Club and the Catholic League. He is hoping to join the riflery team.
The very funny thing about all of this is that Don had many of the Brothers as teachers when he was there, and he knows several others who attended the school with him (two brothers of a Brother work for Don, too). We are, as a family, very familiar with many of them--all great guys. Those who know us well are not concerned about Trip at all.
He did have a bit of a problem last week . In order to get to his locker in time, he decided to leave lunch three minutes early--bad idea. He was nabbed by a Marianist who confiscated his ID. Luckily, he did not give Trip detention, but merely asked Trip to clean up his homeroom after school--a 10 minute chore, during with time Brother had a nice chat with Trip over whether he chose to attend, if he homeschooled alone, and if he had friends... . Seems to be a pattern!
So, that's the update! There is a photo of him at school on Mousey Trials, courtesy of the Marianist Brothers.
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Bridget
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That was a wonderful update! I'm not surprised that he is doing well. It sounds like it will be an excellent education for him. He is an impressive kid with an impressive family!
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stefoodie
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Love the update, Macbeth! I am having Aisa read it tonight. Happy to hear that Trip is doing well, though when you first posted this I don't think any of us doubted that he would. Looking forward to more updates.
 , Trip!
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Leonie
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Oh, thanks for the update. So glad ( and not surprised!) to hear he is doing so well .
The endless questioning is a hoot.
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Willa
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I like the way you describe Trip's experiences with such detail, MacBeth.... it is really helpful.
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Sharie
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I wasn't a member of the boards when this was first posted, but I have read it today with interest. It sounds as if Trip is going to excel at whatever he decides to do.
The consoling part for me was to hear about how quiet Trip is, since I have very quiet boys, too. It has been said by many that they are quiet because they are homeschooled, but I know it is just who they are by nature. They take after their father though...not their mother!
Isn't it funny how not fitting into the cookie-cutter mold of how they think one should act/talk/behave makes them uncomfortable, even intimidated!
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Bridget
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Sharie wrote:
They take after their father though...not their mother!
Isn't it funny how not fitting into the cookie-cutter mold of how they think one should act/talk/behave makes them uncomfortable, even intimidated! |
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According to rumor, Trip comes by his quietness from his mother.
(I'm still waiting to get a quiet one. )
MacBeth, has this made any of your other kids want to try school?
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MacBeth
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Bridget wrote:
According to rumor, Trip comes by his quietness from his mother.
(I'm still waiting to get a quiet one. )
MacBeth, has this made any of your other kids want to try school? |
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That's pretty funny. I was always chided in school for being too talkative. Now I am much more quiet...
And no. No one else wants to go to school at all. But then, when Trip was younger he never wanted to go to school, either. I'm well past this with Libby (she made a decision to attend a pre-conservatory program instead of high school). Annika gets to take the entrance exams next fall, but so far she is talking more about where she wants to go to college than high school!
We'll see how it goes with Paul. He would be a great one for Trip's school. I imagine the Brothers expecting to get another taciturn homeschooled kid, and getting Paul who is only quiet when he sleeps! I'm sure they'd blame his talkativeness on homeschooling, somehow! ("Were you homeschooled on the floor of the NYSE??")
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Karen E.
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How fun and interesting to read this update. Thanks, MacBeth!
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MacBeth wrote:
We'll see how it goes with Paul. He would be a great one for Trip's school. I imagine the Brothers expecting to get another taciturn homeschooled kid, and getting Paul who is only quiet when he sleeps! I'm sure they'd blame his talkativeness on homeschooling, somehow! ("Were you homeschooled on the floor of the NYSE??") |
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You are hilarious! The NYSE. I must remember that. It's a good description of our kitchen while I'm getting dinner ready and Kevin comes home from work.
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Kelly
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MacBeth wrote:
BTW, Libby and Trip have both been aquiring college credit since the age of 11 at a local Catholic college. No problem, just a form to fill out... |
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This is the same experience we've had. I think the community colleges do give you a lot more hoops to jump thru-but a local private university in our area has been nothing but encouraging and supportive of our hser. I called, explained the situation, filled out a form, he attends. I will admit they were watching him at the outset to see if he could manage, but once that was established, it's been absolutely a piece of cake. So, take heart!
Wow, Macbeth. Big changes afoot. Here's hoping Trip's experience works out to be a huge success. BTW I loved Christian's letter to Trip. Who needs a debating club?
Keep us posted on your new educational adventure.
Kelly in FL
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juliecinci
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Hi Macbeth.
I haven't posted in ages, though I read a couple times a month. I just couldn't pass up your report without saying how great it was to read. Congratulations.
We have two in high school part time and my oldest just started college. It's been interesting how each one has responded to school after living such a relaxed unschooly existence. The main thing they have in common is that their teachers love them. They seem able to converse and show interest in the subject matter and really appreciate learning from people who have a lot to say about subjects they don't know. This strikes teachers as unique apparently, as the teachers keep telling me.
I also noticed that my kids tend to pay attention to things like who is being left out (my daughter looks for lonely kids to eat lunch with and my son used to give the lunch ladies hugs).
