Barb.b
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| Posted: Aug 27 2012 at 7:05am | IP Logged
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So, I have dd 9th grade subjects all set. We outsource science at a great place that has the science classes my kids take and also other classes as well. The lady who runs it is a friend and someone I trust completely. Anyway - dd has helped at her younger brothers class for several years, last year she helped at one other too. So, I am used to her being out during our school day for those three times (each class is 1 1/2 hours). I am thinking my friend wants her to help even more this year. I am a bit nervous on how that will mean her school work will get done. Of course she could take it there and do work between classes she helps teach at. I know this is a great leadership possibility (she really teaches the classes she helps at!) .
ANyone have their kids out of the home for another activity for more then 5 hours per week? How do you ensure your child gets the school work done.
I also was going to sign her up for drivers ed this fall - but now wondering if we should wait till 2nd semester so as to get used to getting school work done around volunteering.
Barb
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SallyT
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| Posted: Aug 27 2012 at 7:39am | IP Logged
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Well, there's no better way to learn than to teach! That does sound like a great opportunity.
At the same time, I become pretty protective of my kids' school time in high school. They know that their own schoolwork is their #1 job and priority during these years -- that doesn't mean that they don't do outside things, but I have to help them to be careful about their time. This goes for pretty much any extracurricular thing, though obviously I want them to be involved in things and have a well-rounded high-school experience.
My oldest daughter, and now my 9th-grade son, have been assistant catechists in our parish Faith Formation program, for instance. She played in a youth orchestra, and he's heavily involved in Boy Scouts (has been working on his Eagle project probably about 3 hours a week). She also taught a once-weekly Latin class to younger children for a year. He runs and will probably be training with a swim coach this fall, to prepare for a triathlon.
So we definitely do outside activities during our school week, and in general, volunteering is a great thing. You know it will look good on her college applications, and this woman might be a great candidate to write recommendations. And what a wonderful experience! But what you might do first is calculate the hours she's going to need to spend on her own academics weekly, plus any other high-priority commitments she might have, and then see what's left over.
Of course, her "school day" can be whenever she's able to get her work done -- if she's willing and able, she could break up her day with a volunteer commitment and get her schoolwork done in the evening. But you don't want the volunteer commitment to supersede the schoolwork commitment, and that's where you may have to tell the science teacher that she's only available to do so much and no more.
We've handled things like jobs the same way -- our oldest daughter did quite a bit of babysitting/nannying in high school, and sometimes, knowing that she was a homeschooler "with no set schedule," people wanted her for lengths of time or at hours that really would have interfered with her schoolwork. As much as she liked the work and the money, we agreed that it was important to set boundaries for herself, because her number-one priority was to finish her coursework and graduate on time. We have friends whose teenagers have had time-consuming outside commitments -- jobs, apprenticeships, caring for elderly grandparents in their home, etc -- all of which were really valuable parts of a whole-life education, but which also pushed schoolwork into the background to the extent that they didn't graduate and go to college until they were 19 or 20. This may have worked well for them, actually, but it is something to consider . . . Certainly my daughter observed their experience and was determined, herself, not to let other commitments push her school commitment to the side.
So, in a nutshell, I wouldn't not do it, but I would resist adding more volunteer time until I was sure my child could balance all these demands on her time. She could start small, to keep her hand in, and add more as things go well. It's probably a lot harder on everyone to do the reverse: jump in big-time, then realize she's drowning and try to back out of some of it. That would create hard feelings, it would seem. But surely the science teacher will understand that schoolwork demands are increasing and be glad to have her as she's available.
Sally
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: time volunteering
