My son has decided to go back to school

[momofmany]

We came from a super conservative Mennonite setting three years ago. Our children went to the day school the church had, and graduation was at 8th grade. They used mostly Rod and Staff materials, which in the English and Math are pretty hearty. I have heard many people say that R&S math would be equivalent to 10th grade. Based on what I saw, I would agree, sort of. It covered the basics well, but is certainly not what someone who is college bound would need in today's world. Which is part of the reason we left.

Fast forward, our soon to be 18 year old son has decided he wants to finish high school-or get an equivalency and even pursue college. I am not entirely sure if he knows what he wants to study, or any specific goals he has. He has been mulling this over and just recently started to talk about it. I am thrilled. But also a bit apprehensive. I don't know what to advise him on what he needs-I am going to go back to school myself as I didn't finish college and have spent the last nearly 30 years at home raising our large family. We do have three who we homeschool. I have posted a while back about our super reluctant middle schoolers.

I expect, knowing my son, he will stick with this endeavor, but I also know he has attained some knowledge (he has worked the last couple of years) that is not what one could quantify on a transcript. He is learning computers-using programs at his job where they work with computerized components in the RV industry and solar power components as well.) He always did super well in school never scoring below a 97-98% overall and getting straight A's.

So what would be our first step in evaluating what he needs to accomplish? He wants to do the work, though he would like to abbreviate or accelerate through it so he can be looking at college (at least a 2 year) in the next couple of years. Do we look at what his interests are (What color is your parachute type) and study mostly the things he needs, or go more straight high school or??? I have looked at the transcript and hour/credit requirements for our state through HSLDA, so I have a sort of blueprint to start with. However, he will be working at least part time while he is studying. He mentioned the GED issue and yet thinks just preparing for that, he will short himself on what he needs so he can go to college. He'd rather take the time to cover his bases now instead of spending the time in college getting the basic stuff he missed.

Any advice I would appreciate. I am thinking to put him HOD, but again due to his age he will want to accelerate. Would there be components he could skip or abbreviate? I assume Math and Science would be his biggest needs, and some broadening of his horizons in literature and History. Would we be able to skip or lessen the things he isn't interested in such as fine art studies. He likely would need a foreign language, but he wants to learn Spanish anyway. What else?

Thanks!

Sarah

[daybreaking]

We're not at the high school level, yet, so I hope others will guide you in that direction, but I thought I'd share that R&S Math is excellent, but is not at the 10th grade level. The 8th grade book, their final one, is at a pre-algebra level and solidly 8th grade. (I used to teach high school level math and, beginning in 9th grade, we went way beyond the level of the 8th grade book.) Their English, on the other hand, has frequently been referred to as post high school level, which is why Carrie only has plans to complete their 8th grade book by the end of high school.

[StephanieU]

I would first consider looking at the community college for your area. It might be a good place to see where he places and what he needs before taking most college courses. Once you determine what he needs, then you can determine how to proceed. Most likely, he will need at least a year of math. Depending on how your CC works, you might be able to just do a year of "high school" before moving into the CC. I know the one here does not require a high school diploma or GED for admission.

[momofmany]

Thanks for your replies ladies. Yes, I agree the math is solidly 8th grade-it is not enough. Ialso have to agree with the evaluation on the English. I never had English that was so thorough when I was in high school! I have gone through the HOD catalog and also checked with HSLDA for suggestions on transcripts and diploma requirements and we are working on a plan. He seems to be super motivated-which is a good thing, and yes, the community college is also one of our resources. We live in Indiana and so far, I think if we keep really good records of what he does, Ivy Tech will be helpful. He asked me if we can get this done in 2-3 years, and I told him if he is willing to do the work, I think he can do it. The extra bit of maturity he is demonstrating is such a big improvement over three years ago.

One thing he asked me that I also want to ask, is CLE sufficient if he wants to go to college? I am only somewhat familiar with them-and some of their material is decent-but not beefy enough in my opinion. He knows a good number of friends who went through CLE for high school and graduated, but as far as I know, college is not the goal for any of them. I am steering him toward HOD because I think it is college prep. If he makes the most of it.

I would welcome any other comments, and thanks again!

Sarah

[StephanieU]

I think almost all homeschool curriculums are at the level of many public schools, and most exceed public schools. So CLE could be enough, but HOD tends to be more high level thinking. So maybe do a mixture of the two, since you want to fast track high school. Do CLE for subjects that you just want to check the boxes for and HOD for subjects that are either the most important for you or are things he is interested in.