They've had varying results academically depending on subject matter and interest and personality.
In looking into colleges, in Ohio so far, the universities have told us that it is to our kids' advantage to prepare transcripts that show them as eclectic or non-traditional students (rather than getting them some kind of diploma). We can write a detailed transcript that sets them apart from traditional students. Apparently, universities are looking for the unique aspect that sets students apart.
My son's essay question was: Write about one thing you have learned outside of school that you taught yourself. :)
So our non-traditional education seems to be helpful for that purpose. What are you finding as you look into colleges?
Julie (Bogart)
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Bookswithtea
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juliecinci wrote:
In looking into colleges, in Ohio so far, the universities have told us that it is to our kids' advantage to prepare transcripts that show them as eclectic or non-traditional students (rather than getting them some kind of diploma). We can write a detailed transcript that sets them apart from traditional students. Apparently, universities are looking for the unique aspect that sets students apart.
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Would you mind elaborating a bit on this? I was reading the latest "colleges courting hsers article" from a newsmag. and it suddenly dawned on me that these articles almost *never* feature kids who have gone with traditional diploma type programs...its always the "Betty built a space station in the backyard when she was ten" or "Freddie ran his own business for 7 years" kinds of kids. I wonder what that means for kids who are not quite that out of the box???
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MacBeth
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juliecinci wrote:
So our non-traditional education seems to be helpful for that purpose. What are you finding as you look into colleges?
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Hey Julie!
I don't have much experience via Trip in the great college search. He is doing well at the high school level, and his years of homeschooling will surely make interesting reading. He is a great writer, though he is very quiet. Recently, he and his classmates had to write an essay (for guidance) about the elementary years. Trip began, "I spent most of my elementary years procrastinating!" 
Anyway, my experience with Libby's college search, limited so far, is continued
here.
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MacBeth in NY
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juliecinci
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Bookswithtea wrote:
Would you mind elaborating a bit on this? I was reading the latest "colleges courting hsers article" from a newsmag. and it suddenly dawned on me that these articles almost *never* feature kids who have gone with traditional diploma type programs...its always the "Betty built a space station in the backyard when she was ten" or "Freddie ran his own business for 7 years" kinds of kids. I wonder what that means for kids who are not quite that out of the box??? |
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I don't really know. I do know that for us, it meant including things like Noah's participation in our downtown Shakespeare Company for six years, his self-teaching of constructed language complete with reading list, self-taught guitar and four years of piano, and his foray into a college setting when he studied New Testament Greek.
I don't know that they mean your student will have built a domicile using only eco-friendly materials in his backyard, but admissions did say that any evidence of being a self-starter or self-educated was considered valuable.
Johannah has these accomplishments that we'll feature:
Shakespeare Company (seven years)
Vintage dance (one year)
Volunteer work as a teacher's aid in an elementary school
Ushering
The writing of two novellas (not published)
It's not so much that she stands out, but that she has areas of experience that aren't governed by school. She also took math with a tutor and took a biology course with ten dissections (which I guess is unheard of). I want to be able to show that.
And her reading list is awesome. That would not show up in a traditional school transcript.
So the point for me with the decision not to get a high school diploma has more to do with the control I have over showcasing what I think are her strengths outside of the traditional high school transcript.
Does that make sense?
Julie
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Bookswithtea
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juliecinci wrote:
It's not so much that she stands out, but that she has areas of experience that aren't governed by school. ..
...So the point for me with the decision not to get a high school diploma has more to do with the control I have over showcasing what I think are her strengths outside of the traditional high school transcript.
Does that make sense?
Julie
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Yeah, I guess. The reason I ask is because we are debating how to handle high school transcripts...the do-it-yourself version versus giving up some freedom to let a correspondence school verify that learning took place via traditional testing, etc. I confess I am completely irritated with the thought of giving up ANY freedom at this point. But I'm also afraid of just doing it ourselves. So your comment caught my attention.
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ALmom
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I'm not an unschooler but have some experience with applying to colleges - different for us than unschoolers since we have to have a traditional diploma in our state anyways (church-school state). We did not hide the homeschooling and this was included in some of the essays.
What we have found is that it really does depend on the school. One school seemed hostile to homeschoolers (private, religious school), one school didn't seem to care much about the transcript - just the SAT score, another school would have required a list and description of every course. The junior college just about flipped out that we didn't have 4 science courses on our transcript (required, typically, in our state) and we had to get special permission for our dd to take a course there - but her SAT scores were so high, we had folks moving mountains for us - guess her case was brought up at the state capitol to get an exception. Funny part about this whole thing is that she was already admitted on full scholarship to the state University.
Some states are real bears, some very easy. Some schools recruit homeschoolers, some don't. Being able to show rigorous academics somehow seems to help with scholarships - so college courses already under your belt, good AP scores, an impressive reading list, samples of work, etc.
Janet
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Cay Gibson
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ALmom wrote:
What we have found is that it really does depend on the school.
Janet |
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It does. Absolutely.
Louisiana is only concerned with what your ACT score is.
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Cay Gibson
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: An Unschooler Goes to High School-Update!
