I will start homeschooling myself for 11th grade(next year) Please HELP!

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

I am currently a 10th grader in a mediocre catholic high school. I went to public school K-9, and HATED it. The kids cursed and fought each other all day. The academics were terrible. I applied to a couple of private schools in my city for 10th grade, but I ended up only getting into a medeocre all-male, Catholic school. (the good schools cost $25,000 a year, and they didn’t have much aid left for high school students, and that’s probably why I didn’t get into any of them) The Catholic school I attend is awful. EVERYONE is an athlete, and no one cares about academics.(There was a really smart 9th grader this year, and he got bullied so much, that he left the school) I am sick and tired of the macho attitude of the boys. I am the only student in most classes who answers any questions. I have decided that I will stary homeschooling myself for 11th grade. I’ve got the brains and the motivation. I need help creating a curriculum. I want to have a curriculum equal to tose who go to elite prep schools. I’d like to use the most rigerous materials out there. Here is an idea of the courses I would want to take.

  1. English
  2. Biology
  3. Geometry
  4. History
  5. Latin
  6. Independent study in Politics
  7. Independent study in Religion

What are the most rigerous textbooks/materials I could use for these courses? Again, I want to have a curriculum equal to those who go to elite prep schools.
Thanks!

2

Can you enroll into your local community college instead? What is your state policy on getting equivalent of high school diploma earlier?

3

I will not be enrolling at a local community college. The students there will be as carless as the students at my current school.(I know some people who go to my local community college, and they can barely speak English.)

4

What do your parents think about this???

5

I would not look down on all people with poor English skills. At least they can speak more than one language. Not a lot of people can say that. Also they might be highly proficient in math and science and will pick up a language in a short time. But this is not the point of this discussion. Organized learning environment is almost always better.

6

Go over to the homeschool forum, ask for for ideas about various curriculum programs, then check out your local hs degree requirements. Some are book based, some are online. Home schooling can be fabulous, when you’re truly self-motivated and can actively enrich your learning. Just studying by yourself, just looking at books, isn’t always the point. And depending on the sort of colleges you may want, they like seeing you stay integrated with peers, in productive ways.

7

My parents are fine with what I’m doing. Also, where is the “Homeschool forum”

8

“Homeschooling myself.”

This can be a very difficult thing to do, not to mention conflict of interest. What are your parents’ detailed opinion of this? What will be their contribution to your education? Most homeschooled students are primarily educated by their parents with possibly a few outside tutors or teachers on the side. The main reason kids are homeschooled is that the parent is choosing to take the reins of their children’s education and mold their children. So how will your PARENTS contribute to this? Also side note, what state do you live in? Very important matter. If you live in a state like NY or PA, you can’t just pull out and homeschool. There’s a process and evaluators involved. But if you’re in a state like NJ or somewhere that isn’t as rigid, you’re okay.

There are definitely rigorous materials out there. Since you went to a Catholic school, I presume you are fine with some Christian texts. Besides my below suggestions, there are also great unit study curriculums that you can purchase that include all of the core texts (My Father’s World, etc.) You need to do your research and involve your parents in the process.

  1. English

Christian Liberty Press and Oak Meadow are great, rigorous English choices. Oak Meadow isn’t affiliated with Christianity but is a very good program.

  1. Biology

Jay Wile’s Apologia science is absolutely amazing. From personal experience, I can tell you that it is the best of the best in the homeschool world.

  1. Geometry

Saxon Math is generally considered very good if you’re advanced in math. If not, Singapore is also a good math program. Math U See is good as well.

  1. History

Notgrass is very good and covers world history, US history, and Government/Economics. Notgrass also has a unit like approach so his books offer you one credit each in English, history, and Bible.

  1. Latin

Memoria Press (http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/latin) might be good for you. I’m not familiar with Latin. I always see homeschoolers studying Latin though LOL. Is that like a thing? You can check out all of Cathy Duffy’s reviews for these (http://cathyduffyreviews.com/foreign-language/foreign-language-index.htm) texts. Another option is learning it online or using Rosetta Stone.

  1. Independent study in Politics

You can either do some research and find certain books about politics and government and make them your own (Christianbook.com is a great website to find books for homeschool programs) or you can take this online/at a community college.

  1. Independent study in Religion

There are plenty of Bible curriculums out there. There may not be a whole lot tailored towards Catholicism but you might not be able to find one. If you meant general religion, there are courses you can find for that or you can take it online/at a community college.

Also keep in mind that your transcript will have to be split up between when you were in public school and when you were homeschooled. Your parents will have to create a transcript for 11th and 12th grade for you and be able to come up with a grade for your courses. This shouldn’t be a problem; just don’t name your courses anything weird like The World of Latin. If you’re taking Latin III, name it Latin III.

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. I’ve been homeschooled all of my life and have safely (so far lol) made it through the process and will be on my way to college next year. :smiley:

9

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/

10

Post #7 is really good.
For political science and religion, you really should take the class at your local community college. It doesn’t matter who else is in the class, you’ll need to show that you have the general background. After that, you can take 1 semester for AP Gov/Comparative Gov (take the AP test in May), and, having proved you have the general background, tailor your senior year to your interests, reading perhaps 1 full book every other week (making sure you have a broad variety of authors, like memoirs from Churchill, GW Bush, Hillary Clinton, Obama, Kissinger, Axelrod… regardless of what you think of them, plus the type of books you’d discuss in a college seminar.)
Your parents will have to be structuring your classes and you’ll need to be involved with a school for activities.

11

Is a cyber charter school an option?

