Independent study

<p>Do you guys' schools allow independent study courses? What have you taken independently? What would you like to take?</p>

<p>I've done...
-(summer before) 9th grade: Spanish III
-10th grade: AP Spanish; PE
-(summer before) 12th grade: French IV
-(hopefully) 12th grade: World literature</p>

<p>Technically, we're only allowed to count 3 credits towards graduation, but I only need one more credit to complete all my requirements (and it's just a bloody vocational credit) so it doesn't bother me that two of my IS courses won't count. As long as they appear on my transcript. :)</p>

<p>ahh i love indep. study... mostly we're just allowed to do independant PE and only then in unique cases
apparently im uniqe b/c ive done it all 3 years of high school and its let me take the classes i actually want to take! like this year i have art history I and II and anthropology, as well as all 6 IB classes. so i can break up my crazy IB crap with stuff that is actually interesting :-)!!
we also have classes offered in the summer like health and computers, which are nice to get out of the way too
yay for "summer school!"</p>

<p>ap macro ap micro ap world</p>

<p>We can design our own courses or take courses our school offers but we can't take due to irresolvable scheduling conflicts. Since I had 5 conflicts this year (I KNOW, RIGHT?) I decided to take my elective (computer science) as an independent study. My friend designed her own course on the history of epidemiology. I believe another friend took Latin because it didn't fit in her schedule either.</p>

<p>Sadly, the only independent study programs that my school offers are PE and Driver's Ed. Even then, if you take them, you have to have a study hall to replace them, instead of a regular class.</p>

<p>I am looking to start a pilot independent study program at my public high school. What programs do your schools use for independent studying? I am particularly interested in online courses for college credit but high school credit courses would also be a must.</p>

<p>Usually my school does do independent study, but I managed to get the counselor and teacher to allow me to do Spanish IV.</p>

<p>Aaaaand it kicked my butt. Hard.</p>

<p>To do IS at my school, you fill out paperwork, attach/describe the planned curriculum, get your sponsoring teacher, the department chair and your counselor to sign, then the whole kit and caboodle has to pass muster in the principal's office... But as to the curriculum, I think it's up to the student and the teacher. We don't have online courses that the IS students have to take. I've never taken any. I suppose it might be an option, but I think the kid has to find their own. Students do have to meet with the sponsoring teacher, though, for I think a minimum of 18 hours for credit, and I think the minimum number of hours of study to get the credit is 125. (You have to keep a log, naturally.)</p>

<p>I think the administration at my school is pretty chary when it comes to granting IS credit. Apparently there have been students who have just done nothing, made it all up, and tried to get credit. For instance, there was a girl who was taking IS PE and logged that she was doing 100 situps a day, and when her sponsoring teacher asked her to demonstrate, she didn't know how to do a situp at all. >.< :rolleyes: At my school, it's all too often the case that the members of the lowest academic/behavioral echelon do things that reduce the opportunities/privileges available to everybody. :(</p>