12

I posted in your thread in the home schooling forum, but will copy it here in case others have questions about home schooling in VA.

The booklet that summarizes the regulations for home schooling in VA can be found here: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/students_parents/private_home/home_instruction/home_instruction_handbook.pdf

Make sure your parents read it and know what the state expects of them. I only glanced at the booklet quickly, but from what I saw the minimum your parent(s) need to do is send your local district a letter of intent, certify that they meet the requirements to home school (which may include sending a copy of their high school diplomas), provide the district with the curriculum they intend to use, and send in the results of a standardized test at the end of the year. The booklet is 15 pages and references state codes (which your parents should Google).

I’d find out the courses your state requires first, then come back and ask for suggestions for whatever those are. You can always study other things that you don’t report to the district (but can list on your college app), but make sure you have the required courses down first.

13

I would recommend doing some courses as dual credit at the community college. My daughters took about 2 dual credit courses per semester for junior and senior years. That gave them a very nice cushion of gen. eds and maybe gave more credibility to their homeschool transcripts in the eyes of the admissions counselors. My girls did all of their courses online even though the campus is very close to our house. They appreciated being able to read the text and do whatever coursework they were given on their own. They had to go to campus for some tests occasionally.

If you love to read, you can check out the upper level programs at Sonlight Curriculum for Literature and History. It’s a literature-based program with a student guide for independent study.

14

This is state dependent. Some states just ask parents for a letter of intent then allow them to handle classes however they want. Some use online programs, some structure their children’s classes (ES through HS), but others only structure the ES children and by MS start turning the structuring over to the student. In those families, the high school students are very much doing an independent study program.

How activities are handled differs by state as well. NYS, for instance, doesn’t permit home schooled students to play on high school sports teams. Participation in clubs and other district activities is decided on a district to district basis. I know of very few districts which allow home schoolers to participate in clubs, modified sports, or other school sponsored activities.

15

Do you want to go to college? If so, you need to listen carefully to some of the suggestions out here. Eschewing all classroom experiences and assuming you can “teach yourself” isn’t likely to end well in the college admissions process. And if everyone is so dumb at your high school… you also have the option to stay there and get stand-up grades, and participate in ECs outside of the school so you don’t spend any additional time there.

16

“How activities are handled differs by state as well. NYS, for instance, doesn’t permit home schooled students to play on high school sports teams. Participation in clubs and other district activities is decided on a district to district basis. I know of very few districts which allow home schoolers to participate in clubs, modified sports, or other school sponsored activities.”

Absolutely true. In NJ, even though the law says that homeschoolers can participate, it’s up to the district to approve.

17

In my state, you aren’t limited to dual enrolling at community colleges, you can choose from most of the public 4 yea colleges and a good number of the private colleges. Having some courses from a college does validate your grades from an outside source, and would be a good thing to have on your transcript, even if you end up not having the best learning experience yourself. Not all college admissions staff value homeschooling, so having the college grades on your transcript might help impress those folks.

Also, you should think outside the box to gain experience (or at least some exposure) to things not normally available to public and private school students due to time constraints. Maybe you can arrange to shadow your state legislators, or be a page at the state capitol. Volunteer for a politician’s campaign. Find a local or national cause you believe in and work to change it through awareness, legislation, volunteering, fundraising, etc. You don’t have to be captain of a football team to show your leadership skills, but you do need to find ways to stretch outside your “book learning” and build your resume of skills.

Be sure you know and follow the laws of your state and county for homeschooling. Your parents don’t have to actually “teach” you, but they can be held responsible for your education, so they should be participating in your homeschooling to some degree.

In our metro area, there are tons of homeschool groups that do field trips, go together to Homeschool day at the local history center, park days, book club hangouts, etc. It really helps to get connected with like-minded teenagers. Check out several groups to find the best “fit” for you. There are groups based on location, ages of kids, secular or religious, academics, and some groups geared more towards just having fun.

Homeschooling can be a good thing if you are motivated and have the passion and persistence to see it through.

18

I was also thinking what intparent mentioned- being the tops in your hs, getting top grades and brilliant recommendations versus trying to invent the wheel. Adcoms are going to look at your curriculum (the guideline(s) behind your choices.) Depending on the college, they can be familiar with the content of some programs and sometimes less impressed by a kid’s own personal “cafeteria plan.” Just mind all these factors. You don’t want to potshot. Agree DE/college classes also gives the credibility, sometimes additional letters of recommendation from those professionals. Look at the supplement for homeschoolers that’s part of the Common App.

The best homeschooling is simply more than a DIY degree. And more than still achieving good scores on standardized tests. I’d be absolutely certain you are doing this for the intellectual opportunities and freedom- and can use that wisely, max out your opportunities- not to run from perceived inadequacies among peers. It’s a responsibility and you still have to show you are socially able to connect in ways that matter (to adcoms.)

19

Letters of recommendation from professionals who know you such as supervisors, coaches, bosses, etc. are wonderful. I had no outside teachers/professors and had recommendations from people in positions like that and my parents (only teachers/GC); it worked in my favor just fine. While I agree that DE/college classes supply that “credibility” that doubters and naysayers may wonder about, it is not absolutely necessary.

Overall, just show what type of ambitious, intellectual student you are and work to highlight your character and YOU in your application, no matter what.

20

Kolbe Academy might be a good option. You can enroll directly with them. They are accredited. They provide all lesson plans. They offer online courses as well.
http://www.kolbe.org/online-courses/course-offerings/2015-16/
http://www.kolbe.org/homeschool/courses/high-school/history-curriculum/